Review: Riding the line between sweet romance and intense erotica
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 14, 2013
I've been looking forward to reading and reviewing this book for months now, and I hate that I had to keep pushing back my review, especially after hearing so many of you talk about it in such a tantalizing way.  And even though I think I may not have loved it in the way that some of you did, I can't deny that it was a seriously sexy piece of story that I had to put down a few times just to take a breather.It's a pretty simple and embarrassing premise that leads to oh so much of something more.  Adam's computer is pretty crappy and he only has twenty minutes to log onto the university's server online and turn in his paper.  But his computer is once again crapping out on him.  So, in order not to be marked down for his tardiness, he sneaks onto his roommate's computer to send it in.  But when he starts to shut down and erase all his work with a series of quick closing clicks before his roommate is due back to their room he stumbles upon something he never would have expected from his supposedly straight jock roommate -- a gay porn folder full of guys in leather and an array of erotica BDSM regalia.Then the worst comes.  Adam's roommate Josh opens the door before Adam can get his hand out of his pants -- because he was obviously turned on and out of his mind -- leading to a rather embarrassing situation for Adam.  But Josh surprises him.  They don't know each other very well, even though they've shared the same room for six months of their freshman year.  Adam took one look at all of Josh's sports gear and assumed he was the same kind of jock who used to shove him in lockers in high school.  College is supposed to be a chance to get away from all of that, to start over.  He never knew that not only was Josh gay and apparently in the closet, but that they do have some things in common after all, because Adam is seriously turned on by the pictures of submissive men, skinny like him, tied up and dominated.What might tear their relationship apart forever very soon crosses a line to bring them together.  Instead of accusing Adam of violating his privacy, Josh starts to open up and ask Adam all sorts of naughty questions about what he likes in the pictures.This story is rather short and had a different sort of dynamic than what we usually read, especially with characters this young.  This could easy be in the New Adult set, but with so much sexual debauchery between the two, for pretty much the whole book, it really is very firmly an erotic novel, but also a romance.  The dynamic is at once explicitly sexual, frank almost and at times for me riding the edge of uncomfortable.  Told from Adam's point of view, he quickly learns that what he wants is not just to be dominated by Josh, but also to be debased.  And it isn't the actions themselves that provide the intensity between them but their discussions.  They talk out almost every scene before and during and they're both very open to the other about what they like and want, but at the same time the newness of it all is uncomfortable.  For most of the story they're working around each other, feeling out their limits and their feelings about one another, and the frank openness with which they go about doing that was at times, almost a little embarrassing for me to read, lol.On the other hand, I really liked the smooth transition between their frank business of sex setup and the intimacy that grows between them to a real relationship.  In many ways, this is a very sweet story, because both of them are so refreshingly new to not only BDSM but also to sex that their scenes ride a line between extremely explicit and endearing.  I admit that it did take me about half the story to really understand and get in the groove, but after that the story was cute.This is definitely something that BDSM readers will like, but it makes it difficult for me to recommend in a way.  It's such a cute romance on the one hand, but the BDSM in other parts is intense.  It isn't intense in a play sort of way.  There aren't a lot of strange toys or play that crosses boundaries, but Adam finds that he very much likes the debasement aspect of submitting, to be embarrassed and made to feel dirty, and that might be a line for some readers.  Honestly, with so many people liking this one already (and it's a pretty cheap price), I'd say go for it and try it if you haven't yet and at least see what you think of it ;)