Book Review
Title: Polyamory on Trial
Author: Jude Tresswell
Genre: LGBT/Romance/Crime
Rating: *****
Review: So, after requesting this book I learned that this was the second book following these characters, but the books can be read as stand-alone novels. Polyamory on Trial follows Mike, Ross, Raith, and Phil in their relationship. So, the opening to Polyamory on Trial was great, we meet our 4 protagonists and we can instantly see that all 4 men are very different. It seems that there are two distinct couples being Mike and Ross along with Phil and Raith, however most interchange partners with the exception of Ross who doesn’t sleep with anyone except Mike but has an emotional attachment to the other two men. This story seems to be focusing on Phil who works at a hospital and specializes in rectal trauma when a young man named Khaled is brought in and Phil has the feeling that this young boy is here illegally and is being abused.
We also learned that Mike used to work as a CID but left the force for unknown reasons that not even his partners are aware of. While Mike wants to help none of them are really in a position to help. As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we get a real sense of the dynamics between the 4 men, but the real intriguing part is the developing bond between Phil and Khaled. Khaled isn’t gay or unwilling it admits he is because of the environment he was raised in. However, Khaled does open up to Phil a little telling him he does speak some English and that he is, in fact, being taken against his will while leads Phil to go out and get drunk something very uncommon for the foursome. The four decide together that this is something that can’t be ignored anymore.
As the issue with Khaled takes more and more control of the men’s lives, we see some tensions rising. However, these tensions are purely because they have to investigate themselves because if they go to the police and Khaled is in the country illegally, he will be deported meaning everything he has gone through has been for nothing. Things are made worse when an allegation is made against Phil at work and he has tons of emotionally pressure to deal with despite having three great support pillars around him.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, we get to delve a bit deeper into the emotional and physical relationships the 4 men share with each other. While there are two main couples seeing how they share with one another is great, the only exception is Ross who only has an intimate relationship with Mike and they share a deeper more connective kind of love that Mike shares with Raith or Phil. Despite this, it doesn’t stop Mike having deep emotional and physical connections with Raith and Phil and he even goes into depth about how his relationships with Raith, Ross, and Phil are all different and unique and how he cherishes them in his own way.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, I was so invested in this novel. Mike is helping Phil deal with his problems at work and try and get some information on Khaled. It was interesting to learn more about the character’s history, about how Mike has been raped in the past despite being a stereotypical masculine man and that Phil had to watch his first lover die of AIDS. I liked how the novel is showing that it isn’t just dealing with the here and now problems but how these characters came to be the people they are and what experiences shaped them. As things get more and more out of control for the quad with Phil and Mike breaking into someone’s house only to find Khaled hidden away and they decide they have to rescue him, but this poses its own set of problems. One of these problems is that Khaled hates gay men and so the quad is currently hiding the nature of their relationship, but it isn’t sitting well with any of them.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, things seem to be moving with Khaled and he seems to have a real chance at freedom when we are hit with a massive bombshell that I honestly had to read twice to make sure I’d read it right. After this, the quad is left more torn than they were before but now Phil’s exclusionary feelings have been brought to light and Mike is worried that their walls might not be as strong as they first thought but I have hope that these boys will pull through as they have done in the past.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, the life of the quad becomes more about how they are going to fix the cracks they have found in their relationship in light of finding Khaled. While Ross and Mike are civil partners it seems like Phil and Raith are going to get married and Mike seems to believe they will be stronger for it. In addition, everyone seems to be more self-aware that even the strongest walls need some fixing up every now and again which makes their lengthy conversations and pillow talk all the more vital to the plot and character development.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, a whole lot of things go down that I just can’t go into detail about, but I can honestly say that the ending certainly makes up for the slow start as does all the witty banter between the quad. I will warn you there is a certain joke at the end of the novel that left me in stitches. Overall, I found Polyamory on Trial to be an amazing, funny yet serious novel that discussing issues like rape, AIDS culture, poly-amorous relationship, trafficking and much more. I highly recommend this book and I will definitely be reading Badge of Loyalty soon and anything else Jude Tresswell writes in the future.
Buy it here:
Paperback: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
I received this review copy from NetGalley
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