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In the Company of Men #1
The Mercenary's Tale
LGBT Erotic Historical
In the Company of Men; Next Jackson's Pride
When Drake first looked into Ansel's blue eyes, he found himself breaking his own rules. Despite his better judgment, he agreed to let the young mercenary travel with him to the battle at Foray. Their travels become a journey of sexual discovery, love, and, ultimately, on the battlefield at Foray, loss.
Two years later, Drake is called to be Master of Arms at Marden Castle. Drake can handle that, but he can't handle Logan, the Duke of Marden.
Logan's green eyes, long blond hair, and boyish charm make Drake feel things he'd rather keep buried. But if Drake can open his heart again, he'll find everything he's never wanted and always a home, a son, and a man to love and who loves him.
Publisher's This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find male/male sexual practices, ménage (m/f/m, m/m/m), violence (graphic).
In the Company of Men; Next Jackson's Pride
When Drake first looked into Ansel's blue eyes, he found himself breaking his own rules. Despite his better judgment, he agreed to let the young mercenary travel with him to the battle at Foray. Their travels become a journey of sexual discovery, love, and, ultimately, on the battlefield at Foray, loss.
Two years later, Drake is called to be Master of Arms at Marden Castle. Drake can handle that, but he can't handle Logan, the Duke of Marden.
Logan's green eyes, long blond hair, and boyish charm make Drake feel things he'd rather keep buried. But if Drake can open his heart again, he'll find everything he's never wanted and always a home, a son, and a man to love and who loves him.
Publisher's This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find male/male sexual practices, ménage (m/f/m, m/m/m), violence (graphic).
125 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
19 people are currently reading
365 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Lorenz
68 books316 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(1)gay romance
I’m from New Orleans, that’s N’awlins for those of you who speak the language. I grew up in the Riverbend, or Carrollton, for the old timers, but was a Quarter rat from the age of 11, taking 3 buses to go to art class on Burgundy Street at the Cabrini Doll Museum and NORD center. I attended University of New Orleans and have a BA in Fine Art. My mother worked at Tulane University, six blocks from our house and when we were kids my brother and I parked cars in our driveway for the Saints games at Tulane Stadium. We could get six cars down the drive, two on the front lawn, and two on the street and we only charged $2 a car. We made enough to buy a coupla roast beef po’boys at Comeaux’s on Hickory St. and a snowball over at Williams Snow Ball Stand. We lived 1/2 a block from a cemetery, but doesn’t everyone in N’awlins? We used to watch jazz funerals from our front porch.
Now, my family lives in Katy, Texas. I have a “real” job, a truly supportive and understanding husband, two incredible kids, and a slightly neurotic dog. We used to have a guinea pig, but the dog killed it. Did I say slightly?
My son is 15 and has Asperger’s Syndrome (high functioning Autism) and Crohn’s Disease, and is a constant lesson in patience, acceptance and managing expectations. He’s super smart, loves video games, fencing, movies, building with legos, and hanging around the house. Like me, he believes that it’s all about him. Sometimes, I wonder if I don’t have Asperger’s, too. Oh, and he’s very handsome.
My daughter, 13, is so creative it’s scary- she loves to paint, draw manga and anima, build dioramas with any box she can get her hands on, create worlds with legos and then make movies with them, sculpt people, animals and objects with those little twist ties from the grocery store, does pottery, and wants to be a lifeguard. And she’s smart, too. And
beautiful, inside and out.
I write for a few hours in the evenings and on weekends as much as I can, without neglecting my family. (That laughter you hear is my husband) I attend a critique group, and do whatever the kids are into at the time.
(1)gay romance
I’m from New Orleans, that’s N’awlins for those of you who speak the language. I grew up in the Riverbend, or Carrollton, for the old timers, but was a Quarter rat from the age of 11, taking 3 buses to go to art class on Burgundy Street at the Cabrini Doll Museum and NORD center. I attended University of New Orleans and have a BA in Fine Art. My mother worked at Tulane University, six blocks from our house and when we were kids my brother and I parked cars in our driveway for the Saints games at Tulane Stadium. We could get six cars down the drive, two on the front lawn, and two on the street and we only charged $2 a car. We made enough to buy a coupla roast beef po’boys at Comeaux’s on Hickory St. and a snowball over at Williams Snow Ball Stand. We lived 1/2 a block from a cemetery, but doesn’t everyone in N’awlins? We used to watch jazz funerals from our front porch.
Now, my family lives in Katy, Texas. I have a “real” job, a truly supportive and understanding husband, two incredible kids, and a slightly neurotic dog. We used to have a guinea pig, but the dog killed it. Did I say slightly?
My son is 15 and has Asperger’s Syndrome (high functioning Autism) and Crohn’s Disease, and is a constant lesson in patience, acceptance and managing expectations. He’s super smart, loves video games, fencing, movies, building with legos, and hanging around the house. Like me, he believes that it’s all about him. Sometimes, I wonder if I don’t have Asperger’s, too. Oh, and he’s very handsome.
My daughter, 13, is so creative it’s scary- she loves to paint, draw manga and anima, build dioramas with any box she can get her hands on, create worlds with legos and then make movies with them, sculpt people, animals and objects with those little twist ties from the grocery store, does pottery, and wants to be a lifeguard. And she’s smart, too. And
beautiful, inside and out.
I write for a few hours in the evenings and on weekends as much as I can, without neglecting my family. (That laughter you hear is my husband) I attend a critique group, and do whatever the kids are into at the time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
May 20, 2020
Rainy day. And I felt like a challenge.
*bring it on hands*
So, I flipped to the end of my kindle library and opened the very last book. The one I’ve had for...ages.
Tada! This was the winner.
Blew off the dust and cracked this baby open.
To my surprise this romance kicks off with some sex I wasn’t expecting. Umm, okay?
