Amor Prohibido by Ellis Carrington

Title: Amor Prohibido
Author: Ellis Carrington
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Quill
Genre: paranormal
Length: 127 pages


 Jacob Freehan has no job, no man, and no motivation. In pain both from ending a long-term abusive relationship and a severe back injury, he escapes to the sunny seaside town of Puerto Morelos for a little yoga, a little R&R, and possibly a place to quietly end his own life.

Pakal is a centuries-old immortal Mayan spirit guide who has been charged with getting Jacob on the path toward healing. Romantic involvement with a spirit charge is strictly forbidden, and it has never been a problem...until now. Pakal sees something special in Jacob, but failure to keep a rapidly growing attraction at bay could result in Jacob losing his life and Pakal being condemned to the Underworld forever...
_________
Ellis Carrington has given us a story with some fascinating and diverse characters, some serious problems, and a vivid setting. Woven into a page-turning whole, Amor Prohibido was a single sitting read for me.


Jacob has recently terminated a long-standing abusive relationship with Danny, who has been Jacob's one and only relationship throughout his adult life. It's left him hurting on many levels; Danny didn't hesitate to use violence or emotional manipulation. Jacob's head is clearing slowly; he's grieving the lost years and the wasted opportunities, and while he knows he's much better off without Danny, it hurts enough that the little bottle of pills looks like a very good friend to have around. Bringing them along when his best buddy Kelly drags him to the Mayan Riviera to a yoga resort, Jacob is anything but sure he wants to find out what life has in store next.

The spirit guide Pakal, charged with healing Jacob and other tattered souls, has managed a thousand years of duty without endangering his status by getting sexually involved. Like any good therapist, he's meant to help and guide, not entangle. However, the mystical connection he feels with Jacob convinces him that the relationship will be healing and thus part of his task. Big *GONG* for a modern therapeutic situation; anyone whose credentials come from getting ritually drowned in a cenote still can't--and the punishment is far more severe.

Even knowing, Pakal is willing to make this sacrifice- something in Jacob calls that strongly to him, and that's where things get really sticky. The gods are displeased, but not so much so that there isn't some kind of out, albeit with a really huge stinger.

The author has done a really good job of using the mystical elements; while I can't speak to the accuracy of the Mayan lore, it's consistent and vivid, good story-telling. Her sense of place is also vivid; the sun burns your neck, the cenote wraps cool fingers around your body, and the Underworld has to be experienced to be believed.

I had a little trouble with Jacob – he's been abused for many years. That he was willing to trust so rapidly might be waved away as the mystical connection he feels to Pakal, which is a lot deeper than him being the first good-looking man to treat Jacob decently, but it still seems to happen very fast. Still, Pakal's had a thousand years to get good at healing people... Details of Danny's temper and actions dribble out, building a real three dimensional history; what's happened to Jacob should not happen to anyone, and that he found the strength to get out is a cause to cheer. This is a man who deserves his HEA; every obstacle the gods threw at him and Pakal made me writhe in frustration of the very-involved-in-the-story sort.

The other source of frustration is that a major plot development falls on the page with no foreshadowing – Jacob produces the items he needs and some bizarre skills to use them just at the moment he needs them most, and that made the results seem unsupported. I did have to chuckle at the way he MacGyvered some lube, though.

The few stylistic glitches, such as multiple references to "the larger man" or "the thinner man" (okay, this is a pet peeve of mine, but people don't think of themselves and each other like that so it feels like a POV slip) and a few places where one person's actions fall in the same paragraph with another person's speech (which also feels like a POV slip) weren't enough to keep me from enjoying this story thoroughly. I delighted in a wonderful show of strength on Jacob's part towards the end, and in the resolution, which had a very joyous symmetry.

This is the first story I've read from Ellis Carrington, and I’m going to be on the lookout for more. 4.25 Marbles and now I need more graphics for Jessewave rankings.

____________

A Thousand Word Thursday story from Ellis Carrington

I bit back a curse when we both went for the ball at the same time. Paul yelled from beside me and pain tore through my ribcage when we crashed into each other. For a second everything went black, and when I came to my ears were ringing.

To say nothing of my pounding head.

The next play was more of the same. I swear he made a point of pushing my face into the grass when he tackled me, which was still soft by the way from when it rained on Thursday. So I got him back by pantsing him while he did his stupid touchdown victory dance. Mrs. Carmalli from next door saw the whole thing.

Guess that’s what she gets for being a pervy old woman.

His big paw slapped me on the back while I was on the side, looking for a towel to wipe the Scotts Turf Builder off my face. “Dammit Danny, what was that good for?”

I turned on him and tried to jab my finger into his sternum but it slid right down to his navel cuz of all the sweat. “You tell me, asshole, you’re the one who started it.”


“Me?”

