Mortal Enemies

by J.L. Farnsworth

A simple drug bust—that’s all it was supposed to be—but when the targeted dealer turns the tables, ex-Navy SEAL and LAPD narcotics officer Tyler Michaels finds himself the target of an old adversary, a killer who wants Tyler not just to die… but to die a very slow and very painful death.

There are secrets in Tyler’s past, and not even his lover, Dr. Ryan Douglas, is aware of them. While Tyler's being hunted, those secrets slowly begin to surface and threaten to destroy him—and his new life with Ryan. As his world begins to cave in, Tyler struggles with a host of other keeping his bisexuality a secret, dealing with an antagonistic boss, and proving to his best friend and partner, Detective Tommy Carmikael, where his loyalties lie.

Now a leak in the police department is threatening his case and his past is rearing its ugly head, and Tyler is left grasping desperately to stop the crisis—and his life—from spiraling out of control.

Genres: M M Romance, LGBT, Military Fiction

358 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2010

About the author

JL Farnsworth lives in a tiny little town in Michigan with her husband, her three children, handful of dogs, cats and ducks. She loves to write, read, and travel, and thinks it would be pretty neat to one day live all over the world, just to try out different places.

After publishing her first book, JL had to take a hiatus after an accident, but is now back to writing full time and cannot wait to see the publication of the second in series to the Tyler Michaels Chronicles. She is also working on several other books, in several different genres because she can't just choose one.

She loves to meet new people, and is friendly and outgoing, and looks forward to making new friends on Goodreads.

Reviews

[Bubbles Hunty Honest & Direct Opinions · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I am at 10% and so far it is awful but I am going to force myself to read more try to make it to at least 15%...

Stuff I don’t like so far:

Bad guy is named Harry Jackson for real real not for play play that is his name.

The Main Character, Tyler is way Too Stupid To Live. He should have been dead from chapter 1. He keeps making same mistakes over and over. Never waits for back up, doesn’t get search warrants, breaks into suspect’s homes, steals evidence, and lost stolen evidence just so stupid. And his captain knows he did it and doesn’t care???

Tyler has been beat senseless, beat some more, stabbed in stomach, jumped out of window, refused to go in the ambulance, went to ER where all they do is stitch his stomach and a few hours later he is leaving the hospital and everyone is just like he was a minute away from dying from blood loss but here he is walking away to go after Harry Jackson again. Like seriously he has broken ribs, a concussion, knife wounds, and a few hours later he is walking out of hospital still working a case?

He apparently has a lover, Ryan for 4 years we have briefly met him as a I reader I can feel no connection between them. They barely see each other and when they do it is for a few minutes like we know nothing about them as a couple or why Ryan would put up with such an idiot boyfriend that is almost always dying. Just blah

For some reason all characters are described as ‘about Tyler’s build, maybe two inches taller’ and of his 3 friends at least two seem to be described the same and even have the same birth year. I assume this might mean something later on or the author is just lazy with descriptions

The writing is like general second person and I just don’t like the style. It seems so impersonal and we get lots of details but nothing intimate or interesting.

I am 10% and it is the third time Tyler has been captured by Harry Jackson and is again being beaten and talked to.

The second time Harry Jackson captures Tyler, Tyler tells Harry Jackson he knows his name. Harry Jackson says ‘finally figured that out?’ and Tyler goes ‘no, your boy Marty told me’ WTF? what kind of detective sells out his informant? You just know Harry Jackson is going to slowly kill Marty now, it is hard to like this idiot asshole

I wonder what I am forgetting?

