Review: Expected more
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 11, 2014
I received 'The Dark Collector' from the author through the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s 'Don’t Buy My Love' program for an honest review. This is told in first person through the eyes of Oliver, the erotic muse for Jeffrey Kuyper a highly talented artist that died in an accident.Oliver has been lost since the death of his lover Jeffrey. He wants to buy the last picture Jeffrey painted of Oliver, but he’s outbid by a man Oliver ends up calling “The Dark Collector.” Oliver offers to do anything for the man as long as he can have the painting. The man wants Oliver to spend the weekend with him and Oliver agrees. During this time Oliver and the man are in a D/s relationship in the bedroom and sometimes outside.If you’ve read my other reviews, then it’s pretty well known that I don’t like first person stories. I find that it’s difficult to emotionally connect with the MC and that’s what happened in this case. I couldn’t feel Oliver’s emotions. Maybe that was on purpose since Oliver was still unable to really grieve for Jeffrey’s loss. But even at the end, I still couldn’t identify with his feelings. I know that he saw himself as an object and not as Oliver and that he missed Jeffrey terribly and didn’t want to feel his feelings of loneliness, but that’s about it.The Dark Collector’s tells Oliver his name is Henry at the end of the story. Henry is a dominant man, but not sadistic. He’s kind and he seems to know what Oliver needs. He’s also been a fan of Jeffrey’s art and has wanted Oliver since he saw Oliver in Jeffrey’s art. He helps Oliver break through the emotional wall that he's had up since Jeffrey died. I feel like we are told more about Henry than Oliver.This story was very short, so we don’t get a lot of info about Oliver or Henry and only see a little about their D/s relationship. I suppose I expected more BDSM or more intense scenes because of the other reviews I read but I didn’t find the D/s in the story all that intense. I feel like something is missing, like there isn’t enough info about the characters, not enough description of action or their emotions. Everything is abbreviated, like eating an airy donut. You know you ate something, but it’s not filling. I did however like the author’s smooth writing style. The book was an easy, fast read.I was expecting a more emotionally charged BDSM story and I don’t feel that’s what I got. The Dark Collector is a decent read so it’s still worth reading. I give it 3 Stars.