Review - Hoverballerino by Beryll Brackhaus and Osiris Brackhaus

Rene is back home on Floor, continuing his training to become a full-fledged agent of the Circle. Part of that training includes improving his social skills and to help with that, Rene takes a job in a tea shop where he can interact with regular people. It’s a big challenge for the young man, whose unique psionic ability made being around people difficult until he learned to shield his senses. One night, a famous sports star, Frederick, comes into the shop along with his entourage. The people around Frederick are all beautiful models and actors, but the sportsman only has eyes for Rene. A few days later, Frederick shows up alone and asks Rene out. Rene agrees and discovers that the sportsman isn’t the shallow man most people take them for. Frederick turns out to be a genuinely nice and intelligent man, but Rene has secrets he has to keep to ensure not only his own safety, but that of his family and the entire Circle. Will a relationship with a celebrity bring too much unwanted attention to Rene?

It was beginning to look like the Dr. Laurent series was going to be a James Bond styled series, where the nerdy gay secret agent goes from one short-term affair to another on each of his assignments. But, as I suspected, it seems the first two books of the series were just warm-ups where Rene gained the skills and experience to prepare him for a possible relationship. You probably should have read the first two books before reading this one, as it alludes to the people and adventures covered by those stories.

“Hoverballerino” is an episodic story as Rene moves from one adventure to the next. Some scenes are simple social outings, such as an evening at the cinema, that might be common for “regular” people but are firsts for Rene. Other events involve Frederick’s friends and family in danger, and Rene must use all his skills and contacts to help his new lover out. The young man proves very resourceful. He calls on friends he made in previous adventures to help him out, but he isn’t afraid to put himself in danger to put things right.

At first, Frederick appears to be what we expect from a celebrity, a media creation without much substance. As Rene gets to know him, we find out Frederick is kind and smart, but trapped by the public image his agent has forced on him. It’s understandable why Rene wants to help Frederick, and the athlete seems to bring out the best in Rene.

The question now is where the series is heading. Will Frederick play a part in Rene’s future adventures? There is a lot of discussion between the two men about their diverging paths, but there’s no definite answer as to how they will make it work. The other curious new character is Kenji, a young man from a noble house attending the university on Floor somewhat undercover. Unlike Rene’s other new friends, Kenji seems to have been introduced to do more than just making connections and moving the story along. Perhaps he will play a more significant role in future books.

“Hoverballerino” is available from Smashwords or see BookBub for other online sellers.