Beneath the Stain

really love the M/M genre and I always wonder why I don’t read more of them!! This one was perfect and ticked all the boxes for me - m/m, rockstar plus age gap!!! And to top it all off it was unnecessary drama free and beautifully delivered. I’m an Aussie girl from Sydney and have no idea what living in small town USA is like, but I loved the rags to riches story of Mackey and his brothers, that they never forgot where they came from and always gave back. Travis was appointed as their band manager and I thought he was just delicious, smart, older, wiser, broody ex military with a buzz cut to top it all off. He certainly had a ‘type’ and Mackey was it! Try as hard as he might but not even the 14 year age gap could save him from saying no to the beautiful tortured artist and lead singer of the band. Mackey was a force to be reckoned with ( despite is small frame)and what a perfect couple they made. Their relationship wasn’t rushed. It evolved organically and was just wonderful to read the longing and desire for each other. It showed me once again that love just is. You can’t fight it, it doesn’t care what your socioeconomic background is, what you have in your fridge or where you buy your clothes from. It’s not shallow, it’s deep and just is a force that you can’t control. Loved it and so glad I picked it up.

I didn't know what I expected from this book, but probably the usual sex, drugs and rock and roll. This book have all those elements but are also showing the dark, ugly side of everything. Everything starts with Mackey wanting an outlet through music and with his brother, his secret boyfriend and two friends he starts Outbreak Monkeys. And what could have been a story about escaping a small town, about finding the courage to choose the one you love and finding success spirals into something darker. Addiction, sexual assault and heartbreak is Mackeys normal until Trav comes along and saves the boys. And Mackey gets a second chance at lif and love. What absolutely broke me about this book is how the end is both a happy ending and a total tragedy. I was sobbing through every page with Grant and my heart broke for the boy who was one of the brothers, who was loved and who could have had everything.

"When someone see's you at your worst and stays, you wanna show them your best." Overall, 5+Stars for Story, content, and performance. Amy Lane has written a story that will claim a piece of your soul, and Nick J. Russo narrated this story with gusto & perfection! I can't find anything wrong with this story or audiobook. It is something everyone should experience and enjoy. This story does not gloss over hard subjects, doesn't make light of deep subject matter. -- No, Amy Lane writes it like it really is and puts it all right in your face -- the good, the bad and the hard parts of life are all included. Ms. Lane tells this story with rawness and reality; however, at the same time a grace that has the reader or listener truly becomes invested in the story and the lives of the characters! This story follows the life of Macky Sanders as we watch him grow up, learn what love is and then deal with heartbreak. We watch him follow his dreams of being a rock star, fall into the pitfalls of the glamorous life, meet Trav his savior and then have to deal with repercussions of the fast life. Macky has to learn how to deal with bigotry and blatant hate simply because he loves someone and others don't approve of that love. If that is not enough we follow Macky as he also learns how cruel life is as he deals with loss and grief. It is an emotional heart wrenching story that Amy Lane has woven and one that will surely leave you with a BookHangover for weeks! Please see full review on Goodreads by J.Loves2Read and it will be posted on Alpha Book Clubs blog

Oh. My. God. This is the best MM book I have read in a loooooonnggggg time. It's super long, super angsty, pretty sad and a bit triggery (warnings for drug abuse, rehab, rape, suicide) but so, so good. GET IT NOW. (I mean, I have a few quibbles - there's no way a high school band would wear SUITS to play at a HS prom, no way anyone in LA would expect musicians to go buy nice clothes to go to dinner, and no way any of the band members would keep calling Trav "Mr. Ford", but those are small things.) There were also phrases in the writing that were magical. Just so well written.

Wow! This story was simply beautiful. I don't typically read m/m stories but every now and then I like to try something new. The m/m romances that I've read have a real life feel to them. At least the ones I'm drawn too. I had this one on my TBR list for a while but I picked it up and I am so happy I did. There is so much love and pain in this story. The writing brought life to the characters. They were characters you fell in love with. Characters you only wanted the best for. Characters you wanted and hoped they would survive their struggles. I don't know if I'm making any sense but this story was simply awesome. The people in the story were real and their emotional struggles their pains were so real. The love was real. The love scene especially the 1st time(I won't say between who because k don't want to give it away) was beautiful. I had so many feelings for them and I had to read it twice because I could feel their feelings for each other and it was so beautiful. I often wonder what it takes for a story to bring up so many emotions and feelings that it brings the reader to tears or leaves then just "feeling". I can say this book, these characters, their story left me holding back tears and my face with a crooked smile because this story is the one. The one you feel as you read, the one that leaves you in awe as it comes to a close. Thank you Amy Lee this story was a breathtaking beautiful experience. There are not enough stars for this one.

I've loved everything I have read from Amy Lane. Although my all time favorite book will always be 'Dex in Blue' by her I loved this almost just as much! There is so much to say about this book. I loved the characters so much. Even the secondary ones. You can't help but fall in love with Mackey and Trav. I love how Amy Lane has a purpose to every word she writes, her books aren't filled with mindless fillers like you see a lot of. You feel like you are there and rooting for these people to find love, happiness, and self acceptance. Amy did a great job of the relationship between Grant and Trav. Of course they don't meet how you expect them to. A lot of times authors will make the hero emotionally bulletproof to the mc's baggage and I loved how she had Trav show real human emotions... Of course he's jealous of grant, of course he hates for everything he stands for... At first. It's brilliant. You NEVER second guess the love Mackey has for Trav either. From the moment Mackey decides he needs Trav he does everything in his power to fight for a future with him. JUST PLEASE READ. You will enjoy!!

Outbreak Monkey is band formed of brothers and one best friend, Grant. The band started playing a few gigs in high school and were finally recognized by a producer. The band is ready to leave the small-minded town. The boys never had it easy because all of the brothers had different fathers and they were raised by their mom. Despite their struggles, they have made it. When times comes to sign the contract Grant decides not to pursue his dream. He has to stay behind because he got his girlfriend pregnant. Okay, so not such a big deal except, for the last four years he has been with the lead singer of the band, Mackey. Mackey is completely devastated with Grant's decision to leave him. He has shared Grant with this girlfriend for years because Grant couldn't come out as gay to his homophobic family. Mackey knew Grant would never let down his unborn child, so he threw away his new life with Mackey. Mackey is not dealing well with life without Grant. He has turned to drugs and sex. He is on a path of self-destruction. The record label sends in Trav Ford to save this new band so they don't hit rock bottom. Mackey is an unforgettable character. Mackey lost his first love and sold millions of records playing kick-butt music all in the same year, but he can't forget Grant. No amount of sex, drugs and alcohol will erase Grant from his memory. Can Trav help save Mackey James Sanders and keep Outbreak Monkey on the path to stardom? I am new to Amy Lane's books. The only other book I have read was The Locker Room. Beneath the Stain has topped The Locker Room for me. I dove in this book ready for a great read. Beneath the Stain is phenomenal. I read it twice before I wrote this review. I know I've read a wonderful book when I can't stop thinking about a book days after finishing the read. I was emotionally drained after reading this book, but in a good way. I felt my heart being ripped from chest reading this book, but I laughed and cried too (at the same time). If you like secrets, lies, hot sex, angst, rockers, and first loves, then this book is for you.

This was the first Amy Lane book I have read and it makes me ask myself why I waited so long to read one of her books! I fell in love with Mackey from the beginning. I'm extremely leery of authors who write about drug addiction and addicts, I am a recovering addict of 17 years, it must be realistic, even in a fiction book, for me to even consider continuing with it and since I couldn't put the book down until I was finished that tells you what I think. Sweet Mackey, I just wanted to hug him and hold him and tell him he's worth so much more than being a human garbage can, then comes Trav who did exactly that. That man who saw Mackey for what his truly is, beyond the facade he showed everyone else makes him so special. His understanding and selflessness....beyond my expectations. He helped put Mackey back together just as Mackey did the same for him. Two of my favorite characters of all the books I've read!

Rock stars, rock bands, young first love, small town ugliness, hard family lives, passion for music, desire for order, need to protect, sex and drugs, and lots and lots of angst... Amy Lane is an accomplished writer of m/m romances, but this one is pretty epic if you love stuff anything like this! Mackey has always been brilliant, talented, totally living for the music in him, but also troubled, a trouble-maker, and trying to deal with a tough childhood and life in a small-town that isn't gay-friendly. Despite all the handicaps, his band, with his brothers, gets signed and makes it big, but he's more troubled than ever, having lost a friend and lover and floundering around despite his brothers being with him and his new manager doing his best to keep his star from falling, crashing and burning. The cast of characters is fantastic. Quirky and real and fun and difficult. The heart-break is just agonizing. The love and passion is just soaring. We get to follow these guys closely for pages and pages, and there's tragedy and sadness and violence and lots of places where things go wrong. But there's also so much good. This not an easy book at all, but it is still a romance with a HEA, so you know it will pay off in the end, even though we and the band are put through the wringer. So, so very worth it, of course! Incredible and unforgettable. Lots of familiar tropes, but lots of inventive stuff too. Just Wow about sums it up!

Sex, drugs and Rock, n, Roll. This is one of the most genius, heartbreaking, lovely, sweet, painful and amazing books that I have ever read. It is the story about Mackey, Jeff, Kell, Grant, Stevie, Trav, Sheila, Blake, Briony and the people around them. About a Rock band, that makes it Against all odds, but at a heartbreaking price. It is The power of Love between Mackey and Grant, Mackey and Trav, between Jeff, Sheila and Stevie, about betrayal, pain, sex, hope and how Only the lonely knows what it means, when you are left behind. This is a story about how Love changes everything. But it is mostly the story about how Mackey gets by With a little help from his friends.

really love the M/M genre and I always wonder why I don’t read more of them!! This one was perfect and ticked all the boxes for me - m/m, rockstar plus age gap!!! And to top it all off it was unnecessary drama free and beautifully delivered. I’m an Aussie girl from Sydney and have no idea what living in small town USA is like, but I loved the rags to riches story of Mackey and his brothers, that they never forgot where they came from and always gave back. Travis was appointed as their band manager and I thought he was just delicious, smart, older, wiser, broody ex military with a buzz cut to top it all off. He certainly had a ‘type’ and Mackey was it! Try as hard as he might but not even the 14 year age gap could save him from saying no to the beautiful tortured artist and lead singer of the band. Mackey was a force to be reckoned with ( despite is small frame)and what a perfect couple they made. Their relationship wasn’t rushed. It evolved organically and was just wonderful to read the longing and desire for each other. It showed me once again that love just is. You can’t fight it, it doesn’t care what your socioeconomic background is, what you have in your fridge or where you buy your clothes from. It’s not shallow, it’s deep and just is a force that you can’t control. Loved it and so glad I picked it up.

I didn't know what I expected from this book, but probably the usual sex, drugs and rock and roll. This book have all those elements but are also showing the dark, ugly side of everything. Everything starts with Mackey wanting an outlet through music and with his brother, his secret boyfriend and two friends he starts Outbreak Monkeys. And what could have been a story about escaping a small town, about finding the courage to choose the one you love and finding success spirals into something darker. Addiction, sexual assault and heartbreak is Mackeys normal until Trav comes along and saves the boys. And Mackey gets a second chance at lif and love. What absolutely broke me about this book is how the end is both a happy ending and a total tragedy. I was sobbing through every page with Grant and my heart broke for the boy who was one of the brothers, who was loved and who could have had everything.

"When someone see's you at your worst and stays, you wanna show them your best." Overall, 5+Stars for Story, content, and performance. Amy Lane has written a story that will claim a piece of your soul, and Nick J. Russo narrated this story with gusto & perfection! I can't find anything wrong with this story or audiobook. It is something everyone should experience and enjoy. This story does not gloss over hard subjects, doesn't make light of deep subject matter. -- No, Amy Lane writes it like it really is and puts it all right in your face -- the good, the bad and the hard parts of life are all included. Ms. Lane tells this story with rawness and reality; however, at the same time a grace that has the reader or listener truly becomes invested in the story and the lives of the characters! This story follows the life of Macky Sanders as we watch him grow up, learn what love is and then deal with heartbreak. We watch him follow his dreams of being a rock star, fall into the pitfalls of the glamorous life, meet Trav his savior and then have to deal with repercussions of the fast life. Macky has to learn how to deal with bigotry and blatant hate simply because he loves someone and others don't approve of that love. If that is not enough we follow Macky as he also learns how cruel life is as he deals with loss and grief. It is an emotional heart wrenching story that Amy Lane has woven and one that will surely leave you with a BookHangover for weeks! Please see full review on Goodreads by J.Loves2Read and it will be posted on Alpha Book Clubs blog

Oh. My. God. This is the best MM book I have read in a loooooonnggggg time. It's super long, super angsty, pretty sad and a bit triggery (warnings for drug abuse, rehab, rape, suicide) but so, so good. GET IT NOW. (I mean, I have a few quibbles - there's no way a high school band would wear SUITS to play at a HS prom, no way anyone in LA would expect musicians to go buy nice clothes to go to dinner, and no way any of the band members would keep calling Trav "Mr. Ford", but those are small things.) There were also phrases in the writing that were magical. Just so well written.

Wow! This story was simply beautiful. I don't typically read m/m stories but every now and then I like to try something new. The m/m romances that I've read have a real life feel to them. At least the ones I'm drawn too. I had this one on my TBR list for a while but I picked it up and I am so happy I did. There is so much love and pain in this story. The writing brought life to the characters. They were characters you fell in love with. Characters you only wanted the best for. Characters you wanted and hoped they would survive their struggles. I don't know if I'm making any sense but this story was simply awesome. The people in the story were real and their emotional struggles their pains were so real. The love was real. The love scene especially the 1st time(I won't say between who because k don't want to give it away) was beautiful. I had so many feelings for them and I had to read it twice because I could feel their feelings for each other and it was so beautiful. I often wonder what it takes for a story to bring up so many emotions and feelings that it brings the reader to tears or leaves then just "feeling". I can say this book, these characters, their story left me holding back tears and my face with a crooked smile because this story is the one. The one you feel as you read, the one that leaves you in awe as it comes to a close. Thank you Amy Lee this story was a breathtaking beautiful experience. There are not enough stars for this one.

I've loved everything I have read from Amy Lane. Although my all time favorite book will always be 'Dex in Blue' by her I loved this almost just as much! There is so much to say about this book. I loved the characters so much. Even the secondary ones. You can't help but fall in love with Mackey and Trav. I love how Amy Lane has a purpose to every word she writes, her books aren't filled with mindless fillers like you see a lot of. You feel like you are there and rooting for these people to find love, happiness, and self acceptance. Amy did a great job of the relationship between Grant and Trav. Of course they don't meet how you expect them to. A lot of times authors will make the hero emotionally bulletproof to the mc's baggage and I loved how she had Trav show real human emotions... Of course he's jealous of grant, of course he hates for everything he stands for... At first. It's brilliant. You NEVER second guess the love Mackey has for Trav either. From the moment Mackey decides he needs Trav he does everything in his power to fight for a future with him. JUST PLEASE READ. You will enjoy!!

Outbreak Monkey is band formed of brothers and one best friend, Grant. The band started playing a few gigs in high school and were finally recognized by a producer. The band is ready to leave the small-minded town. The boys never had it easy because all of the brothers had different fathers and they were raised by their mom. Despite their struggles, they have made it. When times comes to sign the contract Grant decides not to pursue his dream. He has to stay behind because he got his girlfriend pregnant. Okay, so not such a big deal except, for the last four years he has been with the lead singer of the band, Mackey. Mackey is completely devastated with Grant's decision to leave him. He has shared Grant with this girlfriend for years because Grant couldn't come out as gay to his homophobic family. Mackey knew Grant would never let down his unborn child, so he threw away his new life with Mackey. Mackey is not dealing well with life without Grant. He has turned to drugs and sex. He is on a path of self-destruction. The record label sends in Trav Ford to save this new band so they don't hit rock bottom. Mackey is an unforgettable character. Mackey lost his first love and sold millions of records playing kick-butt music all in the same year, but he can't forget Grant. No amount of sex, drugs and alcohol will erase Grant from his memory. Can Trav help save Mackey James Sanders and keep Outbreak Monkey on the path to stardom? I am new to Amy Lane's books. The only other book I have read was The Locker Room. Beneath the Stain has topped The Locker Room for me. I dove in this book ready for a great read. Beneath the Stain is phenomenal. I read it twice before I wrote this review. I know I've read a wonderful book when I can't stop thinking about a book days after finishing the read. I was emotionally drained after reading this book, but in a good way. I felt my heart being ripped from chest reading this book, but I laughed and cried too (at the same time). If you like secrets, lies, hot sex, angst, rockers, and first loves, then this book is for you.

This was the first Amy Lane book I have read and it makes me ask myself why I waited so long to read one of her books! I fell in love with Mackey from the beginning. I'm extremely leery of authors who write about drug addiction and addicts, I am a recovering addict of 17 years, it must be realistic, even in a fiction book, for me to even consider continuing with it and since I couldn't put the book down until I was finished that tells you what I think. Sweet Mackey, I just wanted to hug him and hold him and tell him he's worth so much more than being a human garbage can, then comes Trav who did exactly that. That man who saw Mackey for what his truly is, beyond the facade he showed everyone else makes him so special. His understanding and selflessness....beyond my expectations. He helped put Mackey back together just as Mackey did the same for him. Two of my favorite characters of all the books I've read!

Rock stars, rock bands, young first love, small town ugliness, hard family lives, passion for music, desire for order, need to protect, sex and drugs, and lots and lots of angst... Amy Lane is an accomplished writer of m/m romances, but this one is pretty epic if you love stuff anything like this! Mackey has always been brilliant, talented, totally living for the music in him, but also troubled, a trouble-maker, and trying to deal with a tough childhood and life in a small-town that isn't gay-friendly. Despite all the handicaps, his band, with his brothers, gets signed and makes it big, but he's more troubled than ever, having lost a friend and lover and floundering around despite his brothers being with him and his new manager doing his best to keep his star from falling, crashing and burning. The cast of characters is fantastic. Quirky and real and fun and difficult. The heart-break is just agonizing. The love and passion is just soaring. We get to follow these guys closely for pages and pages, and there's tragedy and sadness and violence and lots of places where things go wrong. But there's also so much good. This not an easy book at all, but it is still a romance with a HEA, so you know it will pay off in the end, even though we and the band are put through the wringer. So, so very worth it, of course! Incredible and unforgettable. Lots of familiar tropes, but lots of inventive stuff too. Just Wow about sums it up!

Sex, drugs and Rock, n, Roll. This is one of the most genius, heartbreaking, lovely, sweet, painful and amazing books that I have ever read. It is the story about Mackey, Jeff, Kell, Grant, Stevie, Trav, Sheila, Blake, Briony and the people around them. About a Rock band, that makes it Against all odds, but at a heartbreaking price. It is The power of Love between Mackey and Grant, Mackey and Trav, between Jeff, Sheila and Stevie, about betrayal, pain, sex, hope and how Only the lonely knows what it means, when you are left behind. This is a story about how Love changes everything. But it is mostly the story about how Mackey gets by With a little help from his friends.

WOW!!!! There's not much I can say about "Beneath The Stain" that has not already been said. It's by Amy Lane, so of course I expected it to be great. What I did not expect was for it to be the best she had ever wrote. I have read all of Ms. Lanes books and found all of them good. Some were Over the top Awesome. The "Talker" series, "Keeping Promise Rock" series. The Johnnies Series, And of course "The Locker Room" (my favorite) to name just a few. But "Beneath the Stain"? Words like, Beautiful, Heartbreaking, Gut wrenching, and Overwhelming sadness, all come to mind when thinking of this book. I do not have the words to express just how good this book was. I think Ms. Lane may have out did her self this time. How the heck can she top this one? Of course I have said that about others that she has wrote but "Beneath the Stain" is going to be a hard act to follow.

This is my second read of one of my favorite stories. Amy Lane is a master story teller, and able to craft a story that will have you fall in love with all the characters of this story. Mackey has forever held a place in my heart. He is wildly talented, sensitive, thoufhtful, and so damned broken, my heart bleeds for him. Trav is the man who is strong enough to pick up the pieces of his shattered heart, and puts him all back together. The bonds of family are what help sustain them both. Read this book. I promise, it will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

This book was a WOW 5 stars for me!! You know how some books just sneak up on you and grab you and don't let you go?? Beneath the Stain did that for me. It was so beautiful and touching and, at times, so painful to read I had tears streaming down my face. I FELT everything and rooted for the characters the whole way through. The story was not only gripping, it also had the painful lows and soaring highs that are true to life, love, and the journey of self discovery. I loved, loved, loved all the characters but Travis and Mackey in particular stole my heart. Travis and his fierce protective spirit and Mackey because of his beautiful broken soul. I would also be remiss not to mention that the use of music in this book was perfection. It added such a depth to the book for me and made me fall I'm love with the story so much more. It has angst, heartbreak, joy, love, a beautiful journey, and some UNFORGETABLE men. If you havent read this gem, what the hell are you waiting for? ;)

If I could give more stars, I would. This book grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let go. It left me wanting more. Growing up gay in a small town of narrow minded people left music as Mackey’s escape. His natural talent was in the forefront when he formed a garage band with his brothers and his friend Grant-the love of his life, but also the source of his greatest hurt. With success comes money, with money comes access to many things a small town boy hasn’t necessarily got the sophistication to handle. When the group’s new manager, Trav comes to replace their original manager, things start to take a turn. Trav and Mackey’s relationship becomes intimate, and Trav, in spite of their age difference finds himself drawn to this younger man. Hi highly recommend BENEATH THE STAIN to all lovers of the m/m genre. It is a wonderful story.

I'm not sure I have ever loved a book this much. The competition is strong, but... I think this one's the current front-runner. There is so much, so many layers, good, every-day, bad, serious, hilarious, heart-breaking, profound, dorky, sweet, loving. Unusual, unique. Real. I'd love to see this done as an animated series. It'll never happen, the music rights alone would price it out of the market. But it could be awesome, particularly Mackey composing. It looked really cool in my mind while reading! Highly recommended. Particularly if you grew up poor in a backward little town.

I can't say enough positive things about this book. You get two impactful love stories, a long book, angst, a rockstar, a loving but dysfunctional family...everything wonderful. This has been a repeat read for me for a couple of years now. It's a great feel-good book, a wallow-book, an ugly-cry book. Whatever you need, whenever you need. You may know what's coming, but that won't soften the blow. The sweetness and the torment of this story stay with you. And you're grateful for it.

Wow. This story of a rock band, a band of brothers, left me gutted in the best way. When you care so much about a secondary character that it tears you up, you know the author's done well. This is such a great story, focusing on the lead singer and his family from his high school days to when he's a grown-up. Riveting, honest, it pulled me in and left me wanting more. It did everything I want a good book to do!

This was one of the best books I have ever read. Mackie made the biggest impact on me that I can remember. So much so as soon as I finished the book I wanted to read it again in case I missed something. It was so heartening to read about the brothers and friends in the band who were always there for each other and always had each other's back. There were many sad points in the book but I cried for Grant, it seemed like nothing ever went right for him. When I look back on this book it like all the characters in the story were the perfect back drop for the wonderful Mackie. Now that this is done I think I'LL have a little snack of Chicken In A Biscuit crackers. Thank you for a great book.

I have just experienced sheer beauty on the written page. This is a fairly long book and I couldn't put it down. I spent almost all weekend reading it. It is not a book you rush through it is a book where you savor every word. It is an extremely well written story that has so many levels to it. It truly transcends the labels of romance and m/m to reveal deeper issues like how cruel a supposedly civilized society can be to those who don't follow societal "norms". I won't say any more because this is a story you should let unfold for itself. On a lighter note it is full of fun rock star world stuff-drugs, alcohol and money, super hot and steamy sex and off the charts romance. Great 3 dimensional secondary characters, warmth of family and friends and angst of broken hearts.

This book is raw emotion and while it contains just about all the Rock Star tropes it was nothing like the story I was expecting. In between the angst and drama there was a great look at what it's like to ride the trajectory of a real prodigy. With a side dose of warm family. I couldn't put it down. This is a great read.

I am going to sound like everyone else but bears repeating, its an epic journey! If you don't fall in love with Mackey & Trev then you have no heart, This is hands down the best thing I have read in a long time, and has to go to the top of the best Gay romance book ever! I had thought no one could top Always by Kindle Alexander but this novel blows it out of the water. Its got ugly REAL life in it but ultimately its about family bonds of blood and heart and of course its a love story, but not one of those pretty empty packages, but with all the real crap love can bring and the sheer journey it takes to make it work. Its got all the buzz words folks look for, hot guys, rock-n-roll, sex, but wrapped around that is a story that will make you laugh, cry, shake your head and the horror, and cheer on the hero's! So well done Ms. Lane!!!!!!

Many have published reviews of the book with details and they are excellent. I just wanted to focus on Amy's ability here. This book which I literally could not put down covered every emotion I could imagine. I would have to walk away for bit just to tamp down the emotional connection for a bit, so intense, so beautiful. I have read virtually everything Amy has ever written. As a gay man I wonder how she can be so spot on about knowing us, our feelings, our challenges our heartaches and our loves. It is as if she were able to channel us and know what we are thinking. If this is your first Amy Lane book do yourself a favor and start working backwards, you will be rewarded, I promise. Thank you Amy for writing about us with such love and sincerity.

I put off reading this one, 'cause I just knew this was gonna happen. Amy Lane uses her words to flay your heart and sledgehammer your emotions. I finished this book just wrung out, my eyes red and my nose stuffed up. Incredible, wonderful, heartbreaking, beautiful story. There wasn't a misplaced scene or word. Grant, poor Grant! Mackey and Travis were a love story for real people, with loads of baggage and messy pasts. Stevie and Jeff and Shelia were precious. Kell was kind of a jerk and then I loved him. Blake was lost but found his family with the band. Briony was a gem and a lifesaver for Mackey. Cheever was a spoiled brat. This book was really long and seemed way too short. The many other 5 star reviews can tell you even more, so this is my poor contribution. You just really need to read it.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. Amy Lane has surpassed herself in every way with this beautiful, brilliant, breath take, story. And that's saying something, because everything amy writes is amazing. I couldn't put it down once I started it. It grabbed my and sucked me into a world so vivid and characters so alive, that I will hold them in my heart forever and never let them go. Like everything Amy has written I will reread this story again and again. You absolutely must read this book. Thank you Amy you are a fantastically talented and beautiful writer.

I didn’t expect it, just read the blurb on GR and took a chance. My god, I needed this. I was actually considering giving up M/M books because the stories I’ve read so far were just meh and the characters so meh. But then I read this one and like I said, I really really REALLY needed this and I loved it. Loved everything about it, all the characters, all the drama. F*cking loved it! Gimme more of these!

This is a wonderful about growing up poor in a small town. The brothers and their close friends find music through a boy named McKay. The band grows, get signed to a recording contract and everything falls apart from there. A new manager is hired when the first one dies from drugs. His job is to help the boys grow up and keep making music. On the way he falls in love. This is a great read. It's happy, sad and you can't help but root for all of them to survive and flourish.

I am an avid reader. I read a lot, but am not good at writing reviews. I wish I had the ability to write a review that could express to other readers how good this book is. It is an exceptional character study of flawed, small town boys and the difficult journey to overcome the bigotry and the emotional crippling. It is also a wonderful story of true love. endurance, and learning self-worth. If you want to read a good book that you will remember, and be glad you did.

...Literally... McKay, Keller, Blake, Jefferson, and Stevie - five rock stars. This story, I don’t know why it took me so long to read it, but I’m so glad I finally did. Amy Lane, you brought out so much emotion with this book, my review is going to be short, because once I start describing pieces of the story this review would way too long. Just know this, I love this story, love the characters, definitely a five star read. Well done Amy Lane! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my first book review. I have been reading m/m romances for years and years. I have some I didn't like too much, a lot that I really like, and a select few that I love. "Beneath the Stain" falls into the top of the ones I love. I loved this story. I loved these characters. I couldn't put this book down. I was pulled in from the first kiss. My heart broke at the beginning and the end. At one point I hated it because I loved it so much. I'm trying not give anything away, but there were points that this story made my stomach hurt and I could feel pressure behind my eyes as I fought tears. I actually had to put this book down, towards the end, because I had figured out what was probably going to happen and it made feel such sadness. I SO didn't want this thing to happen that part of me didn't want to finish. That is just how well this is written. This book caused me so many emotions-yearning, eagerness, joy, sadness, anger, more joy, more sadness, extreme sadness, fulfillment, happiness. I loved Mackey and Trav, but I have to say, that most of all, I loved Grant. Absolutely don't miss this book!! Well done, Amy Lane.

As we get older, we tend to forget how it felt to have that first lover where the complete adoration was mutual! This book reminded me of that and it was so much more!!!! This story was so well told that I was blown away by it. The song lyrics were so amazing that someone should sing them. I wish that I could give more stars or that I could use better words to express my complete enjoyment of this book. What I can and will do however is buy more Amy Lane. This book is truly awesome! Kudos to Ms. Lane, this book will go to my read over and over file!!! Thank you for the joy!

Once again Amy Lane has written a novel well worth reading - her character development, depth of knowledge on subjects in the story and amazing writing style make this one of her top 10 books. Of course it wouldn't be Amy Lane without some hot sex scenes, character conflict and tears. I love that her characters aren't perfect - they are flawed like the rest of us. Their life stories are complicated and full of trials and set backs, as well as achievements and success and romance. Highly recommend reading Beneath the Stain

This was the first Amy Lane book I read, but it won't be the last. Everything about this book was great. I loved the characters. I adored the relationship between the brothers and how it grew with them. The characterization of Kell was especially well-handled, but all of them were great. Just so three dimensional and real. Lane didn't go for the simple, cookie cutter characters, but created living, breathing people. I really felt all the love and the complications that comes with loving an artist. And I sobbed like a baby at the end. So great characters, hot sex and angsty crying - my personal trifecta. I can't wait to read more.

Wow! This was a long book and yet I didn't want it to end. Really well written characters. Interesting look at a young, quirky rock band needing just a little guidance to show their true colors. And everyone should fall in love with the lead singer like I did. SO much talent he astounds those around him, yet his insecurities are nearly his undoing. He is raw and funny and loyal and needier than ever thought he could be. Finding love the second time around for him helps the entire band, but he never turns his back on that first love either. Just beautifully written and pulled hard at my heartstrings. MORE MORE MORE

While I had a hard time getting into it at first, but slowly fell in love with McKay and Travis and all the other stuff that came along but the freaking ending effing killed me and I’m still sobbing but geez I loved it

This is just the best book...best story......best characters.....best laughs....huge tears......Read it...it is certainly a keeper... This story is about families, that which is the best and the worst of us. It reminds us of the fact that family comes to us in many ways, those we are born into and those we create on own..This is a story that will stay with you and I am sure that you will wish, as I did, that it would never end...Thank you Amy Lane......

This is a heartbreaking story of self discovery and growing up. Learning from your mistakes and dealing with the pain. If not for Trav then Mackey would have never realized this. Trav was the life saver for the band and helped them understand ho to deal with a lifetime of hurt. This is my second time reading this and it's an amazing story! Highly recommend.

Wow!!!!! This book was amazing!!! Amy Lane always has great stories but this one will stay with me for awhile. As usual her books put you on an emotional rollercoaster. Cries were shed laughes were had. The characters had depth. I loved Mackey and the guys!!! I even loved Grant even though in the beginning I wanted to hate him but you will have to read the book to find why. I will not ruin such a great book with spoilers. I highly recommend this book but be ready for emotions.

I love this book even though it makes me cry every time! Read it with a box of tissues near by, it’s well worth the time.

What can I say that hasn't been said by the other reviewers. I was sucked in and taken a ride that left me breathless, happy, sad, angry, happy again, and wanting more but knowing it ended in a great place. Watching the brothers grow and become who they are was great. The love stories was heartbreakingly real and lovely and special. Yes you should read this.

This is one of Amy Lane 's better stories. Lots of lost love,, new found love, some angst, along with enough guilt to choke a horse. Oh, and there's a story line too. Tough life and then instant stardom. What a ride. Great characters with realistic impulses and reactions to that kind of life.

This was such a fantastic book. It was so beautifully written where you could feel every single emotion. I fell in love with every single character. Mackey was such a special guy and the rest of the guys, Stevie, Kell and Jeff all played off of one another. I Can't say enough about Trav, he was just a godsend to them and the love I felt between the group was so touching. I've read lots of Amy Lane, but I have to say this was her best yet.

This book is a great story with wonderful characters. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry. Each of the characters is fully developed; it is fascinating to learn about all their various idiosyncrasies as the story progresses. I absolutely hated having the book end as I wanted so much to continue along with these characters as they lived and loved. I highly recommend this book; I know you will enjoy it greatly.

Beautifully written, exquisitely expressed with innocence, love, loss, boys coming of age, a town's bigotry, addiction, fame, regret and death. I could not put this book down, I felt the pain, love and need for the boys. Their happiness is a hod podge of everything that they want and love and find. Great read!

This is a great read so much more than a MM book. It's about family, the good and the bad, the secrets, the truths. The writing was different, it felt authentic, real. Mackey is such an intriguing personality, complex. The brothers/band all unique, original. This is a book you feel and that lives in you when you finish it. It will gut you but it is so worth it.

So yeah. I'm all stuffy from crying. It's Amy Lane, Queen of angst and pain, but it hurts so good. I never, ever regret picking up an Amy Lane book and this is no exception. What a beautiful story. You'll love the Outbreak Monkeys. Every last one of them. Not gonna spoil a bit of it. Just read it.

This book, originally a series but I read them as a whole book which is stand alone, rates as the number one on my list of best books of 2014. Although it involves a male/male romance, it is told with such beauty and emotion that I never wanted it to end. I will certainly be reading it again and again.

Any story that has 97 reviews and 95 of them are 5 stars, you go into it with certain expectations. Sometimes, you read the book and wonder what the hell everybody is raving about. And sometimes you are wowed; bowled over with the story and the journey. This book was the latter. I loved the journey, even as it made me cry for the bad stuff that happened and the good that was interspersed. Another great journey courtesy of Amy Lane. Thank you Amy.

My Review: Overall: 5.0 Performance: 5.0 Story: 5.0 (I would give this story straight 10's if I could!) I've had this book on my kindle for a long time, but I wasn't too sure about reading it. But when I saw that it was also available on audiobook, I decided to try it that way. A lot of the time I can ease myself into an audio easier than I can when reading the actual book. OMG, why did I let this sit unread for so long? This book was so freaking good, but I have to admit I'm so glad I listened to it on audio because Nick J. Russo is the best narrator I think I've ever heard. He nailed the inflections and voices to such perfection. I don't even plan on deleting the file off my iPod like I normally do because I fully plan to revisit this book and listen to it again. So I guess you'd like an actual review. Let me see if I can come up with a way to review this book without simply gushing. Although, if you want to save time, you can stop reading now and know YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK! Either in audio, print, or ebook...personally, I have all three versions, now. I ADORED THIS BOOK. This is a book that is really about Mackey. He's the third of four boys and is the true driving force between Outbreak Monkey. He writes and sings the songs and he's the one who organized the band way early in the boys lives...two of his brothers, one of their friends, and Grant. The family is from a very small, close-minded town and as a result, Mackey remained in the closet. But that was okay, his lover (and his brother, Kell's, best friend), Grant was in there with him too. They were lovers from the time Mackey was 14. If I remember right, Grant was 17. They stayed this way...loving in secret for years. But just as Outbreak Monkey got a music contract, Grant's girlfriend got pregnant. Oh yeah, this guy was seriously in the closet. So he did the right thing, dropped out of the band, and broke Mackey's heart. Mackey is a true artist. He feels and experiences the music to his very soul, but he was lost without Grant to anchor him. The band replaced Grant with Blake and began to spiral into fame and for Mackey into drugs with the help from his manager, Jerry. Fourteen months later, Jerry died of an overdose and Mackey and the boys are the ones who found him. As a result, Trav is given the band to manage with instructions to straighten them all out. By this time, they are all still very young, but they're in their 20's. Trav is blown away by their talent and just the epic possibilities, but first he has to get them straightened out. And all that begins with Mackey, because although he is the youngest in the group, he is undeniably their leader. There are so many epic feels in this book. Mackey is lost and trying and tortured and heartbroken and just so brilliantly talented. But he's lost...until Trav. Trav is exactly what Mackey needs. He sees Mackey...not only his musical talent, but his human heart and needs. The two of them are brilliant together, despite Trav's worries about their age difference. But that doesn't mean this is an easy road. It's definitely not and Amy Lane did an amazingly gorgeous job showing Mackey's pains and doubts and hurts as he goes through rehab and learning to live without Grant. He's been taught that being gay is wrong and it takes Trav to show him that it can be beautiful and just so perfectly right. There is an amazing cast of characters in this book. They are rich and varied and I loved every single one of them for different reasons. Of course, Trav and Mackey are a given. But eventually, I even loved Kell. I loved that he comes across as a bit shallow and dumb, but he's not. And despite everything he loves Mackey and his Outbreak Monkey family. This band is truly a family in every sense of the word, not just the brothers, and the ties that bind them are wonderful to read. But there's also the triad of Jefferson, Stevie, and Sheila I loved them in just that what they are doing isn't the norm, but they simply don't care. It's perfect for them and that's all that matters. Blake...aw, my heart hurt for him. He's brought into the band to replace Grant and Mackey just can't accept that or him...until rehab. Wow, they had some amazing scenes together. She didn't show up until the very end of the book, but wow, I really did love Briony and loved the romance that resulted there. And then there's Grant...tear my heart out and shred it. *sob* The story was perfect and beautiful and I literally felt my heart shattering over and over through this aspect of the story. The book is amazing and beautiful and so emotionally filled. I challenge you to read it and not be moved. I guarantee you that these guys will break your heart, but they are also so filled with life and music and beauty. It was a gorgeous book, a perfect narration, and it's definitely earned a favorite spot in my heart for books that I LOVE and ADORE! Three words...READ THIS ONE! (you won't regret it)

I really enjoyed this read....finished it on vacation. I felt there was good character development and an interesting enough story line to keep my interested. A few laughs were had and a few tears were shed, so that to me is a sign of a great book. I believe this is my second Amy Lane book and looking forward to picking out another gem.

Found this book by accident search, clicked on it because of the cover, and was absolutely skeptical of all the 5 star reviews. I kept thinking yeah right, WOW, I was completely blown away with this story. The author drew me in from the very beginning and I laughed, got angry, and cried. Now I have a book hangover, so be ready for that. Best book I have read and not regretted purchasing in a very long time. I now have a new goto author.

Such a great book!!!...I read this book, and 2 days later, it hasn't left my thoughts...You will love Mackey and the boys...I really liked wished Grant could have stood up to his family at the beginning...Trav was awesome though...It was a powerful story that will stay with you...Be prepared to cry at out at one point of this story... I mean- it will really be gut-wrenching...I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

I'm usually not too crazy about rock star protagonists, but this book was excellent. I read 7 - 10 books a week and Mackey is one of the most fascinating characters I've seen in a long time. Filled with contradictory characteristics , his artistic genus shines through clearly and genuinely. The other characters are also fully fleshed out and complex. The plot held my attention throughout, and the love story was beautiful. Amy is one of my very favorite authors, and I think this book may well be her best. I highly recommend it.

This is by far the best novel I have read. This is such a beautiful written book, be expected to have your heart ripped out and your emotions stomped on. I was so attached to the characters, I laughed and cried with them all the same! I can't say enough how great this novel is!! All of the character development going on, the internal struggles within Mackey, it really hits home and changes your perspective on life. This is my favorite book!

There aren't enough stars for this book! ‘Trav thought of the song – his song – and the cry from the invisible boy who slept in forgotten corners and lived to make people love him or hate him or anything so long as they didn’t forget his name.’ BEST READ OF THE YEAR!! HOW? HOW CAN OUR WORDS DO JUSTICE TO THIS BOOK? There are stories we read that burrow their way into a little piece of our hearts, the ones we think about every now and again, and then there are stories like Beneath the Stain, a priceless piece of exceptional and heartfelt storytelling that stands out from the very first to the very last page, is detailed with such aching that it has such a staggering emotional effect on you, and you know it will stay with you always and is something you’ll NEVER forget! This…. THIS book personified everything we love about reading. “I’m trying to follow all the steps and check all the boxes. But my heart hurts and my skin aches, and God, I just want to be touched…….Can you touch me and then look at me tomorrow, and it will be okay?” Beneath the Stain didn’t merely take a piece of our hearts, it obliterated them, made them soar and we may never recover, but then again, we don’t want to. We want to saviour and cherish this reading experience forever and we will! There was nothing superfluous about Mackey, Trav, Grant, Kell, Stevie, Blake and Jefferson’s story. Every word…EVERY SINGLE WORD felt like a precious gift to be treasured and guarded with our every fibre of our being. ‘Trav couldn’t explain the surge of protectiveness, of reluctant admiration, that knotted his stomach when he watched Mackey sleep. He was defenceless like this, every bit of sarcasm, sass, and fire shuttered behind closed eyes. Trav had to protect him when he slept – who else would? So far the world had done a stunningly poor job of taking care of Mackey Sanders.’ Amy Lane delivered a story with so much depth, so much emotion, so many layers and she brought it all to life with such incredible striking imagery that we became a part of her world…. active participants in her story. At no time were we mere spectators. We lived and breathed the triumphs, tragedies, pain and heartbreak with each and every character. We felt their pain so deep in our hearts there were times we sobbed so hard our chests heaved and we couldn’t breathe. “It’s just that I’ve finally seen you not awful. You’re stunning.” Yes, this is a love story between Trav and Mackey but it so much more. This is a story of friendships, loyalty, family, love, overcoming prejudice and finding peace within you, and very, very rarely do we get to experience a story that encompasses this dynamic so breathtakingly beautifully and with such real emotion as this one. The dynamics of the relationships singularly were so diverse, yet as a whole so cohesive….so right, so real, so relatable. These guys may have been unconventional but each one had so much heart and was so unique….we loved them all. ‘It was a pure, unfiltered glimpse into Mackey James Sanders heart, and it was battered and bloody and still a little broken. But healing.’ At the centre of it all was the talented, temperamental, sensitive and almost ethereal McKay (Mackey) Sanders and what a fascinatingly flawed and complex character he was. A man plagued by demons, hiding his sexuality and who really just needs to feel loved and be accepted. “It’s hard loving people that bright, that shiny, that they make everyone else in the world look dim.” One of the most beautiful characters we’ve ever had the pleasure to meet was Travis (Trav) Ford. This stoic ex-military, man of order and timed precision who is entrusted with the job of looking after this bunch of rag tag rockers, would start out as the manager of Outlaw Monkey, yet soon becomes one of the most important in their lives, not only to Mackey, but to all the boys and his relationships with these boys was awe inspiring and really hits at the heart of the reader. “You can’t be the whole album, Trav. You just can’t. But you can be the best songs.” Beneath the Stain is pure emotion. It’s ALL about the story….no page filling nookie in this book. Every word served a purpose, every scene, every detail so vivid and so important, and so meaningful to their journey. Amy Lane held us captive and transfixed through this entire story. Be it when she was whipping us into frenzy as an active, entranced audience member being beguiled by the extraordinary Mackey and the guys of Outbreak Monkey as they performed on stage. Or tearing out our hearts with some of the most intense, heartbreaking scenes we’ve read, or knotting our stomachs with her little teases of the angst that was to unfold, even giggling over the banter between the family and let’s not forget the times our hearts swelled with the love conveyed so masterfully through the pages. ‘Trav knew the real boy underneath, and he was three times as beautiful as the image.’ We could go on and on about this story and between us we WILL for a long time to come because we want to relive the tender, beautifully touching moments of this book again and again. Beneath the Stain is one of those diamonds you hope and pray you’ll come across as a reader and we’re so extremely grateful we did. “My Mom told me the trick to staying in love was falling in love every day. Like you do with music. You listen for good music every day.” Such and inspiring journey and all we can say is READ THIS BOOK!!!!!! ‘They became one, and Mackey could breathe. Trav was a part of him, and Mackey had strength. Trav moved, and Mackey’s body became light and Trav’s body became sound and together they were the thing Mackey worshipped most. Music.’

This is one,of the best LBGT books I've read in years! The lives of the boys, the pain of growing up the hard way and having to do it the way they did is heartbreaking yet blessedly heartwarming. Brother's - family or nor - are what kept them sane & together. This read is for anyone, boot just those if third genre. Well done.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys M M romance novels--I'm addicted, and have read several hundred over the years. It's not the best, but it's in the top fifty!!! BUY THIS BOOK--You won't be disappointed!!!

Oh how I loved this book and the character Mackey Sanders. Mackey may be only 5'6" and one of the youngest brothers but he is a force and talent to be reckoned with. He IS the leader of the band (of brothers). He's also a mess until Travis shows up and cleans up his act and in the process falls in love with the little spitfire. Even tho the Sanders brothers paid their dues in spades they became famous too fast and it nearly killed them. Mackey seems to have the most crosses to bear - he's poor, broken family, he's gay, he's just lost his secret lover of five years, his talent has propelled his band to fame and fortune and also into drugs and dangerous one offs. But that's where Travis comes into their lives as their new manager and he puts things to right - first order of business is getting Mackey straight....but not too straight. Amy Lane as usual has you crying and then laughing - she is so talented and I love the characters of so many of her books but Mackey Sanders I think has to be my favorite. So bold and then so vulnerable - a superstar who makes love to his audience, a lost child who sleeps curled up in a corner of a room because he can't cope. Grant, their band mate and Mackey's first lover was like the fifth Beatle who got left behind as they soared to fame. While he was one of the forces that got them there he had to let go of his dream to be the "good son" and marry his girlfriend (who was really only a beard to his relationship with Mackey). His life was about sacrifice - something Mackey couldn't understand or forgive him for until it was almost too late. Mackey was only 14 when he became involved with 17 yr old Grant and as Travis later explained it to Mackey "Mackey, you were literally a child bride." Beautiful story with tons of angst and tears...and lots of laughter and snarkiness. The brothers were all quirky and endearing...not so sure about Cheever tho. This is Amy Lane at her finest I think.

Thank you Amy, for another great plot and group of characters. This was a wrenching story to read, but the transition from hopeless to HEA was a very uplifting experience. Many tears shed while reading, but more than well worth it! Highly recommended.

Why must it end? This is always the first question I have when I read the last line in Miss Lane's works. Again she has taken us inside the world of her characters. Again she has shared their reality. The beauty, the darkness and the living that her characters embrace. Fabulous.

enjoyed but needs edition, like a lot of edition.

Overall - 4.75 stars Four stories for the price of one. Book covers Mackey's coming of age, his ascension to rock stardom, his inevitable descent into addiction, and his triumphant defeat of his demons for love. It's absolutely a rock 'n roll story from beginning to end. Fantasy World - 5 stars Was Amy Lane in a rock band? Or has she been spending a lot of time back stage because the level of detail was amazing. Tingle - 5 stars Full male/male erotic detail. Yeah baby! Characters - 4 stars There are a lot of characters and it's challenging to keep them straight at times. Mackey is the perfect rock star full of equal parts charm and sneer. His brothers are as irritating as real siblings. Story - 4 stars Drug a bit in places. Tugs on your heartstrings and makes you scream in frustration. Classic Amy Lane. Summary I never thought I'd say there was such a thing as too much Amy Lane, but “Beneath the Stain” could have used a few less words. It dragged a bit, and felt like it could use some editing. Granted this was originally a serial not a novel so some of the repetition is likely from the change in formats. I really, really want a follow up book which provides the story of the Jefferson, Stevie, and Sheila's menage. There seems like a huge back story there which is tantalizingly out of view. At $5-6 for the ebook version for 482 pages, this is a steal. Recommended for fans of Amy Lane and Rhys Ford's Sinner's series. Don't be surprised if you find yourself bobbing your head to the music as you read along.

WOW. What a great story. It follows a group of boys from poverty to rock and roll fame. It shares the times of innocence lost and love lost through several years and ends with a kind of closure that leaves you wanting more. I hope this has a sequel one of these days!

As always Amy gifts us with so much more than a love story. It is a story of why we love rainbows after a terrible storm.

One of the best stories I've ever read! A story of growing up in the spotlight (several spotlights), coming out, hope and finally redemption. I'll re-read this again and again.

I can hardly write this review, because my eyes are swelling shut from the tears. This book grabs hold of you and drags you screaming through such emotions! I sobbed and laughed and and and I don't even know, I'm incoherent with feels, oh the FEELS! Please buy this book. That is all, I must curl into a ball.

Wow! It took me a little while to get into this one but Amy Lane didn't disappoint. She writes honestly and although there were times I thought it was long, the end was worth the wait and I don't know what could have been different.

So many great reviews, but I must say this book is phenomenal! My first read from this author and it will not be my last. Ms. Lane gave us a lot of book for the money. True authors give you a full bodied novel, not snippets.

This is a real masterpiece. I'd consider it one of her strongest works. This is a real roller coaster ride of emotions. Love all the interesting characters that became real for me.

Oh My Goodness!!! I have several other Amy Lane books, Sidecar being my favorite until I read this one. Loved Mackey and Travis!!!!(and the rest of the brothers/family). I laughed and cried - couldn't put it down - read it all the first night I bought it. Will definitely be on my reread list!!

I have never written a review before but I just had to after readying this book. I have read so many Amy Lane books and she is usually an auto buy for me. There are no words to express how much this book touched my heart my soul. The pages came alive and I could see the story. The love the commitment the loyalty. Oh my GOD the heartbreak. The soul warming ending. Thank you Amy Lane for every word. This has got to be the greatest book I've read Maybe even better than Promise Rock.

Love it. Beautiful love stories. I can imagine this story actually happened some where in US for real. Ms. Land, you are one of my favorite female writers right next to Ms. Kindle Alexander.

Beneath the Stain almost defies description. I’ve been a sometime-fan of Ms. Lane’s work. Some of it I really like; some I could live without. But this book simply and plainly blew me away. In fact, when I realized I’d neglected to write a review when I’d first read the book, I took a quick look to refresh my memory, and broke my cardinal rule – I read it for a second time, cover to cover, word for word. I hate reruns, but this time I made an exception, and I’m oh so glad I did. After reading just the first few lines of the first paragraph, I was hooked anew and couldn’t stop until I’d gotten to the very last page of this long, brilliant, profoundly moving novel. Ms. Lane’s book really is long – almost 500 pages – but, to be perfectly honest, I’d be glad to read another five hundred. I didn’t want it to end. I’m not sure you can call Beneath the Stain a gay romance. There is gay romance in it, but it’s a book about much larger themes. It’s a book that delves deeply into bigoted small towns, supposedly Christian towns that are quick to judge anyone who’s not like everyone else, while hiding its own deep and dirty secrets. It’s about the stifling boredom and low expectations of small towns, content to let the world pass them by as they demolish the high expectations and hopes of their young people. It’s a book about the music industry, and the way it chews up young, promising talent with the lure of impossible riches, lubricated by a constant stream of booze and drugs. Beneath the Stain is a book about families – the families we are born into and the families we create, the people we love and those who stand by us, the ones who love us even when we’re ugly, impatient, unkind, hung over and ill. But above all else, Beneath the Stain is a book about love, learning to love and learning to be loved - the latter often the more difficult of the two. There are two main characters and tracks throughout the book. Trav is a former military MP, battle-hardened and disciplined to a fault. He comes from a loving family, but spent years under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, hiding who he is, walking away from any possibility of affection (or even lust), just to keep his secret. And his secret is not just that he’s gay, but that he’s almost fatally attracted to creative men, artists, men who live the passion of vision and emotion, pretty much the opposite of Travis, himself. The book opens on his breakup with his current boyfriend of several years, Terry. He comes home to find him shacking up with a younger man, oblivious to the fact that he’d just abandoned Terry for several weeks while he went off on an assignment, without even a call or text message. Trav can’t quite understand why Terry would be angry with him, or lonely enough to find solace in someone else’s arms. Everything in Trav’s life is black-and-white, and betrayal is betrayal, period. The other main character is Mackey (real name: McKay), a young, unbelievably precocious and brilliantly talented boy, a musician, a songwriter and performer of the type who only appear once a generation, if that. One of four brothers of a single mother and four different fathers, he organized his brothers and a close friend of theirs into a killer rock band at the age of 14. He trained the others, as musicians, arranged their covers, wrote their new material and drilled them mercilessly until they were first-rate, all without a clue as to how special he was. He’s always known he was different. Gay and too smart for his own good, he hid it all behind aggression and attitude. His bigger brothers often had to defend him, which they were glad to do, even though they knew very well that everyone who knows Mackey long enough wants to punch him in the head at some time, including themselves. What none of them know is that Mackey is not a virgin. From the age of 14, until he was forced to move on at 19, Grant, best friend of his oldest brother Kell (and lead guitar in the band) had been his lover. Furtive, stolen moments in parked cars or dark corners were all they were able share. Perhaps an hour or two on a blanket, at night, in a deserted park provided a few moments of touch, affection and some pale intimation of love, but left Mackey in despair of ever having a real life or relationship. Grant and the music were the only things that kept Mackey alive. And the music was where he lived, where he went to be himself. The music was his heart and his soul, and he was the music. Only with a guitar in hand, a microphone in front of him, the young, insecure, lonely Mackey became a god – and more important, was truly happy. That all came crashing down when a record company executive caught a performance by their band, Outbreak Monkey, that had been arranged by Grant. A short time later, they gather to sign their very first record deal. It’s only then that they find out that Grant won’t be with them. His “girlfriend” is pregnant, and he’s succumbed to the family pressure to stay in Tyson and take on a “normal” life with wife, child, and his father’s car dealerships. Mackey is crushed. So crushed, in fact, that he never really gets over it. The only intimate love he’s ever known, snatched away from him, leaving him alone, vulnerable, surrounded by the secrets he has kept from his family and everyone else. Though his brothers will still protect him, even they don’t really know him. There is no one left who knows him. No one. A year with their aging, addicted manager builds the band into a huge success, with a top-selling album, a world tour and millions of fans. Most of that is accomplished on the back of Mackey’s prodigious output as a songwriter, band director, singer and performer. He’s only 5’ 6”, but he’s an incredibly powerful and sexy giant on stage, touching his audience in ways that few other performers can. Each song he sings becomes their song. His pain becomes their pain, his lost loves, their lost loves, his hopes and dreams, their own. How does a 20-year-old who’d never been out of the tiny town of Tyson cope with sudden international fame, huge amounts of money, running a band, writing the music, touring, performing as frontman, and dealing with everyone else’s problems? Xanax. Uppers, downers, cocaine all provided by the band’s well-meaning, but totally addicted manager. Yes, the old man really does have the band’s best interest at heart, but he’s killing its lead singer and songwriter, the energy behind Outbreak Monkey, the glue that holds it together. The manager dies, victim of his own medications. Mackey finds his body. The whole thing begins to fall apart. Mackey spends his nights wedged between his bed and the wall, beneath a mountain of bedding, the only place he ever feels safe enough to sleep. He still wakes up in the middle of the night and pens new songs and arrangements in his ever-present notebooks, and almost never sleeps through till morning. Then he drops from exhaustion, wakes up, pops some pills, picks up a stranger, brings him back to his room in a desperate attempt at human contact and medicates himself back into oblivion. Heath, the owner and founder of the record company, is a true mentor of musicians. He doesn’t run the label for the money (he has family money), but for the love of music and young musicians. He sees the band falling apart (he didn’t know quite how bad it had gotten) and calls in his closest Army buddy, Trav, to whip them back into shape and perhaps, even save their lives. Trav arrives at the band’s hotel and finds Mackey hidden in his pile of bedding between the bed and the wall, semi-conscious, unwashed (he hadn’t bathed in days), skinny as a rail (hadn’t eaten, either), suffering from malnutrition and drug addiction. He tosses him over his shoulder and carries Mackey into the shower where he bathes him like a baby, dresses him in clean clothes, grabs the rest of the band and lays down the law. Drugs are over. 24/7 partying is over. Exercise is in. It’s time to get real or lose it all, including, possibly, their lives. The drill master is on board, and everyone will shape up. Period. No questions asked. This auspicious meeting begins the core of the story – how Travis, the black-and-white-only, military man comes to understand and care for his young charges, respect their unlimited talent, commitment and energy, and fall in love with Mackey. But more important, this is the story of how Outbreak Monkey changes Trav and how he changes them. He is the rock, the foundation on which all the boys depend for their sustenance and survival. Through him, they have the first “father” any of them has ever known, a man who they can depend upon, who loves them unconditionally, who catches them when they fall. But this is also the story of how loving Mackey, the difficult, deep, extraordinarily talented and beautiful young man, changes Trav, makes him cherish family more, adds a million shades of gray to his core of black-and-white, and most important, opens up his heart to love and commitment, as never before. It is a beautiful journey, but not an easy one. It includes three bouts of rehab, reconciliation with the ones they loved who got left behind, and a million lessons on dealing with the pain and joy of life and love. Ms. Lane has populated this journey with exquisitely rendered people, even when they’re neither good nor nice. She brings the band back to Tyson to deal with tragedy, a tragedy that forces all the players to grow up, to deal with reality, to acknowledge their love and forgive old trespasses. And every moment of this is wrought with tears, pain, enlightenment and, sometimes, self-awareness. In the hands of a lesser author, Beneath the Stain would have been melodrama. The ups, the downs, the joys, the depression, the addictions, the successes, each one tugs at your heartstrings without even a shred of manipulation. What impressed me and moved me most, however, was Trav’s gut-level understanding of the relationship between Mackey and music. There are some real insights there. Mackey is the music, the music is Mackey. Where others see pictures and words, Mackey sees melodies and lyrics. It is his language, the beat of his heart, the resonance of his soul made real and naked, for all the world to see. There is much, also, about what coming out really means – about the corrosive secrets and infernal loneliness that define the closet and destroy the soul – and the freedom to finally be yourself, to be truthful, to stop hiding, to come into the light, despite the dreadful religious bigots who wish you nothing but harm and destruction. Grant is destroyed. Mackey survives. Trav discovers what love really means, and the brothers find a new depth and a more open appreciation for each other and the bonds that keep them together and make them a great, successful band, not to mention a strong, loving and unbreakable family. Beneath the Stain is a masterwork. The emotional moments (and there are many), might have been maudlin, but in Ms. Lane’s deft hands and with her undeniable sincerity, come across as authentic and powerful. You can’t read this book without being profoundly moved. The characters reach out and demand your empathy, which you gladly give as you begin to root for their triumphs against the terrible odds of damaging childhoods in a dreadful environment filled with hate and discrimination of all sorts. Ms. Lane forces you to invest your time, concern and compassion in these beautifully-written characters and it doesn’t stop until the very last words on the very last page. If you’re looking for a moving, exciting experience with some attractive, innocent, naïve, but truly talented musicians - if you’re looking for a great read, top-flight prose, perfectly believable dialogue and a unique and special reading experience - if you’re looking for a truly beautiful book, you must not miss Beneath the Stain. It is nothing less than absolutely stunning.

I don't usually find a response I have to this genre is tears.....but I did shed a few reading this story. It's the first book I have read by Amy, but it won't be the last. Well written, believable and engaging. Thanks Amy .

This book. Just phenomenal. I loved it so much! I bought the seven parts separately through DSP & now I had to get the whole version together. I've read this book three times & I know I'll be reading it again and again. Amy is an auto buy for me but this book blew me away.

Amy Lane has totally nailed the rock and roll road experience with heart and grit and love and lust....sadness and redemption....and compassion! For me this book will be in my " so great I'll read it again" pile. Dear Reader...dig Beneath the Stain...you won't be sorry.

I am a Amy Lane fan. I really enjoy most of her stories, but this is easily her best one ever!!! I cannot find words to say how much I love these characters. I only wish movies could be this good. I will read this story a hundred times and never get tired of it!

I seldom write reviews and just had to say something about this book. I adored the whole thing even when it made me cry. I always enjoy Amy's books and this one was spectacular! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Strong real characters who are interesting and filled with flaws. A beautiful story about love and friendship, redemption and heartache. Thanks for another story that I couldn't put down until I read it straight through.

Before I read the book, I looked at all of the five star ratings but I did not read any of the reviews just in case there were spoilers. I have to say, this had to be one of THE best books I have read any long time. I laughed, I cried, boy did I cry, but it was so wonderful. Well written, great characters, to get your heartstrings, just fantastic. I recommend this book to anyone.The only thing that I wish is that it came in audiobook form as well, it was just that good I didn't want to stop reading for a minute.

Honestly, this may be the first review I've ever taken the time to write. Bottom line is this - I didn't want this book to end! Great characters, engaging story.

The author did a great job at a multi-layered story. I always enjoy a story that has depth and three dimensional characters and this one has both and both are well developed and plausible story elements.

What an amazing story!!! Every character in this book had a story to tell and Amy Lane did it masterfully!!! I held off the ugly tears until the end!!! This is in my 're-read pile!

I wasn't sure about this book at first mostly because of the age of McKay. But I was hooked. This is a beautiful story of life through bad s*** and small minded people. Loved it.

This story is amazing. Made me laugh and cry! I came to love the boys. So powerful with true emotions and story telling at its finest. Very sensual with sex at it best, "real and messy."

Gifted writer with deeply detailed characters that jump off the page. First time Amy Lane but won't be the last!

this is a great book if you don't mind having your heart ripped out and then sewed back in.

I loved this story. There was so much love and understanding. The romance wasn't over the top and I could relate to emotional pull. I could see how the effects correlated with the cause.

A great story told with deftness and skill....I read lots of gay romance just for fun and now and then stories grab me more than others, but this was at a whole other level.....so well written, a great premise beautifully crafted and developed, interesting, human, likeable yet often flawed characters, brought together with such a loving confident touch....couldn't put it down, didn't want it to end, will definitely read it again..... Recommended as a great story well told by an talented author.....

Made me laugh. Made me cry. Such a great story. Proves family is what you make it. Loved Mackey and his band of brothers.

This story is real, heartbreaking and beautiful. It gets me every time I read it. I truly recommend this to you.

Amy Lane is a very good writer and she does such a great job in a difficult genre……I will definitely be reading more.

Perfect writing and story. Love Trav!

This was an intense and amazing story. I would read it again and again. Buy it.

I don't even read the descriptions for amy lanes books. I just buy them . this book was extraordinarily good.

Consider yourself eternally highly recommended Miss Lane

Grips you from the beginning until the end. A must read.

If Amy Lane writes a book, I will read it. Every book is beautiful, painful, happy, sad, deep, joyful, difficult, devastating, validating, and, most importantly, truthful. This book was, perhaps, the best. Yet...

It was awesome and has stayed with me for days! I want more of that family!

Love this book!

WOW! This book was...I have no words. Heartbreaking, heart wrenching, and heart mending. Ill definitely have a book hangover from this one. I say read it!

Ok, I feel like a freak because people have overwhelmingly given this 5 stars. I wanted to like it that much, I truly did, but it had too much of a feminine bent in the male characters by the female author. I liked the storyline, and the crazy life of a rock band on tour probably rings true. But, I had issues with the following: Inconsistent dialogue, especially Mackey, whe he's saying "ain't this" and "ain't that," and then slips into very mature, intelligent conversation; How fast and how hard Trav fell for Mackay, and how protective he was of the entire band; the over-dramatic scenes and angst-filled speeches....I just wanted to scream "enough already!" Having said that, there were poignant scenes in the last part of the book, involving Grant.

One of the best books I've read this year! The strength and agony of these characters is amazing. This is a must read for everyone.

Absolutely loved this book. The story and writing is amazing. Mackey was just awesome. He is smart, funny, talented, etc. I felt bad for Grant in the beginning of the story, but then I met Trav, and I knew that him and Mackey were going to be great for each other. Secondary characters (Kell, Stevie, Jefferson, Sheila, Blake, Briony) were great as well. I had trouble putting this book down. Probably the best book I have read this year.

Amy Lane has done it again. She has created characters that live and breathe. Using nothing more than word, she has created characters that feel like people you could know, people you root for and feel for as they navigate their lives in this book. If you liked Amy Lane’s book Sidecar, you’ll enjoy this one as it has the same sort of journey from friends to family.

The first part kind of turned me off. But then it turned into this heart wrenching story, brought tears my eyes

It was so good it had me in tears

This is absolutely Amy Lane at her finest. I couldn't put this book down!!! Highly recommended it for everyone!!

This book was beautiful. Thank you.

Made me cry and I never cry beautifuly written.

Beautiful, moving story. Well worth your time and money.

I was a hair disappointed with this work of Amy Lane's. I'm not going to get into technical issues because all-in-all, it was an entertaining read. The biggest problem I had is when you stack it against her other work, it just wasn't near as good. Too many of the characters had interchangeable personalities that never reached out and touched me. I'm, by no means, an authority so this is just my humble opinion and how I personally felt.

Amy Lane is a good writer and when she writes light-hearted material it works really well, but when she writes serious material the angst becomes un-re-len-ting. I get that life as a rock star tends to be problematic, but in this case it's too much of a bad thing. Below is a spoilery rundown of angsty highlights. Most of these issues befall the main character. First there's addiction, then rape, then a trip to rehab, then the return home, then finding out his old friend committed suicide, then finding out his ex-boyfriend is in the final stages of terminal cancer, then surviving the final days of said ex-boyfriend, and finally a surprise revelation of childhood sexual abuse (of other band members). It's all just too much

I purchased the serial of this and WOW what an amazing ride. Mackey is a character you will NEVER forget. Mackey and his brothers (who all have a different father) live with their single mom in a small town in California. The town is full of red-neck idiots who "don't know a bag of prime s*** when they meet it". (To borrow a phrase from another Amy classic.) Mackey falls in love... with his brother's best friend, Grant. The two begin a clandestine - heartbreaking- relationship and at the same time the brothers and Grant form a band. Not just any band, but a kick-butt, rockin' band, that blows the boys out of town and launches them into stardom. But... Grant can't go. He can't admit he's gay, he has to stay in town to keep his dad and his now-pregnant girlfriend happy. Though the band is breaking records and making money hand over fist - Mackey goes on a self-destructive, drug-fueled spiral. Just in time, Trav comes into the picture. He's determined to live life on his own, out and proud, and with his military training, he's just what this band of misfits needs. He uses his expertise to get these young men (geniuses, but still so very young) to toe the line. He and Mackey form an almost immediate connection and it is Trav who convinces Mackey not only to go into rehab, but to "make it stick". There is lots and lots for the band, the brothers and the couple to overcome... drug addiction, Trav's need to NOT be the replacement for drugs to Mackey, Mackey's needing to come out... and more. (This is Amy Lane at her finest, angst in every pore!) Finally - FINALLY - Mackey seems to be pulling it together... the band is holding strong... Trav and Mackey seem to finally catch a break when news comes from home... Grant - long lost Grant - isn't done playing a part in Mackey's life. Now the whole band has to go home and face what no one wants to face... the question is can the band, can Mackey, can Trav survive the trip back home? What will happen when Trav meets Grant? Let me tell you that this book will have you bawling then laughing hysterically - all on the same page. Mackey is so amazing and yet so very broken. Everything about him screams "love me and eff off", you can't help but become entranced. Each and every character has their own fascinating story to tell and a role to play in this epic love story. No one is there by accident and you won't want to miss the ride. There is love, drugs and hot, hot rock n roll sex to be had, so do yourself a favor and buy this book - you won't be sorry!

I love absolutely everything about this book. Good grief, the emotions! The book starts when Mackey is young and he and his brothers are forming a band. Kell's best friend is also in the band (Grant) and he happens to fall for young Mackey. Mackey is so young. And vulnerable. And naive in many ways. He's also hopeful and trusting and loyal. God, I love Mackey. Once the band gets the 'big break' these small town boys are thrust into the spotlight and of course, many dangers come along with that. It's just heartbreaking that the biggest problem in Mackey's life is one he fell into quite innocently. This story shows you that addiction and doesn't really whitewash what that is like. But even more than the pain of that, we see Mackey's emotional pain from feeling totally alone. That alone-ness manifests itself in many ways, one of the most blatant is Mackey sleeping on the floor, hidden in corners, etc. I listened to the Audible version of this book and Nick J. Russo is a master! Honestly, I am pretty sure I"d listen to him read the phone book. He brings these characters to life and the emotion from every page is vivid. I only recently read this book and am thrilled to see that there is a sequel to it which will focus on Mackey's youngest brother Cheever. In Beneath the Stain, Cheever is a little brat who needs a major spanking. I can't wait to see how he struggles and then matures in the book Paint it Black. I can't recommend this book enough!

Highly recommended, but then, this IS Amy Lane. A small Northern CA town. A woman with 4 sons by 4 different men. She works different jobs to at give her children the basics. The town is bigoted, hypocritical. The boys become friends with Grant, whose parents are bigoted, self important people. He’s Kel’s , the oldest son’s best friend, and Mackie’s romantic fantasy. The boys and their friends start a band, things go wild from there. After hitting it big, because of drinking, drugs and sexual addiction, Mackey needs help. Heath, the head of the recording company, hires his best friend Travis as the new manager. Instant attraction, complicated by many different reasons. Note, addiction, some violence, a rape. These are handled with care by the author. Some villains, nasty people. Heartbreaking situations. Hard earned HEA. Highly recommended.

(Contains spoilers) This is very deep and dark, with intense emotion, bad decisions and good ones, plus life awakenings. We have an abundance of angst in the teen years, as these guys grow in their band, formed in a stifling small town. They become famous, and some descend into the gruesome depths of drugs, and some reveal their childhood abuse. We have Grant's disgusting parents and girlfriend, who trapped him in the town, unable to stay with the band. With the big recording studio we see dark turns, Gerry feeding Mackey pills and cocaine, SPOILERS (Gerry's death, Mackey's rape, a suicide) rehabilitation attempts, and a new manager, ex-military, Trav, steps in to rebuild the guys and the band. There is sex, recovery, illness, breakups, a tough savior, and a rebirth of the good they began with. We see Mackey's moment when he understands what love is. We are shredded as we see Grant, and the deep, piercing injustice, for his tortured life, who had been such an awesome teen and man. I cried crocodile tears for him. So much pain in these young men's lives, and we are watching the progression and HFN. The ending is immensely satisfying ! Highly recommended. Take the journey. ======

In true Amy Lane-fashion, she has ripped me apart with her story! Mackey is only 14 when he falls in love for the first time. Grant is his older brother’s best friend and they know that they have to keep their love a secret from everyone in their small town. They are five of the closest brothers and friends you can imagine. Mackey, Kell, Jefferson, Stevie, and Grant spend their teen years perfecting their music, with Mackey’s brilliant words driving them. When they strike it big, Grant stays behind, trapped into marrying his high school girlfriend, shattering Mackey’s heart and sending him spiraling into a world of drugs and anonymous hookups. And that’s just the first part! There are six more to go! Yeah, it was that insane and that good. I love Amy Lane books for all the emotions they make you feel. You know going into them you are most likely going to be reaching for some tissues at least once, but you also know she is going to surprise you with how she heals it and makes it all better. So good and so worth the pain! I laughed, I cried (quite a bit,) I was angry, I was happy. It was a roller coaster ride.

I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't this. I knew this book would be ANGST GALORE - be prepared if this is the route you wanna go. I actually enjoy these kind of books once in awhile, and I'm saying - once in awhile - because I used to be all about the angst, and not even in a romance novel, in a drama one where there's no HEA promised. I might getting more sentimental with old age needing to be reassured that it will work out in the end ;) This is Mackey's story, it's also Mackey and Trav's finding love together but it's also the story of the Sanders brothers who made "Outbreak Monkey" the band who started with Mackey being bored, looking for something he can do with his brothers and two of their closest friends (Grant and Stevie) in the small town of Tyson. See, the Sanders brothers were dirt poor, and their mother being a single mom to four kids from four different fathers meant they had their (bad) reputation and so they had to stick together and help themselves and their mother in order to survive. Grant Adams, Kell's best friend (the oldest of the Sanders brothers) comes from the other side of town, his family is wealthy and yet he was always escaping to spend time with the Sanders. It started with Kell, but when he was 17, and Mackey only 14 they shared a kiss. From there a closeted romance started, one that lasted 5 years until Grant finally got "Outbreak Monkey" a chance to be signed and make their rockstar dreams come true. Yet when it was all said and done instead of joining the guys he left them behind breaking everyone's hearts but mostly Mackey who fell into drugs soon after. A year later, the guys are swimming in money yet they are all shattered in their own way. That's where Trav comes in as the band's new manager. First thing he does is put Mackey (and the new guitarist replacing Grant) in rehab. From there he does his best to clean EVERYONE's act and make them not just a family - a functioning one and so lies and unspoken truths slowly starts to come out bringing them even closer together. It's a bumpy road, for everyone, but mostly to Mackey who was afraid to come out of the closet, to admit to what he shared with Grant, to put the mask aside and show how much he is broken and how much he is scared no one will love him once they see what's inside. Trav being the front row to all of that fall in love with the super talented yet rebellious and tormented singer / songwriter / player and Mackey isn't far behind. Trav is everyone's savior but he is mostly his. Having Trav there every step of the way, exactly how Grant wasn't, wanting a real relationship, one he doesn't hide, makes Mackey long to be well, to put his addictions and fears behind. Mackey is the sort of guy everyone loves and adores, mostly for his talent, for the "free spirit" he seems to be, even though he is VERY annoying and loves getting on everyone's nerves. Trav is enamoured by this mythical creature, so talented, so vivid and yet so in need of protection and care. I've got to admit I failed to see his charm which hurt my overall feel of the book. He was too childish at times, too quick to yell, to overreact. I wasn't impressed and so I found it very hard to connect with his character. That's most of the reason why this book only gets 4 stars (the other being it was too damn long..). Also, st times, I found it difficult to understand Trav. He was at odds with everything I expected a veteran to be. Too sensitive, too emotional, at times even extremely soft, prone to tears. I want to believe there are veterans out there who weren't hardened by war, but I believe most would be. He was everything Machey needed - someone to cherish him, to protect him, but also let him be who he wants to be. I had a lot of respect for Trav, especially for putting himself "out there" while he most likely would have gotten heart broken. Loving an addict isn't easy and sometimes it just doesn't work out when the drug is more appealing than the guy standing beyond them. This book was originally published in 7 parts, now sold as a whole novel. I think because of that, because every part needed to be a "whole part" of the story when combined together we get a very long and angst loaded book. In every part we needed to see Mackey and his family almost shatter, dreams being made and broken apart when their past bubbles up to the surface. There were times it was simply an overload of detail. I was flooded with the guys' life, their close and yet complicated connection, the front they put on, yet the hurt they kept inside, who they were on stage to who they were when the lights went out. I know because of the way the story was built we technically needed those parts, but for me it made the book too damn long and very difficult to read in one sitting, or rather, difficult to read big portions at one time. It wasn't a book I gulped, it was a book I struggled to finish and yet it WAS a good book. When it was all said and done I was glad I got Mackey and Trav's love story but also the other guys as well, seeing almost all of them find at least a HFN. A better life for sure even if they had to leave someone behind to get there. I guess a rounded up kind of 4 stars rating. This book dealt with a LOT of difficult situations and details. Drug addiction, rape and sexual abuse, but also issues of coming of age - coming out of the closet, dealing with dysfunctioning and at times abusive families. Finding love and acceptance through trust. Yeah, it was a bit of an overload of angst and life falling apart before it can be assembled together. Recommended for the rockstar at heart, and anyone who needs to wallow in heavy emotions. It was a bit too much for me, but as always from Amy it was well written and felt genuine even if it also meant I had a hard time with Mackey. It was a unique story, a heartbreaking one. The price of fame, the price of secrets and what it truly means to leave someone dear behind. Tags: Contemporary MM Romance More @ Ultra Meital Reviews.

Oh, this book. Amy Lane has a reputation for angsty feelz books. I have a hit and miss relationship with these books. Some break my heart, make me cry and laugh, and end in book hangover. Some feel long and leave me barely interested in the characters. Beneath the Stain is the former. So many feelings. This book had me crying at 2am. Mackey is a musical savant. As a young boy, Mackey pulls together his brothers and their best friends into a band. He organizes them, writes the music, and leads the band. He’s the youngest and still manages to be the caretaker. The first chunk of the book focuses on his adolescence and relationship with Grant, his older brother’s best friend. (Hello, trope love!) I was cheering for a Mackey&Grant HEA for quite a while. And then the book zigged when I thought it would zag, and my heart broke into tinier* pieces. The band becomes an epic success, nearly at the cost of Mackey’s life. Things take a dark path, and we meet Trav just about when Mackey hits rock bottom. Trav’s arrival is fortuitous (naturally), but this is where I had a few niggles. It’s hard for me to believe Mackey could spiral so very far down without his family intervening. There’s a good effort by the author to sell the situation. It had some believability and rock star cliché to lend credence. That said, Mackey is still the baby of the family (on tour), and it’s difficult to wrap my head around them letting him fall SO FAR. Trav is his angel. Not without flaws, but that man made me feel all the happy. He’s sweet and badass. He’s easily embarrassed by the sex talk, and omgosh endearing. But did I mention he’s also a badass? So much. He’s going to whip these boys into shape. There’s one moment, just one, that was incredibly upsetting with Trav. He’s super remorseful and all is forgiven, but it’s a violence theme I get frustrated by in m/m. I think his regret is real enough to help the reader move on. That said, I’d prefer authors stop thinking violence between men in a relationship is somehow more acceptable than in a m/f romance. It’s all partner violence, and let’s not condone it. *steps off of soap box* The last bit of the book has the boys returning to their roots. The reasons are spoilery, so I’ll leave it at super-duper-sobbing-at-2am sadness and let you read it. Because you want to read this book. It’s a bit long and there are slow parts. But it’s worth getting through all that for the mega-super-feelz. *I say tinier, because nearly every moment of Mackey’s early life is heartbreaking. This book is not for the easily bruised souls. Unless those souls are looking for the eventual HEA. Because it’s worth the ride. I promise. Review originally posted at Romance Novel News.

I'm going to be completely honest here and say despite my 5 star rating this book had me all over the place even to the point I really considered not finishing it. I am a huge Rock Star romance fan as well as M/M. Then I get a recommendation for this one and it combines my two favorite tropes and I'm all in. The thing was I found the beginning to be a little dragged out for me and I found the book overall was really long and at times I felt that it could have been condensed. Now that I've discovered that this was originally a 7 part serial it makes a lot more sense. This book will destroy you. It will make you question humanity and how rough it can be on someone who is considered by a large part of society to be weird, strange or even wrong. Then throw in a young pubescent boy, a slightly older teenage boy and the beginnings of young love and to top it all off becoming a rock star. Well it just leads to a giant downward spiral and sometimes you have to find someone to cling to that will make everything bearable and eventually better. I loved all the boys. The whole messed up lot of them. But they had each others backs like you wouldn't believe and then Trav becomes part of them and he helps right all the wrongs even when sometimes he wants to walk away. "My mom told me the trick to staying in love was falling in love every day. Like you do with music. You listen for good music every day.” “You’ve got to find something in me to love every day,” Trav said, embarrassed. Now that I've read one book by Ms. Lane you can be guaranteed that I will be looking to dive into her world again!!

Mackey is one of those characters that stay with you. He takes up so much space in your head that he doesn’t fade away when the book is over. His journey, his pain, his triumphs, become yours. Beneath the Stain sucks you in from the first and doesn’t let you go even when the last page ends. And it’s not just Mackey, the band as a whole is impossible not to empathize with as you learn who they are together and individually. It’s impossible not to be invested in these characters lives. Watching as Mackey becomes a relatively healthy, stable adult strong enough to face his past with the support of his band and Travis is worth the read. Seeing the bond that develops between Travis and Mackey, the trust and the healing that trust evokes in Mackey is incredible. It’s a book you will reread over and over again. The author also released freebie extra’s. Those are definitely worth reading as well.

Beneath the Stain almost defies description. I’ve been a sometime-fan of Ms. Lane’s work. Some of it I really like; some I could live without. But this book simply and plainly blew me away. In fact, when I realized I’d neglected to write a review when I’d first read the book, I took a quick look to refresh my memory, and broke my cardinal rule – I read it for a second time, cover to cover, word for word. I hate reruns, but this time I made an exception, and I’m oh so glad I did. After reading just the first few lines of the first paragraph, I was hooked anew and couldn’t stop until I’d gotten to the very last page of this long, brilliant, profoundly moving novel. Ms. Lane’s book really is long – almost 500 pages – but, to be perfectly honest, I’d be glad to read another five hundred. I didn’t want it to end. I’m not sure you can call Beneath the Stain a gay romance. There is gay romance in it, but it’s a book about much larger themes. It’s a book that delves deeply into bigoted small towns, supposedly Christian towns that are quick to judge anyone who’s not like everyone else, while hiding its own deep and dirty secrets. It’s about the stifling boredom and low expectations of small towns, content to let the world pass them by as they demolish the high expectations and hopes of their young people. It’s a book about the music industry, and the way it chews up young, promising talent with the lure of impossible riches, lubricated by a constant stream of booze and drugs. Beneath the Stain is a book about families – the families we are born into and the families we create, the people we love and those who stand by us, the ones who love us even when we’re ugly, impatient, unkind, hung over and ill. But above all else, Beneath the Stain is a book about love, learning to love and learning to be loved - the latter often the more difficult of the two. There are two main characters and tracks throughout the book. Trav is a former military MP, battle-hardened and disciplined to a fault. He comes from a loving family, but spent years under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, hiding who he is, walking away from any possibility of affection (or even lust), just to keep his secret. And his secret is not just that he’s gay, but that he’s almost fatally attracted to creative men, artists, men who live the passion of vision and emotion, pretty much the opposite of Travis, himself. The book opens on his breakup with his current boyfriend of several years, Terry. He comes home to find him shacking up with a younger man, oblivious to the fact that he’d just abandoned Terry for several weeks while he went off on an assignment, without even a call or text message. Trav can’t quite understand why Terry would be angry with him, or lonely enough to find solace in someone else’s arms. Everything in Trav’s life is black-and-white, and betrayal is betrayal, period. The other main character is Mackey (real name: McKay), a young, unbelievably precocious and brilliantly talented boy, a musician, a songwriter and performer of the type who only appear once a generation, if that. One of four brothers of a single mother and four different fathers, he organized his brothers and a close friend of theirs into a killer rock band at the age of 14. He trained the others, as musicians, arranged their covers, wrote their new material and drilled them mercilessly until they were first-rate, all without a clue as to how special he was. He’s always known he was different. Gay and too smart for his own good, he hid it all behind aggression and attitude. His bigger brothers often had to defend him, which they were glad to do, even though they knew very well that everyone who knows Mackey long enough wants to punch him in the head at some time, including themselves. What none of them know is that Mackey is not a virgin. From the age of 14, until he was forced to move on at 19, Grant, best friend of his oldest brother Kell (and lead guitar in the band) had been his lover. Furtive, stolen moments in parked cars or dark corners were all they were able share. Perhaps an hour or two on a blanket, at night, in a deserted park provided a few moments of touch, affection and some pale intimation of love, but left Mackey in despair of ever having a real life or relationship. Grant and the music were the only things that kept Mackey alive. And the music was where he lived, where he went to be himself. The music was his heart and his soul, and he was the music. Only with a guitar in hand, a microphone in front of him, the young, insecure, lonely Mackey became a god – and more important, was truly happy. That all came crashing down when a record company executive caught a performance by their band, Outbreak Monkey, that had been arranged by Grant. A short time later, they gather to sign their very first record deal. It’s only then that they find out that Grant won’t be with them. His “girlfriend” is pregnant, and he’s succumbed to the family pressure to stay in Tyson and take on a “normal” life with wife, child, and his father’s car dealerships. Mackey is crushed. So crushed, in fact, that he never really gets over it. The only intimate love he’s ever known, snatched away from him, leaving him alone, vulnerable, surrounded by the secrets he has kept from his family and everyone else. Though his brothers will still protect him, even they don’t really know him. There is no one left who knows him. No one. A year with their aging, addicted manager builds the band into a huge success, with a top-selling album, a world tour and millions of fans. Most of that is accomplished on the back of Mackey’s prodigious output as a songwriter, band director, singer and performer. He’s only 5’ 6”, but he’s an incredibly powerful and sexy giant on stage, touching his audience in ways that few other performers can. Each song he sings becomes their song. His pain becomes their pain, his lost loves, their lost loves, his hopes and dreams, their own. How does a 20-year-old who’d never been out of the tiny town of Tyson cope with sudden international fame, huge amounts of money, running a band, writing the music, touring, performing as frontman, and dealing with everyone else’s problems? Xanax. Uppers, downers, cocaine all provided by the band’s well-meaning, but totally addicted manager. Yes, the old man really does have the band’s best interest at heart, but he’s killing its lead singer and songwriter, the energy behind Outbreak Monkey, the glue that holds it together. The manager dies, victim of his own medications. Mackey finds his body. The whole thing begins to fall apart. Mackey spends his nights wedged between his bed and the wall, beneath a mountain of bedding, the only place he ever feels safe enough to sleep. He still wakes up in the middle of the night and pens new songs and arrangements in his ever-present notebooks, and almost never sleeps through till morning. Then he drops from exhaustion, wakes up, pops some pills, picks up a stranger, brings him back to his room in a desperate attempt at human contact and medicates himself back into oblivion. Heath, the owner and founder of the record company, is a true mentor of musicians. He doesn’t run the label for the money (he has family money), but for the love of music and young musicians. He sees the band falling apart (he didn’t know quite how bad it had gotten) and calls in his closest Army buddy, Trav, to whip them back into shape and perhaps, even save their lives. Trav arrives at the band’s hotel and finds Mackey hidden in his pile of bedding between the bed and the wall, semi-conscious, unwashed (he hadn’t bathed in days), skinny as a rail (hadn’t eaten, either), suffering from malnutrition and drug addiction. He tosses him over his shoulder and carries Mackey into the shower where he bathes him like a baby, dresses him in clean clothes, grabs the rest of the band and lays down the law. Drugs are over. 24/7 partying is over. Exercise is in. It’s time to get real or lose it all, including, possibly, their lives. The drill master is on board, and everyone will shape up. Period. No questions asked. This auspicious meeting begins the core of the story – how Travis, the black-and-white-only, military man comes to understand and care for his young charges, respect their unlimited talent, commitment and energy, and fall in love with Mackey. But more important, this is the story of how Outbreak Monkey changes Trav and how he changes them. He is the rock, the foundation on which all the boys depend for their sustenance and survival. Through him, they have the first “father” any of them has ever known, a man who they can depend upon, who loves them unconditionally, who catches them when they fall. But this is also the story of how loving Mackey, the difficult, deep, extraordinarily talented and beautiful young man, changes Trav, makes him cherish family more, adds a million shades of gray to his core of black-and-white, and most important, opens up his heart to love and commitment, as never before. It is a beautiful journey, but not an easy one. It includes three bouts of rehab, reconciliation with the ones they loved who got left behind, and a million lessons on dealing with the pain and joy of life and love. Ms. Lane has populated this journey with exquisitely rendered people, even when they’re neither good nor nice. She brings the band back to Tyson to deal with tragedy, a tragedy that forces all the players to grow up, to deal with reality, to acknowledge their love and forgive old trespasses. And every moment of this is wrought with tears, pain, enlightenment and, sometimes, self-awareness. In the hands of a lesser author, Beneath the Stain would have been melodrama. The ups, the downs, the joys, the depression, the addictions, the successes, each one tugs at your heartstrings without even a shred of manipulation. What impressed me and moved me most, however, was Trav’s gut-level understanding of the relationship between Mackey and music. There are some real insights there. Mackey is the music, the music is Mackey. Where others see pictures and words, Mackey sees melodies and lyrics. It is his language, the beat of his heart, the resonance of his soul made real and naked, for all the world to see. There is much, also, about what coming out really means – about the corrosive secrets and infernal loneliness that define the closet and destroy the soul – and the freedom to finally be yourself, to be truthful, to stop hiding, to come into the light, despite the dreadful religious bigots who wish you nothing but harm and destruction. Grant is destroyed. Mackey survives. Trav discovers what love really means, and the brothers find a new depth and a more open appreciation for each other and the bonds that keep them together and make them a great, successful band, not to mention a strong, loving and unbreakable family. Beneath the Stain is a masterwork. The emotional moments (and there are many), might have been maudlin, but in Ms. Lane’s deft hands and with her undeniable sincerity, come across as authentic and powerful. You can’t read this book without being profoundly moved. The characters reach out and demand your empathy, which you gladly give as you begin to root for their triumphs against the terrible odds of damaging childhoods in a dreadful environment filled with hate and discrimination of all sorts. Ms. Lane forces you to invest your time, concern and compassion in these beautifully-written characters and it doesn’t stop until the very last words on the very last page. If you’re looking for a moving, exciting experience with some attractive, innocent, naïve, but truly talented musicians - if you’re looking for a great read, top-flight prose, perfectly believable dialogue and a unique and special reading experience - if you’re looking for a truly beautiful book, you must not miss Beneath the Stain. It is nothing less than absolutely stunning. Reviewed by Alan for Sinfully...Addicted To All Male Romance

SIX incredible STARS! We all have a friend (some of us more than one) that is a proud Potterhead. Obsessed with Harry Potter, has collected all things related to HP, read the series countless times, and can quote HP at the drop of the hat. A friend that will overlook the fact that you’ve never read (and have no intention of ever reading) the series, because 'It’s not my genre', and will not hold it against you. When one such friend insisted that I read a book she said she “might” love more than HP (I have screenshots of our conversation. Just saying), I jumped at the chance to redeem myself. She didn’t steer me wrong, I absolutely loved Beneath the Stain! She asked me to write my own review and showed me hers. It had one word. No, it wasn’t a mistake, it had only ONE word. I read it and thought how do you top that? What could I say, she’d said it all? Well it turns out she knows me very well and knows I love to give my opinion on everything. So, here goes…..I’ll try to do her review justice. The very first thing I want to rave about is the name of each and every chapter! Be sure to pay close attention to them. At fourteen, McKay “Mackey” Sanders, is the lead singer of Outbreak Monkey. The group he, his two older brothers, Jefferson and Kellogg, and their friends, Stevie Harris and Grant Adams formed, while in high school. The boys grew up together in the backwoods town of Tyson, California, population ten thousand. The Sanders brothers were raised by their single mother, Heather, a waitress, in a small, two-bedroom apartment. They also had a younger baby brother, Cheever, who was in kindergarten. The boys were well known in the small town, four brothers with four different fathers, their unusual first names were the last name of their biological fathers. The brothers had met Grant and Stevie when their mom had cleaned their houses, while pregnant, and needing extra money. Grant came from money; his dad owned a car dealership, and Stevie’s parents were comfortable. “Their mom wanted to be a good mom. She wanted to be a good mom. She wasn’t always there, and they spent a lot of time in charge of Cheever and a lot of time worrying about money to keep their sh@tty little apartment. He knew that some of their Christmas presents came from coat donation and that most of their clothes came from Goodwill, and he knew that their birthdays were usually celebrated with cake a book—one book, new—because that’s all she had. She bought school supplies in gross when they went on sale and had cleaned the church lady’s house so they could have music lessons, and her temper was short when she came home late and her boys were still up.” Heather had arranged for Mackey and Jeff to take organ classes in church to keep them busy. The boys had decided 4 years ago to play rock band and never quit. Since then, with Mackey working at a music store and getting used and broken instruments, they’d taught themselves how to play bass and drums. He had a way with words, well known for his smart mouth that kept him out of fights. They discovered he had a talent for singing and writing songs, too. He became the unofficial leader of their band. Mackey also knew, at twelve, that he was attracted to Grant, a secret he kept to himself. So, it came as a big surprise the first time Grant kissed him, two years later. Especially since Grant had a girlfriend, Samantha, which he’d been dating for years. The boys make their grand debut as Outbreak Monkey at Kell and Grant’s senior prom, in front of two hundred and fifty people. “Grant couldn’t stop bragging about you, he thinks you’re a genius. He keeps saying about how you’ll put our little town on the map, and I’m like ‘Mackey? If he’s smart, he’ll just forget we were ever here’” When the band gets their big break, a few years later, instead of celebrating it’ll be a time of heartbreak. I don’t want to give too much away, just know that this is an epic tale of love, heartache, loss and redemption. I think just about everyone knows someone who’s gone through some kind of problem with addiction and known the how hard it is to break the habit, either through rehab or, cold turkey. It’s painful and not always successful. But if they do, it helps to have someone waiting for you. This book has everything we readers love in a romance novel, but extra special due to the twist. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to mention that it’s an M/M love story, if you’ve never experienced one; this is the one to read! I wanted to wrap my arms around Mackey and never let him go. The real hero is Trav Ford, I absolutely LOVE him! There were moments I cried tears of real sorrow (I still get teary-eyed thinking about it!) and had sighs of joy! I wish I could hand everyone I know a copy and say “Here! Read this, now!” I’m seriously rethinking my resistance of never reading a HP book. Maybe. Someday! OK, maybe I’ll finally watch the movies. Well, a movie. Oh, and by the way, if you’re wondering what my friend’s review said, it was just…… “WOW”. I second that!

This book was just WOW!!! With the feels and the pain, then the crying I loved this book! Mackey I just loved his character! To fall in love when he was young and be hurt and broken, then turn to drugs to make it through the pain. But to come out the other side so much better.. To still have the pain but to be able to work through it without running back to old habits. Then there was Trav I got to say I loved his character too! To be there to pick up Mackey at his worse then to help him pull through. The way he was strong enough to stick by Mackay and there were points were he had to be stronger at the end of this book. To stay by his side through it all.. These two together were just awesome.. Then you meet all of Mackey family and Grant. I will be honest about not being a big fan of Grants at first after everything but by the end of this book I understood him so much more and lets just say I cried at the end of this book after everything that happened. This book was beautiful but also painful. I loved this book! I would definitely recommend this book! I received this book free in exchange for an honest review from Inked Rainbow Reads.

I’m lukewarm on this book because of the first tenth of it. Although the content is important, it felt more like 25% of the book by the time it was finally over. I felt it could have moved faster or been more condensed. This was a long book, which is not a bad thing in and of itself. I certainly felt like I got my money’s worth (especially since I was reading it on KU). However, it was wordy and somewhat repetitious. It didn’t feel like good Amy Lane. While she’s not infallible, I have liked more of her books than I’ve disliked, and I’m not used to one I can take or leave. If you like Rhys Ford’s Sinner’s Gin, you’ll probably like this one and vice versus. There were some similarities.

Mackey Sanders is a man very talented at music. He is borderline obsessed with music as it seems to help the rough parts of his life. Mackey grew up and at young age realized he was gay but unable due to his brothers attitude to come out to anyone other than a select few which whom he did not even really discuss it. As Mackey gets success in the music industry, he falls into drugs to help him cope with life. It take a new manager to help him clean up his act and cope with his life. Trav Ford is the new manager of Outbreak Monkey the group that Mackey is the lead singer and driving force of the band. Trav does his best to shape everyone up including Mackey. He keeps taking Mackey to rehab to help him clean up and during the process he sees the man under the drugs and the baggage he brings with him. While Trav does not normally deal with personal baggage, Mackey makes him want to try. The connection between Mackey and Trav is intense. I loved that Trav tries to help Mackey face his past and deal with his addition without giving into his attraction. Trav does his best to do the right thing for the group and what’s best for Mackey even if Mackey does not want to face it. The sex scenes were scorching. I found this book well written with a unique plot. I enjoyed how the author incorporated imperfect people in the music industry in a believable way. The main characters and the secondary characters were mesmerizing. While the ending was a little predictable, the journey the book takes the reader is gripped with several unanticipated twists and turns. I had a hard time putting this book down. Overall, this was a very enchanting book and I hope to see these characters again in the future.

Beneath the Stain was such an amazing book. It had love, pain, addiction, heartbreak, success, and new love. I literally experienced all these emotions with these brothers. You have two love stories here, Mackey and Grant, young, afraid, desperate and lost. And Mackey and Trav, one of the most amazing relationships I’ve seen, they were just so beautiful. And all the members of the band, were just so amazing! This is a long story of recovery, trust, friendship, family and love. This is definitely a must read.

Oh my god...this book. It was amazing. I loved every second !! It's an MM romance, but for me it was so much more. It was about family, brothers, trust, love, fame, growing up, not giving up and surviving. It had so much. Some people found it very angsty, but I have to say that I've read way worse. Sure it was very emotional at times...and I definitely had some tears falling, but it was also beautiful and funny and sexy. I don't think angsty would be the right word for it, at least not for me. I just loved the storyline and all the characters !! I was very nervous going into this one..but I'm so glad I gave it a try. For me it was one of the best books I've read this year. I do have to say that this book deals with some sensitive subjects, such as drugs and rape...so be aware. As for the romance.....Travis and Macky were amazing together. Sweet, hot, true love.... I loved Macky from the very beginning and Travis was a once in a lifetime guy !! 5 stars favorite read for me !!!

Parts 1 & 2: Darn that Amy Lane. There are much stronger words that want to flow from my fingertips, but alas, I don’t want to offend everyone. In general I hate serials. I want an Oompa Loompa, and I want it now! I don’t want to wait until next week! But, I love Amy Lane’s work. You see my dilemma. Her latest release is Beneath the Stain, a serialized novel being released in seven weekly bits that leave me clamoring for more. I guess I should be happy that they are being released weekly instead of monthly. Note to all authors: That. Was. Not. A. Suggestion! The novel in its entirety will be available October 17, 2014. Oh, I forgot to mention it’s about rock stars. Who can resist a good gay rock star novel? Beneath the Stain begins in Tyson, CA, a small town where everyone knows everyone and their business, including the four brothers with different dads and their single mom. Mackey, Kell, and Jeff are the older three and start a band, Outbreak Monkey (Best band name EVER! Thank you Mary Calmes), with their friends Grant and Stevie. Mackey and Grant fall in love, but Grant has been Kell’s best friend for years, and Kell isn’t quiet about his hatred of homosexuals. Grant has a girlfriend for appearances only, but eventually it has to become more so she won’t out him. Grant makes the ultimate sacrifice and forces Mackey to do the same in order to enable them to get out of Tyson. The only way for them to do it is to leave Grant behind. As the band’s popularity grows, Mackey sinks deeper into depression, promiscuity, and drug abuse. In Parts One and Two of Beneath the Stain, we see the band getting everything they want as a whole, but the pieces are falling apart. Their manager is just holding them together by sheer force of will. But tragedy hits and Trav Ford is brought on as Outbreak Monkey’s new handler. His first task is to whip everyone into shape, beginning with Mackey. Amy Lane has done what she does best here. These characters are people you want to know. I mean really know. I felt like if I could crawl inside the book and interact with them, I’d do it in a New York minute. The layers Ms. Lane uses to build these young men from the ground up gives them such a strong foundation that before we realize it, we are completely sucked into their world, and they feel real to us. This is the magic that she uses as effortlessly as the rest of us breathe. This isn’t just a series of short pieces which make up a novel that Amy Lane has written. There are songs too, original songs that Mackey, as the lead singer and sex appeal of the band, writes and keeps in a pile of notebooks that travel everywhere with him. Once I finally figured out that he wasn’t real, it dawned on me that Amy had written those lyrics. They ripped my heart out. The pain and longing and feelings of loneliness and need that those lyrics describe are gut wrenching. There is a song Mackey writes about the feelings he experienced during detox from drugs. I could almost feel his physical pain it when I read the lyrics. So, not only has Amy Lane created an entire community of characters with full back-stories and completely developed personas, she wrote songs too. Some people have what seems like an bottomless well of talents and abilities. As much as I can’t stand his smugness, James Franco comes to mind. He can do anything he tries. I fully believe the same is true of Amy Lane. She would argue that, but self-deprecation is one of her many charms. I literally can’t wait to see what happens with Outbreak Monkey next. I normally would wait until the entire novel was released instead of reading it one piece at a time, but I alone am responsible for this tortuous waiting because I wasn’t willing to hold out that long. My constant need for immediate Oompa Loompas! This is a must read. The wait is worth it. Especially if you’re a masochist. Parts 3 & 4:I really feel like every single review I write of an Amy Lane book should begin with the phrase: F**king Amy Lane. It seems I find myself saying that each and every time I finish one of her amazing works. There is a gift inside her, one that enables her to write words that slither off the page and reach inside the chest of the reader to squeeze their heart. The strength of that squeeze depends upon the individual and their personal circumstances as they relate to those of the characters created by Ms. Lane. All that is fancy talk for Amy Lane makes me feel tons of s**t I don’t always want to feel! I have not found another author who consistently makes me feel emotions this powerfully. Reviewing Parts Three and Four together feels right because they go together. All the parts go together, but these two are the virtual inception followed by the real beginning of the relationship that was hinted at earlier between Trav and Mackey. In Part Three, Mackey goes to rehab. That sounds like the title of a kid’s book, Mackey Goes to Rehab… But he needs a reason. He can’t just go because he needs to; he needs something to motivate him. As if his band falling apart around him isn’t motivation enough. Trav provides the motivation in the form of a promise of the possibility of there being a “them” at some vague point in the future. It is deeply saddening that just the vague possibility of a something is enough to motivate Mackey. It speaks to how little hope he has had in his life. While in rehab, accompanied by Blake, Outbreak Monkey’s second guitarist, Trav and Mackey begin a habit of ending the day texting one another. The exchanges are instrumental in helping Mackey see the why of his addiction and the what he needs to feel and deal with in order to get past the gut-deep need for the mind-altering substances that temporarily take away his pain. When Mackey and Blake get out of rehab in Part Four, they go to the house that Trav has arranged for the band to rent. It is the first time Mackey has lived in a real house and the first time he has had a room to himself. He dives right into the decorating and adjusting to living outside of rehab. It is a hard adjustment, figuring out how to put the skills he learned in rehab into practice in real life. He is learning to live with his band mates (two of whom are his brothers) all over again after the revealing letters he wrote them while in treatment. Everything is (of course) complicated by the growing feelings he and Trav have for each other. They both know that Mackey isn’t supposed to get involved in a relationship until he has the whole living while sober thing down. If he does, the relationship runs the risk of becoming his new addiction. Trav doesn’t want to be an addiction, he wants to be more, wants to wait until everyone involved agrees that Mackey is ready. But you know how it is when you love someone and want him desperately, and he sleeps right down the hall from you every night. One of my favorite parts of reading Beneath the Stain as a serial instead of waiting for the novel are the bonus scenes at the end of each installment. The one at the end of Part Four was a bit about coming home after rehab from Blake’s perspective. Blake is not even a secondary character in this book. He’s on the periphery. That’s how he is written. And while reading the bonus scene it becomes clear that he knows that. He feels like he doesn’t fit in. He doesn’t know why Mackey hates him, and nothing he does is good enough for Mackey. The bonus scene in Part Three was from Mackey, Kell, and Jefferson’s mom’s point of view. It’s fascinating to see things through the eyes of the characters surrounding Outbreak Monkey. The serial is worth reading just for that reason. But it is a must f**king read because it’s Amy Lane and it is superb. Part 5: Beneath the Stain is Amy Lane at her absolute finest; just the right balance of angst, happiness, supporting characters, sex, drugs, and rock & roll… It makes me wish I had time to go back to read some of my favorites from her. But, of course, I don’t have time. Gah! Part Five nudged right up to the excellence bar Ms. Lane set in the first four parts. Seriously, I wish this would go on for years. But, every reader wishes their favorite authors would write more, faster. We are a demanding lot, aren’t we? We find Mackey trying to continue living his sobriety in the real world. He marks his 45th day on the outside in a way that the other band members get on board with quickly. He is also experiencing his first time away from Trav since they became a couple, as he is away trying to do managerial things in Europe. Part Five also sees Outbreak Monkey performing for the first time since Mackey and Blake went into rehab. They have a large tour coming up in a few months, and this is to be their test run. Though there are hurdles, more good than bad comes of this show. Two things leapt out at me in this wonderful installment: Mackey makes his first friend. Yes, first. Friend. He is always surrounded by people, but they are brothers, band mates, sex partners, fans or lackeys. Now, he has someone other than Trav who really understands him and knows precisely how to interact with him from the second they meet. It is so great to see the joy that comes with this discovery. Trav is over the moon that Mackey has someone other than him to rely on, not because he wants a break but because he knows that the more people who accept and love Mackey for himself, the better. The most important development for me was Kell’s eye-opening discovery. Last Christmas, the band had left Tyson and was doing their thing. Mackey was too drugged out to go home for a visit. It’s Christmas again and this is to be the first time he goes home since they left, but he has a panic attack and can’t get on the plane. Without giving too much away, there were secrets kept from Kell that everyone else has been told or has figured out on their own. In the aftermath of Mackey's panic attack, Kell finds out about the Big One. It was painful to me to feel Kell’s reaction. It wasn’t so much his feeling left out or that he felt he should have been told before now, it was his pain, deep and agonizing, that he hadn't been there for Mackey as a big brother. That Mackey thought he had to hide this from him for all these years because of the way Kell made him feel, I was literally picturing him sitting there with a hangdog expression on his face looking at Trav and realizing that he was (in his mind) responsible for every terrible thing that had ever happened to Mackey, up to and including his addiction. It was excruciating reading, beautifully written. Part 6: Trav finally gets to meet Grant. In Trav's mind, Grant is this specter that hangs over the Sanders brothers and Outbreak Monkey, affecting everything they do. Grant is the reason Mackey is an addict. Grant is the first love to which Trav will forever play second guitar. Well, Blake is the replacement guitarist, but second guitar seemed so much more appropriate for my purposes than second fiddle. Grant stayed behind in Tyson when Outbreak Monkey signed their recording contract and left to become rock stars. He has a wife and daughter and is living as a straight man, though the entire band now knows the truth about him and Mackey. Grant is the co-writer on all of Mackey's early songs, some of which Mackey wrote in tribute to his love for Grant. Grant is sent a royalty check each month from the band's earnings because of the role he played in their early, local success. And Grant is dying. Immediately after their tour ends, the members of Outbreak Monkey, all but one of whom grew up with Grant, and Trav fly home to Tyson to see Grant. This is the first time Mackey has been home in years. He is forced to confront all the ghosts and demons that remain there. The ones he ran to the bottle and the needle to forget. The ones that landed him in the hospital after being raped. The ones that made Trav all but force him into rehab. What the young men find when they arrive in Tyson is a town that hasn't changed from the poverty stricken, redneck small town they left behind. They find a small, sad shell of their friend and former lover, stuck in a hate-filled marriage, living with parents who are disgusted by him. They find his daughter, the one bright spot in the hell that is all around them. They find the homophobia they left behind has just grown stronger in their physical absence but tabloid presence. Ms. Lane does what she does best. She makes the emotions of her characters come to life and lift off the pages to swirl about in your room like a mist until they surround you and penetrate your every pore and make you feel everything they are experiencing. It is deliciously excruciating. It is sinus headache inducing. It is magic. This installment of the series sets up the final installment, in which Outbreak Monkey's story, at least for our purposes, comes to an end. But it does so much more than set up the end. We now know these men on a deeper level than before. And I thought I knew them already. We see sides of them; especially Trav, that we didn't know existed. We get closure on our anger toward Grant. That anger and sense of betrayal at the events that occurred as a result of his earlier actions mixes with that mist of feelings surrounding you and is absorbed by osmosis until it is so diluted with love and understanding that it is no longer noticeable. I have a limited supply of superlatives. There are only so many times I can say Ms. Lane's books are good, great, amazing, astounding, etc. At some point, you all just have to know what my bottom line is: read this book. Part 7: You know that old commercial for Pepto Bismol or something with the tagline "I can't believe I ate the whole thing"? Well, I can't believe I read the whole thing. I say that because I'd be perfectly happy if Amy Lane decided to make Outbreak Monkey into a regular thing. I have fallen hard for this group of stunning, unique characters. I relished the anticipation each week as I waited for the next part to hit my e-mail box. I felt special because I got to read the extended scene at the end of each installment. Those scenes gave insight into some stuff that happened off page during the main serial, but had obviously happened at some point. In one of them Kell took care of Briony when she was sick. The reader gets to witness a side of both of them that wasn't fully developed during the telling of the overall story of Outbreak Monkey. It was like a peek behind the curtain, only I got to pay attention to the man hiding back there. The band and their manager are in Tyson, and they are on a deathwatch. They spend time with Grant each day, one-on-one or in small groups, waiting for him to die. They play for him and sing to him. They hold his hand and pet his hair. They reminisce with him and share some of the good times they've had as a band since they left Tyson and him behind. Grant does some stuff, too. Grant knows that his wife kept him from following his dreams with his "brothers." He knows that she and his parents are homophobes who will poison his daughter's mind against him and his childhood friends. So Grant takes legal action to make sure that the young men who kept him sane and whole during his teenage years will have access to his daughter, named for Mackey. He ensures that his wife will continue to receive his future royalty payments as long as she abides by the arrangements he has made for their daughter. This is a work of art. It is an amazing study of how past hurts and broken hearts can be healed by the power of love (yeah, I know how trite that sounds). It is a sublime picture of Trav's insecurity and resentment turning to brotherly love and deep friendship. It is a captivating portrayal of how, when surrounded by the love of those he treasures, Grant is able to die in peace and not linger in worry over the fate of his daughter and unfinished emotional business. And it is an extraordinary example of the determination of a small group of young men to overcome any obstacle to carry out the final wishes of one they considered to be a brother. I think the most heartbreaking scene I have ever read was written in this final piece of the puzzle that makes up Beneath the Stain. When surrounded by his blood-related family, Grant is untouched both physically and by love. He practically begs Mackey to touch him and hold his hand when he admits that he hasn't been touched by anyone but the hired caregivers for weeks. I had to stop reading because I was ugly crying. I cried for this man who isn't real, but felt as real as if I had known him my whole life. I cried for the end of the years that this group of boys had spent growing up together, with their shared hurts and triumphs. I cried over the loss of the last few years that, but for the selfishness of Grant's then girlfriend, would have been spent together. I cried for Trav's giving heart that made it okay for Mackey to spend time alone with Grant, and to be the touch that he needed. And I cried for that little girl who would be raised primarily by hateful, spiteful people who would have nothing positive to say about her daddy. When I was able to continue, I was uplifted by the imagery of the boys taking over and seeing that Grant's wishes were carried out. And by the deepening of the love between Trav and Mackey after having weathered this storm and realizing that there would be more storms to come, but they wanted to face them together. I'll call it a HEA with qualifications. Just like real life. There is no HEA followed by a period. In life, the HEA is followed by ellipses, because we know there will be battles and difficulties and we hope that the characters we love will be able to stay a couple by the time they get through each of them. Again I say, read this book.

FiveStars **AUDIOBOOK REVIEW** I absolutely, totally, 100% fell in love with this story. This is such a complex story that goes through so many things it's hard to know where to start. I have say I fell in love with Grant and wanted what they had to work out when the boys got signed... Then when things moved in a different direction, I was sad and heartbroken with Mackey. Gosh, Mackey has such a hard time dealing with everything that is going on in his life. Losing the love of his life and becoming a huge rock star at the same time. Then in comes this hard, unyielding manager.... and then everything else. It's hard to say much without giving away many of the turns that come in the book, but trust me when I say this is totally a MUST READ. I laughed, I cried (really cried) and cheered for joy. This was a long audiobook, but not once when I had to put it down and come back to it did I forget where the story was. The characters were that memorable and their lives too. The narrator did an excellent job of bringing all the emotions out in the book, all of them over the wide spectrum that the men go through as the story progresses. I can't rave enough about this book. It was so well done and the narration was great too. I'm truly going to be in a book funk after finishing this one because it was so good!!! I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Inked Rainbow Reads. Renee

If you would have tired to tell me that I wouldn’t want a story about a rock star to end, especially one with as much sex as this one, I would have told you were off your rocker. I’ve no interest in rock stars and more than one sex scene in a book usually bores me to tears. Luckily, for me, I had no idea what Beneath the Stain was about when I started listening to it. I’d just heard the hype and decided to check it out, which is always dangerous to do. Few things live up to the hype. Beneath the Stain did, and actually went above and beyond the hype. I have no clue how Amy Lane pulled off the rock star life so convincingly. (Maybe there is something she needs to tell us about her life before her writing career.) She captured it beautiful and made it fully believable. This book had several of my favorite things. It was epic, no one-dimensional story telling to be found here. It had one hell of an entourage cast—so many characters, all easily discernable, believable, and multi-layered. Ms. Lane captured both stardom and fame and life in a small town seamlessly. And, as if the story wasn’t wonderful enough, throughout the story was some of the most beautiful, figurative writing I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long, long time. On more than one occasion, tears flowed. I never wanted to leave these boys and girls. And, now that it’s over, I find myself missing them. Masterfully done, Amy Lane, I bow to you in awe.

I sit here, staring at an empty page as I have been told authors do at the beginning. I am to write a review for your newest release Beneath the Stain, I stare at the page and wonder if you do this too Amy, to begin a book? Then I laugh out loud as I know for sure that your muse and all the voices in your head have already talked to you about what they will be doing and how they want you to tell their story. Amy I think you never in your life have had an empty page. To say you have done it again is redundant, to say it has come to the level of Promise and Locker Room and Chase might be so so to mention. But I must say you have brought this story to life with tender hands, a loving heart and the words and feelings of a master. Beneath the Stain is again a story that encompasses almost a lifetime. The memories of youth, of first love and its heartbreaking loss. We live the lives of just people, trying to have what life could promise. They are going through life’s mysteries: love, heartache, highs, lows, drug abuse. We travel with a band of brothers, four of them each related as they have four different fathers but have the same mother and the stigma that has been put on them in their small town. Their brotherhood and nightmares are entwined in this story and it makes it so much more. The brothers formed a rock band and call it Outbreak Monkey. Mackey Sanders the youngest, in the lead with his brothers and their friend Grant Adams, becoming semi famous locally and having the chance to make it big! Grant suddenly leaving them was Mackey’s undoing. Travis Ford shows up, brought in by the record company. Will Travis be salvation? Will Travis survive???? Amy again you have brought my emotions raw, I did not think I could survive the angst and pain only Amy Lane could bring. But then you had the side show, of wonderful fleeting moments that could brighten this, with characters I will adore forever. You are truly brilliant! Please everyone buy it, love it like I did …. Review by Gloria Lakritz Sr Reviewer and Review Chair for the Paranormal Romance Review Team

First off, if I could give a book 20 stars, I would. I haven't read an Amy Lane book in a very long time. I've had this on my tbr shelf for a really , really , really long time. I'm glad I saved it until now. About halfway through I was more than ready to end a story that was nowhere finished being told, and I'm glad for that. If you don't shed at least one tear, I have no words for your soul. I do have questions that must be answered; obviously Jefferson and Stevie are related, but how...some things were alluded to but not fully explained. Amy you've got some 'splaining to dooooooo!!! Extremely Highly Recommended

4.5 stars This is an epic journey and story of Mackey James Sanders. I may struggle with the words to put this story until perspective as I do not want to ruin the plot or tell you how the story unfolds. The story of Outbreak Monkey, the band, the boys and how they find their place in world is truly an epic journey. I will say sometimes happy is not what you think it is and often times the happy to find is better than anything you could have even imagined, and is so the case with this book. As the boys find fame they also find the dark side of success and that is when their handler Trav Ford steps in; from the moment Trav enters the picture it is clear life is about to change. I truly enjoyed Trav, he was tough and endearing all at the same time. I am not going to tell you how this happy plays out or how you go from a broken soul to truly accepting of yourself. I will say the past if often revisiting before you can move forward and that will that is when my heart truly broke. This story made me smile, this story made my each ache, this story made me feel the power of love and this story will stuck with me for a long time to come! MacKey spends much of his time in his own head; those thoughts are shown to the reader as song lyrics. I truly hope these lyrics get put to music some day. Ms Lane’s ability to put MacKey’s feeling his head space to words truly speaks to the depth of her talent. Warning you will cry, warning your heart will touching, warning you may suffered a book hangover!

Where do I start? This was not a story. It was a journey of epic proportions. It grabbed me from the first chapter and kept me holding on through each section. There is so much to say about this. From the myriad of characters and emotions in every part I was glued, tied to them, their emotions, their pain and their bliss. I loved it all. Mackey, he started off so young and yet burdened from a young age and so very talented. Grant, his first love, I felt for him to my very soul. Trav, the savior, in more ways then one who was also saved by Mackey. Each character was written so well and we got to understand them even more in the bonus scenes. This book will stay with me a long time and I will come back to it again and again. Thank you Amy. Thank you so much!!

No one does angst like Amy Lane. At times this book was almost too much--even for someone like me who adores angst--but it's impossible to put down. The characters are perfectly flawed, so loveable you feel every shred of their pain and hope and loss. A story that will stay with me forever, for sure. This book pulled me in from the very beginning, and I almost felt like I was there. Intense long gripping story with a plot that continued to evolve throughout the story. Interesting characters. Looked at sad side of life as well as the good side. Amy Lane's dark contemporary stories always gut me -- this one was no different, and it wasn't even one of the darker ones. Incredible characters, roiling emotions, and rock and roll! When you finish an Amy Lane book, you feel like you really know all her characters personally (and for some of the less pleasant ones, that's not entirely comfortable!). Absolutely loved every word, Amy Lane at her finest! Coming of age story. As expected from this author, very well written and interactive. A song of life, love and friendship.

I am a huge fan of all things Amy Lane. I have read almost all of her books and have fallen in and out of love with more of her characters than I can count. In spite of this, she still managed to kick my posterior with this book. We've seen the tropes before - rock band, brothers, love story, ups and downs, angsty type issues - yes it's been done before - BUT NOT BY AMY LANE. A master wordsmith, the stories Ms. Lane weaves take you on turns you don't expect. Beneath the Stain is no different. Characters with whom you fall in love at the start of this book, you love even harder at the end. Characters you want to hate are given depth and levels of humanity so you actually FEEL for, like, and yes, love them. You NEED them to get their happy ending, and it breaks you more than a little when and if they don't. That is what happens here, and that is what happens when Amy Lane crafts a story. You don't just read it, you take it in and you live it for as long as you are reading, and sometimes for days after. From beginning to end Amy Lane takes you on journey with Trav, Mackey and their 'family'. She takes you places you don't expect, and will wring from you just about every emotion possible. I put this book down with wet eyes, a tired sigh and the best smile. Travis and Mackey may have stolen my heart, but in truth, I gave that to Amy the second I opened this book. So well written, so beautifully spun, this story. For me this is one of the best if not THE best written by this author, and I hope she is as proud of this work of art as her fans are of it, and her. My own words will never do this book nor this author justice, but they are all I have. Bravo, Amy, Bravo.

Beneath the Stain is Amy Lane at her finest. She has taken a story of four brothers living in a small (and small minded) town and with the angst and desperation of just surviving in the environment they have to grow up in, she gives us Mackey Sanders. Small, scrappy, brilliant and vulnerable. He is the force that takes him and his brothers out of Tyson California and gives them a life they never dreamed of. Mackey really doesn't do this all alone but he is the driving force in their band, Outbreak Monkey. He writes the music, and pours his heart and soul into it. Together with his brothers Kell and Jefferson, Stevie (who is like Jefferson's other half) and Kell's best friend and lead guitarist Grant - they start believing they can be more. Can escape Tyson for a better life. Just when they get their big break (thanks to Grant), Grant tells them he can't go with them. This and the new found fame and rigors of touring send Mackey over the edge. Enter Trav Ford, their new manager. He has his hands full getting the band back on solid ground and getting Mackey into rehab before there is not enough of Mackey left to save. Trav is a great character. I loved his tough, solid, dependable, organized personality and how Mackey shakes him up and watching them both find what they need in one another. I loved the way the story takes us from their very roots as just a group of teens hanging out getting high, to finding their way through music, into what happens when they are thrust into being full fledged rock stars and the backlash of dealing with that fame as well as their own personal demons. All of the characters are well developed, the writing captivating and vivid. It was beautiful, heart wrenching, sexy and humorous. Amy Lane is known for her angst and pain, there is a reason for that. Don't worry, this is angst and pain you will love and she never leaves you heart broken. One thing I adore about her is she believes in happy endings. (well most of the time) But here, definitely. Buy the book and fall in love with Mackey, Trav and the rest of Outbreak Monkey.

The writing in this story is superb. In the beginning I couldn't relate to none of the characters in this book. But the thing is, I just couldn't stop reading. I blame Ms. Lane's writing style, in the best possible way though. The premise of this story, the characters are truly unforgettable. And I have to say, there was something else that kept me drawn to this book. I'm talking of all the beautiful song lyrics coming from Mackey's heart. This book is amazingly written and it will stay with me for a very long time. I will be coming back to read it again.

Amy Lane is one of the best storytellers in the business and this was definitely one of her best work, if not the best. I felt engaged from the beginning to the end, but no runny mascara eyes this time. I love how Amy Lane (via Nick Russo the narrator) takes the reader on a journey with the characters from adolescent years to their time as grown men. It’s like the author is the driver, the character is the passenger, and I was in the back seat watching and listening. It was a quite a ride! This story featured the Sanders brothers who formed a rock band with one of their childhood friends and named their band “Outbreak Monkey”. The youngest, 14 yr. old Mackey Sanders, was the band’s writer as well as their lead singer. Mackey had a crush on his oldest brother Kell’s best friend, 17 yr. old Grant Adams, the other member of the band but always thought Grant was straight. After one drunken night of mutual discovery, Mackey and Grant embarked on a secret affair. They told no one because Grant’s family was unaware of his orientation and they are very homophobic. Out of fear of incurring his father’s wrath, Grant drops out of the band and marries a girl, ending his relationship with Mackey. Outbreak Monkey moves on to sign to a record label and achieve professional success. Meanwhile, Mackey personal life descends into depression and drug abuse. The record company brings in a new manager, clean up specialist Travis Ford, to get the Outbreak Monkey guys on point. Travis immediately set up on the task of helping Mackey reclaim his life starting with rehab. Under his care, Mackey and the Outbreak Monkey had to address their issues before they began to flourish again. The brothers and the band went from a fun time to living the rock-n-roll lifestyle to rediscovering their bond as a unit. This book took us through all those transitions whether they were happy or painful. After some healing, Travis and Mackey begin a relationship...and then the past comes knocking. While I didn’t cry, this audiobook was angst –filled. Grant and Mackey had all that youthful passion and love that I couldn’t help but root for. Mackey and Travis had that adult relationship when you have seen a person at their lowest which I also found myself wishing would last. I thought, Amy Lane, what are you doing to me because I don't know if Mackey can handle this? The writing was poetic and smooth, and the characters were multi-layered. I found it hard for me to judge their mistakes because you could see why and how they could make those decisions. While Mackey was the central character, the supporting cast was equally essential to the story. Forgiveness and Support was big in the end. If you are looking for a book about love, second chances and character growth, then this one is for you.

Beneath The Stain is one Amy Lane's very best ... and that's saying a whole lot since there's not a book written by her that I don't love. But this one is special and different and full of all the very best things a great book should have. Humor and heart ache and romance and depth and complex characters that will stay with you long, LONG after you've finished the book. Mackey is truly one of Amy's most complex and yet most lovable characters yet. The relationship with his brothers, his mother, Blake, Grant and most especially Travis is full of ups and downs, some of his own making, but some not. You want to laugh at Mackey's antics but then you find yourself crying for him when he talks about his music and what he's feeling as the words pour from his soul. Kellogg was such a surprise, from beginning to end his growth was a journey full of pain and hope. As much as I adore Mackey, Travis was my favorite. Mackey pushed him, cajoled him, broke him, but then put him back together again. Watching Travis and Mackey fall in love (I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that!) was, at times, very hard as they both fought their own demons, but it was also joyous and rewarding. Beneath The Stain will make you laugh and cry (as all of Amy's books do) but it is definitely a journey you won't ever forget.

I almost gave up on this book about 12% through - it's a beast that spans almost a decade. The backstories honestly bore me in most books which is why I almost DNF this book. But the positive reviews were too good to ignore, so I pushed through and I'm so very glad I did. I won't share the details of the story - you can get that in other reviews. Just know that Mackey and Trav's story in worth it. This story was full of sorrow and pain and humor and so much hope - I promise it will stick with you!

Loved this story! It took me on a ride I won't forget. There was love, hate, angst, torment, you have got to be kidding me moments, snark, pain; and then there was Mackey and Travis. There were more feelings then I knew what to do with. Pick up this story and read it. You won't regret it. Well done Amy, well done! later add: I've read the weekly installments and bonus scenes of Beneath the Stain. I've fallen in love, hated, vented, raged, mourned, ran the entire gamut of emotions reading this book, and shared it all in the group. Enablers every one of you. Today I finished reading just The Book. It was like I hadn't spent the last weeks living, waiting, begging, devouring each installment. It felt new and fresh. I found myself smiling, laughing, frowning, and oh gawd, it just killed me. How could I have forgotten the ride this story took me on? How? These boys, Trav and Mackey, Blake and Grant. Suckered punched right in the heart. I can't remember the last time I cried reading a book, at work of all places! So yeah, I'm wrecked, again, but loving the feeling. Thank you Amy, thank you

I adored the music tidbits thrown into this story. I remember, months and months ago, Amy made some comments on social media and asked questions about how something might happen and the reactions that could come from a single event. Lo and behold, that came from this eBook. Amy is one of my darn near auto-buy authors, and with Beneath the Stain rivaling Keeping Promise Rock, I couldn't pass it up. Once again, Amy drew me into the world she created and made me love her characters. I cried several times. I laughed and shared snippets of snarky moments with my hubby, especially the face slapping a stranger along with "I'm still a better person than you" line, which has to be one of my favorites in the eBook. Of course, I don't think any couple could beat Deacon and Carrick for me. I remember their name years after reading Keeping Promise Rock the first time, and I don't remember the names of some of the characters I've written in the last year! But when it comes to realistic characters who experience highs and lows and drag me along with them, enthralled for the whole ride, Mackey and Trav are a close second.

Amy Lane is one of the few authors on my insta-buy list. She rocks at writing 3D characters - you know, characters that are fully developed into real people that stay with you long after "The End". She's known for dragging her heroes through absolute hell before they get a HEA, and by the time you're through riding that roller coaster with them you're cheering for the fact that they EARNED that HEA. This book was no different. Reading this was thrilling. I gasped. I got teary-eyed. I laughed out loud. I pushed away from it to get my bearings before coming back to it. The raw emotion, the depths and the highs, were fantastic. Simply a wonderful story. I also think that this book is one of the most well-written of her books. There are lines that resonate like poetry, and others so stark and plain that they almost gut you. There were a few places I had to reread what was written because I lost the thread of the story with the poetry in how it was expressed. The phrasing was simply exquisite. Overall, this ties with "Keeping Promised Rock" as my favorite book by this author - and I never thought any other book would ever get that close. As long as Lane keeps writing, I'll keep reading!

My Queen has done it again. How does Amy Lane continue to enthrall me time and time again within a couple pages of a book?!?! I have no idea but I pray that this uber-talented woman never stops. Beneath the Stain takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions from the start. And what a ride it is! The MCs in this book are so deep in your heart by the end that you feel they are a part of your family. And the supporting cast are just as important and lovable to you also. The life of rock stars is very successfully portrayed but the life outside of it is even better viewed. I was so invested in this family that I literally stopped in the last part, my heart refusing to let me finish it. But I did, and it was a beautiful thing. I highly recommend this book, it's Superb in all ways. Thank you Amy Lane for your beautiful mind <3

Amy pulls your heart out, stomps on it, and slowly puts it back together with this one. Seriously, I was pulled in with affection, LMAO'd, cried, laughed some more, then started to heal, only to cry some more. Now the ending had my heart all racey and fluttery. I love Mackey and Trav so much!!! Both together and individually. And Grant, well he made me want to shake him a lot, then I just wanted to hug him. There were many secondary characters, but every one of them are unforgettable. Each of them brought life to the story in their own way/s. Nick Russo did an amaaaaaazing job with this book and all the characters. *sighs* This will definitely be a book I listen to again and again. But maybe not right away. My heart needs to recoup. ;)

I really have no idea how to do this book justice with a review. Amy Lane has outdone herself with this one. I can't recommend this book enough. Honestly everyone has to read this, they need to go through the pain that this beautiful story causes. Every character in this story will steal a place in your heart. When they are suffering - it's an Amy Lane book, they will suffer - you will want to pull them into a loving embrace and give them the comfort and protection they need. You'll want to knock out the characters that are causing them pain. One character deals with cancer in this book and Ms Lane does a wonderful job of that. It is so realistic and anyone who has watched a loved one suffer through this terrible illness will be right back there beside that loved ones hospital bed. This book with all its pain and angst will tear you apart, but it's love and beauty will glue you back together again.

This is the second time I have red this book. I read it when it was first published and again now. I loved it even more the second time. Amy Lane is a wonderful teller of stories. The members of Outbreak Monkey never had an easy life. They could never enjoy their childhood because there was very little to even like. Music and each other was all they had. They each carried too much baggage into adulthood. Their story touched my heart and brought tears. They also have hope to others. I love those young men. Amy made them real to me.

If your heart opens up to pain and resilience, failure and triumph, gain and loss, anger and delight, and every intense emotion available to the human psyche, you need to fall into this magnificent novel. Plan on leaving yourself time for the journey, and don't expect it to leave you untouched. Mackey Sanders and his screwed-up, wonderful band of musicians, brothers, friends, and lovers fly off the pages of the novel--or curl up on the floor between your bed and the wall while you watch, laughing and crying and trembling with fear for their fragility and cheering for their strength. Amy Lane has a unique gift as a storyteller and a creator of characters too real not to be real. Mackey Sanders is a shattering creation, and his journey will tear holes in your soul and then fill them up again. To read this novel is to live in his skin and come out with an Outbreak Monkey tattoo on your soul.

How on earth can someone create something that’s filled with great characters who the reader comes to love, has a fantastic plot line and sex scenes that are mind blowing¿ Thank god someone does. This book may be in an under appreciated genre but should be judged on its own merit. Thank you Amy Lane.

This is one of Amy's finest works yet. I don't have the words to express how much I loved this book...Amy just never ever disappoints. The characters and the relationships between them all - the brothers, their mother, friends etc, all of them, it all plays into this story, its not just about the MC's. And more than just watching two people fall in love, you get to really watch them both grow into better men, because of the other. OMG. its just amazing. its hot - super steaming hot, and its funny but it has all the angst you'd expect from Amy Lane, and so much heartache, but its also redeeming and hopeful and wonderful. Its perfect and you need to read it now...RIGHT NOW!!!

Amy Lane outdid herself in this heartbreaking but beautiful story. I read the book as a seven part serial each week and it was an emotional roller coaster with wonderful surprises along the way. I will admit that I cried at least once in each part. The story of the Sanders brothers and their struggles to reach their dreams will make you cry, laugh, throw things, smile and scream. Sometimes simultaneously. I fell in love with Mackey, Kell, Jeff and Steve. Some of the characters you start hating and at the end you end up loving them. Trav is just Trav. Wow! He gives purpose and hope to the boys. I was happy to see that he is not perfect and showed his human side. Amy gifts us with other secondary characters that are very essential to the story. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to get their monies and times worth.

I loved this book. It was heart rending to the point of tears and just really good. It takes a group of boys from a small town and goes through how they made their band, the challenges faced, sacrifices made, that brought them fame. It goes through relationships, growth, weaknesses, and how they face the challenges that happen. It's truly great. One reviewer had a problem with all of the challenges that happen to the main character. Yes, a lot happens, but to me it felt like a progression to make the improvements needed. I loved it.

Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n Roll. Brothers, Rehab & A Manager. Raw Emotion, Heartache & Closure. = PERFECTION 2 years....2 years I waited to read this book because I wasn't sure I could be put thru the wringer like that. Honestly, I don't think I woulda ever been ready for what I just experienced. I couldn't read fast enough yet I wanted to savor every minute even tho my heart was beating fast, my palms were sweaty and I was ready to either scream or cry! Mckay 'Mackey' Sanders...you sir, wrecked me in the best possible way!

Wow, this one got completely beneath my skin and in my heart. I've always been kind of partial to a rock star romance, but this was so much more. This touched every emotion; it evokes joy, pain, devotion, empathy and hope. This was such a beautiful read, and Mackay just stole my heart, Grant broke my heart and Travis restored it. This book has been on my reading list for a while, but thanks to Kindle Unlimited, I finally got a change to experience it. This is my first read from Amy Lane, and I can assure you that I will read more, as she is pretty amazing.

This is a story that will stay with me forever and what launched my Amy Lane binge. I loved Mackey SO much, and this story evoked the feeling of the Outsiders in me, one of my all time favorite books. I loved Grant and Travis too and the character growth amongst the side characters as well. This is definitely a love story but so much more. Read it!! I can’t recommend highly enough

Ok I have to say it took me a bit to read this book. I knew it was hurt. So I glanced at it through the corner of my eye and watched it warily for a while. However, I realized there was gonna be a heartache tonight and settled in. It will break your heart. It will also put back together and you'll be greatful for the opportunity. And pay to have her do it again. Because she writes magic. The reason Amy Lane writes magic is because she writes love. And all about the different ways it desecrates and empowers. She writes it REAL. It isn't a magic cure all for life, but about how another person can give you the strength to fix your broken pieces just to be with them. And face that monster called Life, and make it whole hell of a lot less scary, just because they are there next to you. Her magic is the kind you want to share with the world because it takes sad and broken things and makes them human. It also makes you want to hoard it, not out of greed or selfishness, but because you gotta protect that magic. Cherish it and only let people who can see it's worth share in it. So read the book. Share the magic and keep a tiny piece yourself.

I couldn't put this down. These boys go from nobody to rock stars and Grant stayed behind. The heartache for Mackey. The drugs to help cope, then along comes Trav whom they all need and falls in love with Mackey. Between rehab and life things are on the mend and then get derailed. They make it through it. This is another spectacular Amy Lane book. You can't go wrong with it.

I just finished Beneath The Stain by Amy Lane. My God! This book was so beautiful, so brilliantly written. The storyline is great and thanks to this author's talent it's paced so well that all events flow along as it show be. I loved each and every character simply because they were given such personality and depth that you couldn't do anything else but love them... And Travis. What a great man This book has become my Nr. 1 M/M story and is certainly the best book I have read in a very long time.

This book pulled me in and didn't let me go!! The struggles of these rock stars are real and they are heart wrenching!! The people they love go through the trenches also!! This was so fantastic, I wish there were more of them!!

Beneath the Stain by Amy Lane 5 stars!! “You can’t be the whole album, Trav. You just can’t. But you can be the best songs.” Beneath the Stain was originally released as a seven part serial and now this amazing story is bundled up in a 500+ page book of pure exquisiteness. While this book is an M/M I have to say that side of the story kind of paled into the background, the beautiful writing and the hauntingly beautiful story was so compelling that you couldn’t help but be 100% emotionally invested in this story. Amy Lane pulls you in hook, line and sinker and once you turn the first page be prepared, the next twelve or so hours are going to be an emotional blur. This is the story of Mackey, his brothers and their friends, a bunch of misfits who all had different dads yet their mother worked her fingers to the bone to give them a roof over their head and food on the table. While they didn’t have much, they made the best of what they had and to Mackey specifically, music was his escape. He channelled his energy and anger into music, it was his salvation. While he may have been the youngest, he was the most talented, his lyrics, his music were perfection and the brothers just went a long for the ride. “Man, watching that kid turn those b***s into a band is one of the joys of my effing existence.” Outbreak Monkey gave Mackey his outlet, it brought this band of brothers together and after forging ahead playing in bars it wasn’t long before they were discovered. Herein the real journey begins for all of them, choices have to be made, there are repercussions but this is what they have been aiming for, their ticket out of hell, now it was time to grab it with both hands. “To realize that rich wasn’t just the way you spent money, it was the way you think.” Amy Lane’s writing was perfection; vivid imagery coupled with heart felt dialogue enabled you to take these characters into your hearts and heads. You undertook this journey with them, the journey of life and their journey of love. The way this story was delivered was like a film and you are watching the big screen, these boys that are already so under your skin that they feel like family are there before your eyes, living their lives and living their dreams. Mackey was a beautiful character, he was far from perfect, but he had that allure about him that just made you love him. He was sensitive, confused, and super talented but he had this front he put on, his mask, and boy did he wear it well on stage. My heart ached for Mackey at times, he always loved hard, and he gave himself completely and unconditionally. This tiny, scrawny man may have been small in stature but he had the biggest heart and it was pure twenty four carat gold. He wore it on his sleeve, proud for all to see, he was imperfectly perfect and Trav would ultimately be the man that made Mackey fly. “Trav thought of the song - his song - and the cry from the invisible boy who slept in forgotten corners and lived to make people love him or hate him or anything so long as they didn’t forget his name.” This story predominantly revolves around Mackey, he is g*y and where they are from it is frowned upon but out in the spotlight, he can be who wants to be and after making the decision to come out after much soul searching and near self destruction, Mackey becomes free. It is like the bird that has been freed from its cage, those first movements are tentative, but then watch as the bird soars and Mackey soars. “Trav moved, and Mackey’s body became light and Trav’s body became sound and together they were the thing Mackey worshipped most. Music.” Travis was such an amazing character, ex-military and now tasked with the job of keeping Outbreak Monkey alive, out of trouble and gets them where they should be. Travis couldn’t have been anymore opposite to Mackey. Trav was openly g*y and hadn’t hidden the fact. He could see the turmoil that Mackey was going through. He saw Mackey at his lowest but he was determined to see him at his best. Trav was extremely loyal and had a heart of gold. Not only does this book concentrate on his relationship with Mackey but how he was really the foundation for the band as a whole. The friendships that are forged throughout this book gave you hope, not only was Trav their manager, but he was first and foremost their friend, their confidante, he was their rock and became so instrumental in their lives. “It’s hard loving people that bright, that shiny, that they make everyone else in the world look dim.” Despite the ups and downs this was an incredibly uplifting story, while the journey was fraught with heart break, it was a lesson in growing up, lessons in life and love. Every scene played its part, every word had a purpose and yes it was emotional, but it was raw, it was real and it was life. I have to applaud Amy Lane on delivering such an evocative story. This is one story that will still in my heart for a very long time. These characters have embedded themselves into my heart and soul and I was proud to have gone on this journey with them. Sometimes a book is more than just a book, and this is one of those instances. “It’s a beautiful day…” I urge everyone to read this book and even if you are not an M/M reader, this would be the perfect book to break your M/M virginity. This is what an M/M read should be, it’s not about the action between the sheets (although it is there), it is about the journey, the voyage, the self discovery, and the emotions. It is a story of life and this author nailed it.

I originally stopped this book at 5% for some reason, and I’m so glad I gave it another try. It is classic Amy Lane; beautifully written, emotional, funny... I stayed up all night finishing it, and now I can’t stop crying

I don’t know how this author does it, but I can’t stop reading her stories. Everyone of her characters are special. She has me enthralled by her stories and I get lost in them. I love, love her characters and I want more of McKay, Trav and all their brothers, thank you Amy.

This book blew me away. What a journey and an emotional rollercoaster ride. If you are looking for a sweet HEA romance where you can put your feet up and enjoy a mindlessly happy read, this is not the book for you right now. But if you are ready to settle in for a real story about real people and their real issues and lives, then pull up a chair and get stuck in. Prepare yourself for something special. If you don't come away with a whole new perspective on life, love, family and relationships, you need to read this book again...and again.

Truly one of my favorite books. I have listened to over 200 books and this one really got me. Loved all the characters, their growth, their love. It was pretty devastating in parts, Grant's scenes in the last chapter were amazing. When listening to the the very first chapter, I thought "oh too many different characters, I don't like to get to know that many people so early". But, it all worked. I loved this book. (Similar to my by feelings about TJ Klune's Wolfsong, not similar books, but both about kids growing up.)

Beneath the Stain by Amy Lane Sometimes you stumble across a book that just sucks you in and won't let go. This is one. Only half way through and I had to start taking notes and decided to complete the review before I went any further. Why? I don't want to color the review by how the story ends. I will love it regardless, but just in case there is no HEA, I don't want that to reflect in how much I adore this book. The story is poignant, definitely heartbreaking. The sex just in the first chapters is not just hot, it's poetically beautiful, although it probably won't be to some people. Ignore them. This book feels like the way real life should be, or could be, if we would just let it. People should be able to love who they want, how they want, when they want. It is a story of every kind of love. The characters are so well crafted you care about, if not love, all of them. Only halfway through and I know this is going to go in my top ten of all time favorite books. The editing is clean (a must for me), there are no superfluous descriptions, the language is gritty, real, honest. The honest and detailed descriptions of life in a rock band, touring and being a rock star are very well researched or the author has an inside track... it's just that real. If I am ever forced to choose 10 books to read for the rest if my life, this will be one.

I read this book some years ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday! I think this is the best book ever and I wish that they can make a movie about it ❤️❤️

Heart touchingly, breathtakingly, beautifully written story of young men finding themselves and each other. It is a story of over coming. Of success, self realization and of love for themselves and their brothers. This band of brothers, some of blood and some of love face bigotry, poverty, addiction, rape, molestation, and death. Each lie brought to light only serves to make them stronger. It brings them closer to who they were meant to be as individuals and as family. This isn't just a story about being gay. It is so much more than that.

This was my first Amy Lane book and it definitely won't be my last. I absolutely loved Mackey and Trav and I didn't want their story to end. Loved it! Can't wait to read more from this author.

This is the first book I've read by this author. The characters in this story were fleshed out and engaging. I enjoyed their rocky journey and the twists and turns they needed to navigate to reach their happy ending. I laughed out loud at times and shed a few tears. I'll definitely be checking out this author's other books.

You have got to read this book! The characters were so real with all their flaws,angst, and joy and sorrow. I didn't want it to end. I love these people!

This is a bit of an epic tale. It is bigger than most romance novels. With the bigger scope comes bigger emotion. Amy Lane pulls it off spectacularly.

On my gosh!!!! I loved these characters! So much love and support for each other, and so much angst. True Amy Lane at her best. If you liked her Promised Rock or Greens Hill stories you will love this.

An emotional book about being accepted for who you are. Mackey grew up poor and talented along with his brothers and had a secret. He lost his first love which was hard for him and he started spiraling out of control. Then Travis, (Trav), came into his life.

Such a wonderful book. I loved reading in serial form and I will be re-reading the whole thing again soon. I loved the interaction between the 4 brothers, their managers and the heartbreaking being called Mackey. His relationship with Grant, Travis and everyone around him will make you smile, laugh and cry. The dialogue, lyrics and the scenes - even the text msgs - are so worth it

Definitely not the most light read, but it certainly made its mark. This was a sweeping book covering several years and it felt weighty. I smiled a lot and cried a lot, too: The characters were fully realized and I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

Words cannot express how much I LOVED this one! It is a true masterpiece of storytelling and one that will stay with me for years to come. It has wrung every emotion possible out of me and then some and i feel privileged to have read it. I want my very own Outbreak Monkey tattoo ;) Sheer beauty, this book is!

I've read several of Ms. Lane's works and chose to purchase this one directly from Dreamspinner Press as the serial version with the additional material and Bonus Scenes. With the exception of her Little Goddess series, this should be annotated as her masterpiece. Without revealing too much of the depth of the piece, the grit and hopelessness of the impoverished reaches of America are shown in their naked realities within the scope of a story as real as if it occurred only a few years ago. Be prepared to have the emotional roller coaster rip your sense of gravity completely away as the story of Mackey, his brothers, and the backwater redneck town he survived are dissected openly.

Other reviews have lots of details.... I'll keep it short. This book is amazing, just read it! I am a huge fan of Amy Lane and anxiously waited for this book to come out. It is absolutely perfect. She writes such deep characters, I got sucked right in to Mackey and Trav's world. I cried ugly tears and laughed, sometimes at the same time! It was dark and sad, light and happy. One of her best books.

This book gutted me. It was so unbelievably beautiful and tragic. There is so much heartbreak, but so much love in this book. The writing is superb. The characters are real. And the story itself is so good. I couldn't put it down. 5 stars

The characters are visceral and the book extract pathos from some unique situations. This story is definitely worth reading. Get ready for a wild and fulfilling ride!

Loved seeing the characters evolve and the lyrics Mackey writes feel real. The brothers are all own their unique characters. Great rockstar and recovering from addiction love story.

Loved the story of Mackey and the Saunders brothers. Well written with deep emotions and quite the ride through the rock and roll lifestyle

This book slayed me! Oh, the feels! The good times, the bad times. It is written so very beautifully! Read this book but be ready with some tissue.

This has to be Amy Lane's all time best book and that saying something because all her books are great reads. Beneath the Stain take you on an epic journey with Mackey and his brothers then along came Travis. When I finished It was all I could want in a book Thank you Amy Lane

I can't say enough about how much I love this book. From the characters to the storyline, it's beautifully written. The characters had me laughing as the story broke my heart. An amazing piece of work, so very worth your time.

Love this book. Love Amy Lane :)

This book was just AMAZING! Best book I have read in a long time, Cant wait to read more Amy Lane!

I have to confess I was debating about this book ... Now that I am finished reading it ... I understand the brilliant story. I highly recommend you have tissues and music while you immerse yourself with Outbreak Monkey's family.

I can not express how much I loved this book! It was gripping from the first to the last page. My heart broke..then was healed. Top 5 of my M/M books!! Outstanding!!

I loved this book. I can't quit thinking about it. Mackey just won't get out of my head!

Like everything by Amy Lane..Solid love story with amazing men...Every emotion possible you will have while reading! Get ready to loose your heart to Mackey.

Everyone in this book is so imperfect, but their flaws and their love make this story perfect. I feel like I will be basking in the glow of this wonderful book for awhile.

This book was great but I really wish there was more, the lack of an epilogue is slightly upsetting and man the last few chapters required a who box of tissues but I still loved it even if the HEA wasn't quite so happy, well, not for everyone anyways.