Rogue by Onley James (Jericho's Boys Book #2)

TITLE: ⟫ Rogue

AUTHOR: ⟫ Onley James

SERIES: ⟫ Jericho’s Boys Book #2

RATING: ⟫ 5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Levi Akira’s existence is far from ideal. His mother's addiction consumes their lives, his academic standing is crumbling, and the convenience store he works at is a constant target for ruthless robberies. But amidst the chaos, Levi finds solace in only three things: his tight-knit group of friends, protecting his neighbourhood as one of Jericho’s Boys, and streaming his favourite video game, where he assumes the role of Rogue—a hero who will break the rules for the greater good.

Shiloh Mizrahi’s hope has all but dwindled. With one brother unjustly imprisoned, and the other a sadistic puppeteer, he endures daily torment at the hands of the latter. And his latest demand? Get close to Levi at any cost.

In the midst of another ordinary night shift, Levi's world is upended when a captivating and terrified stranger appears, brandishing a weapon and claiming he has been forced to kill Levi by his own brother. Levi, torn between self-preservation and an instinctive aversion to harming the vulnerable boy, takes a bold leap—he kisses him. And then, just like that, the boy disappears into the night, leaving Levi haunted by his memory.

Driven by an unshakeable connection, Levi's path crosses with Shiloh's once more, igniting a passionate bond that refuses to be extinguished. However, Shiloh harbours a labyrinth of secrets, torn between loyalty and desire. With his brother's freedom dangling in the balance, can Levi and Shiloh navigate the treacherous path to be together, or will Levi forever remain a hero confined to the online realm?

REVIEW: ⟫ I started reading this on Onley’s Patreon but Real Life got in the way and I decided to save it until the book was published.

I’m so glad I did because Levi and Shiloh’s story deserved to be devoured in one sitting, along with a box of tissues and a soothing cup of tea. If you’ve read the Necessary Evils stories, you know that these people meet their person and imprint like a duckling and Levi is no exception. But this time, he meets the love of his life at the end of a gun.

Shiloh broke my whole damned heart for so many reasons: Micah was a grade A A*hole who loved nothing more than torturing Shiloh mentally and physically, and as such Shiloh is expecting nothing good from his life. Which is why when Levi prevents him from committing murder on camera with a stunning kiss, he imprints just as much as the other man does.

Levi’s pain was of a whole different kind and man, this is where the tissues really came in handy. This boy had been through it and is still dealing with it in the form of his alcoholic mother. The only reason Levi hasn’t broken is his found family with Jericho and the rest of the Murder Muppets. Shiloh takes him completely by surprise but from the beginning, Levi is all in.

I admit that there were three ‘background’ characters that really grabbed me: Malachi, Shiloh’s brother was like ‘woof’ – I cannot wait to read more about him; Seven being flippant, bratty and downright needy made me laugh and LONG for his story; and then we met Enzo. OH MY GOODNESS. Seriously, these two didn’t interact that much on paper, but they burned up the room together in the short amount of time we spent with them and I am relishing finding out Enzo’s backstory. Which is coming – right?

Like the other stories in this series, this was wild, violent, sexy ride and I was more than happy to hold on to the ‘oh sh!t’ bar and make the most of it. Shiloh and Levi did not disappoint in any way, although reading what the two of them have gone through really made me feel kinda bleak more than once or twice.

Some of the Mulvaneys made an appearance, including Avi and Asa (I can never get enough of these two), and we got to see the family in action as they helped Levi help Shiloh. But this was definitely all about the Murder Muppets, with an excellent mix of old characters whilst allowing the newer ones to shine. Obviously I’m a big Onley James’ fan so it’s no surprise that this scored a five from me, but I would definitely say the tissues are needed for this one – it felt so much more emotionally wrenching, which would make sense since the Muppets are not psychopaths – they’re human, with past trauma, a need to belong and find someone to love. Which is precisely why they work so well.

Also, don’t forget to grab the bonus epilogue because it was the absolute cherry on the top of the cake!

Paladin by Onley James (Jericho's Boys #1)

Title: ⟫ Paladin (Jericho’s Boys #1)

Author: ⟫ Onley James

Rating: ⟫ 4.5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Arseny Lebedev lives a normal life. During the day, he’s a mechanic. At night, he livestreams a fairy tale video game called Paladin. And sometimes—only sometimes—he kills people. But they all deserve it.

Ever doesn’t know his last name. He doesn’t know much of anything. Most of his life has been torture, bought and sold by a woman who calls herself his mother. He’s resigned himself to a life of servitude, until he meets Arsen.

The moment Arsen sees Ever, they’re bonded. Ever is both fragile and feral, willing to defend himself with any tool at his disposal, even teeth. Arsen is color and light, a beacon in Ever’s darkness, as brave as the knight in the game he plays.

Arsen protects Ever fiercely, but just when he feels safe, someone attempts to drag him back to his old life, reminding him that reality isn’t fairy tales or video games. He knows staying puts Arsen in danger. But Arsen insists they’re safer together. Can Ever truly have his happily ever after or is it game over?

Paladin is a hurt-comfort, dark romance with an HEA and no cliffhangers. It features a vigilante twitch-streamer and the beautiful but feral gremlin he saves from a life of misery. As with any Onley book, you’ll find dark humor, steamy sexy times, and gratuitous violence against people who totally deserve it. This is book 1 in the Jericho’s Boys series. Each book follows a different couple.

Review: ⟫ There are so many reasons that I love this book: Arsen with his blue hair; Ever with his baby-faced innocence and inner feral beastie; Levi and the bite; the Mulvaney twins coming to play; Jericho and Freckles – the list is darned near endless.

But the main reason I loved this was how it handled trauma. Therapy was there – which, awesome – but also an understanding that everyone handles trauma in different ways. Some people are talkers, some repress, and some find something that makes them feel safe – there is no template for trauma and handling it, and that is what shone through for me in this book. A deep understanding that whatever you need to do to handle what you’ve been through, as long as it’s not hurting you or other people – do what you gotta do. And that, for me, was priceless to read.

We have the normal madcap run of adventures in this story, with Jericho’s Boys somehow adopting a new person and helping them figure out a whole heap of firsts; we have the steaming hot sex – like, holy moly, these two were determined to burn up the page; some murder and mayhem which included Felix getting to flex his claws, a screwdriver and a live-action mission from Call of Duty – this book was a fun read, which sounds odd when you think of the subject matter.

I rejigged my budget so that I can afford to join Patreon again so that I could read this as it was written, but as per normal, I stopped myself about halfway through so that I could experience Arsen and Ever in full, and I’m so glad I did. I was sad after I read Maniac because I knew it was the end of the Necessary Evils series, but Jericho’s Boys have steamed in and filled that gap and I cannot wait to read more!

I received an ARC from the author.