This Other Country (More Heat Than the Sun Book 4)
John Wiltshire
2021 (2nd edition)
503 pages
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
MM Thriller/Suspense Romance
Ben & Nik's Rules of Engagement
Plot: Rule #8: Everyone can benefit from a little therapy. When Benjamin Rider and Nikolas Mikkelson find themselves enrolled as a couple in a g@y therapy course for the sake of research and in service to a friend, the irony is not lost on them. Both men have enough trauma to keep a therapist employed for a lifetime. And then some. Unfortunately for the therapist, Ben and Nik both place “discussing their relationship” at the top of the list of Most Undesirable Conversations. So how do two self-professed straight men navigate mandatory g@y group sessions? By getting into character, of course. And since Ben and Nik can change their names as easily as they change clothes, pretending to be g@y shouldn’t be very difficult. But therapists are pretty good at reading people, and when the lines between truth and lies begin to blur, Ben and Nik find themselves heading down a one-way path to destruction.
First Take: Oh. My. Gosh. I laughed, I cried, and I conquered this book in like one night because I couldn’t put it down. Ben and Nik are tested in an entirely new way in this fourth book of the series. Going to therapy is guaranteed to make us real humans talk about our feelings, and Ben and Nik appear to be as human as the rest of us in this respect. And there’s nothing I love more than reading about other people’s feelings (it helps me avoid my own– or maybe validate them, I’m not sure). Our heroes are forced to consider what it is that draws the two of them together and what being “together” even means. What are they doing? After three books of putzing around, we might just get some answers! And lemme just say: the second half of the book features an unexpected twist that is totally bananas and it was sooo good. This book might be my favorite one so far!
Characters: Benjamin Rider is coming into his own. He’s more confident and has learned to wield his talents to his advantage when the situation calls for it. Yet he also maintains his humility and easy-going temperament, and when it comes down to it, he’s just a really good guy with a strong moral compass. He has to be if he’s going to hang out with Nikolas Mikkelson. Nik is a control freak operating in shades of gray, plain and simple. He has plenty of everything that matters: money, power, and privilege. And he knows how to use it. Spend too much time with Nik and you are bound to get sucked into his orbit and risk disappearing completely. Ben wants to know: who is he outside of his mysterious and enigmatic boss?
Praises: I have to applaud John Wiltshire for the excellent character building (there are so many layers to Ben and Nik!) and keeping things interesting by coming up with new ways for our heroes to learn and grow. This series is getting better and better! Both men have deeply rooted issues with power and submission, vulnerability, trust, and commitment. I already feel like Ben and Nik have been through everything together, but no, things are just getting started! The deep, dark, and twisty stuff is handled with enough graceful wit and humor to not be too depressing (IMO), and yet these issues are still discussed with the seriousness and gravitas they deserve. I don’t know how Wiltshire does it, but Ima keep reading her stuff because her words make my cold, wasted heart feel all the warm fuzzies. And cry all the tears, but we won’t talk about that. The point is, we read books to feel things, and I felt everything here.
Critiques: One could argue that there is some bi-erasure happening here, as both of our leading men have a history of relationships with both men and women, and yet they feel the need to classify themselves as either g@y or straight– but not bi ( though they both seem pretty bi to me). Also, this book takes a deeper dive into queer love and some of the lived experiences that might come with that (namely homophobia, but also assault) so beware of triggers!
Themes: Faith v Doubt, Fate v Free Will, Hubris, Good v Evil, Identity, Man v Self, Man v Society, Power & Corruption, Survival
Overall Tone: Therapy forces us to consider who we are in the context of ourselves and our relationships, and then talk about it. It’s so much easier to just run away.
Prose: Dual POV 3rd person. Again, we get the perspectives of both Ben and Nik at various times. John Wiltshire’s words are like poetry. This is the first book in the series that isn’t divided into multiple parts, so the entire novel centers around one overarching problem. It was new and different and way cool.
Steam: 💜💜💜💜💜 Lots of steam, all of it NSFW.
Trigger Warnings: In a word, this book contains most trigger warnings.
Swear Jar: 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 Swearing is the least intense thing about this novel 😄
Cliffhanger: HFN, and yes, get the next book ASAP!
Memorable quotes
“You’re like breathing. I don’t think about it, but I need it to stay alive.”
A faint smile came to Nikolas’s lips. “Then you’re like a heartbeat. I’ll miss you when you stop.”
“How do you do this to me every time?” He raised his eyes. “All your lies… and then there it is, the tiny moment of honesty… that second when you’re vulnerable… I didn’t think I could love you more, but I do right now.”
Everything was fear and darkness, chaos, but in that maelstrom he’d seen Sir Nikolas Mikkelson like a beacon, a blond flash of power in the night. Safety. Nikolas Mikkelson was shelter.
Worthy of a reread? Absolutely
Stand-Alones, Prequels, Sequels, & Tangents: Book 4 of the More Heat Than the Sun series. All nine books follow Ben and Nik on their adventures and should be read in order. Start with Love is a Stranger. Next up: The Bruise Black Sky.
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There are 9 books in this series.
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About the author
Better & Better
This Other Country is the fourth book in John Wiltshire’s More Heat Than the Sun series. These books follow the same couple and each book builds off some events from previous ones. While this is a complete story and could be enjoyed on it’s own, I’d definitely recommend starting with Love is a Stranger. It’s possible this review contains spoilers to earlier books. These continue to get better and better. Partially because I’ve come to know Ben & Nik and love their truly twisted yet perfect for them relationship. Contrasting that is Wiltshire’s ability to surprise me with where the story is going. I honestly have no clue what’s going to happen and enjoy every minute of it. Her sense of humor is at times joyful and others completely dark. Then she drags Nik & Ben into a trope that other authors would struggle to keep out of being ridiculous but instead unfolds into a horror that kept me feeling like they might actually not make it to the other side. (despite, of course, knowing there’s four more books) The most difficult part is that so many events build off each other that it’s hard to give many details without spoiling. They go undercover at a retreat for gay couples to discover what happened to Squeezy’s nephew. With other attendees they discover all is not as it seems. Both men have to be saved but in completely different ways. There’s a betrayal from someone very close to them. And old friends from previous missions are back. Then… there is the physical relationship which continues to burn up the sheets. And the kitchen. And the stable. And… It was a sexy and emotional ride that I didn’t want to stop. Fortunately, there’s more Nik & Ben in book 5, The Bruise-Black Sky. Narration: Gary Furlong continues to be impeccable. His voices and accents for characters are consistent book to book and it makes it so easy to binge these as well as jump back in if (like me!) there’s a few months between books.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2023
- Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2024
- Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2021
This Other Country is the fourth book in John Wiltshire’s More Heat Than the Sun series. These books follow the same couple and each book builds off some events from previous ones. While this is a complete story and could be enjoyed on it’s own, I’d definitely recommend starting with Love is a Stranger. It’s possible this review contains spoilers to earlier books.
These continue to get better and better. Partially because I’ve come to know Ben & Nik and love their truly twisted yet perfect for them relationship. Contrasting that is Wiltshire’s ability to surprise me with where the story is going. I honestly have no clue what’s going to happen and enjoy every minute of it. Her sense of humor is at times joyful and others completely dark. Then she drags Nik & Ben into a trope that other authors would struggle to keep out of being ridiculous but instead unfolds into a horror that kept me feeling like they might actually not make it to the other side. (despite, of course, knowing there’s four more books)
The most difficult part is that so many events build off each other that it’s hard to give many details without spoiling. They go undercover at a retreat for gay couples to discover what happened to Squeezy’s nephew. With other attendees they discover all is not as it seems. Both men have to be saved but in completely different ways. There’s a betrayal from someone very close to them. And old friends from previous missions are back. Then… there is the physical relationship which continues to burn up the sheets. And the kitchen. And the stable. And… It was a sexy and emotional ride that I didn’t want to stop. Fortunately, there’s more Nik & Ben in book 5, The Bruise-Black Sky.
Narration:
Gary Furlong continues to be impeccable. His voices and accents for characters are consistent book to book and it makes it so easy to binge these as well as jump back in if (like me!) there’s a few months between books.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
- SMCReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 13, 2022
I never want the series to end!
