REVIEW: 'Antidote' by Jack L. Pyke
5 HEART READ
Title: Antidote
Series: Don't...Don't Book 2
Author: Jack L. Pyke
Published: May 13, 2014
Cover Artist: D.M. Atkins
Genre: Dark Erotic Romance
Length: Novel/140,000 Words
Tags: Gay; M/M; M/M/M; Menage; BDSM; D/s; Suspense; Psychological Thriller; Heavy Angst; Bittersweet; Society of Masters; CW: Torture; CW: Rape; CW: Abduction; CW: Emotional Abuse; CW: Non-Con; CW: Sexual Assault; CW: Sexual Abuse; CW: Explicit Violence
BLURB:
“No head games, no tests. Just us, Jack.”
Videos of Jack having sex with a man who brutally mutilated teenagers for fun should have stayed dead and buried, just like the man who filmed them. So when footage of Jack’s past starts showing up on internet port sites, Jack’s whole world is again turned on its head.
At first, the videos merely unsettle Jack’s fire-and-ice world of Gray Raoul’s BDSM kink and Jan Richards’ gentle, vanilla touch. But when the videos of teenaged Jack get more extreme, even Gray becomes suspicious, leaving Jack isolated from the protection of the Masters’ Circle.
Jack soon finds himself at the mercy of a group of men set on altering Jack’s perceptions of BDSM as brutally as possible. Jack’s sex life is now on camera for a whole new audience, and the only thing he
has left to lose is himself.
For Antidote, this second book in the Don’t…. series by Jack L. Pyke, I recommend you pull up your big girl, or boy, panties and get ready for one hell of a torturous, haunting, psychological thrill ride that will test even your most steadfast of limits. And for the record, the Don’t…. series must be read in sequence in order to fully immerse yourself in the complexities of all that will hook you - line and sinker.
Get ready for one hell of a torturous, haunting, psychological thrill ride.
WARNING: If abduction, abuse, rape, torture (psychological as well as physical), and sadomasochism are not your thing, steer clear. If you know these are off-limits for you, why fool yourself? You can not handle them here.
But if you are already deeply invested in Jack, Jan and Gray then you can probably speculate the risk involved when being part of the Masters’ Circle and you can also surmise the implications that may arise when your Master is part of the MI5. Taking this for what it is, if you can then open your mind to the potential risks inherent….I promise you this is one beautiful heart stopping novel.
I am not going to blow smoke up your butt, Antidote is one killer of a read. It is not for the faint of heart. In fact, about 45% through, I had to take a breather. I can’t even tell you how many times I slammed my Kindle on the table, cursed Pyke, couldn’t eat, scrubbed at my eyes, and chugged more alcohol than I care to admit, in a desperate plea for the heart crushing nightmare to end!
If you thought Jack L. Pyke’s talent shone in Don’t…., let me just say that in Antidote she amps her skills up to a whole new level.
Pyke is like reading Patricia Cornwell and Stephen King rolled up in one and wrapped with a pretty little bow of BDSM steroids.
As Antidote begins Jack, Jan and Gray have been grappling with a little down time after Jack’s attack at the end of Don’t…., and you see them beginning to form a bond as a polyamory unit. While the chapters fill with playfulness, and Jack’s snarky little slap happy wit, there is an undertone of what is about to occur.
Suddenly the realities and complexities of Jack’s disorders are coming out and Jan and Gray must bond together to take care of Jack mentally - and physically. With BDSM off the table due to mandated counseling after Jack’s assault, you soon begin to realize that the sexual control was a much needed escape for Jack - from his own mind.
As an unexpected and unrelenting chain of events begins to take place it not only throws Jack of course but puts Gray in a tailspin of indecision, resulting in a choice that will have lasting implications on all three men - forever.
Pyke gives you scenes so descriptive, so intense, it makes you feel raw inside. I was physically aching for what each of these men endure. She makes your heart bleed using Jan as the catalyst. He is the ears, eyes, heart, and soul of the profound love these three men share. Then as Jack and Jan are suffering in every way unimaginable, she ratchets that intense sentiment up as you watch the ever strong, always in control Gray - weary, beaten down - lost. And his loss is never as profound as it is at the end of Antidote. Get ready to sob!
Antidote is a stunning follow-up to Don’t…. that rocks the series to its core. I didn’t think Jack L. Pyke could give us any more of a thrill ride, but she touches on every raw emotion. I literally laughed in joy, teared up in loss, pulled my hair in frustration, cried in agony, screamed in pain, sobbed in shock, and felt ultimate heartache and betrayal. And all the while I kept thinking there could not be more and yet, in typical Pyke fashion, there was - just one more twist, always one more twist. Mercedes, Mercedes F-ing Benz!
Contact: E-mail
Jack blames her dark writing influences on living close to one of England’s finest forests. Having grown up hearing a history of kidnappings, murders, strange sightings, and sexual exploits her neck of the woods is renowned for, Jack takes that into her writing, having also learned that human coping strategies for intense situations can sometimes make the best of people have disastrously bad moments. Redeeming those flaws is Jack’s drive, and if that drive just happens to lead to sexual tension between two or more guys in a D/s relationship, Jack’s the first to let nature take its course.
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