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Skin
Kyle, a young newcomer to New Orleans, is haunted by the memory of his first lover, brutally murdered just outside the French Quarter.Marc, a young Quarter hustler, is haunted by an eccentric spirit that shares his dreams, and by the handsome but vicious lover who shares his bed.When the barrier between these men comes down, it will prove thinner than the veil between the living and the dead…or between justice and revenge.
164 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2017
About the author
Christian Baines
17 books152 followersWriting quirky queer horror and dark fantasy, Christian Baines is an awkward nerd turned slightly less awkward author. Raised on dark humour and powered by New Zealand wine, he is the author of nine novels including gay paranormal series The Arcadia Trust, Puppet Boy, Skin, and My Cat’s Guide to Online Dating. Born in Australia, he now travels the world whenever possible, living and writing in Toronto, Canada between trips.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
October 21, 2017
The pure awesomeness of this story, the OMG I can't stop turning the pages, deserves 5+ stars. I totally wanted to 5 star this from A-V. Then V-Z sailed over my head and I was lost.
I still have no clue what happened. Thinking I must have had a brain fart, I read the ending twice, I still don't get it. The story went all voodoo paranormal, spirits, dead dogs, or were they? and while I love me some paranormal/otherworldly happenings, I need to be able to follow along. That didn't happen in this instance, and dammit that fact guts me.
I urge readers, with no aversion to darker content (non-con messed up shit) to pick this story up, and my fellow book junkies, feel free to explain the ending to this poor simpleton.
Copy provided by the publisher, Bold Strokes Books, via NetGalley
I still have no clue what happened. Thinking I must have had a brain fart, I read the ending twice, I still don't get it. The story went all voodoo paranormal, spirits, dead dogs, or were they? and while I love me some paranormal/otherworldly happenings, I need to be able to follow along. That didn't happen in this instance, and dammit that fact guts me.
I urge readers, with no aversion to darker content (non-con messed up shit) to pick this story up, and my fellow book junkies, feel free to explain the ending to this poor simpleton.
Copy provided by the publisher, Bold Strokes Books, via NetGalley
November 16, 2017
A Joyfully Jay review.
5 stars
ZOMG, this is a devastatingly good read. I don’t even know how to review it for fear of giving something away.
The book is divided up into chapters. The first one is told from Antoine’s point of view. Initially, I was a bit on the fence about the character—worried he would come off as campy. Holy schnikies, was I wrong. At the close of the first chapter, Antoine has the aforementioned run in with a bad dude. I didn’t want Antoine to die, so I immediately checked the table of contents and saw all the remaining chapters were split see-saw like between Kyle and Marc—that boded ill for Antoine. Happily, the very next chapter featured Kyle and his meeting with Antoine. It took me a few chapters to realize the story is being told non-linearly, but the extent to which this characterizes the book was not fully revealed until the last couple of chapters—and to explosive effect. Basically, Antoine’s chapter (the first in the book) is actually the middle of the time line while all of Kyle’s and Marc’s chapters are also linear…but not necessarily parallel. That will make more sense when you read it…and you should totally read it.
Kyle and Marc’s threads are wholly intertwined and Antoine and Ash are the links between them. It was nothing short of amazing to be able to flip-flop between these two dissimilar characters in dissimilar situations and yet feel their stories fit together. The prose is lush with the language and imagery of New Orleans, too. Both Marc and Kyle’s threads are electrically described—for all that they are polar opposites, I can’t imagine a better way to vicariously visit a city. Kyle shows us a bit of gay culture and, through his connection to Antoine, New Orleans voodoo culture. Marc starts of fairly innocent, but quickly descends into the pit of subsistence existence with Ash. It’s clear he’s found a place where he feels comfortable, despite the unsavory things he does to get by—his initial discomfort at the prospect of dancing barely-clad to earn a living is palpable—but he adjusts, as we all must.
Read Camille’s review in its entirety here.
5 stars
ZOMG, this is a devastatingly good read. I don’t even know how to review it for fear of giving something away.
The book is divided up into chapters. The first one is told from Antoine’s point of view. Initially, I was a bit on the fence about the character—worried he would come off as campy. Holy schnikies, was I wrong. At the close of the first chapter, Antoine has the aforementioned run in with a bad dude. I didn’t want Antoine to die, so I immediately checked the table of contents and saw all the remaining chapters were split see-saw like between Kyle and Marc—that boded ill for Antoine. Happily, the very next chapter featured Kyle and his meeting with Antoine. It took me a few chapters to realize the story is being told non-linearly, but the extent to which this characterizes the book was not fully revealed until the last couple of chapters—and to explosive effect. Basically, Antoine’s chapter (the first in the book) is actually the middle of the time line while all of Kyle’s and Marc’s chapters are also linear…but not necessarily parallel. That will make more sense when you read it…and you should totally read it.
Kyle and Marc’s threads are wholly intertwined and Antoine and Ash are the links between them. It was nothing short of amazing to be able to flip-flop between these two dissimilar characters in dissimilar situations and yet feel their stories fit together. The prose is lush with the language and imagery of New Orleans, too. Both Marc and Kyle’s threads are electrically described—for all that they are polar opposites, I can’t imagine a better way to vicariously visit a city. Kyle shows us a bit of gay culture and, through his connection to Antoine, New Orleans voodoo culture. Marc starts of fairly innocent, but quickly descends into the pit of subsistence existence with Ash. It’s clear he’s found a place where he feels comfortable, despite the unsavory things he does to get by—his initial discomfort at the prospect of dancing barely-clad to earn a living is palpable—but he adjusts, as we all must.
Read Camille’s review in its entirety here.
Read
January 20, 20183.75 STARS. I received this book from NETGALLEY for review. I would describe this as dark. Twisted a bit of horror. Please take into account this is not typical my genre read. The writing was well done as the setting was captivating, the story of the two MC’s as their stories intersect. I did have moments of confusion but a different interesting read.
December 12, 2017
This novella was dark psychological/paranormal perfection. I know I say it too often, but I'm not a reader of horror, nor a reader of gore, so finding a dark read that walks the line of thriller without crossing over, or a paranormal nudging the edge of the same borders is a rare, rare treat for me, and Skin is the best example of this I've read in years.
