Rate this book

Helpmate (2013)

by Sean Michael(Favorite Author)

3.77 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1781848300 (ISBN13: 9781781848302)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Totally Bound

series

Chess

review 1: My e-reader could not turn pages fast enough to keep up with me as I skipped through the monumental amount of sex to find the few bits of plot. (Note to self: read Sean Michael on computer only, where I can scroll through the sex much faster...) I liked the idea and I liked what there was of the plot and I wouldn't have minded the sex, but there was SO MUCH of it that I got bored and wanted to skip ahead to the conversational bits. *blink*After reading all four books my opinion is that it was interesting enough but I wasn't really satisfied with the dynamics of the group and kind of felt like Jason got the short end of the stick. He was my favorite, followed by Bishop, then the other two. I went back on forth on whether I liked Knight or not. To me he seemed very self... moreish and everything had to be about him and the others let him get away with it. Jason always took a back seat to everyone else, but especially to Knight and I just really wanted more of an effort by all three of the other men to convince him that he was loved and needed and no longer just their "toy".
review 2: After the shock of Knight almost dying in the third book, and him now finally back at home, the real work of healing beyond the physical can begin. As always, the title is a hint at the chess analogy, although I have to admit I had to look this one up. "Helpmate" is defined as a type of chess problem in which both sides cooperate in order to achieve the goal of checkmating Black (don’t ask me why it has to be Black, not White, but I have to admit it is a fit with Knight's slightly dark character). In chess, although the two sides cooperate, all moves must be legal and according to the rules – an issue the men of the Chess Series do not have to deal with. A bit of cheating and loving unfair play, in fact, is very much needed to get Knight out of his depression.When Knight comes home from the hospital after weeks of moaning and groaning and refusing to do his physiotherapy, he thinks he can just let himself go and vanish into oblivion, He hates his broken body, misses his art, and is generally being difficult. All of that is pretty much in character, except it gets to be pretty extreme and life-threatening when his depression is so deep he doesn’t even get out of bed anymore.Jason recognizes the signs, he knows enough about physical therapy, after all, but he doesn’t really know what to do. He pushes a little and finally puts his foot down, and it was great to see him grow like that. He has truly become an important part of this foursome, even though his deepest love is still for Rook. Rook, in this case isn’t much help other than to love and morally support Jason. He is too much of an optimist, hates confrontation of any kind, and is overwhelmed by the messiness of having to push Knight into recovery. Rook just wants it all to go back to normal. But with a little guidance from Jason, he learns how to pull his weight.Bishop loves Knight deeply, and in the end plays a crucial role in pulling him back into the land of the living, but his love is also his biggest weakness. It's very tempting to baby Knight out of gratitude that he is still alive, but that isn’t what the curmudgeony artist needs most. Bishop has to remember what makes them work as a couple, and find the courage to do what he is best at: top Knight into submission. When he gives Knight his first spanking after his return home, I cheered them both on. That return to normal for them is exactly what is needed, and they progress from there.This fourth volume is another great installment of the series. Different from the first three because the "team" has settled into their roles and this is the first real test for them to see if they can make their unique family work. If you like sexy men who don’t necessarily agree about what needs doing but learn to trust each others' strengths, if you love to see them interacting physically wherever and whenever the need strikes them, and if you're interested in seeing the chess analogy continue and be tested, you will probably like this novel as much as I did. less

Download links for: Helpmate

Advertising