Title: Behind the Stick
Authors: K Evan Coles & Brigham Vaughn
Series: Speakeasy #3
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Dates: August 20, 2019
Media mogul Jesse Murtagh and bartender Kyle McKee decide to go into business together and open Under Lock & Key, a speakeasy on the upper West Side of Manhattan. The bar, with its secret passphrases and craft liquor cocktails, becomes a sanctuary for Jesse and Kyle’s circle of friends, who gather once a month to catch up with each other and share their experiences.
Under is both hang out and haven for the men who spend time within its walls and their friendships build family ties that are sometimes missing from their own lives.
The stories can be read in order or as standalones.
Summary:
Kyle McKee lives a charmed life. He co-owns Under, an uptown speakeasy, where he is chief mixologist. Friends poke fun at Kyle’s tiny one-bed apartment in Chelsea, but they’re the best support system a man could ask for. Unfortunately, Kyle’s lackluster love life has led him to take a break from dating.
Harlem resident Luka Clarke is a lieutenant with Engine 47, the Pride of Morningside, where he carries on his father’s legacy with the FDNY. Luka, who is mixed race and bisexual, has his eye on Kyle, whom he met at a local burger joint and he just needs to make time to visit Kyle’s bar.
Before work one evening, Kyle is trapped inside the luncheonette when a fire breaks out. Luka’s firehouse answers the call and he connects with Kyle again under the most unexpected of circumstances. When Kyle gratefully invites Luka and the firehouse squad to Under, the flirting between the two men leads to a date.
Kyle and Luka quickly grow close, but Luka’s mother and sister distrust Kyle for being both white and gay. Luka believes his family will come around and accept Kyle in the end, but Kyle is not optimistic and hides his disquiet as attraction blossoms into love.
Kyle and Luka’s near-idyllic bubble is shattered one evening after a hate crime leaves them scarred, inside and out. Shaken, they put on a strong front but struggle inwardly against fear and personal demons. As the emotions seething beneath the surface finally come to a head, both men must decide if they have the strength to find love enough to conquer hate.
Reader advisory: This book contains references to non-nurturing parenting; homophobia; racism and racist slurs. There are references to recreational drug use. This book also contains scenes of mmmm ménage and characters caught in fire.
Can I just start by saying that this series just gets better and better! I love Kyle and his ingenuity behind the stick(behind the bar for those of us not in the know when it comes to bartending lingo😉), he has been one of my favorite secondary characters from way back in the
Tidal duology when we first met him and now that he finally got his own story he is even more lovable and full of WOW-ness!
Let's talk Luka now. Fireman . . . need I say more😉😉. He has an amazingly supportive family with the exception of his mother and sister when it comes to dating another white man which all stems from his previous boyfriend which you really need to experience Luka's journey as he opens up to Kyle to fully understand where all the characters' thoughts and emotions are coming from. I'll admit my first instinct was to be extremely angry toward's Luka's mom & sis but as you learn more, I remained unhappy with them but I could understood their reluctance. Emotions and support can be an unbalanced teeter-totter but eventually you find what you need to make the ride level out. I guess what I'm saying is don't jump to conclusions because it is actually a pretty perfectly written balance between making the reader think and creating just the right added layer of drama to entertain.
Now putting Kyle and Luka together with Jesse and Cam is fun, sexy, fitting, and simply put a joyous treat. Luka being open to the possibility yet not sure about participating but definitely interested in watching was wonderfully written. Getting to see it unfold through his eyes, knowing that it wasn't a threat to their relationship was really awe-inspiring. I can't help but think some authors would have over-explored the fear of it ruining the relationship, letting one participant's jealousy overshadow the heat for the sake of extra drama but Cole & Vaughn did not. Sure Luka has a moment of clarity but it was never really about jealousy and that was much appreciated and for me made the scene even hotter but more importantly it made it believable and acceptable for the two couples and the individual characters involved.
You'll notice I didn't touch on the hate crime that is mentioned in the story blurb. It will break your heart but unfortunately there is still that level of evil in society but the authors wrote this part of Luka and Kyle's journey so beautifully, an odd choice of wording considering the subject matter but it's how they tackled it and not just thrown it in for relationship drama that made it beautiful for me. In fact, calling it any kind of "
drama" I think belittles what Luka and Kyle go through both during and after, and its how the boys, their friends, and family react that made it so well written. This is definitely a defining moment for all the characters but it is not the end-all-be-all of the story, there is just so much more to
Behind the Stick. As for the fallout from the attack well you'll have to read it for yourself to see if you feel the same as I did.