Opening with Kyle, a young man coming to New Orleans without much of a net (or a plan), we watch as Kyle loses the first person who makes the city remotely welcoming for him. That death sets everything in motion.
We also follow Marc, a hustler in the quarter who dances for singles and shares a room with a dangerously tempered fellow dancer, and with whom he shares a love/hate/lust/obsession tangle of dark emotion.
The intersection of the two men goes down as one of my favourite moments in prose in years, and even as I dared to hope, I knew to expect the worst of the human psyche to be explored in Baines's writing, and Skin delivers exactly that. After all, in the hands of Baines, you know what will come of a character's best intentions.
Skin was so richly written, so incredibly twisted, and was so rewarding to me. If it's possible to be darkly satisfied and still raw, that's what Skin delivered. Grab it. Give it to all your friends who want to read something shadowy and twisted and vengeful.
Opening with Kyle, a young man coming to New Orleans without much of a net (or a plan), we watch as Kyle loses the first person who makes the city remotely welcoming for him. That death sets everything in motion.
We also follow Marc, a hustler in the quarter who dances for singles and shares a room with a dangerously tempered fellow dancer, and with whom he shares a love/hate/lust/obsession tangle of dark emotion.
The intersection of the two men goes down as one of my favourite moments in prose in years, and even as I dared to hope, I knew to expect the worst of the human psyche to be explored in Baines's writing, and Skin delivers exactly that. After all, in the hands of Baines, you know what will come of a character's best intentions.
Skin was so richly written, so incredibly twisted, and was so rewarding to me. If it's possible to be darkly satisfied and still raw, that's what Skin delivered. Grab it. Give it to all your friends who want to read something shadowy and twisted and vengeful.
November 29, 2017
I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Bold Strokes Books, Inc. Trigger warnings: rape, violence, gore, murder.
When Kyle’s lover is murdered outside the French Quarter, he becomes fixated on revenge. Marc is a young hustler new to New Orleans who is haunted by a strangely familiar spirit and may be sharing a bed with a murderer. The connections between them cross the lines between both right and wrong, living and dead.
Had this not been a review book, I’m not sure I would have continued after the first chapter, because it’s extremely gritty. I don’t know why I’m fine with ax-murderers painting the walls red with blood, but when it comes to people getting the shit beat out of them, my brain goes NOPE. It’s rape, hate crime, violence, and murder all crammed into one chapter, and it’s a straightforward warning that this book isn’t for weak stomachs or mild hearts.
But it isn’t all bad. The writing is good, and the plot is twisty and fast-moving. Read enough novels and very few of them can surprise you, but this one turned around on me a couple of times. I wanted more fluffy romance scenes between Kyle and his boyfriend (too bad it isn’t that kind of book), and they’re a weird contrast to the grim reality of the rest of the novel. I enjoyed watching the first half of the plot come together because I genuinely had no idea where it was going.
It turns out my favorite character gets murdered in the first chapter, so there’s that. (This isn’t a spoiler; it’s right in the description.) He’s interesting and resists cliches, and I like that he’s completely his own person. Kyle and Marc are a little flatter, and Ash is outright despicable. He managed to ruin most of the book for me. I don’t want chapters that are cozied up to a homophobic killer; I don’t want to get to know him, or spend page time with him, or start to understand him. And maybe that’s the problem, because for all the time we spend with Ash, I still really don’t understand him at all.
There’s also the problem that almost every other scene is graphically sexual. I’m fine with sex scenes here and there in a novel, but this is overdone, and it’s awkward. There’s nothing romantic or even very sexy about any of it; most of the characters outright don’t even like each other. There’s an overwhelming ick feeling in a lot of the chapters, which is not the kind of horror that I’m interested in. I hope this is an exaggerated portrayal of the New Orleans LGBTQ community, as it’s an exaggerated portrayal of Voodoo, because neither is painted in a particularly warm light. The end twist is definitely a surprise, but it’s far from satisfying. It’s a novel that works well in grittiness and shock value, but less well in character development and storytelling. It likely isn’t something I’ll return to.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
When Kyle’s lover is murdered outside the French Quarter, he becomes fixated on revenge. Marc is a young hustler new to New Orleans who is haunted by a strangely familiar spirit and may be sharing a bed with a murderer. The connections between them cross the lines between both right and wrong, living and dead.
Had this not been a review book, I’m not sure I would have continued after the first chapter, because it’s extremely gritty. I don’t know why I’m fine with ax-murderers painting the walls red with blood, but when it comes to people getting the shit beat out of them, my brain goes NOPE. It’s rape, hate crime, violence, and murder all crammed into one chapter, and it’s a straightforward warning that this book isn’t for weak stomachs or mild hearts.
But it isn’t all bad. The writing is good, and the plot is twisty and fast-moving. Read enough novels and very few of them can surprise you, but this one turned around on me a couple of times. I wanted more fluffy romance scenes between Kyle and his boyfriend (too bad it isn’t that kind of book), and they’re a weird contrast to the grim reality of the rest of the novel. I enjoyed watching the first half of the plot come together because I genuinely had no idea where it was going.
It turns out my favorite character gets murdered in the first chapter, so there’s that. (This isn’t a spoiler; it’s right in the description.) He’s interesting and resists cliches, and I like that he’s completely his own person. Kyle and Marc are a little flatter, and Ash is outright despicable. He managed to ruin most of the book for me. I don’t want chapters that are cozied up to a homophobic killer; I don’t want to get to know him, or spend page time with him, or start to understand him. And maybe that’s the problem, because for all the time we spend with Ash, I still really don’t understand him at all.
There’s also the problem that almost every other scene is graphically sexual. I’m fine with sex scenes here and there in a novel, but this is overdone, and it’s awkward. There’s nothing romantic or even very sexy about any of it; most of the characters outright don’t even like each other. There’s an overwhelming ick feeling in a lot of the chapters, which is not the kind of horror that I’m interested in. I hope this is an exaggerated portrayal of the New Orleans LGBTQ community, as it’s an exaggerated portrayal of Voodoo, because neither is painted in a particularly warm light. The end twist is definitely a surprise, but it’s far from satisfying. It’s a novel that works well in grittiness and shock value, but less well in character development and storytelling. It likely isn’t something I’ll return to.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
November 14, 2017
I received a copy to read and review for Wicked Reads
When I signed up to read and review this book my response was "this isn't normally the kind of book I would read but I will give it a shot". I probably should have passed. This book wasn't for me. Mind you I am all for lots of sex, I love me some sex in a book but I need more than just that. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and some of the stuff was just odd and I think I was probably missing the point on a few things. I kept plugging through the book hoping it would get better or I would make a connection but it just never happened and after finishing I thought once again that I probably should have passed. I am might be in the minority and others will probably love it but not me.
