This Other Country

More Heat Than the Sun, Book 4

By: John Wiltshire

Narrated by: Gary Furlong

Nikolas is the sanest, straightest person Ben knows, so can anyone tell him why he is on a gay-therapy course?

Nikolas Mikkelsen could make a very long list of unpleasant things he's endured in his life. Then order it from "nearly killed me" to "extremely horrific and don't want to do again". And what does it say about his 45 years, that being hit by a tsunami would be considerably way down on this list? But nothing - not torture, imprisonment, or starvation - has prepared him for what he now has to endure for Ben Rider's sake - attendance on a residential gay-therapy course.

At least he has a new contender for the top spot on his "my awful life" list.

©2021 Decent Fellows Press (P)2021 Decent Fellows Press

When resort vacations go bad!

With Ben and Nik, even a restful vacay on a lovely beach on a tropical isle turns into murder, action, plots, and a lot of near fatal events—plus a bit of their own mysticism, and hot sex, of course. It’s just a complex and wonderful concoction that adds up to a great read. Or a great listen, in this case, with Gary Furlong doing an amazing job.

Distressing

I had a difficult time getting through this book. I don't like mind control stories and they were horribly betrayed by someone they trusted. The loss Ben suffered was egregious. It's going to be hard to continue the series but I already bought the audiobooks after the last book. I didn't understand why they kept nattering on about whether or not they were gay. They love each other so what difference does it make. Why does it need a label? The performance by Gary Furlong was spot on.

Continues to be 5 stars!

This Other Country is the fourth book in John Wiltshire’s More Heat Than the Sun series. These books follow the same couple and each book builds off some events from previous ones. While this is a complete story and could be enjoyed on it’s own, I’d definitely recommend starting with Love is a Stranger. It’s possible this review contains spoilers to earlier books.

These continue to get better and better. Partially because I’ve come to know Ben & Nik and love their truly twisted yet perfect for them relationship. Contrasting that is Wiltshire’s ability to surprise me with where the story is going. I honestly have no clue what’s going to happen and enjoy every minute of it. Her sense of humor is at times joyful and others completely dark. Then she drags Nik & Ben into a trope that other authors would struggle to keep out of being ridiculous but instead unfolds into a horror that kept me feeling like they might actually not make it to the other side. (despite, of course, knowing there’s four more books)

The most difficult part is that so many events build off each other that it’s hard to give many details without spoiling. They go undercover at a retreat for gay couples to discover what happened to Squeezy’s nephew. With other attendees they discover all is not as it seems. Both men have to be saved but in completely different ways. There’s a betrayal from someone very close to them. And old friends from previous missions are back. Then… there is the physical relationship which continues to burn up the sheets. And the kitchen. And the stable. And… It was a sexy and emotional ride that I didn’t want to stop. Fortunately, there’s more Nik & Ben in book 5, The Bruise-Black Sky.

Narration:
Gary Furlong continues to be impeccable. His voices and accents for characters are consistent book to book and it makes it so easy to binge these as well as jump back in if (like me!) there’s a few months between books.

This just keeps getting better

These 2 guys just can't stay out of trouble lol. The beginning contains a lot of humor, the middle is heart wrenching, the end is typical Nik and Ben. The narrator is fabulous as usual.

Great story. Great narration.

My favorite stories which happen to fall into the romance genre tend to be series about couples who are moving through the challenges of life together. This book reminded me why I prefer that type of story. New love can create a beautiful story, but holding onto love is an adventure. The relationship between Nikolas and Ben is constantly under pressure throughout the series, and this book takes a closer look at how they view their relationship.

Unlike the earlier books with multiple parts, this story has one main plotline that places Ben and Nikolas into a scenario where they find themselves surrounded by troubled gay men trying to find their own peace. Naturally, since neither Ben nor Nikolas are gay, they can maintain their emotional distance and help others in need. Yeah. Right. Sure.

The author does a wonderful job of utilizing the plot of this book to delve into how Ben and Nikolas perceive their respective places in their relationship and the emotions they experience through each challenge they overcome. Once again Gary Furlong's performance enhances the emotional experiences that Ben and Nikolas work through to try and stay connected to one another.