Book Review/Blog Tour: Allerleirauh by Chantal Gadoury

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Title: Allerleirauh
Author: Chantal Gadoury
Genre: Fantasy Romance / Fairytale Retelling / Young Adult

Once Upon A Time… 

A King makes a promise to his dying wife to marry only someone with her golden hair. The King finds his eyes are turned by his maturing daughter. Realizing her Father’s intentions, Princess Aurelia tries to trick her Father by requesting impossible gifts: Dresses created by the Sun, Moon and Stars and a Coat made of a Thousand furs. When she discovers his success, Aurelia decides to sacrifice her privileged life and escapes the Kingdom disguised in the cloak, and under a new name, “Allerleirauh.” Aurelia enters the Kingdom of Saarland der Licht where she is taken under the wing of the handsome Prince Klaus. Aurelia must face herself, her past and her fears in her journey of self discovery.

“Allerleirauh” is a Retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tale classic.

***

Review 3.5 Stars

A dying queen makes the king promise that he will marry again, and that his new wife must be as bueatiful as her, with her golden hair.

After her death, the king tries his best to find a new wife who is as beautiful as his dead one, but no one comes close to being as beautiful as her, except for their daughter.

The king takes it into his head that he can marry no one else but his daughter in order to keep the promise to is dead wife. Trying to stall him, the princess asks for tree gowns: one of moonlight, one of sunlight and one of starlight. She also asks for a coat of a thousand furs from all the different animals in the kingdom, thinking that these things couldn't possibly me made.

When the king presents her with all these gifts, she has only one option and she runs away with the help of her maid. She is no loger Princess Aurelia, but Allerluliah, 'girl of a thousand furs'. And she finds shelter in the neigbouring kingdom in the palace of Prince Klaus.

I have a soft spot for fairy tale retellings. The fairy tales we've heard as children are really the bare bones of the story. But here, the author has taken the tale and added to it, given it more depth and characterisation than the original. The character we get to know most about is Aurelia, as the whole tale is told from her point of view. I would have liked to have been in Prince Klaus' head for some of it, just to see what his thoughts and feelings were.

Despite it being a fairy tale, Aurelia doesn't wait around for a prince to rescue her, she rescues herself with a bit of help from her maid. It's not a comfortable tale because of the subject matter, but it is handled delicately and is not done to shock or in a gratitious way.

I did enjoy the story and the writing has a fairy tale/fantasy type feel, but there were a few niggles which jarred me out of the story. There were a few wrong word choices in a few scenes: decorum instead of decor, curiosity was peeked instead of piqued, things like that. They weren't enough to make me stop reading as I wanted to find out what happens, but they did make me scratch my head a bit. Another round of editing would have made it so much better.

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About the Author:

Chantal Gadoury is a young author who currently lives in Dover, Delaware with her two cats, Theo and Harper and her fiance, Robert. Originally from Muncy, PA, Chantal appreciates the beautiful mountains and enjoys visits back to see her family. She also loves anything Disney and has a reputation of beating anyone at a mean game of Disney trivia.

When Chantal is not writing, she enjoys painting, watching British History Documentaries,  drinking iced-coffee and spending time with loved ones. Chantal first started writing stories at the age of seven and continues on with that love of writing today. Graduating from Susquehanna University with a Creative Writing BA, writing novels has become a dream come true.

Links

Excerpts available on Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/59554977-allerleirauh
Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/cgadoury16
Author Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/chantalgadouryfans
Tumblr: http://chantalgadouryauthor.tumblr.com/
Blog : http://chantalgadoury.blogspot.com/
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8059023.Chantal_Gadoury

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Book Review: My Razzle Dazzle by Todd Peterson

My Razzle Dazzle: An Outisder's True Story
by Todd Peterson
Gay Memoirs/Non-Fiction
3.5 Stars

My Razzle Dazzle is an unforgettable trip of a lifetime.

Beginning with a Wisconsin farm in the 1960s, Todd Peterson characterizes every outsider's candid, moving, and often hilarious coming-out story that will take you apart and put you together again. His adventures are set against a backdrop of the cultural events of the sixties and seventies and a burgeoning gay Mecca that changed our world forever.

Along this unusual journey Todd not only meets carnival freaks and murderers, but also lions, tigers and bears... oh my!