When I signed up to read and review this book my response was "this isn't normally the kind of book I would read but I will give it a shot". I probably should have passed. This book wasn't for me. Mind you I am all for lots of sex, I love me some sex in a book but I need more than just that. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and some of the stuff was just odd and I think I was probably missing the point on a few things. I kept plugging through the book hoping it would get better or I would make a connection but it just never happened and after finishing I thought once again that I probably should have passed. I am might be in the minority and others will probably love it but not me.
October 27, 2017
The final act of Skin makes the story - once the plot drifts into New Orleans Voodoo madness, it becomes more than a seedy slice-of-life about unlikable dancers/hustlers.
The first half was maddening in its own way, as the only sympathetic character is the murdered boyfriend. The other three characters - Kyle, Marc, and Ash - are varying degrees of racists suffering from internalized homophobia. The reader is drawn into the gritty, oversexed world the characters inhabit, and it's not necessarily a pleasant experience.
I wish the Voodoo aspect of the book (which was interesting and I would have liked to read more about) was introduced slowly throughout the first part of the book, which would have added some creepy menacing mystery to the setting, foreshadowing what was to come, and giving the plot an overall more holistic feel. More Voodoo!
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed how the story of Kyle, Marc, and Ash's lives came together and hurtled to a manic, bloody climax (so to speak...)
The first half was maddening in its own way, as the only sympathetic character is the murdered boyfriend. The other three characters - Kyle, Marc, and Ash - are varying degrees of racists suffering from internalized homophobia. The reader is drawn into the gritty, oversexed world the characters inhabit, and it's not necessarily a pleasant experience.
I wish the Voodoo aspect of the book (which was interesting and I would have liked to read more about) was introduced slowly throughout the first part of the book, which would have added some creepy menacing mystery to the setting, foreshadowing what was to come, and giving the plot an overall more holistic feel. More Voodoo!
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed how the story of Kyle, Marc, and Ash's lives came together and hurtled to a manic, bloody climax (so to speak...)
April 25, 2020
Terrifically chilling, brisk, eerie and very satisfying. Congratulations to Christian Baines on (another) job well done!
Merged review:
Christian Baines doesn't write so much about the New Orleans of Mardi Gras or frat boys on Bourbon Street or cute front yards in Bywater. Baines's NOLA is a city of rough, randy, off-the-rails guys panting for each other and playing twisted power games to get what they need. But there is still plenty of atmosphere, including wonderfully detailed accounts of voodoo history and practices. The sex is frank and unabashed, and you won't soon forget what Baines's portrayals of naked desire feel like, whether they shock you, turn you on or, as in my own case, both!
Merged review:
Christian Baines doesn't write so much about the New Orleans of Mardi Gras or frat boys on Bourbon Street or cute front yards in Bywater. Baines's NOLA is a city of rough, randy, off-the-rails guys panting for each other and playing twisted power games to get what they need. But there is still plenty of atmosphere, including wonderfully detailed accounts of voodoo history and practices. The sex is frank and unabashed, and you won't soon forget what Baines's portrayals of naked desire feel like, whether they shock you, turn you on or, as in my own case, both!
December 27, 2017
Weiiiiiiiiiird.
April 17, 2018
This was some twisted shit. This is not an easy read. It's dark. And scary. And brutal. Graphic sex. But the twist, in the end, is crazy.
November 1, 2017
"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster,” is one of Friedrich Nietzsche most famous quotes. Of course, he continues from there to talk about gazing long into the abyss. It’s a theme author Christian Baines delivers in his latest novel, Skin, and he made my perseverance pay off, as I had little to no clue where this book was going for the longest time; then, when I finally had the ‘what’ figured out, I still couldn’t suss out the ‘how’ of it. When that was finally revealed, and it made about as much sense as a story such as this can make, I had to give a mental ovation to the author for not only keeping me on the hook but making my patience and tenacity worth the while.
Some of the characters in this novel are portrayed as rather despicable people. Racist, homophobic, misogynistic, violent and foul-mouthed, this is not a book with a clear hero to root for—there is no one person I felt truly deserving of a happy ending by book’s end. Kyle becomes more an antihero, Marc is elusive, and the one likable character, Antoine, meets his untimely end just as he and Kyle begin what might have been a lovely romance. It’s made clear from the moment of Antoine’s sudden and violent death that this wasn’t going to be a light or cheerful read. There were some characters, however, whom I felt got what they deserved, which speaks with extreme eloquence to my sense of karmic justice.
At its core, this is a tale of murder and revenge, and the author makes no apologies for these characters or their antagonistic roles in the story. This novel, by virtue of its characterizations, might make you admit to your own inclination to find people such as Ash, for example, more than a little off-putting (understatement). His internalized homophobia informs his hostility towards the men in the story as much as his bigotry is worn like a Confederate birthright, which plays into a current events realism. These aren’t overt political statements as much as the author being opportunistic and using this brand of ugly to good effect in the overall storyline. There was plenty in Skin that made me uncomfortable, and that was the point. I wasn’t supposed to feel good about what was playing out on the page, so success there. It’s characters such as these, in fact, that Wilde might have referred to if he’d been talking about men whose realistic depictions “show the world its own shame.”
What keeps Skin from being anything but a run of the mill urban horror novel is its setting. There is nothing colorless or commonplace about the city of New Orleans or the Louisiana Voodoo the city is known for, which figures prominently as the plot unfolds. It seems that I learn something new about New Orleans in every book I read with the city as its setting, and it’s obvious the author did his homework in the writing of this novel. NOLA isn’t only Mardi Gras, jazz, beignets, and crawfish. It’s ghosts and spellcraft, has a seedy underbelly all its own, and is rich in its own culture and history, too, which lends itself in the best way to this brand of fiction. I appreciated the local flavor Baines gave to the book.
