kaje_harper's review
4.0
This is a more approachable, mainstream M/M romance than Edmond Manning's other books to date. Which is both a bonus and not. There is some of Manning's gorgeous language, his sentences that ring in your head with their clarity. And the story has a simple, unusual, engaging, and ultimately satisfying arc. But there is less whimsy, less unexpectedness, and less humor that jolts you out of complacency and into space. So read this, but then if you haven't already done so and you have a sense of adventure at all, read [b:King Perry|13459864|King Perry (The Lost and Founds, #1)|Edmond Manning|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328755934s/13459864.jpg|18990245] too.
This book is the story of Keldon, a young man who let the easy life with an older man seduce him out of college and into a world where he was taken care of and pampered, as long as he pleased the guy who paid the bills. He tried to think of it as a relationship, but down deep knew it was something less. And after doing the same thing twice he finds himself too old to be a boy toy, too broke for college, too restless for boring office-drone jobs and at a loss for what to do. So when an opportunity comes his way, a position for which he was actively sought out and recruited, with the promise of good money, he can't resist. Even if acquiring art painted by a serial killer, for someone whose motives he can't read, makes him feel besmirched by the whole process of greed and exploitation.
In the course of buying up the paintings, he meets Joshua, a young man with a firm core of values, and a lot of appeal. Keldon is increasingly torn between his regard for Joshua, his obligation to his employer, the vital money he may lose if he fails to complete the job, and the distaste he is coming to feel for the whole process of filthy acquisitions.
M/M has developed some standard story lines and tropes, and this book felt refreshing, in its twists on the commonplace. Joshua was great, and I'd have enjoyed even a little more attention to the limits created by his chosen way of life. Keldon's erratic attitudes toward money were the plausible effect of having had both too much and too little in quick succession. Occasionally he needed a quick kick, but it made him human. This is a fun read and an easy place to begin your acquaintance with an author who is a master wordsmith.
This book is the story of Keldon, a young man who let the easy life with an older man seduce him out of college and into a world where he was taken care of and pampered, as long as he pleased the guy who paid the bills. He tried to think of it as a relationship, but down deep knew it was something less. And after doing the same thing twice he finds himself too old to be a boy toy, too broke for college, too restless for boring office-drone jobs and at a loss for what to do. So when an opportunity comes his way, a position for which he was actively sought out and recruited, with the promise of good money, he can't resist. Even if acquiring art painted by a serial killer, for someone whose motives he can't read, makes him feel besmirched by the whole process of greed and exploitation.
In the course of buying up the paintings, he meets Joshua, a young man with a firm core of values, and a lot of appeal. Keldon is increasingly torn between his regard for Joshua, his obligation to his employer, the vital money he may lose if he fails to complete the job, and the distaste he is coming to feel for the whole process of filthy acquisitions.
M/M has developed some standard story lines and tropes, and this book felt refreshing, in its twists on the commonplace. Joshua was great, and I'd have enjoyed even a little more attention to the limits created by his chosen way of life. Keldon's erratic attitudes toward money were the plausible effect of having had both too much and too little in quick succession. Occasionally he needed a quick kick, but it made him human. This is a fun read and an easy place to begin your acquaintance with an author who is a master wordsmith.
the_novel_approach's review
5.0
“You go through life, and disappointments come your way. Death. Dreams that never come true. You acquire a little filth. You lose a little of your dreams. You get obsessed with money or status, or a raise. Filthy acquisitions.”
Keldon Thurman has acquired quite a heaping of filth over the years. Young yet beaten down and wounded in many ways, he now pursues the artistic remnants of a horrific murderer who continues to prey upon the innocent even beyond the grave. Serial murderer James Merrick produced some fifteen pieces of “art” that Keldon now retrieves for the elusive Mrs. Maggiarra. For Keldon it is another “performance”. A way to make money so that perhaps one day he can pursue college again, build something of his life that up until this point has been one form of whoring or another. At least this is how he feels, for you see, poor Keldon Thurman has acquired so much filth in his life that it has mired him to the point where he can no longer see his own self-worth. Until the fifth acquisition…then things change, and Keldon is forced to meet some of his past demons head on and by doing so, shake off some of the guilt he has mistakenly held on to for so many years.
