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Greater Love Hath No Man #2
Darling James
Companion to Greater Love Hath No Man
J. Tanner was a valued member of National Security 3, an obscure branch of MI5, an expert in undercover work, excellent at many languages, and in love with his superior, James Trevalyan and his voice of crushed velvet. For years he hid his love, certain James could not, would not return it.
And yet, once his latest dangerous mission as a dense associate to Callisto Malossini, one of the chief principals of the London underworld, was done and he was back in the safety of NS3, he found himself helping James unravel the mystery of his sister Pamela's disappearance and even going after James when he vanished to the States and spending a wild night of passion with him.
Then James vanished again. Would he return? If so, would Tanner let himself believe that James really cared after so many years of certainty that no man would care for him?
J. Tanner was a valued member of National Security 3, an obscure branch of MI5, an expert in undercover work, excellent at many languages, and in love with his superior, James Trevalyan and his voice of crushed velvet. For years he hid his love, certain James could not, would not return it.
And yet, once his latest dangerous mission as a dense associate to Callisto Malossini, one of the chief principals of the London underworld, was done and he was back in the safety of NS3, he found himself helping James unravel the mystery of his sister Pamela's disappearance and even going after James when he vanished to the States and spending a wild night of passion with him.
Then James vanished again. Would he return? If so, would Tanner let himself believe that James really cared after so many years of certainty that no man would care for him?
282 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 17, 2016
This was a marvelous sequel to Greater Love. I really enjoy Tinnean's way of showing events from Jeremy's POV, that we'd seen in James's book. Of course we got details of Jeremy's actions at that time. There's a good amount of action and suspense included. I suppose I should call him Remy, since Jeremy was James' first great love. There was a great deal of paths crossing in James and Remy's pasts, that they'd been unaware of. I thought for sure we'd find out that Jeremy and Remy were related, which would have added quite a taboo aspect to the story. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful love story. There was still that terribly reserved British manner throughout the book. I thought it was amusing to see Lord and Lady Pennington never openly acknowledging that they were quite aware of James's relationship with Jeremy and then Remy. They were more open about St. John and Robin.
I'd love to see more of this couple. We still don't know about Remy's recovery. I'd also like to know if the Sebrings come on the scene again. I also appreciated that there were more love scenes than this author usually offers. She writes them quite well, too. I can never say enough about my enjoyment of Tinnean's stories. I look forward to the fascinating characters and the espionage antics these novels include.
I'd love to see more of this couple. We still don't know about Remy's recovery. I'd also like to know if the Sebrings come on the scene again. I also appreciated that there were more love scenes than this author usually offers. She writes them quite well, too. I can never say enough about my enjoyment of Tinnean's stories. I look forward to the fascinating characters and the espionage antics these novels include.
June 8, 2019
This was an interesting book. The time period (though I wasn't entirely sure when that was at certain points in the book -- I felt like the references didn't match the decade I thought they were in) and the distanced writing style gave this a unique feel. I enjoyed it and would give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
What I liked:
~ James -- he's a great character. He's strong but vulnerable, confident yet insecure about Remy's feelings for him. I did wish he made his won feelings for Remy more obvious here and there, but overall, I like him.
~ Remy -- he's a good guy struggling with his inner demons and just trying to make things work.
~ the romance -- even though it was slow and not overly emotive, I liked that everyone just accepted it, despite the era (I believe this is set in the 1970s?).
What didn't work quite as well:
~ the five years Remy did undercover work -- I skimmed through most of it and felt that a good portion of it could have been excluded or (at the very least) greatly tightened.
~ the subtle writing style -- there are things I'm still not clear about, and I think it's because the author referenced plot points and ideas so obscurely that I really wasn't sure what I was supposed to be thinking.
Overall, I enjoyed it because it was a different type of book than I usually read, and both Remy and James were sympathetic characters that I enjoyed spending time with.
What I liked:
~ James -- he's a great character. He's strong but vulnerable, confident yet insecure about Remy's feelings for him. I did wish he made his won feelings for Remy more obvious here and there, but overall, I like him.
~ Remy -- he's a good guy struggling with his inner demons and just trying to make things work.
~ the romance -- even though it was slow and not overly emotive, I liked that everyone just accepted it, despite the era (I believe this is set in the 1970s?).
What didn't work quite as well:
~ the five years Remy did undercover work -- I skimmed through most of it and felt that a good portion of it could have been excluded or (at the very least) greatly tightened.
~ the subtle writing style -- there are things I'm still not clear about, and I think it's because the author referenced plot points and ideas so obscurely that I really wasn't sure what I was supposed to be thinking.
Overall, I enjoyed it because it was a different type of book than I usually read, and both Remy and James were sympathetic characters that I enjoyed spending time with.
August 18, 2018
3.75 stars
March 8, 2019
Just as enjoyable as the first book, but I felt like I spent most of this one trying to figure out if any of the characters were in other Tinnean books that I had read... *headdesk*
next
March 26, 2017sequel to Greater Love Hath No Man
February 24, 2016
3.5 of 5 stars – Goes From Spy Thriller to Living Room Drama.
[I'm excited to have won this as a Goodreads First Read – so thanks, JMS Books!]