Not sure I liked it to be honest (because it was unexpected) but I did like Drake. There’s just...something gravitating about him.
And I LOVED Ansel.
Okay, I can do this.
*moving on*
They are mercenaries...so lives are taken, brutally.
This is a historical...so the dialogue was appropriate.
Then...BAM...I’m angry, sad and...confused?
How can? What about? No!
*storms away from the stupid book*
*glares across the room*
The stupid book may not be so stupid..because...
*races back with grabby hands*
There’s more than half left, it will redeem itself.
It does.
There’s a wild twist that made my heart stutter.
I loved the ending.
I smiled and melted and did my happy book wiggle.
Lots of sex (m/f, m/m, m,f,m & m,m,m). 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Lots of death.
Lots of great characters.
Thank you rainy day challenge!
I have a feeling I’ll see them in my dreams tonight.
A happy family makes me...happy.
Should I read more...that is indeed the question?!
I did read it cover to cover in one sitting...that should tell me something.
*2.5/3/3.5 just-can't-decide stars*
*bring it on hands*
So, I flipped to the end of my kindle library and opened the very last book. The one I’ve had for...ages.
Tada! This was the winner.
Blew off the dust and cracked this baby open.
To my surprise this romance kicks off with some sex I wasn’t expecting. Umm, okay?
Not sure I liked it to be honest (because it was unexpected) but I did like Drake. There’s just...something gravitating about him.
And I LOVED Ansel.
Okay, I can do this.
*moving on*
They are mercenaries...so lives are taken, brutally.
This is a historical...so the dialogue was appropriate.
Then...BAM...I’m angry, sad and...confused?
How can? What about? No!
*storms away from the stupid book*
*glares across the room*
The stupid book may not be so stupid..because...
*races back with grabby hands*
There’s more than half left, it will redeem itself.
It does.
There’s a wild twist that made my heart stutter.
I loved the ending.
I smiled and melted and did my happy book wiggle.
Lots of sex (m/f, m/m, m,f,m & m,m,m). 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Lots of death.
Lots of great characters.
Thank you rainy day challenge!
I have a feeling I’ll see them in my dreams tonight.
A happy family makes me...happy.
Should I read more...that is indeed the question?!
I did read it cover to cover in one sitting...that should tell me something.
*2.5/3/3.5 just-can't-decide stars*
February 14, 2017
DNF at 40%
Listen, me and historicals may have to break up.
First sex scene is a MF scene with a whore which is completely passionless. *yewwww*. Followed by some pretty good stuff....yay. Then we have a MFM scene with another whore immediately followed by some MM dick sucking without any CLEAN UP. *huuught* No. So much no. Squicky. *shivers*
At 40% we have a major character death. I'm not gonna spoiler tag it because it's mentioned in the blurb. So I had to DNF, if it had occurred a lot earlier and I wasn't already invested in Ansel then I might've been able to get through it. But I spent almost half of the book falling in love with Ansel right along with Drake and I just couldn't deal and ya know cuz of the MF.
Listen, me and historicals may have to break up.
First sex scene is a MF scene with a whore which is completely passionless. *yewwww*. Followed by some pretty good stuff....yay. Then we have a MFM scene with another whore immediately followed by some MM dick sucking without any CLEAN UP. *huuught* No. So much no. Squicky. *shivers*
At 40% we have a major character death. I'm not gonna spoiler tag it because it's mentioned in the blurb. So I had to DNF, if it had occurred a lot earlier and I wasn't already invested in Ansel then I might've been able to get through it. But I spent almost half of the book falling in love with Ansel right along with Drake and I just couldn't deal and ya know cuz of the MF.
December 3, 2013
EtA (written after eta at end):
I liked Ansel. He was kind of a cool character. Unfortunately, the author decided to kill him off. I would flag this under a spoiler, but I feel like major character death is something an author ought to warn readers of.
Also, since I'm on this note, I don't like the cover.
Or the thing with Joss. Not himself, but the magical realization. But then, at that point, I was pretty fed up with this story, so a lot of my ire probably comes from that...
Original:
The first sex scene is a het sex scene.
Hold on, I need a moment.
Ewwwww. Het sex
Okay.
The next sex scene I don't remember. It might have been between the MC and Ansel.
But then there's a m/f/m scene.
Hold on, I need another moment.
Ewwww. Het sex. Again
And then, after some rather odd posturing (it wasn't really, but for some reason, it felt like there was tons of posturing going on)
And then there was major character death. I was not okay with that.
I couldn't enjoy any of the other romance thing after that. Well, eh. Not really. I just thought it was stupid of the author to introduce you to one LI, kill him off pretty damn fast afterwards, and then except you to just accept this other one.
I also didn't like the dynamics between the Drake and Logan. It was really weird. I felt like it was too forcedly heteronormative even though they (not sure if author or characters) tried to not do that.
I mean, there were good parts, but overall, I didn't really like it that much. I didn't hate it/dislike it, but I didn't like it either.
EtA:
I cannot believe I forgot to add this earlier, but another thing that annoyed me is the "everyone is secretly gay" thing going on, aka, the thing with Peter. Peter is married. Happily married. Madly in love. And yet, he just can't seem to resist the manly gayness of the MC and his LI (the new one). What do they do? Invite him in for a threesome and then say, "Yo. Let's possibly do this again in the future. It's not a serious thing or anything, but let's possibly do this again."
I pretty much squicked out when the devious duo asked him if he'd just fucked his wife before coming to them and he says yes.
And then they go into detail about it.
(Actually, I don't remember if they do or don't, but it's pretty squicky either way, not to mention an extreme dick move on Peter's part, except for some reason, he seems more a victim of the author's need to make the MCs seem more likeable (I dunno how xe thought making everyone want to fuck them would do that; it just makes 'em more flat, cliche, and rather dislikeable, actually. And that's putting it mildly).