Young Todd is ostracized and bullied by the kids at school, simply for being different. An outsider at school and at home, he retreats into the shadows. When Todd first amazes to Roller Derby© on TV, he identifies with the athletes who are rebels and outsiders like himself. Todd longs for a life of adventure and a place where he can belong and find acceptance and love. But does such a place even exist?

After graduating from college, Todd dreams of life beyond his Midwestern hometown and hitchhikes across the United States with only a suitcase, the money in his pocket, and a heart full of hope.

As this unique story unfolds, Todd encounters heart-wrenching setbacks and extraordinary breakthroughs. You will live this story as if it were your own and whirl with Todd around the banked track. Experience this thrilling ride of unexpected beauty and mayhem.

***

Review:

There were some things I liked about this book and some I didn't. It's well written and Todd is a very relatable character - who hasn't at one time or another felt as if they didn't fit in, as if they didn't belong? Everyone has been the outsider at one time or another and so the reader is instantly engaged on an emotional level.

What wasn't so good was that this book seemed very much aimed at the American market. There was quite a bit of focus on Roller Derby, and after reading the book, I am still not entirely sure what that sport is about. Something to do with roller skating. Is it a race? A fight on roller skates? There were other Americanisms that I was just lost with. At the beginning, the reader doesn't know Todd's age, just that he was in a certain grade. Second grade, third grade, I've heard of them, yes, we do get American programmes etc. here in the UK, but I couldn't relate that to the ages involved. Later on, we get the ages of the characters, which was a welcome relief.

This is not an escapist book, there are some things in here that I read to get away from, not to read about and some of it was very emotional for me. There were times I had to stop reading and go back when I was in a better frame of mind. Bullying, abuse and just how alone Todd felt growing up really got to me.

I don't know if the author intended it that way, but there were a few sections of anti-women bias, which I didn't care for at all. There were also sections where the narrative was interrupted by the author writing of things today and it upset the flow of the storyline somehwat.

It takes courage to write an autobiography and I applaud the author for letting the reader into his world for a while. It is not an easy read by any means, but it is very poignant and thought-provoking.

Book Review: Dead Secret by Richard Milton

Dead Secret
by Richard Milton
Mystery/Thriller with paranormal/supernatural elements
Amazon US | UK
3.5 Stars
Review copy supplied by author


Blurb:

"It was obvious from the day he was born that the Gabriel boy took after his mother in every way. He would be a marked man from birth to death . . ."

Investigative journalist Tony Gabriel inherits a bizarre mystery when he is left the research papers and books of a long-dead Cambridge historian - and a human skull. With no clue to the meaning of this mysterious legacy, Tony puts his years as a reporter to use to investigate who he really is - and is stunned by what he uncovers.

"Suddenly, all the rules of his life seemed to have been broken at once."

Tony's investigations lead him to The Chadwick Foundation - a wealthy and secretive institution whose beliefs in the paranormal both repel and attract him. Are they just rich, powerful people playing an elaborate game, or have they truly gained paranormal powers to penetrate the mystery of the future?

Eve Canning is the keeper of The Foundation's secrets, a powerful and enigmatic woman whose regal beauty turns Tony’s search for the truth into a very personal quest - and his life and beliefs upside down.

Review:

Dr. Tony Gabriel is a science writer for a magazine called Insight and most of the time he works on exposes of fraudulent cases of psychics, mediums and fortune-tellers. As a scientist, Tony doesn't believe there is any evidence to support paranormal activity.

After his mother’s death, however, Tony soon comes to doubt that. For there are people out there who seem to know things about him, that even Tony doesn't know. How do they know all these things? Is any of it real, or is Tony just being led up the garden path?

His mother was involved in something called the Chadwick Foundation and after her death, Tony discovers all these papers and something even stranger: a human skull. What was his mother involved in? And why didn't he know any of it before?

The book is well written and keeps up the pace. The action takes place in three time lines, the present day, 1700s France and after World War II and they all blended together well. Tony is a likeable and engaging character and the reader feels they are on the quest with Tony as he tries to figure everything out.

We have everything from palm-reading, I Ching, physiognomy, numerology and people who will pay millions to find out if any of them are true, including governments and the rich elite. But Tony's investigations haven't gone unnoticed and someone doesn't want him to find the truth, someone prepared to kill to keep their secrets.

Eve was a mysterious Femme Fatale, but I just didn't feel any chemistry between her and Tony at all, but I can't put my finger on why. They had sex, but they may as well have been sitting down to tea and eating sandwiches. I just didn't feel their attraction to each other at all.