This book wasn’t released in time for Halloween, but there’s never a bad time for some fresh hell sort of horror. Telling the story in alternating points of view worked to purposely confound me and keep me guessing. The revealing moments in Skin are presented in a taut pace and with descriptive narrative that makes those scenes come to life in a deadly and fearsome way. I loved the final plot twist, which I didn’t see coming, at all, and was a great cap-off to all the weird and violence that led up to it. This is not a novel for the squeamish nor those looking for romantic escapism. Skin pushes boundaries and exposes the good and the bad of a city unlike any other in the world, while playing up some of the things that makes her unique and then contrasting them with the violence wrought by her lesser humans.
It’d be a lie if I said I liked this book for all the usual reasons. I liked it for all the unusual reasons Christian Baines gave me to love hating some of its characters, and feeling horrified by their crimes, and feeling validated by the cosmic payback heaped upon them. And, it’s certainly made me think twice about being happy in my own skin.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach
Some of the characters in this novel are portrayed as rather despicable people. Racist, homophobic, misogynistic, violent and foul-mouthed, this is not a book with a clear hero to root for—there is no one person I felt truly deserving of a happy ending by book’s end. Kyle becomes more an antihero, Marc is elusive, and the one likable character, Antoine, meets his untimely end just as he and Kyle begin what might have been a lovely romance. It’s made clear from the moment of Antoine’s sudden and violent death that this wasn’t going to be a light or cheerful read. There were some characters, however, whom I felt got what they deserved, which speaks with extreme eloquence to my sense of karmic justice.
At its core, this is a tale of murder and revenge, and the author makes no apologies for these characters or their antagonistic roles in the story. This novel, by virtue of its characterizations, might make you admit to your own inclination to find people such as Ash, for example, more than a little off-putting (understatement). His internalized homophobia informs his hostility towards the men in the story as much as his bigotry is worn like a Confederate birthright, which plays into a current events realism. These aren’t overt political statements as much as the author being opportunistic and using this brand of ugly to good effect in the overall storyline. There was plenty in Skin that made me uncomfortable, and that was the point. I wasn’t supposed to feel good about what was playing out on the page, so success there. It’s characters such as these, in fact, that Wilde might have referred to if he’d been talking about men whose realistic depictions “show the world its own shame.”
What keeps Skin from being anything but a run of the mill urban horror novel is its setting. There is nothing colorless or commonplace about the city of New Orleans or the Louisiana Voodoo the city is known for, which figures prominently as the plot unfolds. It seems that I learn something new about New Orleans in every book I read with the city as its setting, and it’s obvious the author did his homework in the writing of this novel. NOLA isn’t only Mardi Gras, jazz, beignets, and crawfish. It’s ghosts and spellcraft, has a seedy underbelly all its own, and is rich in its own culture and history, too, which lends itself in the best way to this brand of fiction. I appreciated the local flavor Baines gave to the book.
This book wasn’t released in time for Halloween, but there’s never a bad time for some fresh hell sort of horror. Telling the story in alternating points of view worked to purposely confound me and keep me guessing. The revealing moments in Skin are presented in a taut pace and with descriptive narrative that makes those scenes come to life in a deadly and fearsome way. I loved the final plot twist, which I didn’t see coming, at all, and was a great cap-off to all the weird and violence that led up to it. This is not a novel for the squeamish nor those looking for romantic escapism. Skin pushes boundaries and exposes the good and the bad of a city unlike any other in the world, while playing up some of the things that makes her unique and then contrasting them with the violence wrought by her lesser humans.
It’d be a lie if I said I liked this book for all the usual reasons. I liked it for all the unusual reasons Christian Baines gave me to love hating some of its characters, and feeling horrified by their crimes, and feeling validated by the cosmic payback heaped upon them. And, it’s certainly made me think twice about being happy in my own skin.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach
December 1, 2017
Christian Baines’s Skin is a mixed bag. On one hand, you have a very interesting dark tale dealing with voodoo, New Orleans and the gay issues and unfortunately on the other hand, a book steeped in erotica that tends to overshadow the true story underneath.
Baines excels when exploring the sexuality of each of his characters to the point that he showcases this very predominately through almost every chapter. Ripping chests and biceps, sexual organs worshipped and guys pressing up against each other for the love of outward beauty, and all the stereotypes are represented from the overly effeminate to the cowboy stud puppet. Although he is very adept at writing this, I did find myself skimming through it as it become tiresome and irksome after the fifth passage.
Underneath all this though, there is a fascinating dark story about voodoo and homophobia that seems to be an afterthought. His description of the New Orleans setting is very well polished, but we have two dimensional characters occupying this space. It is a real shame that he didn’t put more time in developing this part of the book because he would end up with a sure fire winner.
His characters, Ash, Travis and Mike are rather flat. The relationships are flat and uninspiring and there is really not a winning spark in any of the characters. They seem to be cardboard cut outs of real people and not sure if this was deliberate or an oversight. The one and only true three dimensional character is Antoine and he basically disappears after the first chapter. As stated before, if these characters were more developed this would be an interesting and thought provoking piece of work.
Overall, Baines is a very talented writer and he excels in a lot of what he is trying to do. His erotica is well written, premise is excellent but lack of emotional driven characters leaves the book rather flat. All in all, it is an interesting attempt to mix genres and would be interested to see what he may produce in the future. Skins is hot on erotica, interesting in the dark fiction and uninspired characters that I could not invest any emotional depth on.
Baines excels when exploring the sexuality of each of his characters to the point that he showcases this very predominately through almost every chapter. Ripping chests and biceps, sexual organs worshipped and guys pressing up against each other for the love of outward beauty, and all the stereotypes are represented from the overly effeminate to the cowboy stud puppet. Although he is very adept at writing this, I did find myself skimming through it as it become tiresome and irksome after the fifth passage.
Underneath all this though, there is a fascinating dark story about voodoo and homophobia that seems to be an afterthought. His description of the New Orleans setting is very well polished, but we have two dimensional characters occupying this space. It is a real shame that he didn’t put more time in developing this part of the book because he would end up with a sure fire winner.
