Crimson: An M/M Romance Spy Thriller (Of Shadows & Secrets Book 1)

I love historical fiction stories that highlight gay men into the plot lines and narrative. This story was well written, with very strong characters that were realistic, including the second and third level characters. The dialog was very real, with witty responses back and forth between characters. Since is a lead up to the United States entering into World War II, the author did a excellent job of creating a serious atmosphere sprinkled with humor and love between Thomas and Will. The storyline places the reader right into the beginning of a series that will follow some of the characters into the depths of war. I also liked the fact that the author has provided lots of educational information on background about the lead up to the US involvement in the war, which only enhances the entire storyline. Thank you Casey for a first class story! Reasons I enjoyed this book: Great world building /Wonderful characters /Realistic /Original /Page-turner /Witty /Easy-to-read /Entertaining /Informative / Romantic

I went into this book with great expectations, not only because of its author but because it was the amalgamation of ALL of my favorite books set in my favorite time period. Now Casey (the author, naturally), had not let me down out of the ten published works of his young career (the career is young… HE is not). With every book he has gotten better and better. Now that is not to say that his writing was lacking in any way. As a matter of fact, most authors will end up in a slump or have a misstep usually in their sophomore publication. The difference in his case is that his 2nd book was part of a series, each just as good, if not better. His next series, technically his 2nd book, expanded in to the field of campaign politics, followed by a murder mystery, etc., all of which were encased in the dual POV narrative of a M/M ❤️‍🔥 romance. In a number of aspects, “Crimson” is no different, to a point. There is still the dual POV narrative at the heart of a M/M ❤️‍🔥 romance, but the similarities stop there. “Crimson” is the first in a series entitled, “Of Shadows & Secrets”, beginning at the onset of America’s entry in to the Second World War after the attack of Pearl Harbor. Other than the intensity of the subject matter (Not that murder, HIV, grief, mental illness, homophobia aren’t serious topics, they were still housed in a rom-com story carrying the subject matter’s weight, but in a less heavy handed way), “Crimson” is 📕 written by an author who has matured in his…

The plot and characters of this book are vivid and compelling. The only complaint I have is that it is rife with small errors. There are a few typos and grammatical mistakes, but there are dozens and dozens of anachronisms. Most of them are slang and idioms that date from the 1950s or later, but a few are historical errors, like characters complaining about wartime rationing the year before it was instated. I look forward to seeing what happens in the rest of the series, but I hope the author improves the research. Historical fiction should be historical.