Acting on LoveRating: 4 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella


When his dream of being a stage actor came true, Brandon Alexander thought his career would stay on top. But funding for his next project fell through and, to his dismay, he is currently unemployed. He thinks he has just bombed his latest audition and is at a loss for what to do next. While his career is important, he wants to make his boyfriend of one year, Shunichi, proud of him.

Shunichi runs a successful dojo and, while he works incredibly hard, he knows life would not be the same without Brandon. He wants Brandon to be happy and he will always love him, support him, and be proud of him. When an audition comes through that could solidify Brandon’s career, Brandon may just have a choice to make between the stage and the man he was planning on spending his life with.

The Conquest series was one of the first M/M series that I followed all the way through and the first book, Conquest, and its MCs Evan and Jesse, have remained a long time favorite. When I heard there was a new book set in that world, of course I had to read it. Brandon always felt overshadowed by his gorgeous and talented younger brother, Jesse, and after all this time he was finally getting his own book.

Brandon and Shunichi have kept their relationship going strong and are hopelessly in love with each other. Brandon is just at odds right now with not having a job and wanting everyone to be proud of him. Brandon has always lacked self confidence and even with the success he has had, this has not changed. The opening scene shows off how the men still can’t keep their hands off of each other with Shunichi rocking a jock strap while doing some household chores. After that, the beginning portion was a little slow with some retelling of the series and, since I was familiar with all of it, some of it was a bit repetitive. But, it allowed us to get caught up on their lives. Evan and Jesse do make several appearances and spice things up, well, simply because they’re Evan and Jesse.

There is mild angst built into the story as the men try to figure out how they are going to handle a new career development for Brandon. The story mostly was warm and easy and tender, and the ending was perfectly sweet. While other characters from the series do appear, the focus on Brandon and Shunichi would be easy to follow for any reader. There was also a hint at potential for possibly more stories set within this world. If you are a Conquest fan, this will be one that you won’t want to miss to take a step back into a world of familiar friends.

michelle signature