His characters, Ash, Travis and Mike are rather flat. The relationships are flat and uninspiring and there is really not a winning spark in any of the characters. They seem to be cardboard cut outs of real people and not sure if this was deliberate or an oversight. The one and only true three dimensional character is Antoine and he basically disappears after the first chapter. As stated before, if these characters were more developed this would be an interesting and thought provoking piece of work.
Overall, Baines is a very talented writer and he excels in a lot of what he is trying to do. His erotica is well written, premise is excellent but lack of emotional driven characters leaves the book rather flat. All in all, it is an interesting attempt to mix genres and would be interested to see what he may produce in the future. Skins is hot on erotica, interesting in the dark fiction and uninspired characters that I could not invest any emotional depth on.
January 28, 2018
I feel like I need to bleach my eyes.
When writing a dnf review or a review with a low rating I like to include parts of the book I liked. But there were absolutely none in Skin. In all honesty I should have dnf-ed sooner, but I am relieved that I didn’t struggle on because I’ve heard it gets even worse.
So, the reason for my dnf? I didn’t enjoy reading Skin at all and then there were the rape parts. Imagine a character is being hunted by three men and it is crystal clear that they are out for blood. Is that a situation to notice how “cute” one of them is? Are you fucking seriously?! And then the on page rape scene is written for erotic intent. HOW ABOUT NO?!
The way the male character with a ‘feminine touch’ was written read to me a lot like sexism. Add a lot of female slurs and I’m out.
If you’re interested in a review of a reader who struggled through Skin check out Sameena Jehanzbeb’s.
Last words: So much nope.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
When writing a dnf review or a review with a low rating I like to include parts of the book I liked. But there were absolutely none in Skin. In all honesty I should have dnf-ed sooner, but I am relieved that I didn’t struggle on because I’ve heard it gets even worse.
So, the reason for my dnf? I didn’t enjoy reading Skin at all and then there were the rape parts. Imagine a character is being hunted by three men and it is crystal clear that they are out for blood. Is that a situation to notice how “cute” one of them is? Are you fucking seriously?! And then the on page rape scene is written for erotic intent. HOW ABOUT NO?!
The way the male character with a ‘feminine touch’ was written read to me a lot like sexism. Add a lot of female slurs and I’m out.
If you’re interested in a review of a reader who struggled through Skin check out Sameena Jehanzbeb’s.
Last words: So much nope.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
October 31, 2024
This review is not meant to be mean-spirited. But I truly hope no one ever writes a similar book again. The misguided storytelling feeds off of harmful prejudices that reduce each character to one singular stereotyped trait. Gay men are reduced to their tight bodies. Black people are reduced to their skin color. Even NOLA is reduced to its Voodoo. I’m also still wondering if the book cover was accidentally switched with an actual psychological paranormal horror, because these elements that it boasts are completely missing. Essentially this book is smut. And I would have liked to give it another star for the hot and descriptive sex scenes, if it weren’t for the fact that the literal subject of desire in these scenes are racists and rapists. I still cant believe how often a character was referred to as “the black chick” or “the Cuban”…and then when we finally get a name of a non-white, they are either killed or it’s literally misspelled a paragraph later. The use of multiple racial slurs had no nuance, no retribution, no nothing. Actually, the racist characters were literally rewarded with multiple sex scenes because, although he said the N word, he had nice abs. I was going to offer this book to a queer reader group that I’m a part of, but I actually don’t think anyone should be reading this.
February 15, 2026
Draws you in from the first paragraph and doesn't let go after the last. with go go boys in new orleans bars; voodoo/hoodoo; steamy sex; little bit of romance leaving the reader to wish there was more.
Read
December 11, 2017Review cross-posted from Queer Sci Fi.
Baines’ slim novel Skin channels Voodoo folklore, Gothic horror, and hustler drama, and nips at the edges of fantasy, though I’d characterize the book as dark fiction with surrealistic storytelling elements, in the vein of M. Night Shyamalan’s filmography and Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. It reminded me of a ghost story and as such takes a fresh approach with characters and situations that will have appeal to fans of gay fiction.
Baines establishes the story’s tone in a horrifying opening scene: Antoine, a New Orleans drag queen, is sodomized and murdered by a gay basher on the streets of New Orleans. He leaves behind the story’s co-protagonist Kyle, who thought he had found in Antoine his first true romantic connection with another gay man. Kyle enters the story as a lost soul with baggage beyond Antoine’s death. Escaped to New Orleans from a homophobic, rural town in Louisiana, he pursues what seems to be only occupation available to him: gogo dancing at a seedy club where dancers take johns into a curtained back room for extra money.
An interwoven story follows Marc and Ash, who are also denizens of the club. Marc’s backstory is similar to Kyle’s: a country boy struggling to stay afloat in the big city. He’s deeply insecure about his gayness and his skinny body. When another dancer Ash offers to split the rent at his crash pad, Marc jumps at the opportunity. Marc is quickly swallowed into Ash’s violent and chaotic lifestyle and falls in love with the gay-for-pay, walking time bomb. This is a story that pulls no punches in portraying the realities for people living on the margins, and Marc and Ash’s violent sexual encounters are hard to read at times.
New Orleans is the perfect setting for a gritty tale with the suggestion of the supernatural, and I thought Baines did a solid job rendering the places and the mood of that world, from hustler bars and subdivided, dilapidated row houses, to Voodoo shops and tattoo parlors, urban commercialism engulfing faded grandeur. His writing is straightforward and effective, enabling action scenes to pop, pulling the reader from one scene to the next, and casting a cinematic flair on the story.
Homophobia and transphobia are ever-present themes and truly the driving force of the narrative. Both Kyle and Marc are in a battle against their own natures, while Ash cannot contain his hatred of male effeminacy (nor dark-skinned folks), and Antoine pays a brutal price for his more resolved gender expression and gayness. It’s disturbing subject matter, but doing the work of a good storyteller, Baines shows us something true about the world, and some truths are indeed raw and terrifying.