I got all mature-like and rolled my eyes at him, then I crossed my arms over my chest because that sweaty finger had started to slide toward the waistband of his sweats and I was trying to stay mad, not go, ya-know…there. “Yeah, you. You started this fight.”

I started to say more but then a super-loud throat clear made me turn, and there were all the guys, milling around nearby. They were doing that thing where you pretend like you’re not listening but you really are, and I guess they didn’t know if they should keep playing or what. My face burned hotter than it already had been—it was real assholery of Paul and I to air our dirty laundry here in front of everyone, not just makin’ the situation uncomfortable, but holding up the game.
Jeez.

Jerry Vedder gestured vaguely at the rest of the gang “Uh, should we just…”


I waved a hand at them. “Yeah, finish the game, we’re sorry, guys. We’ll meet up at the ‘Gator after, okay?”

I grabbed Paul’s arm and tromped toward the house that we rented together, and headed around the back. I could pretend like we still had some privacy in this, if half the neighborhood didn’t watch us snarling at each other while we trudged through the front door together.

“Fuck! Danny, let the hell go, will ya?”

I turned again when we got to the back porch.

“Why you gotta be like that, Paul, it’s effed-up to go airing our business in front of the guys like that.”

His eyes got wide. Damn, I loved those eyes. Deep brown, and when he was turned-on they were like these bottomless wells you could fall into and never return from. Not that you’d want to.

He ran a hand through his hair. It was just long enough you could tangle your fingers in it— I shook my head to clear it. That was totally the wrong train of thought.

“Danny,” he finally said, “We were playing ball. I wasn’t playing any differently than usual. You were the one who starting showing bad sportsmanship. I tried to apologize for running into you like that earlier, but you wouldn’t listen. You get so closed-up when you’re mad.” He breathed out a shaky, nervous kind of laugh. He did that a lot when he was uncomfortable, especially when we had anything that resembled an emotional kind of talk. Let’s face it—guys don’t like those.

He took a step toward me, and I took a few back, pushing through the porch door and into the kitchen. He followed. Those eyes of his, they were getting darker. And me, I’m a grudge-holder. I wasn’t done being mad just yet.

“Look,” he said. “I’m sorry. Whatever it was.” He laughed again. “See, I don’t remember. Do you? I remember you started it.” But he smiled when he said it.

My back hit our ugly 1970’s goldenrod refrigerator and I stopped. My jaw clamped tight and the crazy-loud scream of my teeth grinding together echoed inside of my head. I couldn’t exactly remember either. It had something to do with…something he’d said that made me feel stupid. Paul was better educated and more into news and current events and whatnot. “Sometimes I feel like you think I’m dumb,” I muttered.

He laughed. “Is that what you think?” Another step closer. “Baby, what was it you said to me the other day? ‘Why watch all that depressing shit on the news when you can’t change it.’ I feel like you think I’m the stupid one.” Closer.

“Nah,” I whispered. “You’re…compassionate. I’ve always respected that about you.” But I was having a hard time looking into his eyes now. That part of me that wanted to hang onto my mad was fighting for purchase and if I looked at those eyes now it’d be all over.

His hand worked to unclench my fist and he threaded his fingers through mine. “Well maybe I could learn to be a little more level-headed sometimes. I’m sorry,” he said. “Come on, Danny. What were we really fighting about?”

I shook my head. Shrugged my shoulders. “I guess I don’t know.”

He hooked his other arm around my neck, and when I looked up those deep, dark eyes were staring into mine. “Hey. If we hurry, we can squeeze in some makeup sex before we have to meet the guys at the ‘Gator.”

My cock swelled. I bumped my nose against his. “They’ll know.”

“So? They’ll make fun a little. They’ll be happy we’re not fighting anymore. Yeah?” He licked across my lips, and I let him kiss me, cuz damn…kissing Paul was home for me.

“Yeah,” I said.

We laughed and pulled each other down the hall toward the bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Awwww… Thanks, Ellis! I enjoyed this and I’m looking forward to getting into her new release, Amor Prohibido.

Jacob Freehan has no job, no man, and no motivation. In pain both from ending a long-term abusive relationship and a severe back injury, he escapes to the sunny seaside town of Puerto Morelos, Mexico for a little yoga, a little R&R, and possibly a place to quietly end his own life.

Pakal is a centuries-old immortal Mayan spirit guide who has been charged with getting Jacob on the path toward healing. Romantic involvement with a spirit charge is strictly forbidden, and it has never been a problem...until now. Pakal sees something special in Jacob, but failure to keep a rapidly growing attraction at bay could result in Jacob losing his life and Pakal being condemned to the Underworld forever...

Find it at Amazon or at Amber Allure.
Keep up with Ellis’ news at the website or on Facebook, or via Twitter @EroticabyEllis.