Hollywood Bound by Morticia Knight

 Jack and Nick seek fortune and adventure in the silent film era of Hollywood. But their newly-expressed love is threatened by the heady allure of fame, gin and easy money.

Sweet and innocent nineteen year-old Jack has loved the older and more street wise Nick from almost the first time he met him. Nick has taken care of him ever since Jack arrived in New York after he was beaten and thrown out of the boy’s orphanage for messing around with one of the guys there. They share a passion for silent films and have dreams of heading west to make their fortunes building sets for the studios. If only Nick felt the same passion for Jack, and wasn’t already engaged to a gal back in Philly.

Nick’s temper sometimes gets the best of him, but that’s only because he worries about Jack – Nick is all the poor kid has. But he’s also terrified about the way he’s been feeling towards Jack lately. They’re the kinds of feelings he should be having for his fiancé—Penelope—and never for a man. His only goal is to get them both to Hollywood, where he’s sure they’ll be rolling in the dough in no time, and where everything will all work out the way it should.

Hollywood isn’t exactly what they’d thought it would be. There are plenty of gin joints, jazz, money, parties and sex—but everything comes with a hefty price. Everyone they meet—from Trixie Fox, the ditzy up and coming starlet, to Bernie, the foreman who gets them their first studio job—seems to have a hidden agenda. Can the newfound love between Jack and Nick survive the tawdry mess that makes up the glitz and glamour of the celluloid kingdom, or will their own secrets tear them apart forever?

Reader Advisory: This book contains mild BDSM elements, drug use, and sex-for-hire scenes.

Reader Advisory: Please note, this is the first book of a three book serial and is part of a continuing story line best read in sequence.

This series was recommended to me by my friend Tammy, who pretty much told me that I should stop what I was doing and read it.  Granted, it took me a few days to start reading it and to be honest I was a bit confused as to what was going on at first!  That’s when I realized I should have read the blurb before I started reading them.  Don’t get me wrong; once I read that and did fully understand what I was getting into, I seriously could NOT put the series down.

I read through the first 6 books in the series within 5 days just because I just couldn’t put them down. I have never read anything by Ms. Knight in the past, but you can be sure that I will read more from her in the future.

The characters she was able to create were just off the wall amazing. She was able to bring them to life in a way that it felt like you have known them your whole life. Jack has this insane sense of innocence about him throughout the whole story, even after things between him and Nick escalate; he still was able to maintain it.  And you could just tell it was all completely natural for him. Nick was such a great character in my opinion. Even when he was being a brat, I still loved how concerned he was with Jack and was willing to do anything to keep him safe.

One thing that I enjoyed about the sexual relationship that forms between Jack and Nick is even though they take part in a BDSM relationship, it isn’t classified as that. They are both doing whatever they are comfortable with, and what they both enjoy. There weren’t any labels between them, they were just together because they wanted to be.

Overall, I did completely enjoy the book and like I said earlier, I couldn’t wait to start reading the next books!