Monday, November 10, 2008

Phantom Lover By AJ Llewellyn






Reviewed on Romance Junkies By Romance Junkies Reviewer: jhayboy

Bobby Kikawa’s attraction to Hawaii’s most famous hula dancer Kimo Wilder happened long before his friend Johnny displayed a portrait of him in his gallery called Phantom Lover. About to begin training with the man himself, he visits the portrait daily to satisfy not only a yearning to see him before training begins, but to just stand and stare at the beauty of the man.

Kimo Wilder is not only straight but a “Keeper of Secrets” in Hawaiian culture. When he has to train a team of young men and women for his latest stage production, the last thing he expects is to be pleasured by one of the young male dancers. Trying to put distance between them proves futile, and when their obvious chemistry moves from the dance floor to between the sheets, a red hot affair begins.

When the young dancer satisfies a part of Kimo that he did not realize needed the attention, Kimo quickly inserts himself into Bobby’s life. And Bobby loves every minute of it! Things go from one extreme to the next, with propriety rearing its head and interference from friends and family. Are they prepared to sacrifice everything for each other?

Once in a while, after reading dozens of books, I open a book and know before finishing the first chapter it is worth the highest accolade. A.J. Llewellyn’s PHANTOM LOVER is one such book.

PHANTOM LOVER is a mix of Hawaiian history and fantasy with the hottest love scenes I’ve read in a long time. Kimo is a married man, who is not only every woman’s fantasy but every man’s wet dream. While trying to live up to his cultural expectations and maintain the propriety of marriage, he suppresses the need to find his own happiness. When the gods themselves takes the matter out of his hands, he has no choice but to run to the one person who makes him whole and cling to him for all he is worth.

Bobby starts out as any typical young man, wanting that special someone to love. But in travelling his path, he ends up with not only a broken heart but also making the wrong choices for the right reason – which, as expected, ends badly. Once he becomes involved with Kimo, and the realization of what and who Kimo is sinks in, he quickly grows up and embraces all the challenges of a dysfunctional relationship. His strength and the beauty of his personality is one of the highlights of the book.

The pain and pleasure of watching both Kimo and Bobby grow is quite an experience. The emotional highs and lows during their growth is unending and relentless, leaving you with deep regret for the time wasted getting to this stage and extreme pleasure at the fact that they have grown and use the lessons learned to recognize their soul mate.

For first time readers and old fans, PHANTOM LOVER is a character driven story. Kimo and Bobby suck you into their world of a thousand emotions and never let you go. Be prepared for a wild ride. A.J. Llewellyn - take a bow! PHANTOM LOVER stands up and roars.

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