So for those wondering about the reading order of
The Speakeasy series, yes technically each one is a standalone as it's a different pairing BUT(and I think most of you know what I'm about to say😉) for me I can't imagine reading in any order other than how it was released. Characters from previous entries as well as from the
Tidal duology that this spun off of appear throughout and though you won't be lost by any means I found everything flowed better having read those journeys first. As I said, you won't be lost if you don't start at the beginning but because of the ménage/mmmm scene in
Behind the Stick I would highly recommend reading
Extra Dirty to learn how Jesse and Cam fell in love. Whatever order you choose to read it just be sure to read because this is not only a reading gem but a pure delightful and heartwarming love story with just the right amount of drama and heat, oh the heat, to make you smile and that is never a bad thing.
RATING:
Kyle McKee set down his gym bag and yoga mat and pulled up a seat at his gym’s juice bar. The class he’d taken had warmed his skin and stretched his muscles and joints to their limits. He felt like the world’s most relaxed slab of single New York man, which was good for Kyle’s state of mind. He’d been stressed lately, about his love life in particular. Because damn if every guy he’d been out with in the last two months hadn’t turned out to be a shitheel of epic proportions. So much so, Kyle had decided to stop dating entirely.
Eyes closed, Kyle forced away thoughts of dating catastrophes. He rolled his neck from side to side but peeled his lids open again when the chair on his left slid back and his friend Malcolm Elliot dropped into the seat. Malcolm gave Kyle a lazy grin. At six-three, he stood a few inches taller than Kyle, and he looked rosy-cheeked and loose limbed, his blue-gray eyes shining.
“I am a man-sized untwisted pretzel,” Malcolm said. “I’m not sure what that means, so don’t ask.”
“You’re yoga-stoned, dude.” Kyle smiled at Malcolm’s laugh.
“Is that a thing?”
“Totally a thing.”
Malcolm narrowed his eyes at Kyle. “You’re the one with the bloodshot eyes—what did you do after class?”
“Ugh, nothing but itch from allergies. Ragweed is my kryptonite.” Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers, then nodded at the menu on the wall behind the counter. “What are you drinking?”
“I’ll do a Kale Storm with protein,” Malcolm said.
Kyle held up a hand when Malcolm reached for his wallet. “I’ll grab these—you paid last week.” He smiled at the barista who’d stepped up to take their order. “A Kale Storm with a protein powder shot and a Peanut Butter Baby with chia, please. You headed home after this?” he asked Malcolm.
Malcolm shook his head. “I’ve got errands to run. My kitchen has mysteriously emptied itself of food since my brother and his girlfriend came back to town. What about you?”
“I’m opening tonight, so I’ll just head to the bar. I have extra clothes at the office I can change into.” Kyle co-owned a speakeasy called Under with his friend Jesse Murtagh and, while he loved his job, the commute uptown from Chelsea to Morningside Heights could be a pain in the ass. He welcomed the option to skip extra stops when he could.
Malcolm ran his gaze over Kyle’s gray Henley and dark jeans. “You could always serve in what you’re wearing, you know. You’d blow Jesse’s mind.”
Kyle covered a theatrical gasp with one hand. “I would never!” His preference for black or dark gray clothing while working was a source of gentle teasing among his friends. “Seriously, I don’t feel like I’m working unless I’ve got my blacks on. I’ve done it for so long it’s just part of how I do my job.”
What kind of atmosphere do you like for writing (ie: radio, music, silence, etc)?
KEC: I prefer silence or white noise like a cafe, but I also write while listening to music Spotify playlists that I build around books and characters. I stick to electronic music that typically doesn’t involve a lot of vocals/lyrics because I’ll start singing along and that’s counterproductive to the writing. The only other thing I truly ‘need’ is a comfortable table and chair kind of setup at which to sit and the option to stand while writing, too. My butt gets tired from all that sitting.