Baines’ slim novel Skin channels Voodoo folklore, Gothic horror, and hustler drama, and nips at the edges of fantasy, though I’d characterize the book as dark fiction with surrealistic storytelling elements, in the vein of M. Night Shyamalan’s filmography and Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. It reminded me of a ghost story and as such takes a fresh approach with characters and situations that will have appeal to fans of gay fiction.
Baines establishes the story’s tone in a horrifying opening scene: Antoine, a New Orleans drag queen, is sodomized and murdered by a gay basher on the streets of New Orleans. He leaves behind the story’s co-protagonist Kyle, who thought he had found in Antoine his first true romantic connection with another gay man. Kyle enters the story as a lost soul with baggage beyond Antoine’s death. Escaped to New Orleans from a homophobic, rural town in Louisiana, he pursues what seems to be only occupation available to him: gogo dancing at a seedy club where dancers take johns into a curtained back room for extra money.
An interwoven story follows Marc and Ash, who are also denizens of the club. Marc’s backstory is similar to Kyle’s: a country boy struggling to stay afloat in the big city. He’s deeply insecure about his gayness and his skinny body. When another dancer Ash offers to split the rent at his crash pad, Marc jumps at the opportunity. Marc is quickly swallowed into Ash’s violent and chaotic lifestyle and falls in love with the gay-for-pay, walking time bomb. This is a story that pulls no punches in portraying the realities for people living on the margins, and Marc and Ash’s violent sexual encounters are hard to read at times.
New Orleans is the perfect setting for a gritty tale with the suggestion of the supernatural, and I thought Baines did a solid job rendering the places and the mood of that world, from hustler bars and subdivided, dilapidated row houses, to Voodoo shops and tattoo parlors, urban commercialism engulfing faded grandeur. His writing is straightforward and effective, enabling action scenes to pop, pulling the reader from one scene to the next, and casting a cinematic flair on the story.
Homophobia and transphobia are ever-present themes and truly the driving force of the narrative. Both Kyle and Marc are in a battle against their own natures, while Ash cannot contain his hatred of male effeminacy (nor dark-skinned folks), and Antoine pays a brutal price for his more resolved gender expression and gayness. It’s disturbing subject matter, but doing the work of a good storyteller, Baines shows us something true about the world, and some truths are indeed raw and terrifying.
November 14, 2017
1.5 stars - I was given a copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
This is a difficult read. It is a disjointed collection of violent and sexual scenes without a clear narrative thread to tie them together. The blurb is the most coherent part of the book and I had to keep referring to the blurb in an attempt to make sense of what I was reading.
There are some highly erotic scenes in this story but each erotic moment is tainted with violence and almost all involve dubious consent. There is at least one graphic rape scene. And as much as the sex is violent, the violence in the book is also sexualised. The homophobic and racist slurs were constant and they just made the story uglier. Honestly, this story was far too disturbing for me.
I was also confused by the characters. The story jumps between Antoine, Marc and Kyle’s perspectives. Time kept shifting. And I couldn’t keep track of the characters. Kyle spends an entire scene with someone who is never identified. Antoine is recognisable but Marc, Kyle and Ash all seemed to blur into each other. I’m not sure we ever know any of the characters’ motivations or emotions.
And the plot. I kept waiting for something that would help me make sense of the time passing, explain the connections between individual scenes and link the few supernatural mentions to the rest of the story. But the end was even more incoherent than the beginning.
I feel like this writer was trying to emulate writers like Joyce, Vonnegut or Easton-Ellis but without any actual storytelling or character development, readers are left with a collection depraved and deeply disturbing moments. This is extremely violent erotica, not literature.
This is a difficult read. It is a disjointed collection of violent and sexual scenes without a clear narrative thread to tie them together. The blurb is the most coherent part of the book and I had to keep referring to the blurb in an attempt to make sense of what I was reading.
There are some highly erotic scenes in this story but each erotic moment is tainted with violence and almost all involve dubious consent. There is at least one graphic rape scene. And as much as the sex is violent, the violence in the book is also sexualised. The homophobic and racist slurs were constant and they just made the story uglier. Honestly, this story was far too disturbing for me.
I was also confused by the characters. The story jumps between Antoine, Marc and Kyle’s perspectives. Time kept shifting. And I couldn’t keep track of the characters. Kyle spends an entire scene with someone who is never identified. Antoine is recognisable but Marc, Kyle and Ash all seemed to blur into each other. I’m not sure we ever know any of the characters’ motivations or emotions.
And the plot. I kept waiting for something that would help me make sense of the time passing, explain the connections between individual scenes and link the few supernatural mentions to the rest of the story. But the end was even more incoherent than the beginning.
I feel like this writer was trying to emulate writers like Joyce, Vonnegut or Easton-Ellis but without any actual storytelling or character development, readers are left with a collection depraved and deeply disturbing moments. This is extremely violent erotica, not literature.
May 16, 2018
5 stars
Synopsis: Antoine is running late to meet his boyfriend, Kyle. He is dressed in a woman's suit, and runs in to some men who make him nervous. Even though he manages to elude them, one manages to find him later before he reaches his boyfriend, and Antoine is attacked and murdered.
Kyle, who hadn't really had anyone be kind to him from the time that he was a child until he met Antoine, is devastated, and all he wants is revenge. He will do anything to secure it, even consult with some of Antoine's less than savoury friends, some of whom practice voodoo.
Marc is also new to town, and takes a job as a dancer at a strip club. He shares a bed with Ash, who claims to not be gay, but also initiates touching. Ash can turn violent with little to no notice, though, and Marc is trapped in an ever tightening circle of violence with Ash and the crazy voice in his head that nobody else can hear.
What I liked: the story. The writing style. Trying to figure out what the heck was going on. The characters weren't very sympathetic, except for Antoine, but they were very clearly drawn. This was engaging with twists and turns, and chapters that were not chronological.
What I didn't like: nothing.
Overall impression: first chapter told from Antoine's POV, and then subsequent chapters alternating between Kyle and Marc. The writing was really well done: well planned and well executed. There was a definite feeling of being in the magic of New Orleans, along with the characters, while reading. The story was suspenseful and interesting. This is not a romance; more of a fable with a moral of the story, and the ending was shocking but I don't think it could have ended any other way.
