Secondhand Heart - Scarlet Blackwell Only one word: DRAMA. Spelled out in blinking, capitalized neon letters three feet high with sparkling stars flashing all around. Boy, all that swinging and bed-hopping made my head spin! If I’ve counted correctly, there are ten men more or less entangled in this web of relationships, love affairs, friendships and or/ fuck sessions, all orbiting Conrad, who seems to have been the center of their universe – still is, actually, even though he’s dead. Perhaps all the more for it. And to top it all, nothing in this story is low-key. Those who are sad are weeping their eyes out – actually, there’s a flood of tears in this story. Those who feel betrayed are devastated to the point of wanting to end their lives. Those who love do so unconditionally and eternally, with their whole hearts. Fights turn into public scenes, kisses turn legs to jelly, affection turns into obsession. There’s sex on well-nigh every third page or so, sometimes involving more than one pairing within one chapter. However, the sheer abundance and the intensity of all those twists and turns made for a very interesting ride.As a matter of fact, this was a Comedy of Errors of Shakespearian dimensions that moved from one catastrophe to the next. Curious enough, though, it worked for me. I felt myself sucked into the troubles and problems of those men as their emotions, their despair and happiness unfolded before me and came alive on the pages. I found myself picking favorites (Darius and Aaron – knights in shining armor!), pitying others (Luke – poor sod), despising some (Conrad – what a sorry prick) and mocking some (Christian – get a grip, man! Eban – just grow a pair!). In the end, when the main protagonists were sitting happily paired up around the Christmas tree, with all the various sideline Jacks having found their respective Jills (ahem, Bills), I was satisfied like after a fluffy piece of Danish pastry. Man, what an indulgence!Read the full review at reviewsbyjessewave.com