Review for The Tourist by Clare London

Ace likes to think of himself as a tourist dropping into the bodies of various people, mostly men, to experience other's lives.  When he becomes involved in Ricky and Dan's lives, unexpected danger and emotions that he's never experienced before make him an active participant to keep them and their love alive.

This is an intriguing story from the m/m genre which has a slight paranormal twist that adds an unexpected layer to the story.  Ace is from a bygone era who travels from body to body experiencing life through the decades, not wanting to stay anywhere for too long.  He had a harsh life and gets to experience the life he never had through these different people.  He's never felt a vested interest in the individuals he visits until he gets a taste of true love and the intense emotions surrounding a relationship trying to stay afloat.  He then becomes an active participant and is someone I'd love to see more of.  I can easily see this theme becoming a series where Ace helps many different relationships.

Dan is the strong but silent type who can't understand why the super sexy Ricky wants to be with him.  He's not overly attractive, but he's caring and honest which is exactly what Ricky needs after ending his previously abusive relationship.  For a long time Ricky was told how unimportant he was, made to feel as if only his body was important.  Knowing the pain he went through makes you root for Ricky to have a healthy relationship.  They're both likable and realistic characters with understandable feelings and seeing the kindness in Dan makes you realize how perfect they are for each other if they can survive the shadow of Ricky's sadistic ex.

Calder, Ricky's ex, is a truly vile character.  He's physically and mentally abusive and refuses to take no for an answer.  His actions towards Ricky make your heart ache and your heart pounds waiting for him to get what he so richly deserves.

This is a short read that's long on emotion.  Your emotions get pulled every which way as Ricky and Dan's relationship gets put through the wringer because of Calder.  I like the different points of view from all the characters since it draws you into the story more fully.  You get a deeper understanding of the characters and feel more vested in Ricky and Dan's relationship while really seeing how cruel Calder is.  I enjoyed this story from beginning to end with its highly emotional sexual interludes and its intriguing characters and hated to see it come to an end.  It's an interesting storyline I haven't seen before in the m/m genre and wholeheartedly recommend it.

My rating for this is an A.

*I received this from NetGalley for reviewing purposes.

*Book cover photo courtesy of www.goodreads.com.