I liked Ansel. He was kind of a cool character. Unfortunately, the author decided to kill him off. I would flag this under a spoiler, but I feel like major character death is something an author ought to warn readers of.
Also, since I'm on this note, I don't like the cover.
Or the thing with Joss. Not himself, but the magical realization. But then, at that point, I was pretty fed up with this story, so a lot of my ire probably comes from that...
Original:
The first sex scene is a het sex scene.
Hold on, I need a moment.
Ewwwww. Het sex
Okay.
The next sex scene I don't remember. It might have been between the MC and Ansel.
But then there's a m/f/m scene.
Hold on, I need another moment.
Ewwww. Het sex. Again
And then, after some rather odd posturing (it wasn't really, but for some reason, it felt like there was tons of posturing going on)
And then there was major character death. I was not okay with that.
I couldn't enjoy any of the other romance thing after that. Well, eh. Not really. I just thought it was stupid of the author to introduce you to one LI, kill him off pretty damn fast afterwards, and then except you to just accept this other one.
I also didn't like the dynamics between the Drake and Logan. It was really weird. I felt like it was too forcedly heteronormative even though they (not sure if author or characters) tried to not do that.
I mean, there were good parts, but overall, I didn't really like it that much. I didn't hate it/dislike it, but I didn't like it either.
EtA:
I cannot believe I forgot to add this earlier, but another thing that annoyed me is the "everyone is secretly gay" thing going on, aka, the thing with Peter. Peter is married. Happily married. Madly in love. And yet, he just can't seem to resist the manly gayness of the MC and his LI (the new one). What do they do? Invite him in for a threesome and then say, "Yo. Let's possibly do this again in the future. It's not a serious thing or anything, but let's possibly do this again."
I pretty much squicked out when the devious duo asked him if he'd just fucked his wife before coming to them and he says yes.
And then they go into detail about it.
(Actually, I don't remember if they do or don't, but it's pretty squicky either way, not to mention an extreme dick move on Peter's part, except for some reason, he seems more a victim of the author's need to make the MCs seem more likeable (I dunno how xe thought making everyone want to fuck them would do that; it just makes 'em more flat, cliche, and rather dislikeable, actually. And that's putting it mildly).
August 28, 2013
Quite enjoyed this one. Some very smexy hot scenes. It has a lot of hot sex, with a bit of plot. The lingo grows on you quickly. Straining rods and aching stones abound! I really liked Drake and Ansel together, and then Logan is a total hottie. And there's a super hot threesome. I'm off to read the next installment!
December 28, 2011
3.5
This almost seemed like two different stories to me. I LOVED the first part of the book. It showed depth of character through action (the journey, helping the captured men, the battle scenes) and everything was so tangible and strong and it just destroyed me when . There seemed to be a drastic change after that, the story lost some of its intensity and everything had a glossed over film to it, it just didn't capture me. It was still an enjoyable read overall, just wanted the first part of the book back.
This almost seemed like two different stories to me. I LOVED the first part of the book. It showed depth of character through action (the journey, helping the captured men, the battle scenes) and everything was so tangible and strong and it just destroyed me when . There seemed to be a drastic change after that, the story lost some of its intensity and everything had a glossed over film to it, it just didn't capture me. It was still an enjoyable read overall, just wanted the first part of the book back.
September 25, 2010
4,5 stars bumped to 5.
I'm not a fan of historical in MM romance (on the contrary, I prefer historical in MF romance, weird isn't it). That's why I kept saying "I'll read it after this one",... till now.
I do regret it: I love Drake. The story is really moving and got me to cry like a baby
The world is tough but he goes on with his life with a lot of heart, even if he does not admit it. There is grief but there is a HEA.
The secondary characters are really interesting (Thank God there is a sequel!!!)
The MM-Pick-it-for-me challenge really works for me: pushing me to read books I avoid because of the theme or the setting! That would have been a shame for this one.
I'm not a fan of historical in MM romance (on the contrary, I prefer historical in MF romance, weird isn't it). That's why I kept saying "I'll read it after this one",... till now.
I do regret it: I love Drake. The story is really moving and got me to cry like a baby
The world is tough but he goes on with his life with a lot of heart, even if he does not admit it. There is grief but there is a HEA.
The secondary characters are really interesting (Thank God there is a sequel!!!)
The MM-Pick-it-for-me challenge really works for me: pushing me to read books I avoid because of the theme or the setting! That would have been a shame for this one.
Read
April 21, 2010First of all I have the deep impression that Lynn Lorenz was a savage romance reader, or perhaps she is comfortable with it, cause I found a lot of common elements between those read and this novel.
Second, even if it's an historical romance, it's also an erotic romance, so you will find a lot of sex scenes, often in graphic details, but you must be aware of it cause the novel is sold as "erotic historical". So, if you think that your historical romance must be a little bit more chaste than the normal romance, you can find that this one not suit your taste. But if you have no problem with graphic sex, and take the chance to read this one, you will read a quite "classical" historical romance. I want to underline the use of the romance term: historical romance can be very detailed, but they are not "pure" historical novel. The main aspect must be the romance between the heroes (or the hero and the heroine in the old classic) and not the historical details. This doesn't mean that the author is allowed to make mistake in her use of the historical details, sometimes is better not use them other than use them in an improper way. But in The Mercenary's Tale I haven't found apparently mistake, and my taste as old historical romance reader is satisfied.
Drake (who actually is not the name of the character, but his title...) is a renegade son of a duke who makes his life as mercenary. He is on his way to sold his talents to a lord in distress and he meets Ansel, who is following the same path. Ansel is a lot younger than Drake, and eager to learn as much as possible from the older mercenary. Travelling together gives them the chance to deepen their companionship to a upper level: they become lovers, I believe a first time for both of them, even if maybe Drake has felt something for men even before. The relationship with Ansel is a matter of discovery and taken as much pleasure as they can. The night in which Drake can admit he feels something more for Ansel is also the last night they spend together, cause Andel dies in the battlefield.
