Beneath the Stain
A Beneath the Stain Novel
In a town as small as Tyson, CA, everybody knew the four brothers with the four different fathers—and their penchant for making good music when they weren't getting into trouble. For Mackey Sanders, playing in Outbreak Monkey with his brothers and their friends—especially Grant Adams—made Tyson bearable. But Grant has plans for getting Mackey and the Sanders boys out of Tyson, even if that means staying behind.
Between the heartbreak of leaving Grant and the terrifying, glamorous life of rock stardom, Mackey is adrift and sinking fast. When he's hit rock bottom, Trav Ford shows up, courtesy of their record company and a producer who wants to see what Mackey can do if he doesn't flame out first. But cleaning up his act means coming clean about Grant, and that's not easy to do or say. Mackey might make it with Trav's help—but Trav's not sure he's going to survive falling in love with Mackey.
Mackey James Sanders comes with a whole lot of messy, painful baggage, and law-and-order Trav doesn't do messy or painful. And just when Trav thinks they may have mastered every demon in Mackey's past, the biggest, baddest demon of all comes knocking.
2015 Rainbow Award-winner.
The William Neale Award-winner for Best Gay Contemporary Romance & Best Gay Book.
Reviews (205)
Perfect and unforgettable
really love the M/M genre and I always wonder why I don’t read more of them!! This one was perfect and ticked all the boxes for me - m/m, rockstar plus age gap!!! And to top it all off it was unnecessary drama free and beautifully delivered. I’m an Aussie girl from Sydney and have no idea what living in small town USA is like, but I loved the rags to riches story of Mackey and his brothers, that they never forgot where they came from and always gave back. Travis was appointed as their band manager and I thought he was just delicious, smart, older, wiser, broody ex military with a buzz cut to top it all off. He certainly had a ‘type’ and Mackey was it! Try as hard as he might but not even the 14 year age gap could save him from saying no to the beautiful tortured artist and lead singer of the band. Mackey was a force to be reckoned with ( despite is small frame)and what a perfect couple they made. Their relationship wasn’t rushed. It evolved organically and was just wonderful to read the longing and desire for each other. It showed me once again that love just is. You can’t fight it, it doesn’t care what your socioeconomic background is, what you have in your fridge or where you buy your clothes from. It’s not shallow, it’s deep and just is a force that you can’t control. Loved it and so glad I picked it up.
Heartbreaking
I didn't know what I expected from this book, but probably the usual sex, drugs and rock and roll. This book have all those elements but are also showing the dark, ugly side of everything. Everything starts with Mackey wanting an outlet through music and with his brother, his secret boyfriend and two friends he starts Outbreak Monkeys. And what could have been a story about escaping a small town, about finding the courage to choose the one you love and finding success spirals into something darker. Addiction, sexual assault and heartbreak is Mackeys normal until Trav comes along and saves the boys. And Mackey gets a second chance at lif and love. What absolutely broke me about this book is how the end is both a happy ending and a total tragedy. I was sobbing through every page with Grant and my heart broke for the boy who was one of the brothers, who was loved and who could have had everything.
Brilliant -- Must read!!
"When someone see's you at your worst and stays, you wanna show them your best." Overall, 5+Stars for Story, content, and performance. Amy Lane has written a story that will claim a piece of your soul, and Nick J. Russo narrated this story with gusto & perfection! I can't find anything wrong with this story or audiobook. It is something everyone should experience and enjoy. This story does not gloss over hard subjects, doesn't make light of deep subject matter. -- No, Amy Lane writes it like it really is and puts it all right in your face -- the good, the bad and the hard parts of life are all included. Ms. Lane tells this story with rawness and reality; however, at the same time a grace that has the reader or listener truly becomes invested in the story and the lives of the characters! This story follows the life of Macky Sanders as we watch him grow up, learn what love is and then deal with heartbreak. We watch him follow his dreams of being a rock star, fall into the pitfalls of the glamorous life, meet Trav his savior and then have to deal with repercussions of the fast life. Macky has to learn how to deal with bigotry and blatant hate simply because he loves someone and others don't approve of that love. If that is not enough we follow Macky as he also learns how cruel life is as he deals with loss and grief. It is an emotional heart wrenching story that Amy Lane has woven and one that will surely leave you with a BookHangover for weeks! Please see full review on Goodreads by J.Loves2Read and it will be posted on Alpha Book Clubs blog
The BEST!
Oh. My. God. This is the best MM book I have read in a loooooonnggggg time. It's super long, super angsty, pretty sad and a bit triggery (warnings for drug abuse, rehab, rape, suicide) but so, so good. GET IT NOW. (I mean, I have a few quibbles - there's no way a high school band would wear SUITS to play at a HS prom, no way anyone in LA would expect musicians to go buy nice clothes to go to dinner, and no way any of the band members would keep calling Trav "Mr. Ford", but those are small things.) There were also phrases in the writing that were magical. Just so well written.
Beautiful
Wow! This story was simply beautiful. I don't typically read m/m stories but every now and then I like to try something new. The m/m romances that I've read have a real life feel to them. At least the ones I'm drawn too. I had this one on my TBR list for a while but I picked it up and I am so happy I did. There is so much love and pain in this story. The writing brought life to the characters. They were characters you fell in love with. Characters you only wanted the best for. Characters you wanted and hoped they would survive their struggles. I don't know if I'm making any sense but this story was simply awesome. The people in the story were real and their emotional struggles their pains were so real. The love was real. The love scene especially the 1st time(I won't say between who because k don't want to give it away) was beautiful. I had so many feelings for them and I had to read it twice because I could feel their feelings for each other and it was so beautiful. I often wonder what it takes for a story to bring up so many emotions and feelings that it brings the reader to tears or leaves then just "feeling". I can say this book, these characters, their story left me holding back tears and my face with a crooked smile because this story is the one. The one you feel as you read, the one that leaves you in awe as it comes to a close. Thank you Amy Lee this story was a breathtaking beautiful experience. There are not enough stars for this one.
