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Let Them Try #1
Let Them Try
Published by M&V Tailz, an imprint of MV Publishing
* * * * *
The police motto 'To Serve and Protect' takes on all new meaning in LET THEM TRY by authors Reno MacLeod and Jaye Valentine.
Twenty-six years of dedicated duty as one of Baltimore's finest should earn a man some reward. One autumn night in a dark cemetery, Officer Rick Baker is forced to reflect on his lonely, closeted life when he meets a strange young man under peculiar circumstances.
Diego is unlike anyone Rick has ever met, and Rick has to face a new reality he'd never imagined in his wildest dreams. Couple Rick's deeply rooted need for love and companionship with Diego's remarkable gifts, and even the threat of hell might be too tempting to resist.
* * * * *
This book is intended for an adult audience and therefore may be unsuitable for persons under the age of 18. Contains sexual content, coarse language, and violence. Discretion advised.
* * * * *
The police motto 'To Serve and Protect' takes on all new meaning in LET THEM TRY by authors Reno MacLeod and Jaye Valentine.
Twenty-six years of dedicated duty as one of Baltimore's finest should earn a man some reward. One autumn night in a dark cemetery, Officer Rick Baker is forced to reflect on his lonely, closeted life when he meets a strange young man under peculiar circumstances.
Diego is unlike anyone Rick has ever met, and Rick has to face a new reality he'd never imagined in his wildest dreams. Couple Rick's deeply rooted need for love and companionship with Diego's remarkable gifts, and even the threat of hell might be too tempting to resist.
* * * * *
This book is intended for an adult audience and therefore may be unsuitable for persons under the age of 18. Contains sexual content, coarse language, and violence. Discretion advised.
57 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 19, 2010
42 people want to read
About the author
Reno MacLeod
23 books47 followersNot For The Faint Of Heart---That sums up my work with Jaye Valentine. I've always spent a good deal of time with the darker side of my imagination. I was never afraid of the dark. In fact, some of my fondest memories are of Saturday afternoons with my dad watching Creature Double Feature with a big bowl of popcorn. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Werewolves, angels, demons and vampires were my childhood passions. I guess I never grew up.
I live in a little town famous for its historical ax-murderess, where the Ghost Hunters TAPS has a home office. Salem—famous for witches, Newport—famous for pirates, and Providence—famous for H.P.Lovecraft are all under an hour's drive. I guess I really didn't have a chance of not turning out the way I did."
Reno has also designed and created cover art for many of Reno and Jaye's books as well as the logo for StarCrossed and their website's banner art.
I live in a little town famous for its historical ax-murderess, where the Ghost Hunters TAPS has a home office. Salem—famous for witches, Newport—famous for pirates, and Providence—famous for H.P.Lovecraft are all under an hour's drive. I guess I really didn't have a chance of not turning out the way I did."
Reno has also designed and created cover art for many of Reno and Jaye's books as well as the logo for StarCrossed and their website's banner art.
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September 13, 2010This novella was a mix of comedy and paranormal, but the comedy part of the story had the lion share.
Rick is a pushing 50 years old patrol cop; he has no desire or mood to climb the career staircase, and basically he is happy to wait for when he will retire. Rick is also gay and in the closet, or better, he sees no reason to come out if not with his closest friends: it’s not like he has someone at home waiting for him, and if most people don’t know about him, it’s better. When he wants company, there is always a bar or a cheap motel where he can find it.
As any other man who enjoyed his body when it was young and athletic, Rick has a penchant for young men, but even so, he has not exactly the physique du role to draw them, and so he limits himself to dream, until the day he literally stumble upon his dream comes true. Rick is patrolling the cemetery, some teenagers are trying for a demon summon and he scares them away; behind them they leave Diego, young, beatufil and naked. At first Rick thinks the young man is one of them, but then Diego proves to Rick that he is the real thing, a demon who chose the perfect body to entice Rick to take him home. That is, Diego, even if a demon, and powerful, and ancient, behaves like a lost puppy, like someone who wants to belong to someone else; I think Diego felt that Rick is a good man, someone who would never hurt him, and so he picks him up as his protector.
