King Perry [Kindle Edition]

Edmond Manning (Author)

Book Description

In a trendy San Francisco art gallery, out-of-towner Vin Vanbly witnesses an act of compassion that compels him to make investment banker Perry Mangin a mysterious offer: in exchange for a weekend of complete submission, Vin will restore Perry’s “kingship” and transform him into the man he was always meant to be.

Despite intense reservations, Perry agrees, setting in motion a chain of events that will test the limits of his body, seduce his senses, and fray his every nerve, (perhaps occasionally breaking the law) while Vin guides him toward his destiny as ”the one true king.”

Even as Perry rediscovers old grief and new joys within himself, Vin and his shadowy motivations remain enigmas: who is this offbeat stranger guiding them from danger to hilarity to danger? To emerge triumphant, Perry must overcome the greatest challenge alone: embracing his devastating past. But can he succeed by Sunday’s sunrise deadline? How can he possibly evolve from an ordinary man into King Perry?

A Bittersweet Dreams title: It's an unfortunate truth: love doesn't always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.

Product Details

• File Size: 711 KB
• Print Length: 350 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (February 26, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007E558OW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #246,152 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Healed by a Madman February 27, 2012

By C Green

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved this story. It had just the right amount of keeping the reader and main character off balance, intrigued, pissed off and smitten. The author's ability to create a magical feeling in a wonderfully detailed real life setting is incredible.

Perry, an investment banker in 1999 San Fransisco is wooed and goes on a practically shamanic weekend journey with Vin, a mysterious madman with all the best intentions. You are not quite sure if Vin will make or break Perry. Can he do the delicate balance of breaking down Perry's walls, rattling him out of his self built cage, and building him back up again or will he just break him and leave him in ruins. Vin isn't quite sure himself if he can pull it off. And Perry doesn't even know what he has signed up for.

The slow building of trust and freedom is very very sweet. This book will expand your heart and make you remember the magic of love. It shows how rich being a man can be with compassion, forgiveness, grief, love and outrageous play. What it really takes to be a to be a father, lover, son. Love IS a risk but there is not that much life in safe cage.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "a deliciously inventive allegory..." February 27, 2012

By Tony

Format:Kindle Edition

Edmond Manning's field of ancestral kings - the backdrop to King Perry, is a deliciously inventive allegory of both the sadly fallen and joyfully redemptive nature not just of "humanity," but of each one of us.

This story offers up something rarely seen - the powerful use of sex not just as a physical act, or, in the hands of a masterful manipulator, as a way to debase and destroy (yes, we all know those films), but instead as a way for his characters to enter through the door of their own fragile and vulnerable souls. It's the sexual equivalent of Babette's Feast, or Ratatouille.

Edmond's writing style runs from simple and joyful - even goofy at times - to exquisitely lush. The characters are finely drawn and I have a great empathy for both Vin and Perry. His attention to detail brings you entirely into their world and the pacing will take you through what starts as a frothy adventure, to what becomes a journey of the soul - fearful, exhilarating, heartbreaking. You will travel along with the characters - to the edge.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Transformative Weekend in San Francisco February 27, 2012

By Ann

Format:Kindle Edition

I loved every page of King Perry. The mysterious Vin Vanbly wakes Perry up to his true self using a soul-level sexual revolution. I wouldn't mind a visit from Vin! If you love San Francisco, then you'll love many of the scenes, including an amazing night on Alcatraz. King Perry is a great read; one I couldn't put down. A non-traditional love story for a non-tradition couple.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Discovering a new genre of writing February 27, 2012

By mike toppe

Format:Kindle Edition

By the 6th chapter I began questioning the (now wasted) time I invested reading all of the books I have read these past few years. This is an extremely rewarding read.

The writer's style is sly, warm and somehow familiar. Mr Manning presents the reader with three gifts: two spiritually complex and thoroughly alive human characters (Vin and Perry--one suspended in his mind space, the other cast adrift and exploring..tho that's an extreme over-simplification) and The City (San Francisco) whose spiritual essence is honored with precision.

It is rare to label a book a 'future classic'--but this was my realization half-way through the book. The best feeling when discovering a book like this (somewhere between 'The City, Not Long After' and 'Tales of The City') is being able to share your enthusiasm with others..

I am buying 10 copies to share with friends and loved ones!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I wanna be a King!! Best book I've read in years!! March 5, 2012

By Michele

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a 40 something straight woman, I wouldn't normally think of picking up a M4M romance, but this time I took a risk and... I am so glad I did! By the time I finished Edmond Manning's "King Perry", tears were streaming down my face, a smile was on my lips, and my heart was so full I thought it might burst! There is so much to say about this story - about the way it made me feel - the way it made me laugh out loud - made me cry - excited me - entertained me - and the way it touched me!

Edmond Manning's debut novel isn't just an M4M romance novel. In fact, it's more than just a romance novel period. King Perry is a beautiful story of complete and total unconditional love and forgiveness - ultimately forgiveness of oneself. This novel affected me in a way I never expected. I couldn't believe how much emotion the story evoked as I read how far, and to what lengths, the main character, Vin, would go through to "King" someone he loves. Yet, he doesn't love himself quite enough to offer himself the same reward. As a mother, a lover, and a friend, I related to this so very much.

Throughout the novel, I was reminded over and over again of the incredible power that we hold not only when we learn to love, trust and forgive others but - when we learn to love, trust and forgive ourselves.

Edmond Manning has a way of telling a wonderfully engaging, though-provoking story in deliciously funny, witty, entertaining and oh-so steamy way! The end of the book left me simply wanting MORE!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What King or Queen are you? March 20, 2012

By Becky C

Format:Kindle Edition

This book is not about lust or hook-ups or even art. It is a quest for finding one's true self, whether that is a painful discovery or a happy revelation, or some of both. Get ready to *feel* more than just read a story. This is a man's story, written by a man, and I, as a woman felt privileged to observe the uplifting, emotional journey that Perry unknowingly embarks on. Perry doesn't even realize he is in need of having his heart healed but he does and in the process he becomes more alive than he has ever been before.

I've never read a book like KING PERRY. It is unique, powerful, joyful, and sad. It is as beautifully written as a poem and I could almost see colors as if it were an ancient illuminated manuscript. I'm not sure why the birthday cake episode resonated so strongly with me but I will go back to read it and think about it again.

I am Queen Becky the Birthday Giver. What King or Queen are you? You are one, you know. Perhaps this book will help you identify your true self.

More About the Author

Edmond Manning (1967- ) Edmond Manning has always been fascinated by fiction: how ordinary words could be sculpted into heartfelt emotions, how heartfelt emotions could leave an imprint inside you stronger than the real world.

He finally realized that he didn't have to write like Charles Dickens or Armistead Maupin, two author heroes, and that perhaps his own fiction was juuuuuuust right, because it was his true voice, so he looked around the scrappy word kingdom that he created for himself and shouted, "I'M HOME!"

He is now a writer.

In addition to fiction, Edmond enjoys writing non-fiction on his blog, www.edmondmanning.com. When not writing, he can be found either picking raspberries in the back yard or eating panang curry in an overstuffed chair upstairs, reading comic books.

Feel free to contact him at [e-mail].