I made it to 12% a few days ago and haven’t even thought about reading anymore of this. The blurb sounded so good but the book is a total let down. Not going to finish since after a few days just the idea of trying to read some more of this makes me wonder if I suffered brain damage recently. After assessing I have not had any recent head injuries I wonder why I would want to torture myself with this. So it is officially going on the DNF Shelf

[Td · Rating 1 out of 5]

A friend told me yesterday that she was thinking about getting this and asked me how it was. If she would have been in front of me at the time I would have tackled her to the floor and screamed NOOOOOOO!!! I don't mean to do this, but I've read reviews that have led me to some wonderful stories and others where I should have taken the warnings seriously. If this will save just one person from agony...
This was pure torture. It took me forever to read. I had to read it in small sections since after a couple of chapters I couldn't take it anymore, after a while I just had to skim through it. I don't know how many times I wanted to simply delete it and forget about it, but I payed for the darn thing and I stubbornly held on to a glimmer of hope that it would get better. It couldn't possibly get any worse, any more unbelievable, right? Oh, did it ever!
The style of the writing got on my nerves from the first page. This happened, then that happened and then that happened... I think I've read some people here describe it as telling and not showing or something. I didn't connect with any of the characters at all at any time, couldn't have cared less what happened to them. Then the story itself, ugh, did I mention torture yet? There are a couple of reviews here from Leslie and Nightcolors that are right on so I'm not going to get into that. Should have read those before I wasted my time and money. Torture....

[Leslie Nicoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

A hot mess that suffers from the "everything but the kitchen sink" syndrome. You name it, it's in this book.

Tyler Michaels and his partner Tommy are ex-Navy SEALS who are now detectives with the LAPD. Tyler is blond, gorgeous, and smart; a man who can use any weapon, climb any wall, dodge any bullet, run around with a stab wound in his stomach and still manage to kill the bad guys. Know the type? He has a gorgeous lover, Ryan, who very conveniently is an ER physician--convenient for Tyler since Tyler spends every other minute of his life on death's doorstep, due to his derring-do on the job.

The book read like one giant action flick with multiple soap opera touches thrown in...I suppose the latter were included to may Tyler seem human and real. But when I got to the dead black wife who had been beaten, raped, and murdered, the 6 month old baby who died in Tyler's arms in the NICU, and the revelation that the saintly dead wife was in fact a heroin and cocaine addict who abused her husband (Tyler)...I was ready to throw up my hands in disgust. (Note: all the stuff about the wife comes out at about the 25% point of the book so I don't really think this is a spoiler but I've added a spoiler tag, just in case.) I did keep reading because I didn't really believe it could get more preposterous--but it did, over and over again. By the end, my jaw was on the floor and I was shaking my head in amazement.

I understand sequels to this book are in the works but I won't be reading them. One 358 page dose of Tyler Michaels was enough.

Not recommended.

[Nightcolors · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story didn't work for me. I could not suspend my disbelief. Tyler's disregard for rules bothered me from the beginning. I guess I'm too used to by-the-book, have-to-follow-the-law-though-it-makes-solving-crimes-hard type of detectives in books. Tyler's more of a TV or movie action hero type. He'd get injured practically every other minute, but his serious, life threatening injuries didn't equal time spent recuperating or even significant corresponding weakness. So I basically stopped worrying about Tyler's injuries, knowing he'd just shake it off the next minute. Even for a TV action hero, Tyler was 'too much' (he's an awesome detective, a good enough hockey player to be able to play pro but didn't, the best navy SEAL in the country and a CIA agent) and all the other characters were 'not enough'. They were just spectators on the Tyler show.

Everyone and everything in the story focused on Tyler and revolved around him and his past. The villains especially. When they had Tyler and Ryan captured to find out some important fact, they focused their torture and abuse entirely on Tyler only. I don't recall Ryan getting even slapped, even though they acknowledged Ryan was Tyler's only weakness. It'd've made a lot more sense, to me, if they knocked around Ryan a bit, too, to get to Tyler, but they never did, beyond making some vague threats. The villains were definitely those movie/TV monologue-ing types.

One other thing that bothered me: Ryan and Tyler's four-year relationship was represented as very solid and very loving. But in the process of the story, I had to wonder if these guys were even friends for those four years, let alone live-in lovers. Ryan knew nothing at all about Tyler, from the fact he'd had a baby who died, to having been falsely accused of a crime for which he spent 6 months in high-security prison.