It’s simple for Diego to convince Rick to take him home and to let him remain: it’s sufficient to lounge in Rick’s bedroom completely naked or to accidentally appear in the shower, completely naked as well, of course, and Rick has no way to refuse him. The nice side effect is also that Diego not only makes Rick feel younger, he is really making him younger. Unfortunately not everyone is able to see Diego throught Rick’s eyes, and it’s interesting that the authors chose to use the religious stigma instead of the moral one: people will try to send Diego away not since he is too young for Rick (at least in this body), or since he is gay, but since he is a demon, and a demons can’t be good. It’s nice to see how the authors try to contradict this assumption, going back at the beginning of time, making demons the first who were “betrayed” by their own father.
Rick and Diego are perfect together, since Diego meets Rick’s kink for young men, without being really so young, and Diego has found in Rick the protective figure he is searching, almost a fatherly figure, again without really needing it, but only since he has a kink as well.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003T9UTKU/?...
Rick is a pushing 50 years old patrol cop; he has no desire or mood to climb the career staircase, and basically he is happy to wait for when he will retire. Rick is also gay and in the closet, or better, he sees no reason to come out if not with his closest friends: it’s not like he has someone at home waiting for him, and if most people don’t know about him, it’s better. When he wants company, there is always a bar or a cheap motel where he can find it.
As any other man who enjoyed his body when it was young and athletic, Rick has a penchant for young men, but even so, he has not exactly the physique du role to draw them, and so he limits himself to dream, until the day he literally stumble upon his dream comes true. Rick is patrolling the cemetery, some teenagers are trying for a demon summon and he scares them away; behind them they leave Diego, young, beatufil and naked. At first Rick thinks the young man is one of them, but then Diego proves to Rick that he is the real thing, a demon who chose the perfect body to entice Rick to take him home. That is, Diego, even if a demon, and powerful, and ancient, behaves like a lost puppy, like someone who wants to belong to someone else; I think Diego felt that Rick is a good man, someone who would never hurt him, and so he picks him up as his protector.
It’s simple for Diego to convince Rick to take him home and to let him remain: it’s sufficient to lounge in Rick’s bedroom completely naked or to accidentally appear in the shower, completely naked as well, of course, and Rick has no way to refuse him. The nice side effect is also that Diego not only makes Rick feel younger, he is really making him younger. Unfortunately not everyone is able to see Diego throught Rick’s eyes, and it’s interesting that the authors chose to use the religious stigma instead of the moral one: people will try to send Diego away not since he is too young for Rick (at least in this body), or since he is gay, but since he is a demon, and a demons can’t be good. It’s nice to see how the authors try to contradict this assumption, going back at the beginning of time, making demons the first who were “betrayed” by their own father.
Rick and Diego are perfect together, since Diego meets Rick’s kink for young men, without being really so young, and Diego has found in Rick the protective figure he is searching, almost a fatherly figure, again without really needing it, but only since he has a kink as well.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003T9UTKU/?...
November 28, 2010
Let Them Try is the first installment of a new erotic horror series by Reno MacLeod and Jaye Valentine. It is a Faustian-inspired story of middle-aged cop Rick Baker who is given a renewed sense of youth and vitality and second chance at happiness when strange circumstances bring Diego a beautiful young male into his life.
Officer Rick Baker has been with the Baltimore Police Force for over twenty-five years. While his best friend and fellow officer Steve Wren knows he’s gay, Rick is otherwise closeted and with the exception of the rare anonymous sexual encounter he lives a solitary and lonely existence – his job is essentially his life. One night while on patrol Rick comes across teenagers in the local cemetery who the police have been hunting for robbing and desecrating graves. When he tries to apprehend them he witnesses the most bizarre happenings and literally finds a beautiful naked young male – Diego – at his feet. Diego entices Rick to keep him by promising to fulfill Rick’s every sexual wish and fantasy. While Rick is at first fearful and hesitant, he cannot resist Diego, or the chance to live a truer life. As their relationship intensifies, Rick makes a life-altering decision to not only be with Diego but also to fight for, and protect their relationship at any and all cost.
Let Them Try is a well-written novella with a well-developed plot and characters and equally great dialogue that lays the foundation for Rick and Diego’s continuing story in books to come. The opening scene sets an overall mood and tone that is dark and suspenseful and the writing carries this through to the end of the story.
