Review: Fantastic Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 26, 2013
Sometimes it's better to be screwed by the system than to screw the system. Cosmo is a near expert at failing interviews. He has to take the interviews to keep his unemployment benefits but he has no desire to actually work. He's too busy focusing on his music and his band to worry about boring 9-5 jobs. He has a perfect plan to fail his latest interview by casually mentioning he's into BDSM. Cosmo is sure that'll send the guy running. What he doesn't count on is the fact that not only is Alasdair not scared, he's more than willing to show a brat like Cosmo how it's really done.Screwing the System is a delightful and slightly kinky story. Cosmo is an unrepentant loaf who has dreams of making it big in the music world. He's not too keen on working at a boring sanitation job but he's more than willing to mix it up with the sexy boss. Alasdair wants to bring some control and structure into Cosmo's life and they both want the incredibly hot sex between them. It's a bit of a battle between wills but so much fun to watch it happen. Both men are well written, each with tragedy and hardship in their backgrounds. Neither man has had it easy but they've responded to their adversity in different ways. Both Cosmo and Alasdair come to realize they can learn from the other and be better for it.The writing is top notch and truly inspired in some scenes. There is some BDSM but it's more dominance with a side of spanking/caning/flogging than any real hard core BDSM. The sexual attraction between the two men concentrates on the shifting power dynamic than anything else. Cosmo is a brat that loves to be put in his place but fights his way there while Alasdair wants to control but out of love. They have some minor misunderstandings but the two get together and want to be together so their path to a happy ending is pretty easy and drama free. If anything I'd say the final scene is almost anti-climatic. The story seems to be building up to a big confrontation that never seems to happen.The blurb mentions some big fight but that's not exactly true. Instead, the men are actually pretty mature and understanding and work out any problems. This makes for a nice change from other, more typical romance stories. I happened to like and appreciate this but it does have a bit of a let down feeling. Other than this the story glides by with few hiccups. The good writing, interesting characters, and plentiful hot sex make this an enjoyable story to read start to finish.Originally posted at Long and Short Reviews