Games & Consequences

Remastering Jerna #2

by Ann Somerville

Playing games with other people's lives is a thrill. But then you have to pay the consequences. That's what Jerna discovers when he's caught up in a dangerous plot and charged with murder. He'll need all Ria's brains and bravery, and the help of a honest but disillusioned cop, to escape the terrible trap ensnaring him. 'Games & Consequences' is a sequel to 'Remastering Jerna'

Genres: BDSM, M M Romance, Erotica, Fantasy, LGBT, Adult Fiction, Mystery

Nook

First published January 19, 2010

About the author

Ann Somerville grew up in one of Australia’s prettiest small cities. In 1989, she left Australia with a BA and a burning ambition to see more of the world and its people, and to discover this ‘culture’ thing people kept telling her about. In 2006, she returned home to Southeast Queensland with two more degrees (this time in science and IT), an English husband and a staggering case of homesickness, vowing never to leave Australia again.

Her long, plot-driven fiction featuring gay and bisexual characters has been published by Samhain Publishing and elsewhere.

Reviews

[Paul]

5 STARS

what a blazing sequel. Must read series

[Emma Sea]

As others have noted, this book was a disappointment because it is no longer about Jerna. Jerna is locked up for most of the book, so this is instead a story about Ria and a cop investigating and travelling all over the show.

The first book is a must-read. I'm paraphrasing here, but when Someville talks about putting poisoned meat in front of a starving dog, and pretending it has free will to eat it or not, well, that's brilliant. The dialog about consent in Jerna encompasses more than just BDSM. The issue of consent relates to our economy, labour market, interpersonal relationships; you name it. Everyone should read that book.

The fact there's rapey non-con sex and BDSM activities just makes it incredibly relevant and hot.

Here, in contrast, we have a whodunnit and you don't even have all the characters on the table when you start, so you can't work it out. And because Jerna is in prison, no sex.

Had I approached this as a stand-alone story, without thinking it was a sequel to an awesome book, I would have liked it a whole lot more.

[Michael Joseph]

You can read my full review of Games & Consequences at my blog.

[Jay]

Slash Readers : Alright, so I admit to being a little uncertain about reading this novel because of the similarity of plot lines to the first one. However, due to the fact that I really did enjoy these characters, I decided to go for it.

G & C, is much more Ria's novel as Remastering was much more Jerna's story and this story was sufficiently different from the first one to keep my attention. This novel was from Ria's point of view as we follow him through the story. There was a lot of angst in here--poor Jerna locked up again--but there are some nice moments as well. It was also fun to get to know Ria better especially after the last book.

The bondage in this novel is much lighter than the previous book and the rest of the content is less dark in terms of prison, beatings and dubious consent. Though the longer portion of this novel is preluded by a short story that revolves around the subject of abuse, which comes back into play at the end. I also really enjoyed the way that Somerville brings in strong female characters. Sila was interesting and I'm glad to find that she appears in the next book as well.

I like Somerville's characters and I think she does a good job of setting things up. My biggest wish as I get deeper into this world is that there was a map of some sort or that more of the larger issues were brought into play. There are elections mentioned, anarchists and another country but it's hard to get the picture of the relationship between the larger social issues and the layout of the world. Though I don't have to have these, it would be fun to see and to understand the world that Ria and Jerna live in better.

Anyway, so honestly I'm going back to reading the third book now I keep trying to write about it instead of the second on. :)

[Tamela]

I truly enjoyed being in Ria's head this time. It was so hard for him not to be able to just rush in and save Jerna. Even with all his power and connections he was unable to do what he needed to do to protect Jerna from further trouble. But he did everything he could to make sure Jerna was safe and cared for and worked tirelessly to make sure he was cleared.

Sila was good addition and I liked getting to know Juli better. She was such a strong and funny person, and so supportive.

This was such a convoluted trail of vengence from someone who was only on the edge of Jerna's notice. Who could imagine that the actions taken would again devastate Jerna's life and family.

Luckily Ria was able to work with Sila to uncover the plot and finally free Jerna.

[Page Crusherz]

Maybe it was reading it too soon after the last. I felt compelled to read the series, but I didn't enjoy it. I do like the play between Ria and Jerna, but the cast of characters grew.

[Sara]

couldn't make it through this one, watching things fall apart again.

[Sam]

A nice read, but not as enticing as the first book. Jerna's psyche is just more interesting to me than the other characters, I guess.

[Roxana Rangel]

I'm really enjoying reading the books, found them very interesting and well written. This one wasnt an exeption, it is very different from the first one but totally worth it.