I found the main characters in this tale to be a most interesting pairing. Aging, lonely and alone, Rick has lived life on the periphery, hiding his true self and not allowing anyone to get too close. The authors play with the concepts of hero and anti-hero, alternating key attributes of each in respect of the character of Rick, who is both brave and fallible. Owing to a rich narrative voice Rick is very much a character that readers can touch and feel. Young, beautiful and “gifted” Diego is the catalyst that gives Rick sanction to not only unleash his pent up sexual needs and desires, but also to reveal his longing for love, intimacy and partnership. Despite his seductive ways and mysterious nature there is also an innocence and vulnerability to Diego that not only serve to bring out Rick’s protective instincts, but also to cautiously endear the character to the reader. MacLeod and Valentine blur the lines of black and white in respect of these characters making Rick and Diego that much more rich and multi-textured.
The authors capture Rick’s thrown caution through some intense and raw sex scenes between the two. However, it is the intelligent and provocative dialogue between Rick and Diego that most captured my attention and imagination. A signature quality of this duo is their ability to write extremely good two-character scenes with well-crafted realistic and witty dialogue that serves as key in establishing the characters, the chemistry between them and often the underlying themes of the story. And this is exactly what they do in this tale. The dialogue is very much an intricate tango between the two characters as Diego entices Rick into keeping him and Rick struggles to not succumb.
Diego’s seduction of Rick is as much psychological and emotional as it is physical. Having made the decision to keep Diego, Rick in turn makes choices that completely uproot his life and set him on a different course, perhaps a more honest life course. But as usual with this writing duo there is allusion and nuance in the plot that will keep the reader guessing as to whether Diego is actually saving Rick’s life or condemning him to hell."Diego watched intently, in no apparent rush. ‘I give my special blessings only to those who need them most, and particularly those who bear an unfair stigma…To know me—in the Biblical sense—is to have a second chance for happiness.’"
Rick inhaled a deep, steadying breath. Although he’d grown to love his work, his work was all he had. His life slipped away with every tick of the clock, and for what? To end up like Mr. Griffith, living out his life inside a three-bedroom closet with an impeccably tended garden his only companion?
With death inevitable…he decided he’d rather go out on his own terms, and for once in his lonely, lackluster life do something entirely selfish. The thought of performing a licentious act while on duty, committing a cardinal sin, sent adrenaline shooting through his system again, but this time in a good way…"
Readers familiar with the unique writing qualities and style of this partnership, in particular in respect of their erotic horror and urban fantasy tales, will immediately recognize that the authors have imbued this story with meaningful subtext just below the surface of the main plot. It is obvious that MacLeod and Valentine still have a lot to say about societal convention, morality, religion and differences, an aspect of their writing that I most enjoy. In Let Them Try they deftly balance these underlying themes without sacrificing subtlety in the quality of the writing or drawing attention away from the main plot and characters as questions of self-denial, guilt and living a life true to oneself form much of Rick’s internal struggle."‘Tell me this,’ Diego said. ‘Have you noticed how much religion has stopped flourishing in your world over the years? Once upon a time, families considered their children growing up to become clergy a great honor. Many people came to great power and wealth because their ordained offspring gained access to the ear of God.’ Diego straddled Rick’s lap with fluid, graceful movements despite the close quarters and many obstacles. ‘In these trying times, churches are closing their doors in record numbers due to lack of funding and not enough clergy. No one wants to be a priest or nun anymore, and even the number of non-celibate priests and ministers dwindle each day.’"
I thoroughly enjoyed Let Them Try. It is a solid beginning and sets the stage for what I believe will be another dark and provocative erotic horror series full of exciting twists and turns, psychological enticement and sexual thrills that once again push both buttons and boundaries. While it is very difficult to give away anymore of the story without completely spoiling it for readers, I will say that Let Them Try ends in a cliff-hanger that has Rick and Diego on the run from forces that would otherwise do them harm.
NOTE: This review was originally published online at Three Dollar Bill Reviews and is also available at Indie Reviews.
July 20, 2010
a different story, told in a different way. A modern fairy tale of a man who has all his wishes come true, discovering there's a price to everything. But in the end the prize might be worth everything.