I enjoyed the book, it was an interesting tale with lots of twists and turns that would keep any mystery fan happy, but I'm afraid the ending let it down.

The rest of the book was so exciting, leading up to something and then with the ending - it just sort of ambled along and finished. But it didn't feel finished. I was surprised when I turned the next page and the book didn't continue. It ended with a whimper rather than a bang and it left me disappointed at the end.

Book Review: A Weaver's Web by Chris Pearce

A Weaver's Web
by Chris Pearce
Historical Fiction/Saga
3.5 Stars

Blurb:

Handloom weaver Henry Wakefield, his wife Sarah and their five children live in abject poverty in the Manchester area of the UK in the early 19th century at the time of the Industrial Revolution. Henry hates the new factories and won’t let his family work in them. He clashes with Sarah, a factory agent, a local priest and reformers, and son Albert runs away. The family are evicted and move to Manchester but are even worse off, living in a cellar in a terrace and have another little mouth to feed.

Henry’s love of money overrides his hatred of factories and he starts one of his own, but it is beset with problems. The Wakefields eventually become quite wealthy, but Henry holds the purse strings and this has a devastating effect on the family. Albert is caught stealing and is transported to New South Wales. Her baby’s death, Albert’s unknown fate and society parties become too much for Sarah, who hears voices and is taken to the lunatic asylum. Son Benjamin faces eviction from the family home for having a baby with an orphan girl too soon after their marriage.

Family members, including Sarah who has got out of the asylum and Albert who has returned to England unbeknown to Henry, have had enough and seek revenge.

Review:

Henry Wakefield is a handloom weaver around the time of the Industrial Revolution. He hates the new emerging factories, becuase he knows they will soon put him and other handweavers out of a job and he forbids his family from working in them, even though they would earn better money.

His long-suffering wife Sarah, tries to get him to see reason, but Henry is admanat - none of his family are to set foot in a factory. Their eldest son Albert runs away, fed up of having little money and eating even less. He finds work in Manchester as apprentice to a shoemaker, but is then kidnapped by factory agents who thinks he's an orphan. They make him work in a factory with other orphans, chained and fettered so they can't run away.

Evicted from their cottage, the Wakefields move to Manchester, but things only go from bad to worse.

I wanted to like this story more than I did. It's well written, well researched and you get a feel for the time and place, but it is just so depressing.

Misery upon misery just seemd to be heaped on the family - evicted from their home, then living a cellar which floods when it rains. Eking out meagre meals with what little money they have. Their son kidnapped and forced to work in a factory for pittance pay. Albert getting caught stealing and transported, Sarah ending up in an insane asylum. When Sarah gets pregnant again, instead of joy, Henry worries it's only going to be another mouth to feed and Sarah won't be able to work for a while. I don't know how Sarah put up with him.

Henry is one of the most dislikable characters I've ever read. He's quite happy to drink, gamble and whore his money away. One whore robbed him and he pretended he just lost the money in a puddle when he was drunk. He even sleeps in a chair with his trousers on, so Sarah won't find out how much money he actually has or lost at cards! I loathed him, I thought that might be too strong a word, but no. I'm trying to think of anything that might redeem him, but no, I can't think of a thing. He is just awful to his family and ends up being the worst sort of factory owner, even after he knew what his sons had gone through in those horrible places.

If you're looking for a fluffy, light-hearted read, this is not the book for you. But if you're after an historical story with a bit of revenge thrown in, then give this one a try.

Book Review: Pirates of the Poesasian by Chris Turner

Pirates of the Poesasian
by Chris Turner
Fantasy/Adventure
3.5 Stars

Blurb:

Hero? Anti-hero? Hard to say in this controversial tale. A cocksure rogue outlawed from his home fishing village, falls into the hands of ruthless pirates who would spill their friends’ blood over a cup of arrack. They scour the Poesasian coast looking for fresh plunder, possibly recruits to their foul band. The trickster must use every ounce of ingenuity to survive amidst these brigands, and along the way he gains allies—sorry rogues like himself—who in the course of finding their own path, help save his skin and unwittingly fight hand-in-hand in one of the fiercest ship-to-ship battles the Poesasian has ever seen!

Review:

This book was difficult for me to get into. While well-written with interesting characters and a sound plot, the style of writing did not appeal to me. The language was a bit too flowery, the prose a bit too purple for my taste. I much prefer simpler, plainer language. This book would have seemed quite at home in an English Literature class to be studied and dissected, but as something to read for enjoyment's sake, it fell flat for me. This is just a personal opinion, lots of people do enjoy that style of writing.

There is adventure on the high seas, murder, magic and mayhem. The world building is good, from the squalor of seaside inns to life aboard ship amongst the pirates. Baus becomes more of a likeable character the further into the book we go, at first I wasn't too sure about him.

Give it a go if you enjoy a good adventure tale with pirates and rogues galore.

Book Review: Salem VI: Rebecca's Rising

Review copy supplied by authors' representative.
Salem VI: Rebecca's Rising
by Jack Heath and John Thompson
Horror/Supernatural
Pressque Publishing, LLC
3.5 Stars

Blurb:

Having stepped off the fast track of primetime network television news, John Andrews has chosen a quieter life as editor of Salem News, a small paper in a quiet New England town. Life is perfect until Andrews’ wife is killed in a tragic accident. After several years of trying to numb the pain with alcohol, Andrews is visited by the spirit of a long dead ancestor who opens a door to a shocking family history. After he experiences a surreal glimpse into the past, Andrews must confront the question of whether he is losing his mind or whether for several hundred years his ancestors have been engaged in a secret battle with a coven that worships Satan. Fueled by the need to understand whether his wife's death was really an accident or something far more sinister, Andrews, along with his beautiful assistant editor, risk everything to discover a truth so horrifying it threatens to destroy everything and everyone he knows and loves.

Review:

I've always been fascinated by the Salem witch trials after seeing The Crucible, so it wasn't hard to agree to review this one. Rather than go down the route of an action-packed conspiracy thriller, Jack Heath and John Thompson have gone the route of a more character-driven story and as such it stands out much more than just another religious/conspiracy thriller. What made a God-fearing Puritan community turn against their own?

John Andrews escaped a fire at his college dorm, due to hearing the voice of a woman in his head urging him to wake up. Andrews didn't know it, but the fire was the first of many attempts on his life. He is descended from Rebecca Nurse, one of the accused witches hanged at Salem, and also from Ann Putman, one of Rebecca's accusers.

There is a portrait of Rebecca Nurse in the house he inherited from his aunt, and as part of the will, he must agree never to part with it or sell it. John has never liked it, he always thought Rebecca looked very disapproving.

Four years after his wife's death, coming up to Halloween there have been a spate of runaways going missing. John keeps hearing a woman's voice in his head again, and it helps him save a baby. He hears screams coming from a shop called "Wicca Wonders", but no one else seems to hear it. Is he going mad or is something much more sinister going on?

The authors have created a sympathetic character in John Andrews and you are rooting for him as the story unfolds. However, what disappointed me was that we as readers know a lot about the who, where and why, long before John and Amy, his editor figure it out. It would have been more suspenseful for the readers to find out who the 'baddies' are at the same time as John and Amy. There was one of them who was a surprise near the end of the book, so that part was good.

Amy and John share some romance, but it fell flat for me, I didn't get any spark between them at all. The story would have worked just as well if they were investigating things as colleagues without the romance. Contrary to popular belief, some women will read books even if there is no romance in it.

I couldn't tell it was written by two different authors, the scenes blended so well. It's fast-paced and engaging with interesting characters and a different, imaginative, take on the Salem Witch trials.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby

Book Review: Trinity by Kristin Dearborn

ARC from Netgalley courtesy of the publisher

Trinity
by Kristin Dearborn
Dark Fuse
Sci-Fi/Horror
3.5 Stars

Blurb:

Fresh out of jail and hopeful his troubles are behind him, Valentine Slade returns to his hometown of Lott, New Mexico. But for Val, his troubles are just beginning. His girlfriend’s State Trooper brother comes after him with a shotgun, his mother Caroline has been diagnosed with a mysterious form of terminal cancer, and a mutilated corpse is found on the road outside his house.

And there’s something more…something…unnatural out in the desert…something that is not human watches and waits, luring Val deeper and deeper into a terrifying mystery that may very well be tied to otherworldly intelligence…and tied to Val himself. To find the truth Val must delve into nightmares he’d rather forget, horrors he’d rather not know, and into places where there is nowhere to hide.

We are not alone. There is no escape from the truth. No escape from…TRINITY.

Review:

In some parts reminiscent of The X-Files and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Trinity has a good sci-fi base at its core. While the storyline itself doesn't add anything new to the genre - grey, black-eyed aliens who abduct humans for experimentation, another alien race who use humans as host bodies and an alien monster out in the desert, what makes this book stand out is the characterisation.

An ex-convict might have seemed a strange choice for the 'hero' of a novel, and I did wonder whether he was going to be sympathetic and whether I could relate to him. The truth is, I did. Val was a victim of circumstance more than anything, with an alcoholic mother who the all the town folk thought was crazy with her claims of multiple alien abductions, and an unknown father, he's had a hard life.

He was in jail because he had sex with his then underage girlfriend. I don't know what age the woman in question was, so I can't judge on that score. It would make a difference if she was thirteen say, or seventeen. I don't know, it wasn't referenced in the book. From a country where the age of consent is sixteen, I do find it strange to see a seventeen year old as underage. We're also allowed to drink alcohol at eighteen, so the over twenty-one rule seems way out there as well. But, anyway, you get the impression that his jail sentence was rather harsh, although I suppose it would depend on where you live and your own cultural stance on such things.

It's when he gets out of jail that the trouble really starts for Val. He hears a strange humming in his head, he sleepwalks out to the desert and wakes up covered in blood, with no idea how it got there. When the mutilated corpses turn up, the reader and Val are both left wondering if he had something to do with these strange murders. His girlfriend Kate sticks by him, but she suspects him as well and wants both of them to leave and go to Santa Fe. Val doesn't want to leave his ill mother and they both know they won't be going anywhere until she dies. Val's guilt at wanting to leave and knowing his duty to stay is handled very well and you never felt that he was just being an awful person, he was just torn in both directions by the two women in his life - his mother and girlfriend.

The book is fast-paced and quite a page-turner, you need to keep reading to see what happens next. I was a bit confused at first when I got to a section that had the header "Extract from Trinity" and I thought to myself, "Isn't the book I'm reading called Trinity?" Yes, it was, but it has sections from another book called "Trinity" within it. I think I would have called the book within the book something else, not the same title as the one being read. Some scenes are a little bit gory, so not for the faint of heart.

Ms. Dearborn delves deep into the heart of her characters, even the alien ones, and it is this, along with the excellent prose, that makes it more than just another tale of contact.

If you're a fan of traditional sci-fi, with a little bit of horror thrown in, then give this one a go.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby.

Book Review: The Caregiver by Astrid Cruz

Review copy supplied by author
The Caregiver
by Astrid Cruz
Book 1 of the Caregiver Series
Thriller/Crime/Romance
3.5 stars
ebook available now from amazon and smashwords

Blurb:

Scarlett Lang always dreamt of becoming an Interpol agent. When her hard work pays off and she's given the chance to work as an undercover agent with London's biggest drug lord, Armand Sayer, she can't help being ecstatic about it.

She's employed by Armand's sister (to aid in his recovery from a gun attack) as both caregiver and bodyguard. Her resourcefulness in both areas helps her win much more than Armand's trust, to the dismay of both his right-hand man and her ex-boyfriend / colleague.

As she makes her way into the business she swore to help tear down, she's faced with the dilemma of choosing between being loyal to her profession or her heart. And we all know it can't be both.

Review:

I'm in two minds about this book. On the one hand you have an interesting story and fascinating characters that you want to find more about but on the other some of the facts just don't sit right. From what I could discover, Interpol doesn't send undercover agents around the world, they work with the police in each country, it's the country's own police/detectives/agents who would handle arrests etc. and work undercover.

This book is set in the UK, but that was hard to discern. The names didn't sound very English and there were a lot of guns about, even with a story about drug dealers. Guns just don't play that big a part in the UK, even with criminals. More knife crimes would be more realistic in the book than guns. Then, when Scarlett and Armand went to a restaurant in London, the keys were handed to a valet. I have never seen anywhere in the UK with valet parking. Not to say it doesn't exist, I've just never seen it. Maybe I need to go to some better restaurants ;) It seems the author wanted to set the book in the UK, but a lot of it seemed very American to me. Not that that was a bad thing, it just jars a bit when you were expecting something more English-ey.

I did like the book and I loved Scarlett as a tough, no-nonsense woman. Too often in crime thrillers the woman is just there as decoration, not so here. Scarlett holds her own. Armand, I'm not so sure of. The romance between them seemed to happen suddenly, without any hint of foreshadowing. I think it might have worked better with Armand as Scarlett's mentor rather than lover. Personally I just didn't get the romance between them at all. But maybe that's just me, I was never one to fall for the 'bad boy' mentality.

It is a well paced and plotted book and is a fast read, but a bit of a let down with the cliffhanger ending. Even if it's part of a series, I like books to have a good, solid ending. It's good, but could have been so much better with a bit more research.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby.

Book Review: The Devil Will Come by Glenn Cooper

The Devil Will Come
by Glenn Cooper
Conspiracy/Thriller
Arrow Books
3.5 Stars
Reviewer Purchased copy.

Blurb:

A terrifying secret.A shocking discovery has been made deep within Rome's ancient catacombs. One that the Vatican is determined must never be made public – for the sake of all mankind.

A deadly conspiracy.But there are others who want to keep the truth hidden for far more sinister reasons, others who believe that not only are the church and the faith of a billion at threat, but life as we know it is about to be destroyed – for ever. And only one woman – a young Italian nun – can save us...

The nightmare is about to begin...


Review:

I've read and enjoyed Glenn Cooper's other books and am eagerly awaiting the next book in the Library Trilogy. As with his other novels, the book is fast-paced, filled with interesting characters and divides the narrative between different timelines, in this one that is ancient Rome, present day Rome and Elizabethan England.

The modern day story deals with the death of the pope and the election of a new one as well as the discovery of skeletons in the catacombs of men, women and children who all seemed to suffer some terrible fate. They all had one thing in common besides the manner of their death - they all had tails. Who were they? Why were they killed and are their descendants still around today? And what has the prophecy of Malachy, twelfth century Irish saint got to do with it all?

I don't mind a book changing timelines but with this one the parts on ancient Rome were my least favourite and the weakest in the book. They didn't seem to be part of a novel, but more of a history report and that let it down for me. There were lots of historical facts, but we were told them, not shown them. I couldn't get to grips with the characters in that part, they were just names on a page to me.

The parts on Elizabethan England were my favourites, there we got more inside the heads of the characters, especially the playwright, Christopher Marlowe. It was interesting having a nun, Elisabetta, as the lead character in the modern day parts and I really liked her. She is sympathetic without becoming a token female in distress who has to be saved, here it's Elisabetta doing the saving.

An interesting read let down a bit by the execution of the parts in ancient Rome.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby

Book Review: A Master's Love by Marty Rayne

A Master's Love
by Marty Rayne
M/M Romance, Erotic, BDSM
Loose-Id
amazon
Reviewer's purchased copy.

3.5 Stars

Blurb:
Nate Jacobs has his health, a roof over his head, food in his stomach, and a best friend to keep him grounded. What more does a Dominant need? That's what he always thought until Kyle Turner knocked on his door.

In a slump since his last break up, Kyle Turner decides to try something different. Angel's Heart. A House of Dominants. Kyle has no idea what to expect, but he definitely gets more than he bargained for when he puts himself at Nate's mercy. Literally.

Irresistible attraction draws Kyle deeper and deeper into Nate's world of domination and submission. But in order to find love, the Master will have to surrender and allow his submissive's love to dominate him.


Review:
    A Master's Love tells the story of Kyle and Nate. Kyle, who thinks there is something missing in life, decides to go to the fetish parlour, Angel's Heart, in order to see if he might be a submissive. Nate is the handsome Dominant who opens the door for their first session and the story continues from there. More could have been made of this. Why did Kyle think he was submissive? Had he seen something somewhere? Read about it and thought it might be for him? The reader never knows.

They are both attracted to each other from the moment they meet, which seemed a bit too sudden for me, as they don't really know anything much about each other yet, and neither do the readers.

There is sexual tension between the two heroes which sizzles throughout. Nate has never fallen for a client before and it takes all his willpower to keep from touching Nate, which is not really allowed during their sessions. The sex scenes are well written, as is the whole book, Ms. Rayne has a way with words but I felt there was something lacking in the character development. It might have been because it's a short book, and if longer, those issues may well have been addressed. There's also a bit of telling, rather than showing. We're told in the narrative about Nate's past, rather than have it revealed as the story goes along.

I did like both Nate and Kyle as characters and you root for them to get their happy ending. If you're a bit wary about reading something with BDSM in it, this one is fairly light on that aspect. There are some toys, some bondage and some Dominant/submissive scenes (Kyle has to obey orders such as not touching himself etc.)

All in all it was a good book. although it had a few problems, they didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the book. I will certainly give other books by this author a go.
Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of The Prince's Guard.