Heaven Sent by Jet Mykles

Jet Mykles - Heaven Sent series (Loose-Id)

Series Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)
Flame Height: 9" out of 9"

First off, I have to thank Lady Sair, Nymph of Nightly Naughtiness, for making sure I got started on this series.

In Jet Mykles' bio at the end of the books, it's noted that "Jet’s been writing sex stories back as far as junior high. Back then, the stories involved her favorite pop icons of the time but she soon extended beyond that realm into making up characters of her own." Well, Jet's still at it because this series is the grown-up version of every teenaged girl's fantasy... except now the teenage girls are young men.

The central characters of the series are members of a rock group called Heaven Sent-- Johnnie Heaven is the lead singer and, along with guitarist Luc, sets the tone for the public's perceptions of the band. The two are flamboyant forces of nature who carefully cultivate the band's sexually ambiguous image. The other guitarist, Brent, is a serious musician and guides the group's musical development, but wants no part of the publicity. The remaining original member, Darien, is the drummer who pretty much just enjoys the whole rock scene and goes along with whatever plans his best friends make.



1. Heaven Sent 1: Heaven - Johnnie and Tyler
1.5 Heaven Sent: Pretty Red Ribbon - Johnnie and Tyler's short story sequel

Tyler's family owns a luxury hotel and convinced them to invest in a new upscale club. He was thrilled that Heaven Sent accepted his invitation to be the club's inaugural musical act. But when Heaven Sent shows up for the club's opening, Tyler, who is straight, is gobsmacked by his attraction to the charismatic Johnnie.

Johnnie, however, believes sex is good. Period. With men, with women. Doesn't matter because it's ALL good. So when he sees the pretty Tyler, he decides to go for it. And after the two of them spend a couple of nights playing video games in Johnnie's room, he makes his move on the understandably skittish Tyler. Eventually Johnnie shows Tyler just what he's been missing all his life!

I liked that Tyler was first shocked and confused that he was so drawn to Johnnie, and then reluctant to act on that attraction. And they didn't fall in love overnight. After Heaven Sent left to continue their tour, Johnnie and Tyler REALLY got to know each other through months of emails and phone calls without their physical attraction overwhelming the budding relationship.



2. Heaven Sent 2: Purgatory - Luc and Reese
2.5 Heaven Sent: Sexy Spring Surprise - Luc and Reese's short story sequel

This story opens back before Heaven Sent achieved international success. They lived above a club, Purgatory, where they performed and had a loyal fan following. Reese, who is a blue-haired gay artist, had a secret crush on Luc who had just been dumped by Reese's twin sister. After an afternoon of beers and commiseration, Reese decides to go for the glory and kisses the straight Luc, who freaks and orders Reese to leave.

Cut to a few years down the road. Heaven Sent is due back in town to perform a benefit and attend Reese's sister's wedding. But a few things have changed in Reese and Luc's lives. Johnnie has introduced Luc to his "ALL sex is good" attitude and Luc has never been able to get Reese out of his mind. Reese, however, has abandoned his art and blue hair in favor of teaching math at a conservative private school. He's also decided he's no longer gay. Luc comes back to town and is determined to prove otherwise.

I kind of felt sorry for Reese in this story. Not only has he been stifling his true self, but then Luc comes along and decides to totally screw his new life up with complete disregard for Reese's feelings or financial situation. In the end, Reese is better off, but I have to admit I was a little pissed off at Luc's steamroller behavior.



3. Heaven Sent 3: Hell - Brent and Heller
3.5 Heaven Sent: Feisty Little Firecracker - Brent and Heller's short story sequel

After deciding that they would like to introduce a new sound to their upcoming album, the guys in Heaven Sent visit a nightclub to hear a talented keyboardist, Heller (Hell). Brent and Hell feel an immediate attraction for each other, but after Hell is invited to become a permanent band member, Brent decides that a relationship between members would not be good for the group and he refuses to admit his attraction to Hell.

Though still enjoyable, this is the weakest of the Heaven Sent stories. At first I had a lot of sympathy for the angst filled Brent, but his whining and woe-is-me got old pretty quick. And Hell is more a caricature rather than a character- not unlike the Yaoi covers. My biggest problem with this story (and it probably colored my perceptions) isn't even Jet's fault. When reading the description of Hell, I unfortunately had a mental vision of that odd little man, Lukas, who won last summer's Rockstar: Supernova... only with lavender hair. And I just couldn't scrub that picture out of my head! ACK!!


4. Heaven Sent 4: Faith - Darien and Chris

Darien is the most easy going member of Heaven Sent. He's also the only completely straight member. Granted, seeing his best friends with other men has occasionally made him curious, but he's never really been tempted by any man. What IS tempting to him though, is having a deep relationship. He sees the other guys paired off and in love and realizes that he's missing that closeness in his life. So he lands a quickie Vegas wedding with an actress he's been seeing off and on for a couple of months.

After seven months of work separations and getting to know each other, Darien and his new wife realize that they just weren't meant to be and amicably decide to divorce. Hell urges Darien to get his own lawyer and introduces him to his long time friend, Attorney Christopher Faith.

Chris is openly gay and Darien is delighted to realize there's a mutual attraction between them. After his divorce is final, he decides to flat out tell Chris that he's curious and wants to know if Chris is interested. Oh yeah... he sure is! But that's ALL Chris wants. He'll satisfy Darien's manlove curiosity but they'll just remain casual friends with benefits because he's had his heart torn out in a similar relationship.

For me, this was the most interesting relationship in the series. Darien is straight but it's understandable that he'd be bi-curious after seeing his friends so happy. And I enjoyed his internal dialogue with each new experience he had with Chris-- how different it was to kiss a man, the difference between holding a taller man compared to a shorter woman, how odd it was to touch a penis that wasn't his own, etc.

When all is said and done, this isn't a heavy-duty or complex series. It's fun, light, and sweet with whimper-worthy sex scenes. But sometimes that's all the entertainment I need or want. Thanks Sair!
Piquant Opines: JERR,JERR, RRTE, SRR,

♥♥♥♥♥

The same weekend that I read the first three books in the Heaven Sent series, I came across a little story about Enrique Iglesias that just seemed to fit in perfectly with the books. Evidently, whenever Enrique sings the song Hero, he invites a girl up on stage to serenade her. On June 2, however, he was playing a GAY nightclub in London so things were a bit different. But he didn't think that was any reason to change his show and the crowd went wild when Enrique pulled a young man up on stage and proceeded to show him some luv. This video is so damn heartwarming and sweet! And I now have a new respect for Enrique Iglesias.

Enrique Iglesias Thrills Gay Fan
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