I loved the concept of the fallen angels and demons and the way they dealt with each other and the humans. There were some inconsistencies in the worldbuilding and some logical errors that threw me out of the story flow but not enough to mar the reading really bad.
Something new and different for those who don't stick too close to their logic and love their stories laced with a bit of supernatural incredulity and their men sexy and rough.
I loved the concept of the fallen angels and demons and the way they dealt with each other and the humans. There were some inconsistencies in the worldbuilding and some logical errors that threw me out of the story flow but not enough to mar the reading really bad.
Something new and different for those who don't stick too close to their logic and love their stories laced with a bit of supernatural incredulity and their men sexy and rough.
October 25, 2010
3.5 stars
March 30, 2017
VERY raw notes, may contain spoilers but probably nothing major.
1.5 stars
The author told what they were doing by having a character tell others what to do even though they'd done it before. It would have been better to be more like orders. For example (I'm going to be arrogant here and say I can write this sentence better but I don't mean to be rude) "John, put candles around the grave," sounds like the guy doesn't know what to do. Just adding one word, "the," would make a huge difference in my mind: "John, put the candles around the grave." So basically by specifying that he knows That John knows what candles he's talking about, it shows John knows what's he's doing, just being assigned his task.
Where did he come from? The ritual barely got started.
Wow, Diego's assessment of Rick makes Rick sound pathetic and not at all attractive or appealing. Diego isn't any better. I'd already not t her too enamored. Him twirling his baton reeled of needing to feel powerful.
How long did they have sex if they immediately started after he called in for his dinner break and as soon as they finished it had been a few hours?? It was only a couple of pages!
He's a cop who just puts his gum I. A side table.
His excuse is stupid. Even puking he could have called in.
Shell-shaped sink? That sounds really tacky.
Diego made it clear from the beginning that he made the body to specifically appeal to Rick and implied it was something he did regularly with other humans. But Rick trusts him and the demon is now okay with bonding with him? Come on. He's also being told he'll essentially be so frogged with demon blood he'll lose his fear forever. This sounds like a Star Trek episode where everything is too good to be true and is done simulation by a demonic computer. This doesn't feel like consent to me. This demon sounds like an incubus (succinid since he's gay?)
Cool. He differentiates between truly immortal like Captain Jack Harkness who is resurrected automatically each time he should die and being functionally immortal meaning he'll live forever if he isn't killed.
So I'm halfway through and no plot.
I don't like that Rick is gettin g younger in a way that makes him sound like he wasn't okay before. And they make him sound a lot older than 50-ish.
How on Earth does he "look like shit" when he hadn't done anything strenuous m, slept all day, and looks ten years younger? Why would he tell his friend without talking to Diego first to even see if it was okay or go along with the reveal?
Good that he points out how many people believe in heaven and angels and find fallen angels hard to believe in.
Finally he's acknowledging that he might be influenced but then he doesn't care.
The kids don't know he arrived. They'll try to call him again won't they? Or is it not someone specific? Without a bane, how do they call a demon?
Wait what? The boys are calling a certain body but Diego said he chose that one to please Rick. Now that I think about it, he was still trying to get to Jonathan, be with him, when he first arrived and spoke with Rick. Now he says they'll recognize him even though they were gone before he appeared.
This makes no sense.
The demons are brothers but if you're following the cannon, God made the angels. They didn't have layers.
It was made clear he was gay and bye he's thrilled to be waited in by a nurse he feels attractive in her very short skirt. But his friend is now saying that Rick wouldn't look at the nurse twice.
This is so inconsistent. It needs major editing.
He doesn't seem really broken up about Diego himself being gone just the yuckiness of his life (I agree and it's not because his middle aged and single--I am too.)
Rick was painted as so unappealing until he was young and hot.
Oh now we're getting a fundamentals of Christianity talk.
This is not why I read romance. And it makes me kind of sad that partners wrote this together and they make it sound like saying, "I love you," is pointless. I connect on a deep level with a few people such as my sister and my best friend ms and my daughter and it's not the same as a romantic connection. I truly love my best friends and I've said I love you to them and it's still not the same.
He feel like I just read some moralizing fairy tale out to prove a point rather than a romance book. Thank you Aesop.
HFN and I don't even care.
