Customer Reviews

Zara's Bois

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(Official Apex Reviews Rating: 4.5 Stars)

Zara's Bois is an intriguing collection of three different, yet equally compelling stories, all united by one common factor: Zara Benjamin. A flighty, self-centered ne'er do well, Zara prematurely leaves this earth after a sudden tragic accident ends her brief life - but her departure soon proves to be short-lived. Relegated to the confines of spiritual limbo, she is given a series of difficult assignments by her appointed angelic handlers, and her ultimate redemption in the eyes of her Creator depends on her completion of the challenging tasks.

In "Zack And The Dark Shaft," Zara finds her disembodied spirit able to occupy the person of her twin brother, Zack. The reason for her reincarnation? To win the heart of the successful and sexy Quincy Powers, for whom she's always carried a fierce flame - but who also just happens to be Zack's object of affection. As badly as she wants Quincy all to herself, Zara must contend with the fact that Zack wants him just as much, and the ultimate test of her love for her beloved twin brother may just prove too much for her to handle...

In "Ingenue's Choice," Zara finds herself playing spiritual matchmaker for the most unlikely of couples: Keir Monroe, a humble bartender by night and undiscovered creative genius by day, and Patryk Andrews, a workaholic accountant from the far opposite side of the tracks. In addition to their obvious differences, Zara's task is made even more difficult by both Patryk's past and present: his heart has still not healed from being shattered before, and his snooty family - for obvious reasons - would never approve of his coupling with Keir. Somehow, Zara must find a way to get the men to break down the barriers impeding their shared destiny...

Lastly, in "Bouncer's Folly," Zara awakens in the body of Trevor Carmichael, drug-addicted party-hopper and all-around bad boy. When Trevor OD's on the bathroom floor of a popular nightspot one evening, he's resuscitated by luscious hunk of a bouncer Ramsey Logan - only his spirit has forever departed his body, and Zara's is its new occupant. As Zara and Ramsey grow closer, she has the chance to show the world that Trevor can reform his old ways and strive to repair the considerable damage left in the wake of his self-destructive past - a lesson that, for Zara, hits quite a bit close to home...

In Zara's Bois, Gracie C. McKeever undauntedly tackles the issue of closeted homosexuality, compelling the reader in vicarious fashion to experience the ultimate freedom and liberation embraced by her eclectic assortment of characters. With Zara serving as a not-so-innocent bystander, each of the men are brought face-to-face with their deepest fears, as well as the enduring pain that keeps them shut off to the world at large. Parallel to her own stint in spiritual limbo, the depths of their emotional limbo are finally exposed, and they are presented with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to break the chains of their literal and figurative oppression once and for all.

As has become her trademark standard, McKeever presents each character in holistic, three-dimensional fashion - not as stereotypical caricatures - allowing the reader to confront his or her own personal prejudices regarding the often-miscast world of homosexuality. By presenting the men in the universal light of humanity, McKeever does ultimate justice to them and their ongoing struggles, which are no different than anyone else's - regardless of sexual orientation. Furthermore, her emphasis on the redeeming power of love is a reassuring, comforting theme sure to touch the hearts of readers from every ethnicity, nationality, and background imaginable.

Kudos to McKeever for taking a strong stand and delivering a powerful, much needed message on the healing power of redemption.


Josee Morgan
Apex Reviews

Zack and the Dark Shaft (Zara's Bois 1) by Gracie C. McKeever

Please don't make me comment on the title...

Zara is a spoilt white wasp brat. She is selfish and childish. But she has to have something good in her, cause Quincy, a black businessman of success, considers her his bestfriend. And so Zara asks Quincy a financial help when she wants to open an exclusive gay club. Yes cause, even if Zara is deeply in love with Quincy, Quincy is gay and has no idea to be involved with Zara in something more than friendship.

Then Zara is killed in a casual accident, she falls in a lift dark shaft (yes this is the real "dark shaft" of the story...) and she reawakens in a Limbo with two angels who give her a chance: two weeks on earth to fullfill her desire to be with Quincy. And to realize her desire she has the opportunity to share the body of her twin brother, Zack (what a convenient chance, in this way she will have also the necessary "equipment" to draw Quincy...)

Quincy is a very good friend with Zara. So good that, when he met Zara's twin, Zack, and he was immediately attracted by the cute man, he has rejected his feelings knowing that Zara was in love with him. But now Zara is dead, and he has no intention to let Zack go away.

Suddenly Zack is very "open" and "friendly" with Quincy. And Quincy accepts this unexpected gift; but then Zack begins to fade in front of his eyes: weight loss, restless sleeping... Maybe Zara has no intention to leave Zack's body after two weeks?

The story is good and original, but I have the feeling that Gracie McKeever has closed it too soon. The first part is very well plotted, but the end is a blurr of scenes... maybe this is due to the fact that this is the first book in a series and we will have the chance to read more in the next enstallments.

Ingenue's Choice (Zara's Bois 2) by Gracie C. McKeever

Second in the Zara's Bois series, where a soon-to-be angel, who was a very spoilt and selfish woman in life, has to play the role of matchmaker for human soulmates (mostrly men) who haven't found yet the way to met.

This time is mission is to help Patryk, a wasp fair good boy, a bit workaholic, to find his happily ever after with Keir, a former painter, now bartender, who happens to be also a very hot African American guy with a tendency for D/S play.

Patryk is out from an abusive relationship with a lover who has misjudged Patryk's need for domination as weakness. Now Patryk has some problem issue to trust again a man, but Zara is ready to push him a little toward Keir. Keir has lost his iper jealous lover in an accident soon after their last quarrel. Still hanted by remorse, he has given up his art. But when he meets Patryk, inspiration blossoms in his heart together with love.

But there are some problems to overcome, like their different social environment, and Keir's fear to be again the only one for a man.

The story is prettry simple and smooth, with not much drama. It flows quite till the end. Very pretty the scene of the first date between Keir and Patryk.

Bouncer's Folly (Zara's Bois 3) by Gracie C. McKeever

Of the three on the Zara's Bois series I read, this one is maybe my favourite.

Zara has been a good girl in her last mission, and so her angels want to reward her: she will return on Earth, her soul in the body of another lost soul who left too soon. What they didn't say to Zara is that her new body is a male one, and when Zara reawakens in the arms of sexy bouncer Ramsey, also another part of Zara's body awakens, a part she isn't used to have!

But Zara is a girl of many means, and she plays all the better she can with what she have. And the fact that Ramsey is very attracted by Trevor, the twinkie in which body Zara is now, is a plus: Zara will finally have the man she is attracted, since this time she has the right body! Only that Trevor was a drugs addicted and his old friends are not all willing to leave him alone. And then there is also the problem of Travis, Trevor's twin, that understands since the first time they meet, that the soul inside Trevor's body is not his brother's one.

I like how the author manages Zara's transition from woman to man: since she awakens, Zara thinks and acts like a woman, but the first time she has sex with Ramsey, and she fully understand the difference between a woman and a man (with a first hand experience), she stops to be an "her" to become an "him".

I think this is the last in the series, unless the author wants to tell the story also of Travis (who is straight for now) and Trevor (who has the "little" problem to not having a material body in this moment...). All the story till now were a bit short, this one is less than 80 pages, but pretty original.