*I received a copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Antoine is running late to meet his boyfriend, Kyle. He is dressed in a woman's suit, and runs in to some men who make him nervous. Even though he manages to elude them, one manages to find him later before he reaches his boyfriend, and Antoine is attacked and murdered.
Kyle, who hadn't really had anyone be kind to him from the time that he was a child until he met Antoine, is devastated, and all he wants is revenge. He will do anything to secure it, even consult with some of Antoine's less than savoury friends, some of whom practice voodoo.
Marc is also new to town, and takes a job as a dancer at a strip club. He shares a bed with Ash, who claims to not be gay, but also initiates touching. Ash can turn violent with little to no notice, though, and Marc is trapped in an ever tightening circle of violence with Ash and the crazy voice in his head that nobody else can hear.
What I liked: the story. The writing style. Trying to figure out what the heck was going on. The characters weren't very sympathetic, except for Antoine, but they were very clearly drawn. This was engaging with twists and turns, and chapters that were not chronological.
What I didn't like: nothing.
Overall impression: first chapter told from Antoine's POV, and then subsequent chapters alternating between Kyle and Marc. The writing was really well done: well planned and well executed. There was a definite feeling of being in the magic of New Orleans, along with the characters, while reading. The story was suspenseful and interesting. This is not a romance; more of a fable with a moral of the story, and the ending was shocking but I don't think it could have ended any other way.
*I received a copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 1, 2023
When I started reading this book, I didn't realize it was going to be so short, and I was surprised when it ended. There are a lot of trigger warnings for rape and gore that I would have liked to know before going into it. Fortunately, those things don't turn me off from reading a book, but still. I actually really enjoyed this book. It satisfied my need for creepy, thrilling things. The writing was good, and I liked the paranormal (fantasy?) aspects as well as the LGBTQ+ representation. The thing I liked the most was the plot twist. With this being such a short book, I wouldn't have expected it to have all it did, but since I didn't know that going into it, the plot really surprised me. I also loved that I didn't expect it at all. It was fast-paced and action-packed. Overall, I'm glad I finally read it.
August 15, 2020
Rife with lust, loathing, vengeance, homophobia and consequences, this thin novel constantly unsettles the reader in brilliant ways. Set amid the heat, sensuality and menace of a richly detailed New Orleans summer full of possibilities from the wonderful to the terrifying to the tragic, Skin starts with a murder and ends in a way that will leave you thinking for a long time. Twining between five characters and folding in themes of voodoo, displacement and yearning, the plot may seem confusing at first, but stay with this decadent gem and you'll be richly rewarded.
December 4, 2017
This was one of those books where you really have to think about whats happening.
It was paranormal mixed in with voodoo.
I did enjoy it for the majority of the book you had to go with it hoping that the ending would make it clear what was happening. There were a couple of times I thought WTF? I got confused about who was who but at the end I did have a lightbulb moment and all became clear.
It was paranormal mixed in with voodoo.
I did enjoy it for the majority of the book you had to go with it hoping that the ending would make it clear what was happening. There were a couple of times I thought WTF? I got confused about who was who but at the end I did have a lightbulb moment and all became clear.
January 10, 2018
This is NOT a romance. This is a story for the sake of telling a story and in my opinion it's brilliant. Christian takes humanity and breaks it down to it's most basic levels. Skin follows three humans and one flamboyant yet deadly voodoo spirit through the backstreets of New Orleans.
You can see my full review here: http://christinasbookshelf.net/2018/0...
You can see my full review here: http://christinasbookshelf.net/2018/0...
October 29, 2017
What strange book. Be careful what you wish for because sometimes you may getbit but not in the way you had expected. Sometimes you may just turn into the thing or person you hate the most in the world.
Kyle meets and falls in love with Antoine. Things are going great betrmween the two but one night the u expected happens and Antoine does not come home again. Instead he is brutally murdered and Kyle cannot get over the fact that the murder has gotten away with it. Do he makes a deal with a voodoo God in hopes to not only bring Antoine back too him but to finally get payback on the person that killed him in the first place.
Marc is new to town and is need of not only a job but also of a place to stay. Ash is a dancer at a local bar and takes up an interest in Marc from the moment he lays eyes on him. He offers to help Marc not only get a job as a dancer but to also help him with a place to live.
At first Marc is skeptical about staying with a stranger but Ash is ver attractive to Marc and for some reason he is drawn to him. The thing is Ash is strange. He is gay but he hates gay people, himself included but as time goes on the two grow closer to one another but at the same time Ash seems to become more and more unstable.
Everyone is not who they appear to be in this story. There is voodoo magic at work here and a lot of hurt, pain, and hatred. The question is who is who and who is the one that literally made the deal with the devil? How is it all meant to play out and who will end up being whom in the end? Is there going to be a happily ever after or are they all doomed from the start?
This was a strange read but it was a decent read. It is not my favorite. Cause honestly it was a little in the our there side of Hingis but at the same time it like draws you in and won't let you quite reading it. Anyway this is one of Jose reads you will have to decide for yourself on whether you like it or not.
Was given this galley copy for free for an open and honest review
Kyle meets and falls in love with Antoine. Things are going great betrmween the two but one night the u expected happens and Antoine does not come home again. Instead he is brutally murdered and Kyle cannot get over the fact that the murder has gotten away with it. Do he makes a deal with a voodoo God in hopes to not only bring Antoine back too him but to finally get payback on the person that killed him in the first place.
Marc is new to town and is need of not only a job but also of a place to stay. Ash is a dancer at a local bar and takes up an interest in Marc from the moment he lays eyes on him. He offers to help Marc not only get a job as a dancer but to also help him with a place to live.
At first Marc is skeptical about staying with a stranger but Ash is ver attractive to Marc and for some reason he is drawn to him. The thing is Ash is strange. He is gay but he hates gay people, himself included but as time goes on the two grow closer to one another but at the same time Ash seems to become more and more unstable.
Everyone is not who they appear to be in this story. There is voodoo magic at work here and a lot of hurt, pain, and hatred. The question is who is who and who is the one that literally made the deal with the devil? How is it all meant to play out and who will end up being whom in the end? Is there going to be a happily ever after or are they all doomed from the start?
This was a strange read but it was a decent read. It is not my favorite. Cause honestly it was a little in the our there side of Hingis but at the same time it like draws you in and won't let you quite reading it. Anyway this is one of Jose reads you will have to decide for yourself on whether you like it or not.
