Book Review: The Long Con by Lori Toland

The Long Con
by Lori Toland
Loose-id
M/M Erotic romance/Suspense
3.5 Stars
Review Copy from Netgalley

Blurb:

British Agent Nathaniel Bradley is tasked with bringing home a stolen heirloom. After tracking the Faberge egg all the way to a group of criminals in New York, Bradley infiltrates a ring of con artists and gets sucked into the role of a high priced prostitute.

While hoping for a chance to take back what is rightfully his, Bradley's sole mission becomes to seduce Tony Terranova, Jr, the heir to a notorious mafia dynasty. Though Tony is strikingly handsome, the usually dominant Bradley is hesitant to submit to the sexual whims of a dangerous Mafioso.

What Bradley doesn't expect is for Tony to fall to his knees so eagerly for him, leaving him blindsided by how intensely their dark tastes complement each other. Now Bradley is caught up in a deadly game of lies and desire, where what he truly wants may not be what duty requires.

Review:

I liked this book, but I really wanted to love it. It sounded right up my alley, some hot m/m loving along with an action/suspense plot. I loved the two leads, Nathan Bradley and Tony Terranova, both came to life on the page and you wanted them to get a happy ending, despite everything.

The writing is good, the plot is enthralling but there were some niggles which jarred me out of the story. Bradley is as British as British can be yet he used words like sidewalk instead of pavement and trunk instead of boot. Since it was written in Bradley's first person POV, those words just don't ring true to him and neither does his use of ass instead of arse. UK people tend not to use the word ass unless they are referring to a donkey, and that isn’t the thought you want to be having when reading a hot love scene ;)

I also didn't get why Bradley was mistaken for a prostitute by the con artists, that seemed to come out of nowhere and because they thought he was a prostitute they wanted him to seduce Tony Terranova, their mark. Knowing Tony was gay, couldn't Bradley have just offered to seduce him anway, without playing a prostitute? There were some things added near the end about Bradley's relationship with his grandfather, which would have worked much better if we'd found that out earlier in the book, it would have given Bradley's life a bit more depth.

The love scenes are hot, with a bit of BDSM in there for good measure, there is no denying that. Bradley and Tony seem to fit so well from their first meeting when they fall instantly in lust. There are mysteries and secrets to be teased out, which keeps you reading to find out more. Even though they seemed to fall in love very quickly, as you were reading, it didn't seem like that. It seemed right for these two characters and I was gripped to the end.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby