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Phoenix Club #4-6

CALEB TRILOGY

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What do you do when the right love finds you at the wrong time?

At age 17, Caleb Dean’s world is ripped apart in a matter of minutes, tragedy striking sudden and violent. Now, four years later, Caleb is still trying to undo what he deems to be his fault.

Taking work wherever he can get it, Caleb finds his way to New York and The Phoenix Club. Stunning the crowd with his debut performance, Caleb quickly catches the eye of Brock Coulson, an aggressive defense attorney with a secret lust for young male strippers.

With his brother incarcerated from an unjust sentence and the victim of brutality behind those walls, Caleb will do go to any lengths to get his brother out of prison. But his plans to negotiate with Coulson get interrupted when Caleb meets Samuel.

He knows not to get too close, but Samuel is a whirlwind of passion, sweeping him off his feet and refusing to let him go.

*This contains all three books in the CALEB TRILOGY: When World's Collide, Torn in Two, and Unbroken.

Warning: This book contains homosexual relations and crude language not suitable for readers below 17yo.

444 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2014

9 people are currently reading
121 people want to read

About the author

C.J. Bishop

137 books524 followers
Pen name of author A.M. Snead.

Born and raised in scenic Coos County, Oregon, CJ enjoys the small town atmosphere and down-to-earth country folk who populate the area. She is a single mother and lives with her 18-year-old daughter, 1 horse, 4 dogs and 6 cats deep in the country woodlands which gives her plenty of time to write.

She is a Christian and a strong supporter of the LGBT community and favors gay erotic romance when it comes to writing. She hopes that her stories of love and acceptance will help further compassion and understanding for LGBT people who she feels is greatly misunderstood and persecuted - in a large party by the Christian community.

Most of all, she is hopeful that her stories will bring comfort to those who have been told that God hates them because they are different. It is her strong belief that God loves everyone and His love covers all.

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5 stars
220 (56%)
4 stars
105 (26%)
3 stars
56 (14%)
2 stars
7 (1%)
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4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Yasmin M.
81 reviews12 followers
October 4, 2024
Four years after a tragic accident that killed a girl in a hit and drive, Caleb Dean’s world have fallen apart and turned upside down. Caleb is trying to undo what he think is his own fault and by doing that he takes work wherever he can get it and that is how he lands a job at the Phoenix Club in New York City.

Showing the crowd his skills he makes the roof rise as he debuts on the stage and Caleb fast catches the eye of Brock Coulson, an aggressive defense attorney that have a secret lust for young male strippers.

With his brother uprightly and incarcerated from an unjust sentence and victim of brutality behind the walls, Caleb will do anything to get his brother out of prison. But when Caleb meets Samuel his plans to negotiate with Coulson comes to a slightly halt as he battle with his feelings that is blooming after being with Samuel and he get a chance to feel how falling in love feel, just at the wrong time.

Caleb knows not to get too close, but Samuel is not taking no for an answer and will do anything to be with Caleb.

As I’m re-reading this series I decided that I just wanted to also review the books that I have not done yet in the series. i had forgotten how brutal and painful the first few books in this series are as each story is more brutal and heartbreaking than the last one. This series is one of my favourite series as I have been following it for a while now and coming back to the first few books in the series I can once again feel my heart break for the characters and I love the way CJ always write her books showing the chemestry, love and brutal honest backside to the real world out there trough her characters.

As always this book got triggers that is always needed to mentioned as this is a series that can be hard for some to read but so worth it if you can handle the triggers.

Depiction of sexual violence, crude language and mental struggle.
Profile Image for Mike Scott.
67 reviews6 followers
September 15, 2014
This series is HOT! It's also incredibly moving. If your like me you started this series with the first 3 part book Abel. I fell in love with these guys shortly after and sought out the next set! I love the way this author keeps you involved in the plot without taking away from the feeling in the story. The love scenes are definitely sexy without being repetitive. The characters are so unique you can almost imagine "what Cole would say about this", because you get to know them!
This sets main characters are Caleb and Samuel. I don't like spoilers so don't expect any here sorry folks. But I would like to mention a couple things about this authors telling of this story. It's not hard to imagine how easy it is for our main character to get himself into his current situation. Most of us would do anything for the ones we love. Especially if we feel like its our fault they're in trouble because of something we've done. Guilt and love can make us sacrifice everything.
The villains in C.J. Bishop stories are pretty terrible folks! You won't have much trouble hating them lol. I love her sense of justice when dealing with these guys. Also the way the characters stick together is believable and heartwarming. Check this series out please and you'll completely understand why its a hit!
Profile Image for BevS.
2,854 reviews2 followers
May 29, 2014

5 stars from me for this next trilogy of stories from the guys at the Phoenix Club.

Here we're introduced to Caleb whom we met briefly at the end of Abel's trilogy , and I wish I could tell you that all will be sweetness and light in this one BUT I'd be lying, sorry. There's more of everything....more Cole and Gabe, more Max and Horatio, more Dane, a little cameo from Abel and Dev at the end; however, there's also more pain, more brutality (see shelf labels above), more hot sex, more shouting (from me obviously ) BUT there's also love, hope and tenderness.

Unfortunately, on the downside there are also more typos, more incorrect words being used and again no sign of an editor in sight , but I'm absolutely hooked on these stories, and the next trilogy featuring Angel (and hopefully a happy ending for Dane as he missed out in this one) is already locked and loaded on my kindle.
Profile Image for Minerva.
667 reviews3 followers
December 11, 2015
Book 1: I didn't love this as much as Abel. It didn't grip me as quickly. I'm interested in Samuel and Caleb's story but it was a little too insta-love for me...at least on Samuels part. I'm keen to find out more about Nick.

Book 2: Everyone is getting some action. I love the side character's stories. My heart breaks for Caleb. And the sh*t's about to hit the fan! Oh this getting good.

Book 3: Wrapping it up. Some what predictably. We get a lot more side character action. Epilogue: a little gratuitous. Off page acknowledgment was perfectly acceptable.

Overall, Caleb's story was good. I'm really not sure how Dane fancied himself in love but eh, not everything can work. We got to check in with Abel and see a Max get a little. 3.5 stars.
Profile Image for Liza.
1,514 reviews19 followers
August 25, 2015
I seriously just sat down and before I knew it, the sun was down and I was 85% done. This is such a heart-wrenching, powerful story that had me wrapped up from the first page. I couldn't stop. All the guys from The Phoenix Club are back and there is plenty of heat and side stories with Max, Horatio, Dane, Cole, and Gabe, but new dancer Caleb has an amazing story to tell. The insta-love on Samuel's part was a little annoying, but didn't take away from the experience. In fact, if he hadn't fallen so hard, so fast, he wouldn't have done half the things he did.
Profile Image for Barmybelle.
525 reviews14 followers
May 28, 2015
The books in this series are set around The Phoenix Club, a gay dance club, and the men working there.
Each MC has their secrets and a past which comes and bites them and the trouble the past brings is surprising, violent and will keep you guessing.
The men look after each other like family with Max the owner of the club as their leader.

Absolutely fantastic series, I'm addicted to C.J Bishop books and can't wait to read more.
Profile Image for ♣️ Lynda ♣️.
452 reviews48 followers
March 24, 2015
I am really loving this series. There's plenty of hot sex and angst for everyone. This book gives us a great look at more than just Caleb and Samuel. You start seeing more of Max and Horatio, Nick and Chris, and more of Dane too. This is a land where lube is optional and condoms are rare. I was at about 4% when someone fell in LOVE.
This book even had me tearing up :(
On to ANGEL now....
Profile Image for Tammy.
1,247 reviews35 followers
February 17, 2015
Another hit for the Phoenix Club series!! Be warned some parts of this book will pull you apart emotionally!!!
Profile Image for ✿ Eva ✿.
651 reviews29 followers
July 5, 2017
Too much angst. Too much sex. And waaaay darker than I expected. But the rest I enjoyed! Especially Samuel I love him.
Profile Image for Luke.
494 reviews20 followers
January 4, 2020
Part One: When World's Collide

There’s a lot of sex scenes, but that’s what to expect with this series. I was intrigued by Caleb’s backstory. I wasn’t too sure about Samuel, though. And I thought things moved too quickly between them (they meet for the first time and they’re already doing it). Overall, I managed to enjoy it; the way it ended definitely made me want to read the next one.

