Helpful Score: 1
Paramedic Aaron is impressed and in lust when he first meets do-gooder Joey at an accident scene but when he learns that Joey works for the Florida Department of Children's Services, his own bad experiences with the agency are almost enough to cool his ardor. But then again, with an ass like that...
I went into this novel expecting to be underwhelmed. The series has gotten rave reviews but when I read the first installment Diving in Deep I was unimpressed. The characters seemed a bit plastic and one-dimensional. The sex scenes were hot but too similar and repetitive. And I was left with the overall impression that the book had too much sex and not enough plot and character development.
This time around was a completely different experience. While the characters are more macho than those I'm used to and less in touch with their feelings, they seemed to be more complete people with back-stories and they possessed distinctive, well thought out, well motivated points of view.
Even the way that we get to know them in snippets is organically motivated by the way that they have a sometime adversarial, often prickly developing relationship. Even the sex scenes are well integrated since the couple's relationship begins as a sexual tryst and the characters are struggling to get to know one another right along with us the readers.
When one adds to that mix with characters that are genuinely likable and less perfect this time around, it works. Plus the sex scenes are hot and inventive. I'd never thought of a chess clock as a sex toy but now... Plus there is the brilliant use of a carnival style high-striker strongman game with a sexually suggestive twist.
Finally there is a struggle for dominance in the relationship that is all too rare in m/m fiction. Their discussions about "Topping from beneath." rang true in a way that I've often felt is missing in M/M romance.
By all means, check this one out.
I went into this novel expecting to be underwhelmed. The series has gotten rave reviews but when I read the first installment Diving in Deep I was unimpressed. The characters seemed a bit plastic and one-dimensional. The sex scenes were hot but too similar and repetitive. And I was left with the overall impression that the book had too much sex and not enough plot and character development.
This time around was a completely different experience. While the characters are more macho than those I'm used to and less in touch with their feelings, they seemed to be more complete people with back-stories and they possessed distinctive, well thought out, well motivated points of view.
Even the way that we get to know them in snippets is organically motivated by the way that they have a sometime adversarial, often prickly developing relationship. Even the sex scenes are well integrated since the couple's relationship begins as a sexual tryst and the characters are struggling to get to know one another right along with us the readers.
When one adds to that mix with characters that are genuinely likable and less perfect this time around, it works. Plus the sex scenes are hot and inventive. I'd never thought of a chess clock as a sex toy but now... Plus there is the brilliant use of a carnival style high-striker strongman game with a sexually suggestive twist.
Finally there is a struggle for dominance in the relationship that is all too rare in m/m fiction. Their discussions about "Topping from beneath." rang true in a way that I've often felt is missing in M/M romance.
By all means, check this one out.
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