Polished

Handled #3

by Romilly King

How deadly do you have to be to kill a killer?

Handlers are hard to kill, and to be fair most of us like the challenge when people try, but now someone is killing off handlers in bloody and complex ways.

Not my problem.

Not anymore.

I got out, I got free, and I don’t want to go back.

But someone is offering a favour if I handle this, a valuable one, and it could make all the difference to how this story ends.

Handlers don’t expect a happy ever after; most of us don’t even know what one looks like. I do, my happy ever after is blue eyed and frequently filthy and deliciously mouthy and he bends the way I want him to bend. And I could have that. All I have to do is take on one more handling, and ensure we both survive it.

The odds are not with me this time though.

I really should have kept on killing, I'm out of practice.

Polished is the third book in the Handled trilogy, it is a dark gay romance dealing with adult themes and contains graphic scenes that may upset some readers. Please heed the trigger warnings inside.

Genres: M M Romance, Dark, BDSM, Romance, Serial Killer, Abuse, Crime

Paperback

First published December 26, 2020

Reviews

[nark · Rating 1 out of 5]

changing my rating because of plagiarism.
i suppose the overwhelming amount of editing mistakes and the whole angel backstory of grayson makes complete sense now, since this was plagiarised from a destiel fanfic from ao3. 🙄

https://mobile.twitter.com/kokomroily...
https://mobile.twitter.com/lotrspnfan...

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy what a mess. Another plagiarism from Ao3
The Original post: https://archiveofourown.org/works/980...
See the twitter post from the real author Mayalaen:
https://twitter.com/Mayalaen/status/1...

[Julia (bookish.jka)]

Review removed due to plagiarism allegations.

[Saimi Vasquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nathan se ha acostumbrado los ultimos años a vivir completamente solo 2 semanas al año, cuando puede ir a visitar a Gray, pero esta vez sus vacaciones son cortadas cuando un asesino comienza a eliminar handlers y Witnesses, asi que vuelve a los Estados Unidos para ayudar en la investigacion. Lo que no espera es que Gray aparezca tambien por alla, convocado por el propio Jefe del programa Dr. GoodLove, y que no solo tenga que vivir con el miedo de si el sera el siguiente, sino con el retorno de su actitud como Handler.
Ahora solo necesitan descubrir al asesino, sus motivos y castigarlo, al modo del Programa, mientras esperan que su relacion se mantenga igual o salga mas fuerte despues de todo esto.

Para ser el final de la trilogia es bastante romantico, el misterio del asesino como tal no solo queda en segundo plano, sino que hay momentos es que casi se olvida. Sin embargo tiene sus momentos, el asesino fue algo como sacado de debajo de la manga, y la ayuda de Indi y Trans, se veia venir a leguas, asi que no hubo sorpresas.
En fin, vimos mucho romance, algunas escenas eroticas, los secundarios apenas aparecian y cuando lo hacian no ganaban casi nada a la trama (a excepcion de Indi y Trans), asi que el resto del libro resulto altamente aburrido, por lo que no voy a leer el proximo libro, que resulta estar entrelazado con la serie spin-off The Teams (que no voy a leer todavia), asi que dejo todo hasta aqui.
No fue la mejor lectura que he hecho, pero no fue tan mala, de este autor he leido cosas mejores (Delphic Agency, The Outreach), pero esta me decepciono, quizas para el proximo año le de una oportunidad al spin-off, ya veremos.

[Ziezie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Changing my rating because plagiarism is not cool!!

https://mobile.twitter.com/Mayalaen/s...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/980...

[Skirmish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Reaction: https://neverhollowed.com/2020/12/29/...
Rating: 4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away

[Maze the Amateur Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

He freezes when the needle sharp point of my blade pricks his throat. I can feel him trembling.
“Are you ready to die today, Nathan?”
I feel him swallow, “I’ve been ready since the day I met you.”

This series was a rollercoster ride! It was well-written and the angst on this book was surprising and very satisfying. Nathan and Gray came a long way during these three books, they were both wonderful and they remained engaging and intriguing characters. But Gray's redemption part bothered me a bit. It seemed forced and stilted. The sudden shift of Gray's character was unrealistic. I suppose it would be nice if the author let Gray be Gray without suddenly being "not psychopath". But aside from that, this was really a good read and I enjoyed it but not as much as I enjoyed the previous books.