I loved this story.
I've loved everything I have read from Amy Lane. Although my all time favorite book will always be 'Dex in Blue' by her I loved this almost just as much! There is so much to say about this book. I loved the characters so much. Even the secondary ones. You can't help but fall in love with Mackey and Trav. I love how Amy Lane has a purpose to every word she writes, her books aren't filled with mindless fillers like you see a lot of. You feel like you are there and rooting for these people to find love, happiness, and self acceptance. Amy did a great job of the relationship between Grant and Trav. Of course they don't meet how you expect them to. A lot of times authors will make the hero emotionally bulletproof to the mc's baggage and I loved how she had Trav show real human emotions... Of course he's jealous of grant, of course he hates for everything he stands for... At first. It's brilliant. You NEVER second guess the love Mackey has for Trav either. From the moment Mackey decides he needs Trav he does everything in his power to fight for a future with him. JUST PLEASE READ. You will enjoy!!
Unforgettable!
Outbreak Monkey is band formed of brothers and one best friend, Grant. The band started playing a few gigs in high school and were finally recognized by a producer. The band is ready to leave the small-minded town. The boys never had it easy because all of the brothers had different fathers and they were raised by their mom. Despite their struggles, they have made it. When times comes to sign the contract Grant decides not to pursue his dream. He has to stay behind because he got his girlfriend pregnant. Okay, so not such a big deal except, for the last four years he has been with the lead singer of the band, Mackey. Mackey is completely devastated with Grant's decision to leave him. He has shared Grant with this girlfriend for years because Grant couldn't come out as gay to his homophobic family. Mackey knew Grant would never let down his unborn child, so he threw away his new life with Mackey. Mackey is not dealing well with life without Grant. He has turned to drugs and sex. He is on a path of self-destruction. The record label sends in Trav Ford to save this new band so they don't hit rock bottom. Mackey is an unforgettable character. Mackey lost his first love and sold millions of records playing kick-butt music all in the same year, but he can't forget Grant. No amount of sex, drugs and alcohol will erase Grant from his memory. Can Trav help save Mackey James Sanders and keep Outbreak Monkey on the path to stardom? I am new to Amy Lane's books. The only other book I have read was The Locker Room. Beneath the Stain has topped The Locker Room for me. I dove in this book ready for a great read. Beneath the Stain is phenomenal. I read it twice before I wrote this review. I know I've read a wonderful book when I can't stop thinking about a book days after finishing the read. I was emotionally drained after reading this book, but in a good way. I felt my heart being ripped from chest reading this book, but I laughed and cried too (at the same time). If you like secrets, lies, hot sex, angst, rockers, and first loves, then this book is for you.
Heartache, hope and forever love.
This was the first Amy Lane book I have read and it makes me ask myself why I waited so long to read one of her books! I fell in love with Mackey from the beginning. I'm extremely leery of authors who write about drug addiction and addicts, I am a recovering addict of 17 years, it must be realistic, even in a fiction book, for me to even consider continuing with it and since I couldn't put the book down until I was finished that tells you what I think. Sweet Mackey, I just wanted to hug him and hold him and tell him he's worth so much more than being a human garbage can, then comes Trav who did exactly that. That man who saw Mackey for what his truly is, beyond the facade he showed everyone else makes him so special. His understanding and selflessness....beyond my expectations. He helped put Mackey back together just as Mackey did the same for him. Two of my favorite characters of all the books I've read!
Sex and Drugs and Rock'n'Roll and tons of Passion and Craziness and Angst --You know it, You love it!!!
Rock stars, rock bands, young first love, small town ugliness, hard family lives, passion for music, desire for order, need to protect, sex and drugs, and lots and lots of angst... Amy Lane is an accomplished writer of m/m romances, but this one is pretty epic if you love stuff anything like this! Mackey has always been brilliant, talented, totally living for the music in him, but also troubled, a trouble-maker, and trying to deal with a tough childhood and life in a small-town that isn't gay-friendly. Despite all the handicaps, his band, with his brothers, gets signed and makes it big, but he's more troubled than ever, having lost a friend and lover and floundering around despite his brothers being with him and his new manager doing his best to keep his star from falling, crashing and burning. The cast of characters is fantastic. Quirky and real and fun and difficult. The heart-break is just agonizing. The love and passion is just soaring. We get to follow these guys closely for pages and pages, and there's tragedy and sadness and violence and lots of places where things go wrong. But there's also so much good. This not an easy book at all, but it is still a romance with a HEA, so you know it will pay off in the end, even though we and the band are put through the wringer. So, so very worth it, of course! Incredible and unforgettable. Lots of familiar tropes, but lots of inventive stuff too. Just Wow about sums it up!
Sex, drugs and so much more♥
Sex, drugs and Rock, n, Roll. This is one of the most genius, heartbreaking, lovely, sweet, painful and amazing books that I have ever read. It is the story about Mackey, Jeff, Kell, Grant, Stevie, Trav, Sheila, Blake, Briony and the people around them. About a Rock band, that makes it Against all odds, but at a heartbreaking price. It is The power of Love between Mackey and Grant, Mackey and Trav, between Jeff, Sheila and Stevie, about betrayal, pain, sex, hope and how Only the lonely knows what it means, when you are left behind. This is a story about how Love changes everything. But it is mostly the story about how Mackey gets by With a little help from his friends.
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