1.5 stars
The author told what they were doing by having a character tell others what to do even though they'd done it before. It would have been better to be more like orders. For example (I'm going to be arrogant here and say I can write this sentence better but I don't mean to be rude) "John, put candles around the grave," sounds like the guy doesn't know what to do. Just adding one word, "the," would make a huge difference in my mind: "John, put the candles around the grave." So basically by specifying that he knows That John knows what candles he's talking about, it shows John knows what's he's doing, just being assigned his task.
Where did he come from? The ritual barely got started.
Wow, Diego's assessment of Rick makes Rick sound pathetic and not at all attractive or appealing. Diego isn't any better. I'd already not t her too enamored. Him twirling his baton reeled of needing to feel powerful.
How long did they have sex if they immediately started after he called in for his dinner break and as soon as they finished it had been a few hours?? It was only a couple of pages!
He's a cop who just puts his gum I. A side table.
His excuse is stupid. Even puking he could have called in.
Shell-shaped sink? That sounds really tacky.
Diego made it clear from the beginning that he made the body to specifically appeal to Rick and implied it was something he did regularly with other humans. But Rick trusts him and the demon is now okay with bonding with him? Come on. He's also being told he'll essentially be so frogged with demon blood he'll lose his fear forever. This sounds like a Star Trek episode where everything is too good to be true and is done simulation by a demonic computer. This doesn't feel like consent to me. This demon sounds like an incubus (succinid since he's gay?)
Cool. He differentiates between truly immortal like Captain Jack Harkness who is resurrected automatically each time he should die and being functionally immortal meaning he'll live forever if he isn't killed.
So I'm halfway through and no plot.
I don't like that Rick is gettin g younger in a way that makes him sound like he wasn't okay before. And they make him sound a lot older than 50-ish.
How on Earth does he "look like shit" when he hadn't done anything strenuous m, slept all day, and looks ten years younger? Why would he tell his friend without talking to Diego first to even see if it was okay or go along with the reveal?
Good that he points out how many people believe in heaven and angels and find fallen angels hard to believe in.
Finally he's acknowledging that he might be influenced but then he doesn't care.
The kids don't know he arrived. They'll try to call him again won't they? Or is it not someone specific? Without a bane, how do they call a demon?
Wait what? The boys are calling a certain body but Diego said he chose that one to please Rick. Now that I think about it, he was still trying to get to Jonathan, be with him, when he first arrived and spoke with Rick. Now he says they'll recognize him even though they were gone before he appeared.
This makes no sense.
The demons are brothers but if you're following the cannon, God made the angels. They didn't have layers.
It was made clear he was gay and bye he's thrilled to be waited in by a nurse he feels attractive in her very short skirt. But his friend is now saying that Rick wouldn't look at the nurse twice.
This is so inconsistent. It needs major editing.
He doesn't seem really broken up about Diego himself being gone just the yuckiness of his life (I agree and it's not because his middle aged and single--I am too.)
Rick was painted as so unappealing until he was young and hot.
Oh now we're getting a fundamentals of Christianity talk.
Perhaps the movies, the sings, and the books had the whole damn thing dead wrong. Maybe there didn't need to be unrestrained, emotional outpourings when two people really connected. No fluttering hearts, no coy romancing, no violins playing in the background. No need to utter those much sought after, frivolously repeated but increasingly empty three words."Wow. That's about him not about his partner. Feeling good about yourself is fantastic and many people say kind of a prerequisite to loving someone else. And you do have to take care of yourself in order to be able to take care of someone else. But thinking that feeling of being, "comfortable in one's own skin" is the same or better than making sure the other person knows you love him is really selfish in my opinion.
Maybe--just maybe--a quiet and non-descript moment of peace, of feeling comfortable in one's own skin for the first time meant as much or more than those things.
This is not why I read romance. And it makes me kind of sad that partners wrote this together and they make it sound like saying, "I love you," is pointless. I connect on a deep level with a few people such as my sister and my best friend ms and my daughter and it's not the same as a romantic connection. I truly love my best friends and I've said I love you to them and it's still not the same.
He feel like I just read some moralizing fairy tale out to prove a point rather than a romance book. Thank you Aesop.
HFN and I don't even care.
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