Review: Fantastic, steamy opposites attract tale!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 29, 2013
A big "wow" for this exceptional story of two men finding themselves as a result of finding each other. I loved this story, so much that I couldn't stop to write a review, I simply had to read the sequel right away. This is BDSM the way I prefer it, capturing the emotional content of the moment even more than the description of the rough play; expressing the overwhelming need to go there, despite not quite understanding the why of it all.Benedict Lozier has just been dumped by his partner of five years, when he learns that his father has died, leaving him part owner in a gay bar. Ben, an accountant, is slightly bewildered by both his lover's reason for leaving-apparently he is boring?-and the surprise inheritance from a man he last saw when he was a toddler. Deciding to check out his father's gift, he finds the bar, The Square Peg, is a bit run down, and the surly owner, an attractive, tough Brit by the name Shane Brant, is less than welcoming. Surprised at the level of hostility Shane tosses his way, Ben tries to find a way to soothe the man's prickly feathers, but Shane seems to have a permanent chip on his shoulder and so Ben retreats to the solidity of what he knows, numbers. Using logic as his weapon, he points out solid reasons as to why the bar is losing money, and how his presence and his inherited insurance funds could improve matters, but his efforts only escalate the hostility. The barbs hurled between the two men attain a cold methodical rhythm with stimulating undercurrents that result in Ben making a firm decision. Unlike his father who was a silent partner, he will be an active partner in The Square Peg. It just might be the "something" he needs to fulfill a hole in his life that he's only just come to realize accounting isn't filling. Despite Shane's animosity or perhaps because of it, he's found a new sense of purpose and is determined to shoulder his part of the responsibility and turn the gay bar around. Dealing with Shane every day is bound to be a challenge, but rising to a challenge is the opposite of boring isn't it?Shane Brant greets his new partner with a sneer for a reason; the pretty little accountant is the last person he's interested in partnering with. His last partner was silent and allowed him to make The Square Peg into the bar it is today. Sure it's running in the red, but every piece of the bar, every employee, was handpicked by him. The bar is all he has, it's his baby, and no two-bit accountant is going to come in and try to make it into some fancy-nancy upscale bar. Having had a bit of ill luck since arriving in America, chasing a lover who disappeared from his life shortly thereafter, The Square Peg is his home, an extension of himself and is the only thing he can count on. Doing his best to alienate Ben, Shane is surprised when the accountant digs in his heels and overwhelms his protests, not running from him, as most have at his surly disposition, but turning the tables on him with a gentle, sure pressure that he's aghast to find turns him on.I always feel less than effective when writing a review for a story that stirred both my libido and my imagination into a frenzy of such a high caliber. I'm just going to say it like it is, this is a very hot story. All the bells ands whistles are in the right place in the correct order to make this BMSD male/male romance of the best kind. Again, it isn't so much the description of the acts, you won't find, dungeons, chains and whips, nor your typical Master/sub relationship. This is a clash of wills, a revealing of the underpinnings of a lust/love, which the characters themselves are hard-pressed to understand. All in all it is a story about two men struggling to singlehandedly fill their own empty places, finding out that each holds the piece necessary to the other's void. It is a story of taking chances and trusting, that despite the odds, perhaps a square peg does fit a round hole, best.In my opinion, what makes the story so effective is the tremendous building of the emotional and mental makeup of the two highly individual, strong-willed leads. Both characters are very believable and lust worthy, and as such, I loved experiencing the subtle, underplayed nuances of their pseudo physicality. Furthermore, great attention was spent building a realistic environment in which the events play out and the supporting players were brilliant. Such was the reason for my mad rush to read the sequel 'The Broken Triangle'.Thank you, Jane Davitt and Alexa Snow, for this beautiful addition to the BDMS genre. Ben and Shane are absolutely amazing! "Raw, Sensual, Potent, Heat"