I hope my review doesn't sound too harsh. I read it's better to leave a review for lower star ratings, so I thought I should.

[Justacat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I began this book with a sinking feeling in my heart - the initial pages constitute an expository info-dump of the most amateurish tell-not-show sort, the author narrating to us in one fell swoop appearance and basic important characteristics of all major characters. It's a longish novel, and I seriously doubted my ability to make it through if this continued.

Happily the pace did improved dramatically as the story progressed, though the tendency to tell rather than show, to engage in too much exposition, definitely remained a serious weak point; it's typical of new authors and is something this author most definitely needs to work on. Even aside from the narration of feelings and emotions and huge chunks of the characters' pasts, there were way too many incidences of using phrases like "the African-American captain" as a way to impart information to the reader - that's just bad writing. (And I swear, if Tyler's eyes had sparkled, danced, or twinkled one more time I seriously might have emailed the author on the spot.)

Beyond that - well, much about this book was over the top. As a few others have commented, the protagonist, Tyler, was a paragon in many ways - his many talents just boggled the mind (not to mention his ability to engage in amazing feats despite dire injury). And the villains took villainy to new heights.

I've thought about this a little, though, and I concluded that this is something I can live with. I guess it depends on what the author was trying to achieve - if she was going for realism, she missed the mark by miles. But 100% realism isn't necessarily the only goal. I analogize it in some ways to a sort of James Bond; you watch Bond, you're not really looking for true-to-life realism. You enter the Bond world, you kind of just accept that he is a bit larger than life, that he can bring down scores of bad guys and fight off villains even with gunshot wounds and endure torture, and that the bad guys are really, really bad and have uncanny abilities to always turn up right where they need to be. The new Bond makes it even better, because he's also a sort of damaged, vulnerable guy.

It's sort of the same thing here - with the author even going for the vulnerable thing - and I found myself rolling my eyes a few times, sure, but not really minding too much, actually kind of enjoying it, once I just let myself accept it as that sort of book, let myself see Tyler not as - well, not perfect, because he has flaws, but with a super-competence, with skills and abilities that go beyond what seem possible in a "real" person.

(Of course, this does make a character a little more difficult for readers, at least this reader, to connect with emotionally - though in this case that also has a lot to do with the writing, with the telling-not-showing issue; it's always more difficult to connect with a character when the author just tells me about him than when she is skillful enough to enable me to feel him, feel for him, empathetically and vicariously through what I'm shown about him and through his actions.)

So I, unlike some of the reviewers, liked this aspect of the book (though I'm hoping the author did it consciously and wasn't actually going for realism!). Nonetheless, the book could have used some pruning. Surprisingly - at least I was surprised! - it kept my interest and attention throughout much of its length, but the ending dragged a little, and the last fight scene certainly was beginning to feel repetitive. It's a judgment call, of course, but sometimes an author needs to know when enough is enough, and again, there were a number of occasions when this book went over the top a little too much.

Overall - not one of my favorite reads ever, not a great book, but it captured my interest and kept my attention (which certainly not all books do!), and I actually remember it - it doesn't immediately fade into obscurity in my mind, as most of the books I read do; I rarely bother to write a review. I enjoyed this author's imagination and I'm hoping the writing improves with experience and editing; I will seek out the sequel when it is published.

[Mary Gresham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is full of action, suspense, drama and love, just how I like a book. It kept me on the edge of my seat. Usually, with a book like this, I can figure out who's done what and why by the middle of the book. But this one kept me guessing the whole time. I hope to read more from this author in the very near future!!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was heavy on technical information, but I loved the characters to much to let it bother me. Tyler's mixture of toughness and vulnerabiliy really hooked me. Ryan's unshakable love and belief in Tyler was perfect for who Tyler is. I can't wait for the second book. I have already read it abou 4 times since it came out.

[Madisyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing, especially considering this was the authors first book. I love the way Tyler is, his daring personality, his invincibility. What readers need to remember is that this book is a fiction novel, meaning Tyler does not have to conform to normal standards. He is a piece of the authors imagination. Tyler has a stubborn personality, and he wants to get the job done, no matter how injured he is. He can rebound fast from his life threatening injuries because it is a fiction novel.

I have also noticed that people seem to like to just complain about J.L. Farnsworths' writing. If you don't like that book, fine. But at least offer her constructive criticism, instead of just complaining. People are complaining that the book focuses only on Tyler. Ahem, seriously? The book is called "The Tyler Michaels Chronicles." If Tyler is the main character, shouldn't the book be about him?

Yes Ryan doesn't know things about Tyler's past. Tyler kept it a secret. Some things hurt people so much that they do not share it with anyone, even the people closest to them. In the book Tyler tells Ryan that he didn't talk about the baby at all, and that he wouldn't let anyone else speak of her, because it caused him great pain and he just wanted to forget. He tells Ryan that it hurt him too much to think about, and that he just didn't want to bring it up again.

When you love someone, their past shouldn't matter. Your past does not define you, who you were then, isn't who you are now.

[Cait Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book more stars, I really did, because I did enjoy it and I will definitely read the next one. I'd add at least another half a star for that alone. What let it down was there's just too much... everything. The hero too perfect and superhuman and wounded; like a mix between Jean Claude Van Damme and Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. The man has more mad skillz than James Bond and the plot reads like 3 bond films rolled into one. I like James Bond but in the end I couldn't suspend my disbelief quite far enough.

[M'rella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Half the book is a step-by-step martial arts manual, the other half - a collection of rather meticulous medical details.
There are two main characters: one with an extremely self-distracting nature, the other is all about angelic patience and superb medical skills.
There is more to the story, of course, but I would rather not go there for the reasons of sanity.
*
The idea for the book wasn't bad really, but it could have been much better with less technical details as well as drama.

[Reggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had fun with this book. Yes there are some continuity problems. Yes, there are editing issues. But, I loved the characters and the basic plot. I found it very fun. I hope JL gets some good beta readers or whatever support she needs. She has a great imagination and she can create fun, likable characters. Thanks so much for sharing this story! I had a great time!

[Idamus · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are suspentions of disbelief and then there's just plain WTF? This is the last one

[Fernanda Parente · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm very glad that I didn't take some of the other reviewers to heart and not read this book. Which, I must admit, I almost did. I absolutely enjoyed it and cannot wait for the sequel to come out. I enjoyed the suspense and the action. Although the pace started out a little slow, it quickly took off and I found myself intrigued by what would happen next.

I think one of my favorite things was the relationships in the book. The buddy relationship in the partners, who have been best friends pretty much all of their life, and the romantic relationship between Tyler and his boyfriend. I liked how they were already established so that we didn't have to have the normal up and downs of getting into a relationship, but could just jump right into the action. Plus I think it made the bonds between them all that much stronger, gave you more of that pounding heart and twisting stomach feel each time something exciting was about to happen.

My favorite books in any genre revolve around police, doctors, and military - and this book totally combined them all!

The author really shows promise, and I can't wait to see where she takes it next.

[Wende · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was slow getting into. I thought I would never finish it. Tyler Michaels was not the smartest man in anyway shape or form. I don’t know how he kept his job as a police officer let alone his military, and his work in the CIA. He was tortured, hit by a car, shot, stabbed, electrocuted, and gave drugs to cause almost a heart attack. What I found funny was he was stabbed at one time and broken ribs and he was able to leave the hospital and have sex. Oh I forgot he was also hit by a car just before this also. I guess he just had a magic penis. Then there is his lover Ryan his lover who is a doctor. He is long suffering, and very angelic. He is so good I was waiting to discover wings attached to his back. I will say that if you stop trying to make sense of this book it is enjoyable after the first 20%. I liked it.

[Allybaba · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uhhhh....yeah...DNF...

[Serenity Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and I can't wait to read it again. I hope to see more in the series soon!