Edmond Manning’s story, Filthy Acquisitions, is an act of forgiveness written in the guise of a sweet, innocuous story. When Keldon comes face to face with someone he really wants to be worthy of, his past roils up within him, forcing him to look closely at not only how he normally becomes a chameleon, taking on any and all characteristics to please his lover, but that he has stooped to doing a job so heinous he can barely stomach it.
Joshua Greene embodies everything that Keldon feels he is not, someone who has abandoned the rat race of corporate life to pursue his own desires; simple, back to earth, and fulfilling. As part of the attempt to acquire the fifth piece of art, Keldon agrees to two dates with Josh and is stunned to realize that he does not have to be fake or clever, but rather he can simply be himself, flaws and all. So when Joshua and Irene, the elderly woman Joshua cares for as her daytime nurse, discover exactly what the picture Keldon is after stands for, they are quick to dismiss him from their lives. Keldon feels that rejection like a physical blow and his immediate response is to use it as an affirmation of all that he believes about himself, including his unworthiness to have nice things, a stable life, a loving partner.
Filthy Acquisitions takes aim at the feelings of longing and self-doubt within us all and exposes them to the light. But this is not a harsh, condemning illumination; rather, it is the softer glow of forgiveness and its residual warmth. Through a clever little story, Edmond Manning speaks to that place inside us that has acquired that little bit of filth, and assures us that those who love us can look beneath it and see who we really are and, in doing so, help us free ourselves from being shackled to guilt over past mistakes. It is a story that says we must learn to love ourselves for there is so much within each of us that is worthy to be loved. I highly recommend it to you.
Keldon Thurman has acquired quite a heaping of filth over the years. Young yet beaten down and wounded in many ways, he now pursues the artistic remnants of a horrific murderer who continues to prey upon the innocent even beyond the grave. Serial murderer James Merrick produced some fifteen pieces of “art” that Keldon now retrieves for the elusive Mrs. Maggiarra. For Keldon it is another “performance”. A way to make money so that perhaps one day he can pursue college again, build something of his life that up until this point has been one form of whoring or another. At least this is how he feels, for you see, poor Keldon Thurman has acquired so much filth in his life that it has mired him to the point where he can no longer see his own self-worth. Until the fifth acquisition…then things change, and Keldon is forced to meet some of his past demons head on and by doing so, shake off some of the guilt he has mistakenly held on to for so many years.
Edmond Manning’s story, Filthy Acquisitions, is an act of forgiveness written in the guise of a sweet, innocuous story. When Keldon comes face to face with someone he really wants to be worthy of, his past roils up within him, forcing him to look closely at not only how he normally becomes a chameleon, taking on any and all characteristics to please his lover, but that he has stooped to doing a job so heinous he can barely stomach it.
Joshua Greene embodies everything that Keldon feels he is not, someone who has abandoned the rat race of corporate life to pursue his own desires; simple, back to earth, and fulfilling. As part of the attempt to acquire the fifth piece of art, Keldon agrees to two dates with Josh and is stunned to realize that he does not have to be fake or clever, but rather he can simply be himself, flaws and all. So when Joshua and Irene, the elderly woman Joshua cares for as her daytime nurse, discover exactly what the picture Keldon is after stands for, they are quick to dismiss him from their lives. Keldon feels that rejection like a physical blow and his immediate response is to use it as an affirmation of all that he believes about himself, including his unworthiness to have nice things, a stable life, a loving partner.
Filthy Acquisitions takes aim at the feelings of longing and self-doubt within us all and exposes them to the light. But this is not a harsh, condemning illumination; rather, it is the softer glow of forgiveness and its residual warmth. Through a clever little story, Edmond Manning speaks to that place inside us that has acquired that little bit of filth, and assures us that those who love us can look beneath it and see who we really are and, in doing so, help us free ourselves from being shackled to guilt over past mistakes. It is a story that says we must learn to love ourselves for there is so much within each of us that is worthy to be loved. I highly recommend it to you.
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