It was also entertaining that Indigo participated a lot in this book as well, with his new friend Trans. Does that mean they might get a book too? Well I will definitely read it if it happens.

I will miss Nathan and Gray, they deserve the nice HEA and I'm really glad I read this whole series!

[Adaline · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rating changed cause it seems the author just likes to steal fanfics and copy them word for word. The editing of this makes a lot more sense now. It is not okay to profit from others people's work.
You can read more here https://twitter.com/KokomRoily/status... and support the actual writers.

Original review below:

Review is for the trilogy.

As soon as I read the blurb of book one I knew I had to read it. Romance, psychopaths and serial killers? I want in.

I loved the two MCs. Gray was fascinating and so was Nathan. I loved how they interacted and how they evolved with each other. I liked the mysteries, and I couldn’t put down the book.

Couple of negative things that prevented me to give this books 5 stars

- It needs a better editor. So many exclamation points! For no reason! In the middle of internal dialogue!. It drove me mad. There was also a time they confused a witness for a handler and other mini mistakes like this.

- The end for Gray. I was expecting it but it felt like a cop out.

- I wanted to see more of their relationship during those 3 years. Lots of mentions of the long distance kinky sex they had but we didn’t see any of it. I wanted to read about it! The books could have done with 50 more pages to develop more the relationship between Nathan and Gray.


But all in all I had a lot of fun with this books. They also raised a lot of ethical dilemmas that are a lot of fun to think about.

Will definitely read more of this author. (EDIT: I shall not, after all being aware of her plagiarizing books)

[JustJen "Miss Conduct" · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars - This is the final book of this Trilogy, and I am sad to see the end of Nathan and Gray’s story. Things take a bit of twist in this one. As the story begins, we see how they have been carrying on with Gray a free man on the other side of the globe while Nathan continues his work, albeit not as a Witness, while he keeps an eye on his younger brother, Indi. They have been carrying on their relationship remotely (seems much more understandable given today’s remote climate) while getting to spend a few weeks together twice a year. It has been working for them, until this latest get together when they are pulled back in to solve the mystery of who is killing witnesses/handlers.

There’s quite a bit going on in this installment. Nathan and Gray have evolved and were on a certain path, only to get yanked back into Handler/Witness mode. Gray has changed quite a bit since gaining freedom, and if you have been on this journey from the start, you will know what I’m talking about. Unfortunately, in order for them to accomplish their goals of solving the mystery, he must force himself to revert back as far as possible into psychokiller mode, which doesn’t bode very well for their personal relationship. I enjoyed watching Gray’s struggle with this, just as he struggled with leaving it behind in the first place. For someone who never experienced the feelings Nathan brought out to finally start to accept them, only to have to force himself to fight them again, was a bit heartbreaking. I just wanted these guys to find the relative peace and common ground they were on. That said, I also really enjoyed Gray the “Handler” with his bad assery and dominant nature, especially when he unleashes it on Nathan. Likewise, I love how Nathan naturally morphs into whatever role Gray needs him to be and actually satisfies his own needs in the process.

This has been a refreshingly enjoyable story that brings something a bit different to the table. I definitely recommend it and look forward to whatever is coming next from this author.

Review written for Love Bytes Reviews.

[Szidi ☼ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aww GRAY❤❤❤

I'm speechless. And happy. And sad, because it's the end of Gray and Nathan's story.

This series was a great journey and I loved every minute of it. I fell in love with Gray and Nathan easily and it's hard to say goodbye to them, but I do it happily, because at the end, they got what they deserved, and I'm happy for them.

"Someday I really need to tell Nathan exactly how much I care for him."

If this quote doesn't tell everything then nothing does. Gray is the 'dark' character in this series and he is the one who isn't capable for emotions... at least that's what you think if you haven't see through him. I saw Gray and I knew it from the beginning that he has the biggest heart and I couldn't wait to see him to recognize it himself too. And for Nathan to hear those three words from Gray. Oh, man, this book was so good! Romance all the way through the darkness.

