Without One Plea

by Ben Mitchell

When Chet Monroe is offered a job as a law professor at a university near his hometown of Mission Springs, Mississippi, he jumps at the chance to get away from the bustle of New York City and start a new life. The small town is happy to welcome home a successful native son.Chet doesn't come home alone, however. He brings with him his longtime lover, Drew Weatherly, who takes a job at the local bank. The men know that the town may not be accustomed to an openly gay couple, but their plan is to slowly gain acceptance, easing the neighborhood into an understanding of their relationship. Everything seems to be going well until the local Baptist minister, Brother Gene, begins to suspect that the two men are more than just friends, and he's squarely against allowing them to work their way into the community on their own terms.As tensions begin to rise, Chet is accused of the raping a local boy he befriended. Now, winning over the community is no longer a choice but a necessity if he's to keep his freedom in Without One Plea.

Genres: M M Romance

420 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[GymGuy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had some positives, but the negatives far out-numbered them.

One the plus side: The story line was different, and it was interesting to read a story about a committed couple. Technically I didn't see any spelling/punctuation errors, a problem too common in books of this ilk.

However, on the minus side: It was far too long. If you cut out the unnecessary dialog tags, you could have eliminated 10% right there: there was hardly a quote in the book that didn't start or end with a tag. Every character in the story does not need a name, and there were far too many. I didn't understand how what wine was being purchased, or what was being fixed for dinner, or whether the air conditioning was turned on advanced the story. I also didn't understand even the basic premis: If you don't want to come out, then don't move back to a small conservative town full of mindless people controlled by mind-controlling preacher. First Chet said that they couldn't afford Oxford, but then a couple chapters later we find that money is of no consequence. But what I really didn't like was that the characters were all just stereotypes. Gays good. Baptists bad. I'm not just sticking up for Baptists. I'm just saying that the characters were all just cookie-cutter personalities.

Interesting concept. Poorly executed.

[Lanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed every page of the book. I liked the details because I felt as if it helped the reader totally engage with the characters. The author helped the reader really identify the struggles the MC went through after making a choice to help his mother. I loved the tug of war that was going on in his heart, but yet he always made decisions that considered others. An eye opening book about the emotions and feelings that many people have to experience.

[jules0623 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great idea, poorly executed. I wasn't particularly invested in the outcome for the MC - he was a bit of an asshole, tbh - because I didn't know or care enough about him. A good third of the book was useless information that had no bearing on the story in any way except to fill pages, which made the going tedious at times.

[Ramble Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written book - very intense and I enjoyed every page of it