BV: I can’t stand the chatter of a cafe; I find myself trying to listen to all the conversations around me (writers are SO incurably nosy) and I can’t focus on my work. Any kind of talking (like talk radio) is distracting so if I can put music on, I’m happy. I can ignore the lyrics when I write if the vibe of the music meshes with the scene I’m writing. I really like writing alone in my bedroom and I find having the right lighting has a huge impact for me. I switch between a regular desk chair and a balance ball chair to avoid the dreaded butt tiredness, but I desperately need a new desk chair. I have been known to lay on my bed with my laptop on my knees. It’s terrible for my back but I do it any way from time to time.
Most of us have themes that fall outside our reading comfort zone, is there a genre, trope, or topic you wouldn't be comfortable exploring when writing your stories?
BV: I try to stay open-minded too but MPREG has never clicked with me. Maybe it’s because I don’t want kids, but I don’t really get the appeal? That’s no slam against people who read it or who are parents at all! I just can’t see myself writing something that doesn’t make my brain light up and go “ooooh”. But hey, you never know!
KEC: While I consider myself adventurous with my reading, I’m not especially drawn to taboo topics and that’s reflected in my writing as well. That said, my attitudes about lots of things have changed over time, so it’s entirely possible that something I’m not interested in exploring now could be something I look at with fresh eyes somewhere down the road.
How do you celebrate your release day? Do you treat yourself to a special coffee/drink, binge watch your favorite show, alone time enjoying the quiet or do you just jump right into the next story?
KEC: I move from one project to the next, so if I’m not writing, I’m typically working in some fashion, either at my day job or doing promo for the new release. I’ll definitely sit down for a glass of wine at some point, however!
BV: No. At this point I’ve released almost thirty titles (I am legitimately losing track) and have an entire giant calendar dedicated to keeping track of which project is in which stage of development. And release day is always crazy. There’s so much to do on social media and many little last-minute things that have to come together in the right order that it isn’t an option. I would LOVE to get to a point where I can take a day to just relax and celebrate a release, but I just don’t have time for it now.
What is a hobby or guilty pleasure you enjoy to relax that would make your readers go "huh, never saw that coming"?
BV: It’s not a guilty pleasure but I think people would be surprised that I really enjoy woodworking. My dad is a very skilled woodworker, so I grew up with it and I enjoy creative projects like stripping and refinishing furniture (my writing desk was found at a curb and I refinished it!) or making cutting boards or whatever. I am nowhere near his level of talent, but I’d love to have more time to learn and improve my skills.
KEC: I love baking, actually. Food preparation in general is something I really enjoy. Plus, food to eat as a bonus!
What can we expect to see next from you?
KEC: Currently I’m working on follow up novels to several series I’m juggling. On the solo front, there’s book two in Boston Seasons, as well as some shorter works that I hope to fit into the universe I created when I wrote Thief of Hearts, a Valentine’s novella I released earlier this year. And on the co-writing front, Brigham and I are in the midst of writing Straight Up, which will the fourth book in The Speakeasy series.
BV: I am working on the third book in The Midwest Series called Touch & Go about a minor league baseball player and the physical therapist for his team. It was originally supposed to be the final book in the series buuuut I saw a picture of a gorgeous swimmer the other day and the drag queen who made a small appearance in book two perked up and said “ooh, I like him” so I guess I’m writing their book too! *laughs* I also have another series called The West Hills and there are two more books in that to write, plus a holiday novella. Along with wrapping up Straight Up with K. Evan, that’s about the next eight months or so for me.
Saturday's Series Spotlight
K Evan Coles
K. Evan Coles is a mother and tech pirate by day and a writer by night. She is a dreamer who, with a little hard work and a lot of good coffee, coaxes words out of her head and onto paper.
K. lives in the northeast United States, where she complains bitterly about the winters, but truly loves the region and its diverse, tenacious and deceptively compassionate people. You’ll usually find K. nerding out over books, movies and television with friends and family. She’s especially proud to be raising her son as part of a new generation of unabashed geeks.
K.’s books explore LGBTQ+ romance in contemporary settings.
Brigham Vaughn
Brigham Vaughn is on the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time writer. She devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso stop her from doing yoga. She makes a killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover everything else life has to offer her.
Her books range from short stories to novellas. They explore gay, lesbian, and polyamorous romance in contemporary settings.
To stay up to date on her latest releases, sign up for the
Coles & Vaughn Newsletter.
K Evan Coles
EMAIL: coles.k.evan@gmail.com
Brigham Vaughn
EMAIL: brighamvaughn@gmail.com
Behind the Stick #3
With a Twist #1
Extra Dirty #2