I loved Indi and Trans, I loved that we got to see Gray and Nathan at the beginning when they were free. I loved that Gray was this strong and clever, and Nathan just went with the flow and waited for Gray to be himself again (Nathan missed 'free' Gray, but really, the Handler Gray is hot too!). It was frustrating both for Nathan and for me to see Gray become Handler again, but he did it so well, and he was right with the 'us is the sacrifice' thing.

Loved reading this book and it was just as good as the other two. I couldn't pick a favorite, I loved reading all of them. Gray and Nathan got real close to me and their story is one of my favorite this year.

Highly recommend reading this series! Dark romance all the way. With the happiest ending of all.
Gray and Nathan deserves to be happy and free and they desereves to be sweet and cute while madly in love with each other.

[**KAYCEE** · Rating 1 out of 5]

8.5.21 EDIT
Author plagiarizes

4.25 dark, delicious stars

I think I’ve found a new kink. Maybe not in RL, mind you. But reading about this dark, dangerous romance was very yummy.

As the last book (?) in the series/trilogy, I tried to savor every word. But I found myself gorging myself, page after page.

Here, we see a new side of Gray. And Gray, as well as Nathan, discover this side as well. And I must say I’m ambivalent about this. No details, of course. You have to discover it for yourselves!

Why not 5 stars?
First, the author continues using European grammar. “Whilst” shows up frequently. Just a pet peeve of mine, but it’s like nails on a chalkboard.

Second, I adore how character driven this story is, however I do like to have a little more details on the setting. Romilly frequently states the setting as Washington, and only through bits and pieces do we know it’s DC. And the fact it’s a federal agency at which Gray and Nathan works, it’s an easy deduction. But natives of Washington DC don’t always refer to their home as “Washington,” without ever mentioning DC. So, more clarity in the setting would be nice.

I hope there will be more books about Gray and Nathan that also feature Nathan’s brother, Indigo and his close friend Trans, who have been diagnosed psychopaths (little monsters) and have added a new layer of dark fun to these stories.

I’ve started a new series by Romilly as I’ve not had enough of his dark, kinky mind.

[Latecia Jennings · Rating 1 out of 5]

**UPDATE**
Earlier this year...I had the review below...now I retract...so disappointing that the author had to plagiarize. They were becoming one of the authors I so enjoyed and was excited on getting stories from...all lies...so be aware fellow readers.

That was Polished off quite nicely!

This was quite a journey for me and I loved every minute of it. Gray coming full circle...finally finding his purpose and love of his life. Nathan the constant in his life. This episode was still wonderfully dark(not so much as the first) but had some light moments(when the guys were coupling). Gray has to do one last job in order to be free and it was a struggle for him being at a different place in his life...with Nathan. The guys battle their feelings with their current relationship and everything comes to a climax towards the end. It was wonderfully climatic and a fitting end to this trilogy. I immensely enjoyed the entire series and if Romilly wants to do a spinoff with Indie...I'm all in:)

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Fuchsia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Every word was stolen. Romilly King is a plagiarist!

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polished is the final installment in the Handled trilogy by Romilly King. Darkness prevails, but out of the dark comes light, hope, and love. Polished picks up where Cleansed left off and as such is not a standalone. Gray has been “free” for a couple years now with only secret rendezvous and video calls to keep him connected with Nathan. Gray and Nathan believe that Gray has left his life as a psychopathic government-sanctioned executioner of serial killers behind, but has he?

Gray and Nathan’s sated, albeit long distance and limited, relationship is shattered with the brutal and systematic murdering of their Handler and Witness co-workers. Gray is the best, and the program needs him to bring the killing spree to an end. With a promise from on high that Gray cannot ignore, Gray returns for one last case. But to enter his alter ego of Handler there is no room for Nathan in his life. Will this final showdown destroy their strong yet tenuous connection?

Polished is a fast-paced mix of angst, resentment and twists and turns that smothers these men’s sturdy commitment and resolve to persevere. There is a bright light to end all the darkness, if only Gray and Nathan can survive their final battle. I am reminded of the movie When a Stranger Calls and the infamous line “the call is coming from inside the house,” as details unfold and the twisted reasoning for the extermination of Handlers and Witnesses unravels.