(3/5)

Part Two: Torn in Two

I didn’t enjoy Caleb’s second story as much as the first. A lot of sex, as expected, but some of it wasn’t sexy: If you’ve read this, you’ll know what I’m talking about (and you probably felt just as uncomfortable as I did). I’m interested to see where things go in Caleb’s third story.

(2/5)

Part Three: Unbroken

A satisfying ending: As uncomfortable—and horrified—as some of it made me feel, I liked that things worked out for Caleb. Samuel grew on me, and I liked them together. The ending was so dark—minor spoiler: what happened to Brock. I am, however, looking forward to reading the next book, which is the beginning of Angel’s stories.

(3/5)
Profile Image for Christy Roberts.
1,522 reviews50 followers
March 25, 2022
You'd do anything for your brother

Which is what Caleb does trying to free his brother from prison. He doesn't realize the man he is asking the help from is a monster. It is so horrible what Caleb goes through which trigger warnings for rape. I skipped that part, but Caleb has friends at the Phoenix club looking out for him especially Dane.

There is another too Samuel who he mets and falls in love with. They have wild and got sex for weeks until things happen with the attorney finding out about Samuel and forcing Caleb to end things or else.

Thankfully with help from friends and Samuel things take a great turn, just not for the monster.

I love Caleb's brother Nick who has his own romance going on inside the prison with his new cell mate Christian. I loved their romance the most and the sacrifice that Nick is making by not leaving so he can protect the man he has come to love.

Loved also Max and Horatio plus we got see Clint and Cochie for first time.
Profile Image for Jeanie.
390 reviews6 followers
November 9, 2017
Okay, I'm hooked. Strong writing. This author is not afraid to tackle serious real life issues. Not sure I could recommend the series to just anyone though. It can be a bit too realistic at times. I enjoy that, but I'm sure there are those out there who would not. Read with caution. The age warning should be taken very seriously on these books! Language and details can be brutal at times.

Caleb is an amazing character, as is Samuel. I hope to see more of him in the future as there are still some loose ends that need tying up for his family. Stick with the series to get tiny snippits of progress on these. It's worth it. The stories just get better and better!
765 reviews2 followers
May 22, 2021
Oh wow! So many different stories going on here.

Well the boys are back. Gabe and Cole. Adore these two. I Liked Dane in the first book and liked him even better here. He stepped up for Cabel when he needed a friend. These boys are so young. They come to the Phoenix looking for a job and a place to help them. Max takes in the strays and the boys help where a can. They do end up suffering somewhat but in the end love wins for some others are still looking.
Profile Image for Jeanine Beaulieu St Pierre.
1,208 reviews2 followers
October 28, 2021
I LOVED EVERY BOOK IN THIS SET, There is so much emotions in this book i could not put this set down once i started reading it,,i was reading about these boys i will call them and the struggles they all went through and the main couple are not a couple but were supposed to be only a lie keeps them apart till they get there happy ending i highly recommend this set,,,i read this series for my honest opinion by this wonderful author
60 reviews
November 6, 2023
Brilliant from start to finish

This is the second in the series and is full of action in all the ways possible.
The characters follow on from the first book and are full of love for each other and draw you in to the story.
It is full of good,bad and happiness but also a darker side. Highly recommended
Profile Image for Betryal.
720 reviews3 followers
March 4, 2015
This second book was a little more of an improvement than the first and I enjoyed how it bounced between characters rather than focussing on the two primary ones the book was to be centered on.

The brutality of some of the scenes were unsettling, one making me sick to my stomach. One wish I had but it wasn't granted was the overuse of the word 'baby' which was beyond annoyingly still visible. I got to the point where I skipped the word and pretended it wasn't even on the page.
Profile Image for Beth doesn't write  enough reviews.
612 reviews34 followers
November 23, 2014
Dark, painful and vicious. This is so hard to read. Very well written with deep emotional strength. Wonderful characters but filled with some of the worst humans are capable of being to each other. But again, the very best too.

Profile Image for Stephani Rozier.
131 reviews7 followers
February 13, 2015
I know I complained in my status updates about the bouncing between characters. That was just me being anxious and bratty! I LOVE that CJ Bishop includes others in her books. PLEASE DON'T EVER CHANGE!

This book was very angsty but I loved every minute of it!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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