This book was fairly lackluster for me. It took me some time to read through and keep up with all the characters. I'm the type of reader who starts a book and if I like it, I won't put it down. This book, I couldn't wait to finish it so I could move on with my life. ( )

If you have come across the book Blaze In, Blaze Out by Joseph Lewis, but have not picked it up yet, be forewarned that you will get more than you think you are from the synopsis and less at the same time. It is literally 2 stories clashing all the way through. The clash is due to the divergence of the plots that would appeal separately to different audiences with such a minor overlap as to be negligible for true reader enjoyment.

The synopsis only gives you half the plot. Usually, that’s a good thing, you don’t want to know the whole story without reading. However, you do not want to pick up an action- thriller to find out it is all romantic comedy dialogue, nor do you want to pick up a sci-fi adventure to find that it is a real world drama. Most readers want to have mostly what they think they are getting when they pick up a book. So if you advertise a thriller or romance or sci-fi then the majority of your plot should be inline with that.

Additionally, the story is unbelievable! It really is. It is like a really bad soap opera. You have to accept that Waukesha is the most unlucky city in America and that they have the highest concentrations of natural born heroes, while having the most violent disasters. It just makes you shake your head. The true art of fiction is to tell a tale so real as to make the reader believe in the truth of it. In that regard Lewis completely misses the target, I am not even sure that he found the range, he certainly didn’t stay in the proper lane.

The “action/thriller” part of the book apparently had a good enough outline to get Black Rose Writing to agree to a publishing contract, but the outline is really all that exists in that part of the plot. The whole story of the two local cops from Waukesha that are included in National Task Forces and their current dealings with an Ukrainian drug crime boss, who puts hits on them, is told in a very efficient manner so that it does not interfere with the author’s true passion, the boys’ story. This supporting plot of the story is where the author puts all his focus and attention, it shows and it terminally damages the supposed main plot and the book.

The whole review can be read at Random Thought Online

*ARC Received For Review ( )

Blaze In, Blaze Out by Joseph Lewis

First off, I felt I was a bit lost with many characters involved in a complex story that I was missing parts of so…I searched to see if perhaps this book was part of a series and have a feeling it is and that I came in a bit late to the party. I am pretty sure that the relationships between characters would have more weight and meaning if I had read the previous books to get backstories. That said, I was able to follow this story and enjoy it without having read the previous stories that I believe documented the lives of the adopted boys that now consider themselves brothers. I also believe the prior books would have provided information that would enhanced my understanding and enjoyment of the book. So, even though I have not read the previous books, I would recommend that if you are considering this book you might want to read the previous books first.

What I liked:
* The close relationship between “the brothers”
* The couple that adopted “the brothers” though the father sometimes came across stronger than he maybe should have?
* Detective Pat O’Connor: law enforcement, undercover sometimes, friend to coleagues and “the brothers”
* Jeff Graff: law enforcement, friend of Pat’s, with Pat and four of “the brothers” on the weekend away
* The way the police and FBI coordinated and worked together
* Seeing part of the story through an assassin’s eyes
* The snippets of the backstories of some characters
* Thinking about what group this book would most appeal to – perhaps new adult males and adults
* That the bad guys, for the most part, were determined and dealt with
* Wondering what will happen in the next book in the series after the setup for it at the end of this book

What I didn’t like:
* The people and behaviors I was meant not to like…mafia, assassins, traitors, murders, and such
* Wishing I had known this was a book in a series and having read the previous books before this one

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3 – for ability to read and enjoy not having read previous books
5 – for being a well written, action-packed, intense story
4 – averaged score ( )

I’ve struggled to get through this book. I am about halfway through, hoping things start to pull together. Mostly I’m having trouble keeping all characters in the story separate; having to take notes just to follow slows down the read, pulls away from the plot, and makes it not as enjoyable. Less detail would be better. ( )

Poor. too long, too many characters that aren't distinguished, overly complex and unlikely plot. It feels like the 2nd of a series, but no mention is made if this is the case. If it isn't then the back-story is ridiculously complex to be offered in dribs and drabs, and if it is a series then there's far too much repetition of an earlier book taking up word count.

7 kids (including a brett bille and brad, no chance of keeping separate) had been involved with a grooming ring, and are now safely adopted by various police officers and mostly see each other as brothers. Some of the police involved had gone on to prosecute a gang-lord, who then ordered 3 teams of assassins to take them out before they could give evidence. The police only learn about this when they've taken (some? I lost track) of the boys on a hunting and fishing trip. And so the troubled boys are once again involved in violence.

None of it really makes sense. I don't know enough about american hunting culture to comment, but the concept of most people doing so by bow and crossbow seems ridiculous (and none of the practical difficulties of bowmanship were mentioned unlike the brands of every other piece of equipment). The boys are all or mostly gay which seems a very high percentage. There is a lot of angst about this, further increasing the pages. It doesn't really feel connected to any fthe rest of the plot. The whole thing just needed editing down to a tauter manuscript and then it might have been ok. ( )