I loved the whole Handled series, from the darkness where it all began and as it morphed into the merging of a pain/pleasure and desire that fulfills Gray and Nathan’s carnal needs. Nathan is the catalyst who breaks through Gray’s manufactured existence, allowing the true and loving person to break free. Gray will never escape his past as a ruthless killer, but there is an acceptance of such which allows time to march on and mutate to a new and joyous existence that both he and Nathan deserve.

Polished is a strong conclusion to a powerful trilogy. The realization that Gray isn’t what he thought, but a persona he was molded into, turns things upside down for him and Nathan. It also explains how the last couple of years felt right and comfortable to Gray and why he struggles to challenge himself to reenter the mindset of a psychopathic killer.

The final showdown thrusts Gray’s life full circle to where it all began, bringing new meaning to his family home, known as the Mistake. As Gray and Nathan embark on their new life, they keep a firm grasp on the ties and the Handler program that brought them together. They continue their work from a new perspective, working with the “baby monsters”, Indi (Nathan’s brother) and Trans (Indi’s partner?), as well as others who enter the Handler program.

[mlady_rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 3 of 3. Read Handled and Cleansed first.

At the end of Cleansed, Gray removed his tracking chip and ran off to kill the man who abducted him as a child. But with a little help from Indigo, Nathan isn’t far behind. When Nathan arrives, Gray is hanging by his wrists while the crazy man threatens to burn Gray with hot coals from the brazier. But in the heartbeat it takes for Nathan to move from window to open door, Gray overpowers his abductor and is half way to killing him on that very same brazier. Nathan raises his gun and takes the kill from him. That way all of Gray’s kills remain sanctioned ones.

As for what comes next, having tasted freedom, Gray is unwilling to return to his cage. He says he is giving up the Handler program, but he isn’t giving up Nathan. But Nathan needs to remain in DC because of his brother. So they move into a long distance relationship, with intense vacations every six months or so.

As Polished opens, Nathan has just joined Gray in Turkey. Gray has been traveling Europe, indulging in his other interest, ancient languages. He has not killed since he left the Handler program. He saves his deviancy for pain filled sex with Nathan.

Nathan lives for his vacations with Gray. But this one is cut short. Someone is killing both Handlers and Witnesses and they need him. The moment he leaves, Gray gets his own phone call calling him home.

Nathan and Gray are put in charge of the investigation, but the roles of Handler and Witness no longer fit the same way. Gray has become a lazy tiger. He has to work to reacquire his old mindset, to rebuild his physical prowess. And he pushes Nathan away to help accomplish that.

When Nathan is taken, Gray turns to Nathan's now 16 year old brother for help. They discover the pattern. Why some Handlers and Witnesses have been killed together, while others have been killed singularly. They discover the killer, one of their own. And track back to where it begins. Nathan is being held at The Mistake.

[DaLynn B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect ending to one hell of a trilogy! The rollercoaster of emotions was…intense and even the plot twist at the end I really didn’t see coming!

Watching Gray and Nathan develop such a bond and relationship but fight for each other in all the wrong ways that they think have the best intentions!

Loved this!!!

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars. I do love my dark and different novels. Give me dark and angsty over cliche and fluff anytime (almost lol!) Another great series.

[Luna Solaris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gonna basically review all three parts here, since I've read them one after the other. I don't think these novella-length parts can be read separately, tbh.

What can I say? I'm quite disappointed. I went in expecting to enjoy some fucked up shit, but I didn't expect to feel so gross after reading it. Oh, don't get me wrong, all the murder/torture didn't phase me and the rough sex was really hot... It's the skewed portrayal of abnormal psychology that really did a number on me. I didn't think I was going to be reading someone's fanfic. It's as though the author watched too much Dexter & Twilight and ran with it.

The concepts, while greatly flawed in execution, were interesting.
The world-building which I was hoping for when I was reading the first book was slim to none. There were a lot of, how to say, "emotional descriptions" of how the main characters felt regarding the system, but not much info on its inner workings beyond the superficial.

The writing itself left a lot to be desired.
1st person is my least favorite narrative style, but I was fine with it. The odd/non-existent punctuation was pretty annoying though. Not to mention all the typos, in particular "its vs it's". Like, come on, man... Speaking of "man", the dialogue was so awkward at times. Who talks like that? The 3rd part in particular suffered from Nathan's overuse of the "come on, man" type phrases and he wasn't the only one.

Another thing that bothered me were the contradictions, the most grating ones being in characterization. The first part had Nathan being what sounded like pansexual, but going forward (and it pertains particularly to the plot of part 2) he was gay. Not all that "I'm a man, so I'm X" of his. It was so grating to read...
Then we have Gray, who started out interesting. I could hear the growly voice in my head, which was amplified but the 1st person style (the only plus to it imo, lol), but then he'd claim to not care about the type of case he was given only to later say he thought the dregs of society deserved justice, too... And then those random bits of social justice issues that were thrown about by him... I mean, I didn't disagree, it just felt so awkward for a character like that to be thinking/saying those things. Like, you could see where this was going. He was gonna be "cured" somehow. The resolution to his life/condition really grossed me out. Also, how does it even make sense? People don't just go on killing cuz "society" told them to with no consequences to their mental state. I find it very difficult to believe Gray could be so unaware of himself. It's not like he had no contact with other people or the internet. And that at the end, all he needed was to get told "the truth" about himself to "get better", despite already being so vastly different than all the nonsense he was claiming about himself. I think a story about a misguided man led astray his entire life could be an interesting one in the hands of a more capable story-teller, but that's just ain't it.

The whole series/story suffered from the author trying to shoehorn their values into the narrative. It just didn't work.
We start out with a society that has a system to rid itself from confirmed serial killers/rapists what have you... But then it ends with the author basically saying "capital punishment bad". Again, not something I disagree with, seeing as how we can so seldom be 100% sure, but in the context of the story it just didn't make any sense.

I could fill this review with many other nitpicks, but honestly, it will be an endless list.
Ok, just one more thing... I'm like 95% sure the author put the name "Trans" as a placeholder and just forgot about it.

[Kristina]

https://mobile.twitter.com/lotrspnfan...

Plagiarized removed rating

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read in the reviews about poor behavior from the author. I read this book and 3 others one after the other, before reading the reviews. I loved the uniqueness, gay Dexter if it had been sanctioned by the gov 3.5-4*. But now I just found out that this was plagiarised WTF why would someone steal a book off a fanfiction site, or steal the themes and ideas to self-publish as their own??? Greed? So 1*

[Nickel Keep · Rating 1 out of 5]

Guess who's back. Back again?

Romilly King is back. After pulling all their stuff - 'their' books, their website, their Twitter, EVERYTHING - they're back. Still plagiarising. They did the barest amount of editing, still keeping most of the stolen fanfiction, and are using it to try and turn a profit.

Let's remind Romilly that the internet never forgets, and the internet has receipts.

https://twitter.com/KokomRoily/status...

[Antisocial Recluse · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rating chnaged for evidence of author plagiarism

Enjoyable conclusion

I have to mention the model on the cover, who is a perfect face for Gray, our favorite psychopath. Good suspense, hot, filthy sex, and the requisite gore. Unexpected developments for Gray and Nathan. Engrossing.<\s>

[J.L.]

I have been made aware that a significant portion of this author's catalog are plagiarized from fanfiction. I have removed my ratings and reviews, but I am leaving this record of having read the book for my own tracking purposes. I originally read this book via Kindle Unlimited.

[Makes Lemonade · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apparently, this author likes to plagiarize their work. 👎🏼👎🏼

[Elin]

Wish they had written it and not stolen the series.

[Griffin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This entire series was plagarized from a destiel fanfic series on AO3. Doing a find/replace on names in the work of an actual writer doesn't make Romilly King one.

[Mar Tiegan · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - the author has plagiarized at least 4 of their books. I don't support thieves

[Bree · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plagiarism

[Shannon Boote · Rating 5 out of 5]

My star rating is a 4.5.

Polished is the third book in Romilly King's Handled series. I can't go into a lot of detail about this book because it is the third in a series. I will say if you don't like morally ambiguous characters, the delicacies surround the death penalty, and the interventions of a government run program to identify and use psychopaths' both for their often times superior intellect and potential deadliness, this is not your series.

To outline the general plot of book one, this is a world where psychopaths' become societies answer to the death penalty, where serial killers are hunted and handled by their own kind. Handlers are ruthless in their justice, and their kills are sanctioned by the government, basically making the Handler and their Witness, judge, jury, and executioner. There are strict guidelines that both the Handler and the witness must abide by that are meant to take the place of the archaic judicial system that often gets it wrong, imprisoning and often killing the wrong person because of race, religion, sexuality... You know our stellar judicial system that prays on the systematically oppressed among us while the government makes incarceration a business of privately run prisons that have no clear motive to rehabilitate and release because it would hurt the bottom line, but I digress. This is truly what this series does to you, it pisses you off and has you rooting for the morally Gray (you'll see why that is funny in a second) characters.

Meet Nathan, he has trained as a witness to stay close to his younger brother who he has taken care of since a young age after their mother's passing. Indi is a psychopath and in the program. Nathan is a witness because it was the only way to stay close. Nathan has been lucky so far and has not been assigned to a Handler, but luck has run out and he is not only assigned to a handler, but he is also assigned to the Handler that was the first, the programs Adam of sorts, the beginning. He is also one of the most notorious, scariest, and cruelest of Handlers if you believe the hype.

Meet Gray, he is the monster of stories meant to keep the general public in line, the invisible hand of justice, the fact that he gets off on serving that justice is just an added perk. Gray is particular and scary and when Nathan comes into his life, he is both intriguing and fun, something Gray has never encountered. Gray handles serial killings that target the most forgotten among us, those the system and the world would rather not see, hear, or help.

Gray and Nathan are hunting a murderer and when he is found, he will be served justice in a courtroom of two, the handler and the witness.

What Romilly, did so well in this series is make the attraction between Nathan and Gray palpable, it grabs you square in the chest making your heart race while you mind is saying no, no, no Nathan beware. But Gray has a way of pulling you in, the way his mind works, the way his body works. How he is that gray line between what is right and wrong. He and Nathan are polar opposites the darkness and the light, and you see how one cannot exist without the other metaphorically, physically, and emotionally. The sex in this series is graphic for those who are not into M/M romance. It is consensual but often rough, sometime brutal, and sometimes so utterly taboo that you want to look away but can't.

I ended up binging this entire series, the third book was just as deliciously wrong and right at the same time. The story lines in each intertwine to an extent although each book gives you a satisfying ending before moving on to the next mystery. The plot and characters are interesting, tortured, deviant, hopeful, and loving. The books are short, but don't feel rushed and certainly tell the story in its entirety. Lower page count's usually come with some sacrifice to the story, and I did not feel that here.

This book series is not for everyone. That said, as a whole it is well written, except for many editing errors in the this last book. If you like suspense, morally gray characters, and hot sex scenes, look no further.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

What an epic conclusion. Loved Gray and Nathan. You really feel for them and the stress put on their relationship. Poor Gray he was really just neglected on all fronts and never truly seen until Nathan. He never got what he needed and was just shuffled off to be someone else’s problem. Learning that bombshell about him by the head doc was crazy. But not shocking because you saw all grays changes over the books. Loved how Indi and trans helped.

*On an aside. Appreciated the trans topic. And the plural use of pronouns. I was a little confused at first. Took me a couple repeated pages until my brain clicked. As a nurse my brain operates on biology and treatment protocols so listening to plural pronouns as identification because a person doesn’t identify took me a minute. But it at brought the feeling home with how people can be what they want and love who and whatever they want. If it makes them happy so be it.

When indi and trans stepped up to be another sound board wow. I would honestly be interested in a spin-off about their working relationship. Because they are two handlers or ‘baby handlers’ and seeing what happens to them and potential witnesses, when’s they seem to be so symbiotic would be Intriguing. Loved the HEA. Loved the many platitudes about loving someone despite the BS. And that it sucks but it’s love. It has no rules.