Even if Drake wants only to loose himself in a drunken stupor and searches the death in battle, he is forced to honor a friendship debt, and to accept the position of Master of Amrs for Logan, a young duke. From the first time he sees the young duke, widow with a son, Drake is again kept by love: Ansel's ghost, who has haunt him for the last years begins to fade, and he can again think to a relationship with a man. Where Ansel was young and eager to rely to the older Drake, Logan is an equal match for Drake.
As I said, there is a lot of sex: not only between the main characters, but also involving some whores here and there, and also other characters (I will not give details to not spoilt the book). Everyone seems taken by Drake, who describes himself like a big man with little to draw other people and with a huge scar on his face. So maybe, what I found strange, is that everyone wants to go to bed with him, women and men alike... It's also true that this is an erotic romance, and that all the people involved in the sex charade are usually people that, in that period, take sex as a way to lessen the stress (fighters) or to gain money (whores).
All in all there are some deeply involving moments and, given that it's a romance, I like the story. Strange to me to say, but maybe I'd have liked it even if there had been less sex.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1607376164/?...
Second, even if it's an historical romance, it's also an erotic romance, so you will find a lot of sex scenes, often in graphic details, but you must be aware of it cause the novel is sold as "erotic historical". So, if you think that your historical romance must be a little bit more chaste than the normal romance, you can find that this one not suit your taste. But if you have no problem with graphic sex, and take the chance to read this one, you will read a quite "classical" historical romance. I want to underline the use of the romance term: historical romance can be very detailed, but they are not "pure" historical novel. The main aspect must be the romance between the heroes (or the hero and the heroine in the old classic) and not the historical details. This doesn't mean that the author is allowed to make mistake in her use of the historical details, sometimes is better not use them other than use them in an improper way. But in The Mercenary's Tale I haven't found apparently mistake, and my taste as old historical romance reader is satisfied.
Drake (who actually is not the name of the character, but his title...) is a renegade son of a duke who makes his life as mercenary. He is on his way to sold his talents to a lord in distress and he meets Ansel, who is following the same path. Ansel is a lot younger than Drake, and eager to learn as much as possible from the older mercenary. Travelling together gives them the chance to deepen their companionship to a upper level: they become lovers, I believe a first time for both of them, even if maybe Drake has felt something for men even before. The relationship with Ansel is a matter of discovery and taken as much pleasure as they can. The night in which Drake can admit he feels something more for Ansel is also the last night they spend together, cause Andel dies in the battlefield.
Even if Drake wants only to loose himself in a drunken stupor and searches the death in battle, he is forced to honor a friendship debt, and to accept the position of Master of Amrs for Logan, a young duke. From the first time he sees the young duke, widow with a son, Drake is again kept by love: Ansel's ghost, who has haunt him for the last years begins to fade, and he can again think to a relationship with a man. Where Ansel was young and eager to rely to the older Drake, Logan is an equal match for Drake.
As I said, there is a lot of sex: not only between the main characters, but also involving some whores here and there, and also other characters (I will not give details to not spoilt the book). Everyone seems taken by Drake, who describes himself like a big man with little to draw other people and with a huge scar on his face. So maybe, what I found strange, is that everyone wants to go to bed with him, women and men alike... It's also true that this is an erotic romance, and that all the people involved in the sex charade are usually people that, in that period, take sex as a way to lessen the stress (fighters) or to gain money (whores).
All in all there are some deeply involving moments and, given that it's a romance, I like the story. Strange to me to say, but maybe I'd have liked it even if there had been less sex.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1607376164/?...
May 14, 2011
I found this book too saccharine, the conflict nonexistent and I found that many things were skimmed over that needed more depth. We never saw Drake grieve and very little internal struggle about falling in love again. For a country at war there was very little blood and the small crisis at the end was anticlimactic at best. The story was well written and the world was interesting but I felt that the book's potential was unfulfilled.
August 29, 2019
What I Think: Courtesy of GRRC’s free monthly giveaway, this tale was a pleasant surprise as I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Coming on the heels of some heavy reading I had done, it was just what I needed. Simple and straightforward, it was exactly how I would expect a mercenary to sound. It was compelling because it was like reading a biography and the tiny voyeur in me had to see it through. Just like the most life-changing events in our lives begin with an innocuous event, the tale begins with a meeting in which Drake finds himself agreeing to take on a student against his earlier decision to never do so. Drake is blunt and takes life as it comes, rolling with the punches. He and Ansel fall for each other so naturally and sweetly that it made the grief heavy yet, this Authoress’ writing is so well-paced that it doesn’t let us grieve for long which makes the grief bearable. It was a reinforcement to me of one of my life’s principles which is to ensure that at all times, even when we’re fighting and in disagreement, I must ensure that my loved ones know I love them every second of every minute of every day because life is annoyingly short. My prudish self did read a few parts peeking in between my fingers because Drake is apparently a randy bastard and the lovemaking is mischievous yet sensual. From Drake’s loving to his teaching style and the way he deeply cares for the people around him while gaining their trust and loyalty, its obvious that this merc has a heart of gold and I found myself wishing for him to find exactly what the Authoress delivered. Friends like Jackson are priceless as he is one of those who not only help Drake accept his newly discovered sexuality but also goes out of his way to help him start a new life. I can’t wait to get my hands on Jackson’s tale!
Verdict? A delightfully earthy romp through the Medieval ages that proves love truly knows no gender!
https://thequilleandlampe.wordpress.c...
Verdict? A delightfully earthy romp through the Medieval ages that proves love truly knows no gender!
https://thequilleandlampe.wordpress.c...