I love gay historical spy thrillers and romances, and this was a nice combo along those lines.
The part I liked best was that the MC (Tanner) was a domestic version of James Bond in a branch of MI5, serving as an undercover agent – but more rough around the edges, and of course, gay. He too was a lady-killer, but that was just for appearances’ sake – he’d pined for his boss for years. And that’s where some of the good tension mounted, as well as from the undercover work.
That played out well with the action and intrigue in the first half; but that unfortunately faded into the background and the focus shifted to a potential romance. So the only action then was from relationships, and in bed. Maybe that is why I thought that the undercover assignments were not as involved as I’ve seen in other action thrillers, and left me hoping for more.
Tinnean’s style was easy to read, and fairly descriptive of the English settings, with a good use of British terms to give it an international feel. Curiously, although it was actually set in the mid-70s, it felt like it was the 60s for me. Tinnean’s choice to write in Tanner’s first person POV worked fine, helping to develop the character (as well as that of the other MC, James of the title) with some interesting background.
I bought into and related to some of the struggles , even though they were rather typical . And for those interested, the sex was nice, fairly well done, but still left a bit to be desired. It fit in well with the storyline, but could have been even more sensual with a bit more erotic descriptions of what men feel.
It ended with a friend’s wedding, adding some final intrigues. While it was hard to keep track of everyone and their connections, I did enjoy how some of those played out in unexpected ways, some tying back to Tanner’s past, both as an undercover agent and as a kid. So it set up the next story nicely, while still giving me a satisfactory conclusion.
Overall, I enjoyed it best when it combined the undercover action with the m/m romance.
[I'm excited to have won this as a Goodreads First Read – so thanks, JMS Books!]
I love gay historical spy thrillers and romances, and this was a nice combo along those lines.
The part I liked best was that the MC (Tanner) was a domestic version of James Bond in a branch of MI5, serving as an undercover agent – but more rough around the edges, and of course, gay. He too was a lady-killer, but that was just for appearances’ sake – he’d pined for his boss for years. And that’s where some of the good tension mounted, as well as from the undercover work.
That played out well with the action and intrigue in the first half; but that unfortunately faded into the background and the focus shifted to a potential romance. So the only action then was from relationships, and in bed. Maybe that is why I thought that the undercover assignments were not as involved as I’ve seen in other action thrillers, and left me hoping for more.
Tinnean’s style was easy to read, and fairly descriptive of the English settings, with a good use of British terms to give it an international feel. Curiously, although it was actually set in the mid-70s, it felt like it was the 60s for me. Tinnean’s choice to write in Tanner’s first person POV worked fine, helping to develop the character (as well as that of the other MC, James of the title) with some interesting background.
I bought into and related to some of the struggles , even though they were rather typical . And for those interested, the sex was nice, fairly well done, but still left a bit to be desired. It fit in well with the storyline, but could have been even more sensual with a bit more erotic descriptions of what men feel.
It ended with a friend’s wedding, adding some final intrigues. While it was hard to keep track of everyone and their connections, I did enjoy how some of those played out in unexpected ways, some tying back to Tanner’s past, both as an undercover agent and as a kid. So it set up the next story nicely, while still giving me a satisfactory conclusion.
Overall, I enjoyed it best when it combined the undercover action with the m/m romance.
October 26, 2016
Darling Jeremy, Too
This book could not have been handled better--and it was a risk because it's a companion to "Greater Love hath No Man" in which James Trevalyan's story included a romance with another Jeremy. That one ended tragically, but this new Jeremy--or, as James prefers, Remy--was introduced in that book, and everything from that point in the first book is told from Remy's point of view in this one.
Tough trick to turn--and Tinnean does it wonderfully.
Yes, you need to read the first book to get what is going on in this one. Yes, you have to suspend a little logical belief at various stages of how James comes to exploit, exasperate and eventually energize Remy's life and desires.
As a British counterpoint to Tinnean's Spy vs. Spook series with some parallels between Quinn (James-like) and Mark (Remy-like), this one works. As a unique exploration of love in mid-century Britain where gays were always at peril, this one invites some eyebrow raising but in the end leaves you breathless and totally happy. Bravo!
This book could not have been handled better--and it was a risk because it's a companion to "Greater Love hath No Man" in which James Trevalyan's story included a romance with another Jeremy. That one ended tragically, but this new Jeremy--or, as James prefers, Remy--was introduced in that book, and everything from that point in the first book is told from Remy's point of view in this one.
Tough trick to turn--and Tinnean does it wonderfully.
Yes, you need to read the first book to get what is going on in this one. Yes, you have to suspend a little logical belief at various stages of how James comes to exploit, exasperate and eventually energize Remy's life and desires.
As a British counterpoint to Tinnean's Spy vs. Spook series with some parallels between Quinn (James-like) and Mark (Remy-like), this one works. As a unique exploration of love in mid-century Britain where gays were always at peril, this one invites some eyebrow raising but in the end leaves you breathless and totally happy. Bravo!
December 29, 2015
Such a great sequel to "Greater Love Hath No Man"!! I still think James is the star, he was a man of morals and when he loved it was forever. Another wonderful tale from Tinnean.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews