⭐⭐⭐ /5 Stars.

On the Side of the Road By Louis Romano and John Gojcaj.

The Howl is only the Start of the Call.

One thing I know now of Mr. Louis Romano, after reading several of his works, is that the man has a knack for making you root for his main characters. No matter if they are innocent or swimming in sin. And to see, beyond the sometimes messy complications of their identities and lives, the bigger picture and what makes us human.

This, some of the settings and the book being wrapped up in a satisfying way without any major plotholes are the positives that stayed with me the most. I was passed along this title, and I looked forward to seeing where the pages led. After finishing, I have very mixed feelings, but I can honestly say that the sentiment of my first statement remains.

I believe I should say that I had no idea that the first chapters would feel so invasive and heartbreaking. This, I assumed, served two purposes. The first, shock value, and the second, likely to show readers the moment that would change the course of Maria and her son's lives (towards the stories end, I found that this thought had been on the right track). I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked to be for what I read, but I appreciated it for what it was. Dare I say, I found the first chapters to be some of the best of the entire story with one or two elsewhere being as engaging. Call this one the bittersweet side, not quite bad by itself, but worth mentioning.

Unfortunately for me, for all the things I could guess, I did not foresee that many of the book's pages and content would be overshadowed by so much vulgarity and sexual happenings. I'm not much into the erotic, so I opted to focus more on how much these elements added to the story, if they were used effectively, and how likely others were to enjoy it who may often read that sort of material. Aside from some overexplained details that later prove to be mostly unnecessary, much of the dialogue and descriptions, sexual or otherwise, don't grasp any heartstrings. Some awkward word choice and dare I say cringe-inducing moments also exist in its pages. Scattered about here and there every few chapters.

I'll not put sexually explicit details or such things here, but distasteful lines. Say, "Sofie gave the receptionist a contemptuous look and mumbled "b-tch" loud enough to be heard. She also said something in Spanish with the only decipherable word being "puta." As this was odd and redundant.

Or, "He closed the door behind them, offering her a seat. He took a quick glance at her butt and legs and quickly pushed any natural male thoughts out of his mind." Regardless of it revolving around a daughter who was described as being the son her father never had to explain her less gentle nature, it felt the equivalent of an eye-roll 'only a man would write this' kind of time. Ironic, and a tad disappointing as I haven't had the displeasure of that thought in years.

This story follows a noticeable pattern of Romano's work (as I have never read John Gojcaj's works before the current collaboration and cannot speak to it) with a heavy dose of mobsters, lavish lifestyles surrounded by crime and death, and The Bronx, NY. Be that as it may, I didn't feel pulled into that world even though I could picture the scenes. I also didn't feel as much for Tony or his difficulties after several time jumps. His literal, immediate shift about his life after his loss felt less convincing (somehow, I still wished for him to come out on top so kudos for that) later as well. It seemed as if Romano and his writing partner, Gojcaj, dismissed the time needed to allow that shift to happen in-line with their character's shock rather than suddenly being a changed man looking for escape. That isn't to say he seemed willing 100% of the time, but the execution fell short for me. Likewise, a lot of time was spent telling the audience about the money, privilege and exotics of Antonio's new lifestyle without focusing on making us care about it and feel like we were taking that ride, all its highs and lows, with him. This was not my prior experience.

I don't know if it was just me, but I also saw most things coming from the start. And although that does sometimes happen, I was hoping to be in awe or at least very satisfied seeing everything unfold regardless of the mysteries up until the end of the book. Leo's sudden true thoughts being polar opposite to his professional demeanor was one of the only small surprises I can name. The only other shock on my part, also a negative, is that the description leads the audience to believe that the story would focus on the lives of the twins but one hardly makes an apperance or moves the story. This was even more strange as Maria, the mother of these twins, had been carrying secrets about her life and spends the rest of her days trying to make up for her decision concerning them through both devotion and God since the first chapter.

I also didn't see mention/admittance of any AI use disclaimer, but it became impossible to ignore that it has been used. I can respect it more when it's told outright, but as I have now read other recent work by one of the two authors, I no longer have any doubts about its usage. I don't know if it's the writers themselves, the edit process or both, but I wouldn't have counted it as a negative had I been informed from the start and still chose to read it after. If I have somehow overlooked mention of it somewhere, then my apologies, but I was not going into this book thinking to find it.

I hope, if yet another collaboration between these two come about as the acknowledgements suggest, that in the future these elements by which I felt less moved today will both improve and impress.

Warning: Very adult, explicit and sexual scenes, death and suicide, strong language, rape and possible triggers inside this book.