August 17, 2019
This was sooo good. I just could not put this down. Now to check out the others in the series,
May 15, 2014
I’m sorry to say I can’t recommend it
Warning: This review contains a SPOILER. The SPOILER is hinted at in the book’s blurb and is stated outright in other reviews, but I’m still warning readers in case they haven’t read those things. I’m including the SPOILER in my review because it’s the sort of thing I wish I had known before reading the story. It upset me, and I wouldn’t have read the book if I’d known about it.
Rating: 4/10
PROS:
- The sex scenes are plentiful and graphic. Lorenz obviously enjoys writing the erotic parts of her erotic novels. (Possible slight SPOILER here: two sex scenes contain a female participant.)
- Drake’s fatalistic attitude is both sad and amusing at times.
- There’s a sweet sense of family at the story’s close. Few of the characters are biologically related, but they all sort of adopt one another informally, and I liked that.
CONS:
- There are situations throughout that I found contrived, particularly given the story’s historical setting. The two main characters are repeatedly finding ways in which to engage in physical contact with each other. This builds sexual tension, sure, but some of their actions seemed rather far-fetched to me.
- The writing is very clumsy and/or simplistic at times (example: “Ansel placed one knee on the ledge and spread himself to me. That was the moment I decided I was going to [you know what] him”…and I’m thinking, “No. Really?”). And some plot points are left trailing off at the end, never resolved.
- (WARNING: SPOILER to follow…) SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
One of the main characters dies about 40% of the way through. The other man goes on to find love with someone else, so technically everything ends well, but I was NOT amused to discover that one of the men I had spent nearly half of the story getting to know dies.
Overall comments: Looking at this objectively, I admit it’s not a terrible story. I just didn’t like it. There are a couple of issues in it that I think will bother some readers (specifically, m/f sex scenes and the spoiler mentioned above). In spite of those, though, it’s not a bad adventure story; I just prefer books that go deeper into the characters’ emotions than this one does. I felt as though the author were trying to write a bit of an epic, following one man’s journey through a fairly extended period of his life, but the story simply doesn’t explore its subject deeply enough.
Warning: This review contains a SPOILER. The SPOILER is hinted at in the book’s blurb and is stated outright in other reviews, but I’m still warning readers in case they haven’t read those things. I’m including the SPOILER in my review because it’s the sort of thing I wish I had known before reading the story. It upset me, and I wouldn’t have read the book if I’d known about it.
Rating: 4/10
PROS:
- The sex scenes are plentiful and graphic. Lorenz obviously enjoys writing the erotic parts of her erotic novels. (Possible slight SPOILER here: two sex scenes contain a female participant.)
- Drake’s fatalistic attitude is both sad and amusing at times.
- There’s a sweet sense of family at the story’s close. Few of the characters are biologically related, but they all sort of adopt one another informally, and I liked that.
CONS:
- There are situations throughout that I found contrived, particularly given the story’s historical setting. The two main characters are repeatedly finding ways in which to engage in physical contact with each other. This builds sexual tension, sure, but some of their actions seemed rather far-fetched to me.
- The writing is very clumsy and/or simplistic at times (example: “Ansel placed one knee on the ledge and spread himself to me. That was the moment I decided I was going to [you know what] him”…and I’m thinking, “No. Really?”). And some plot points are left trailing off at the end, never resolved.
- (WARNING: SPOILER to follow…) SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
One of the main characters dies about 40% of the way through. The other man goes on to find love with someone else, so technically everything ends well, but I was NOT amused to discover that one of the men I had spent nearly half of the story getting to know dies.
Overall comments: Looking at this objectively, I admit it’s not a terrible story. I just didn’t like it. There are a couple of issues in it that I think will bother some readers (specifically, m/f sex scenes and the spoiler mentioned above). In spite of those, though, it’s not a bad adventure story; I just prefer books that go deeper into the characters’ emotions than this one does. I felt as though the author were trying to write a bit of an epic, following one man’s journey through a fairly extended period of his life, but the story simply doesn’t explore its subject deeply enough.
December 30, 2015
Original review on Molly Lolly
Four stars!
I’m going to start by saying this book is not for everyone. It’s not a typical romance in that the end couple isn’t immediately obvious, and the characters have sex, on page, with people not in the end couple. If that’s not your thing, that’s completely fine but skip this book. If you want to be taken on an emotional journey with love and loss, and new love, with betrayal and a fabulous story you can’t put down until the end where there’s an amazing happy ending, then definitely pick up this book.
Drake is such an interesting character. He doesn’t trust easily but once you have his loyalty, he will do anything for you. I had to shift my perception a bit as I was reading since there are some sex scenes that are with other people. Some are menage scenes with Drake and his partner and an extra. They didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story but I also feel they could have been excluded and the story wouldn’t have suffered. I loved how Drake took care of Joss when he arrived at Marden. Those two created a wonderful bond that by the end you could tell how much those two loved each other. The scene where Drake asks Joss to be more important in his life was beautiful. I hope we get to see Joss and Tomas some more in the next books in the series. Maybe they’ll even get their own story as they come of age? Please?
Four stars!
I’m going to start by saying this book is not for everyone. It’s not a typical romance in that the end couple isn’t immediately obvious, and the characters have sex, on page, with people not in the end couple. If that’s not your thing, that’s completely fine but skip this book. If you want to be taken on an emotional journey with love and loss, and new love, with betrayal and a fabulous story you can’t put down until the end where there’s an amazing happy ending, then definitely pick up this book.
Drake is such an interesting character. He doesn’t trust easily but once you have his loyalty, he will do anything for you. I had to shift my perception a bit as I was reading since there are some sex scenes that are with other people. Some are menage scenes with Drake and his partner and an extra. They didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story but I also feel they could have been excluded and the story wouldn’t have suffered. I loved how Drake took care of Joss when he arrived at Marden. Those two created a wonderful bond that by the end you could tell how much those two loved each other. The scene where Drake asks Joss to be more important in his life was beautiful. I hope we get to see Joss and Tomas some more in the next books in the series. Maybe they’ll even get their own story as they come of age? Please?
September 18, 2023
The Mercenary's Tale is the first book in the In the Company of Men series, and it is a tale of two halves. In the first half, we have Drake and Ansel. Unfortunately, as happens in war zones, Ansel dies a tragic death, leaving Drake broken. Two years later, when he is still trying to lose himself in the bottom of a mug of ale, he is asked by a friend to help him. This leads him to Logan, a widower with a young boy.
Both parts of this story were good, and it was a very brave decision by the author to kill off Ansel after investing so much time and energy into his character. Even though I sort of guessed it was coming (it is in the blurb after all), it still came as a shock.
This was an easy-to-read novella, with plenty of hot scenes. Everything is easy, and everyone is gay 😉 All in all, a great coffee break book.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 2, 2019
Both parts of this story were good, and it was a very brave decision by the author to kill off Ansel after investing so much time and energy into his character. Even though I sort of guessed it was coming (it is in the blurb after all), it still came as a shock.
This was an easy-to-read novella, with plenty of hot scenes. Everything is easy, and everyone is gay 😉 All in all, a great coffee break book.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 2, 2019
August 23, 2012
Not really my cup of tea. The writing was not bad but the plot seemed haphazard and the setting slightly off. The country seemed poor but there was an abundance of warm water for bathes, candles were burning wastefully through the night, single rooms were expected at the inns instead of shared beds or a bench in the tap room. Later in the story was a grave danger of enemy raiders sneaking into the country to hack off random folk's hands for a bounty. Instead of immediately sending some peasants to the frontier fords and bridges, ready to raise an alarm, they waited for months to build proper watch posts. 2 point something stars.
August 10, 2012
The first half of the story was a true love story, I cried :'( I give it 5 stars. The second half? Meh, I've had so much better, I give it 1 star. Combined I give an overall 3 stars. I could have gone without the second half of Drake's journey. I can deal with erotica without love as much as the next person, but don't give me a beautiful erotica-romance in the beginning then sub-par 'romance' in the end.
Read
June 8, 2022Ansel dies?! I’m outta here. I had the vibe from the phrasing in a scene around 20% that something was going to change in the future. I hadn’t read the blurb. I am sad about this plot point. 😢 This was so ‘Lion and the Crow.’ Three years later and I still well up about that book, as excellent as it was. I cannot rate this book/low rate, as it is up to the author how the plot goes and the blurb is a warning and they played fair with the reader.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2012
2.7 - I do not have a lot to say for this review. I wanted so much more from this book. The foundation is solid. The characters are solid, the world is vivid enough, but I was left felling unengaged with it overall. I think it needed to be a lot longer and a lot deeper.
September 2, 2013
While not the best writing, I still loved the characters and the story. I was surprised for such an erotic book it still had romance and a plot...I even cried several times. Moving on to Jackson's story ASAP.
3.5 Stars
3.5 Stars
May 30, 2017
★★☆☆☆½ ~ 2.5 Stars
Relatively innocuous story. Has m/f if you don't like that in your m/m.
Relatively innocuous story. Has m/f if you don't like that in your m/m.
December 20, 2017
Passably weak historical romance by a writer whose work is hit-and-miss for me. As much as I derive entertainment from her werewolf stories (the Rougaroux and especially the WereWolf Fight League series delight me), she does not seem particularly adept at catching the spirit of any past epoch, presently a very vaguely medieval Britain, the olden language of whom she attempts to capture the feel of by dropping a modicum of wizened inflections while remaining extremely fuzzy about the realia. Without such a gift for writing period pieces, which can only arise out of extensive semi-scholarly reading, this warrior tale falls flat; all the more so since the sole character one could not help but root for gets killed off by the one-third mark, leaving us with warrior-for-sale Drake, about whom the most I can claim is that he evinces little interest. The storytelling is all wrong, to the extent that the part that focuses on Drake and Ansel not only fails to cohere with the much longer portion in which Drake toils alone to cope with the mediocre plot, but actually far outshines it, leaving us with a badly dragging story whose all too neat ending reeks of desperation to leave the reader on a bubbly feeling. Even though she clearly had ventured far outside of her comfort zone, Mrs Lorenz manages to remain suitably smooth - by which I mean no more than that she still writes tolerably well; thus the two stars.
June 5, 2021
Don't let the crappy cover turn you away from reading this story. I passed over it twice before picking it up. Drake is awesome. Both Ansel and Logan are strong men and more than worthy of love. Love came quickly though I'm not sure of its depth. Maybe there just weren't many men to love with the thinking of the day. Regardless, this fairly short was filled with everything I was looking for at the time.
May 17, 2017
I am sucker for medieval stories and when I came across this set I snapped it up. I have just finished this story and loved it. A great read and hot! And loved the twist with the Page! That was touching. Now off to read second story in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2020
More and more I am liking historical fantasy MM ...This was a first read by this author but I really liked her style.
Drake is dominant in each pairing but I think I preferred him with Ansel..
Drake is dominant in each pairing but I think I preferred him with Ansel..
Read
December 31, 2016***2016 has been a very unstable year. Not only have I lost favourite role models in droves, I have been into dark places more times than I could count. Yes, I experienced highlights as well but the darkness has had a big impact this year and the only way to keep it at bay was reading, mass reading, back to back books with no stopping and no reviewing. I do apologize to all the writers that I won’t be able to review their books yet but I will get to it. Promise!***
June 3, 2017
Scorching & Touching
NOTE: I have read all five novels in the series and IMHO the chronology is wrong in the volume numbers. I strongly suggest you read them in the following order: The Mercenary’s Tale, His Duke’s Gift, Silent Lodge, Jackson’s Pride, Baymore’s Heir. All of these books are roughly half filled with extended and descriptive carnal scenes. Given the era this is not surprising but the depth of homoeroticism is a surprise, and a welcome one.
This review covers the two involving Drake and Logan (introducing Peter).
The Mercenary's Tale
Here's an MM historical with tremendous heat and touching moments of love that swirls around a plot that is a bit unconventional but rationally played out.
The era is never defined, though I would say it's Great Britain in the Dark Ages. The narrator is the fascinating mercenary Drake, a mid-30s warrior who hires himself out for reasons that become clear in the second half of the book. He reluctantly takes on Ansel, a early 20s pupil to teach the finer aspects of war, and they fall hopelessly in love with scenes out of bounds--but delicious. Then tragedy strikes.
The second half of the book is superb. Drake finds himself in charge of the armed forces of Duke Logan of Marden, a serious blond hunk about his age, and what transpires is pure fantasy and totally inspirational.
No spoilers, but the hints include the Duke's six-year-old son Tomas and Drake's new 10-year-old page Joss. In the end it's family that counts, and this one is exceptionally strong.
His Duke's Gift
Logan and Drake have settled into domestic bliss with their sons and it is the first yuletide season for all of them. The Twelfth Night tradition requires many banquets and gifts, and the catch here is the crimp that Logan puts into the festivities when he welcomes a total stranger, a ginger Scotsman, into the household with no explanation and increasing mystery. This leads to all sorts of jealous spats and near violence, but in the end the gift of the season turns out to be a wonderful denouement to a lovely series.
NOTE: I have read all five novels in the series and IMHO the chronology is wrong in the volume numbers. I strongly suggest you read them in the following order: The Mercenary’s Tale, His Duke’s Gift, Silent Lodge, Jackson’s Pride, Baymore’s Heir. All of these books are roughly half filled with extended and descriptive carnal scenes. Given the era this is not surprising but the depth of homoeroticism is a surprise, and a welcome one.
This review covers the two involving Drake and Logan (introducing Peter).
The Mercenary's Tale
Here's an MM historical with tremendous heat and touching moments of love that swirls around a plot that is a bit unconventional but rationally played out.
The era is never defined, though I would say it's Great Britain in the Dark Ages. The narrator is the fascinating mercenary Drake, a mid-30s warrior who hires himself out for reasons that become clear in the second half of the book. He reluctantly takes on Ansel, a early 20s pupil to teach the finer aspects of war, and they fall hopelessly in love with scenes out of bounds--but delicious. Then tragedy strikes.
The second half of the book is superb. Drake finds himself in charge of the armed forces of Duke Logan of Marden, a serious blond hunk about his age, and what transpires is pure fantasy and totally inspirational.
No spoilers, but the hints include the Duke's six-year-old son Tomas and Drake's new 10-year-old page Joss. In the end it's family that counts, and this one is exceptionally strong.
His Duke's Gift
Logan and Drake have settled into domestic bliss with their sons and it is the first yuletide season for all of them. The Twelfth Night tradition requires many banquets and gifts, and the catch here is the crimp that Logan puts into the festivities when he welcomes a total stranger, a ginger Scotsman, into the household with no explanation and increasing mystery. This leads to all sorts of jealous spats and near violence, but in the end the gift of the season turns out to be a wonderful denouement to a lovely series.
December 30, 2012
The Mercenary’s Tale is a wonderful story that pulled me in from the very beginning and didn’t let go until I’d finished the last word. I’ll be perfectly honest; I rarely read historical novels, no matter who the author, but I’m happy I took the chance on this one. Not only did it introduce me to a new wonderful author, but it’s given me the opportunity to read this great series.
The storyline is written in two sections…almost like two stories, and Drake is the man who ties them together. I have to say I loved Ansel, and had a real feeling of sadness when he was killed outside Foray. I wasn’t certain what would become of Drake as he sank deeper into depression, or how Ms. Lorenz would go about saving him from grief. The introduction of Jackson’s character and his offer of a job was just what Drake needed…he needed someone else to help, someone other than himself to focus his attention on. And when I discovered Jackson was playing matchmaker between Drake and Logan, I liked him all the more.
There are few secondary characters in this story, but when they appear, they play a vital role, leading the story into an important new direction, and adding more depth. The most important of these are Tomas, Logan’s son and Joss, the young orphan who becomes Drakes page. The relationship between these boys and the men of our story is tender, caring and heartwarming, showing both Drake and Logan as loving fathers.
I can’t recommend this well-written and plotted historical gay romance enough. It has everything needed to make a great read…love, honor, death, angst, blistering hot passion, and the chance at future happiness between two intriguing and likable men.
The storyline is written in two sections…almost like two stories, and Drake is the man who ties them together. I have to say I loved Ansel, and had a real feeling of sadness when he was killed outside Foray. I wasn’t certain what would become of Drake as he sank deeper into depression, or how Ms. Lorenz would go about saving him from grief. The introduction of Jackson’s character and his offer of a job was just what Drake needed…he needed someone else to help, someone other than himself to focus his attention on. And when I discovered Jackson was playing matchmaker between Drake and Logan, I liked him all the more.
There are few secondary characters in this story, but when they appear, they play a vital role, leading the story into an important new direction, and adding more depth. The most important of these are Tomas, Logan’s son and Joss, the young orphan who becomes Drakes page. The relationship between these boys and the men of our story is tender, caring and heartwarming, showing both Drake and Logan as loving fathers.
I can’t recommend this well-written and plotted historical gay romance enough. It has everything needed to make a great read…love, honor, death, angst, blistering hot passion, and the chance at future happiness between two intriguing and likable men.
