Reviewed by Rich Follett for Readers' Favorite

In The Jake Bennett Adventures Volume One, Bayla Dornan has cleverly created a richly detailed world within a world within a world within a world. No, you did not read that wrong: that repeated phrase is not a typo. Jake Bennett, Dornan's refreshingly contemporary, bisexual rookie cop protagonist, is featured in a series of stories penned by fictional author Tom Griffin, who serves as a Scout for an organization called Restoration that specializes in helping people in desperate circumstances get a fresh start. In the narrative, Tom’s lover, Chris Brenner, receives a posthumous cache of Tom’s stories, which he endeavors to compile and publish in Tom’s memory. Woven through the narrative, at the end of each story, is a series of fictional emails between Tom and various characters, one of whom is Tom’s writing professor, offering advice on how Tom can improve his stories. Along with this series of emails is a second series involving Tom and Jimmy Banner, submissions editor for The Surrogate Magazine, to which Tom has submitted his stories under the pen name of Leo Adler. A third series is interwoven as well, between Chris Brenner and Frank Costello, a friend of Chris and Tom who first sent Tom’s stories to Chris after Tom’s death.

If you are game to keep track of these wonderfully cross-indexed moving parts, you are ready to delight in the full impact of The Jake Bennett Adventures Volume One. Bayla Dorman’s writing style is gritty and utterly realistic, making the characters vivid and unforgettable. Dornan’s plots are seamlessly constructed, with a surprise around every corner. The characters reveal themselves in authentic and deeply human ways, lending a reality that will surely leave readers craving more of Jake’s Adventures. LGBTQ+ readers will particularly enjoy Jake’s bisexuality, which gives equal time and attention to Jake’s girlfriend as well as his male partners. Such a genuine, informed model is rare on the printed page. The Jake Bennett Adventures Volume One by Bayla Dornan is a highly entertaining and engaging reading experience for anyone seeking an antidote to the bland popular fiction that so often crowds booksellers’ shelves these days.