Was given this galley copy for free for an open and honest review
December 22, 2017
The single biggest thing I adored about this book was the portrayal of New Orleans and the uniqueness of its culture that came through in a very big way. A piece of this included the reference to voodoo that provided a combination of intrigue and a hint of evil as the story progressed. It’s not the light hearted party atmosphere of Mardi Gras on display in this story; no, it’s the seedy underbelly that takes center stage.
I wouldn’t call this a romance, but there are m/m characters and they do get busy doing what boys do best. This is a bit more of a mystery with some darker elements. Until the ending provides more clarity, I’d say that the journey through the story was a bit confusing and the characters are a little hard to distinguish from one another for quite a while. Some of them are also downright hard to like.
This book definitely pushes some thought boundaries. Be prepared for violence, death, homophobia, and paranormal/otherworldly elements. If anything, this story emphasizes that we all need to be careful what we wish for. This book represents something a little “out there” with interesting, unusual and unexpected twists for adventurous readers.
Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review through ...
- 3 hearts
I wouldn’t call this a romance, but there are m/m characters and they do get busy doing what boys do best. This is a bit more of a mystery with some darker elements. Until the ending provides more clarity, I’d say that the journey through the story was a bit confusing and the characters are a little hard to distinguish from one another for quite a while. Some of them are also downright hard to like.
This book definitely pushes some thought boundaries. Be prepared for violence, death, homophobia, and paranormal/otherworldly elements. If anything, this story emphasizes that we all need to be careful what we wish for. This book represents something a little “out there” with interesting, unusual and unexpected twists for adventurous readers.
Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review through ...
- 3 heartsNovember 12, 2017
The summary that is given for this book, while it is correct, is really vague and kind of misleading. But that is probably a good thing, otherwise, I probably would not have read this book. There is a lot of sexual content in this book, just letting you know up front. I do not typically read books with this much sex, but I am glad I let my discomfort not stop me from continuing to the end.
The story is told from three points of view, Antoine, Marc, and Kyle. They reside in New Orleans were voodoo is part of the culture. With the majority being told by Marc and Kyle. They do not know each other, but their lives are very intertwined. I will leave it at that. I am glad I went into this book knowing very little. I do wish I was more prepared for the amount of sexual content, but as I said, I got over my discomfort and read a really good story with a WOW ending. Seriously, the end was gripping. Kudos to Mr. Baines for really giving this book a spectacular ending I never saw coming. I am giving this a solid 4-star rating. I might even give it a 4.5, but Goodreads doe not do .5
The story is told from three points of view, Antoine, Marc, and Kyle. They reside in New Orleans were voodoo is part of the culture. With the majority being told by Marc and Kyle. They do not know each other, but their lives are very intertwined. I will leave it at that. I am glad I went into this book knowing very little. I do wish I was more prepared for the amount of sexual content, but as I said, I got over my discomfort and read a really good story with a WOW ending. Seriously, the end was gripping. Kudos to Mr. Baines for really giving this book a spectacular ending I never saw coming. I am giving this a solid 4-star rating. I might even give it a 4.5, but Goodreads doe not do .5
September 1, 2020
This book had me in the first chapter. I settled in expecting it to go zipping along the path to its conclusion and while it got to where I was thinking it was going the path to getting there was not what I was expecting. It zags where it should zip and zips where it zags.
Telling stories in a non-linear narrative isn't easy and Christian has written a clear path for his characters that go marching to their conclusion AND then you go WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
Skin is a story about murder, voodoo and finding yourself AND not necessarily liking what's looking back at you in the mirror. It's a smart twist of story telling that harkens back to some classic stories. I'll admit to sort of figuring out the ending early, but even then I wasn't completely right and I was still surprised.
The book leaves you with some questions but also leaves you room to interpret the story. Was it real? Was it a dream? Was it something else?
All in all, this was a good read.
Telling stories in a non-linear narrative isn't easy and Christian has written a clear path for his characters that go marching to their conclusion AND then you go WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
Skin is a story about murder, voodoo and finding yourself AND not necessarily liking what's looking back at you in the mirror. It's a smart twist of story telling that harkens back to some classic stories. I'll admit to sort of figuring out the ending early, but even then I wasn't completely right and I was still surprised.
The book leaves you with some questions but also leaves you room to interpret the story. Was it real? Was it a dream? Was it something else?
All in all, this was a good read.
October 22, 2018
This book just wasn't for me. I didn't like the time jumps in the story where have the time I didn't know where I was in the story's timeline. It felt disorganized and kept pulling me out of the story. I also never really felt connected to the characters. It was too focused on the violence and hiding the obvious twists to the story to build characters with any more depth than a cardboard cut out. It didn't help the most interesting character was killed off in the first chapter. The voodoo element felt like window dressing to the story.
October 10, 2018
*thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
1 star.
While I liked the description of this, the idea of it. This book is clearly not for me. It seemed pointless and the bad language, constant swearing just ruins it. I just really didn't enjoy it. The story did not even flow together. I got 30% of the way through and just stopped.
1 star.
While I liked the description of this, the idea of it. This book is clearly not for me. It seemed pointless and the bad language, constant swearing just ruins it. I just really didn't enjoy it. The story did not even flow together. I got 30% of the way through and just stopped.
July 21, 2022
Skin by Christian Baines.
Kyle, a young newcomer to New Orleans, is haunted by the memory of his first lover, brutally murdered just outside the French Quarter. Marc, a young Quarter hustler, is haunted by an eccentric spirit that shares his dreams, and by the handsome but vicious lover who shares his bed. When the barrier between these men comes down, it will prove thinner than the veil between the living and the dead…or between justice and revenge.
An OK read. 3*.
Kyle, a young newcomer to New Orleans, is haunted by the memory of his first lover, brutally murdered just outside the French Quarter. Marc, a young Quarter hustler, is haunted by an eccentric spirit that shares his dreams, and by the handsome but vicious lover who shares his bed. When the barrier between these men comes down, it will prove thinner than the veil between the living and the dead…or between justice and revenge.
An OK read. 3*.
April 29, 2018
Absolutely awful
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