September 4, 2016
He called his horse, Horse. I knew in that instant that Drake would become dear to me and, he is. Hahaha! Overall, I would recommend this tale to everyone who fancies this genre. I usually prefer my stories to have some heat in them but this was... HOTTTT! I hold no doubt that I had smoke coming outta my ears until the last chapter. The children were wonderful additions. They give the reader a view(and good reason) to love the heroes as dad's and not just as romantic interests. The story was interesting enough and the way the characters are molded makes you like each one of them for their own very distinct merits.
On to less hearty matters, it is not to say that I did not find some aspects of this lacking so, in this my new resolve to be more organized and consistent in my reviews, let the bullet points commence:
- It was largely Drake's POV. No background, thoughts or hints about Ansel. Nadah. It was a bit better for Logan, at least we could get a glimpse to some of his thoughts but not much else.
- Hold your horses! Some important events felt so rushed and hanging. No buildup and not much tension specially in the 2nd half of the book. Ansel and Drake went from hidden attraction/friendship to lovers faster than Drake can pull his sword.
I'll not judge too much more on this because I know that there is yet more books in the series and that our heroes here may feature again in some of them, I hope, and I may change my mind on a few things. :D
On to less hearty matters, it is not to say that I did not find some aspects of this lacking so, in this my new resolve to be more organized and consistent in my reviews, let the bullet points commence:
- It was largely Drake's POV. No background, thoughts or hints about Ansel. Nadah. It was a bit better for Logan, at least we could get a glimpse to some of his thoughts but not much else.
- Hold your horses! Some important events felt so rushed and hanging. No buildup and not much tension specially in the 2nd half of the book. Ansel and Drake went from hidden attraction/friendship to lovers faster than Drake can pull his sword.
I'll not judge too much more on this because I know that there is yet more books in the series and that our heroes here may feature again in some of them, I hope, and I may change my mind on a few things. :D
August 10, 2015
The Mercenary's Tale - Lynn Lorenz
4 stars
I was given this book for an honest review by Inked Rainbow Reads.
This story begins with Drake and Ansel and ends with Drake and Logan. I loved how this story evolved. While I really enjoyed the chemistry and dynamic between Ansel and Drake, it was their love for each other that I really enjoyed.
After disaster hits for Drake, he tries to move forward, but seems stuck. His friend Peter is a meddlesome man, but I loved his character all the same. I wish that I was able to learn what happened to him.
Logan is a man who is trying to find a place for both himself and his son, one who wants to live a more normal life, foregoing his title. Tomas and Logan are quite the pair and I really liked how you were able to see Logan parent his son in a way that showed that Tomas needed to respect both his title and the people who worked for him.
Drake's character is somewhat more wary of beginning again due to his previous disaster. Then he meets Joss and finds himself being able to connect with Ansel once again through Joss. Drake takes Joss and creates his own family. When Drake and Logan allow themselves the relationship that we all know is going to happen, not only do they find love again, but they find a wonderful family for both Tomas and Joss.
I liked this story well enough, even if the style of writing was a little harder for me to wade through.
4 stars
I was given this book for an honest review by Inked Rainbow Reads.
This story begins with Drake and Ansel and ends with Drake and Logan. I loved how this story evolved. While I really enjoyed the chemistry and dynamic between Ansel and Drake, it was their love for each other that I really enjoyed.
After disaster hits for Drake, he tries to move forward, but seems stuck. His friend Peter is a meddlesome man, but I loved his character all the same. I wish that I was able to learn what happened to him.
Logan is a man who is trying to find a place for both himself and his son, one who wants to live a more normal life, foregoing his title. Tomas and Logan are quite the pair and I really liked how you were able to see Logan parent his son in a way that showed that Tomas needed to respect both his title and the people who worked for him.
Drake's character is somewhat more wary of beginning again due to his previous disaster. Then he meets Joss and finds himself being able to connect with Ansel once again through Joss. Drake takes Joss and creates his own family. When Drake and Logan allow themselves the relationship that we all know is going to happen, not only do they find love again, but they find a wonderful family for both Tomas and Joss.
I liked this story well enough, even if the style of writing was a little harder for me to wade through.
March 13, 2020
How do I review this book? On the one hand the author made some brave plot choices and I appreciate that. On the other hand, there were a lot of scenes that didn't vibe with me at all and the writing style wasn't my favourite either. Nevertheless I enjoyed the book though I won't be continuing with the series.
November 18, 2013
I really enjoyed this story, first in a series in which I'd already read the second book, Jackson’s Pride. It's highly erotic so if someone doesn't like explicit sex, this is not the book for you. On the other hand....
This is a historical story, the story of Drake a mercenary who is joined along the road to enlist in another war by Ansel, a handsome young merc going to the same place. The two fall in love along the way and Drake realizes that he's never felt this depth of emotion for another human being. Unfortunately, they are separated when they reach their destination
Two years later, Drake is contacted by his old friend Jackson and asked to come to the Duke of Marden's castle to assume Jackson's position as captain while Jackson is away. This begins the second phase of this story where Drake slowly recovers from his past pain and falls in love not only with Logan, the Duke, but also with his young page, Joss, who ultimately becomes Logan's son.
This story satisfies the warm and fuzzy lovey feeling evoked by a great romance and a nice HEA for a well-liked hero.
This is a historical story, the story of Drake a mercenary who is joined along the road to enlist in another war by Ansel, a handsome young merc going to the same place. The two fall in love along the way and Drake realizes that he's never felt this depth of emotion for another human being. Unfortunately, they are separated when they reach their destination
Two years later, Drake is contacted by his old friend Jackson and asked to come to the Duke of Marden's castle to assume Jackson's position as captain while Jackson is away. This begins the second phase of this story where Drake slowly recovers from his past pain and falls in love not only with Logan, the Duke, but also with his young page, Joss, who ultimately becomes Logan's son.
This story satisfies the warm and fuzzy lovey feeling evoked by a great romance and a nice HEA for a well-liked hero.
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