I submitted a prompt to the 2013 Love Has No Boundaries event on the M/M Romance group and it was claimed by Alicia Nordwell. Thanks Alicia!

The prompt and story, which is titled Needing You, can be found here:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1398804-needing-you-by-alicia-nordwell-7-6-d...




Summary:

Cason is a man that is drawn to helping people, not only for his job, but even in his off hour recreation. He’s a counselor, a talented woodworker and a Dom. Cason has a special ability to sense what a person needs in order to fulfill their full potential in what they seek. It makes him a great counselor and a sought after Dom, only lately Cason has become restless. Helping the subs find their bliss is no longer satisfying. After Cason guides the subs to finding what they need, they inevitably leave Cason alone once again. However, there is one sub who visits the bar he frequents that Cason can’t take his eyes off of. A sub that he knows desperately needs help, but somehow Cason can’t ‘sense’ what Vince needs. Cason can’t read Vince and he feels helpless because he feels attracted to Vince yet frustrated because he doesn’t know how to help him and he fears that even if he helps Vince, Vince will leave him like all the others and Cason knows he won’t be able to handle that.

Vince is one messed up sub. His ex-boyfriend and subsequent self-labeled Doms, have done a number on him, making him fearful of his desires and afraid of physical pain. He also has a hard time trusting anyone.



Review:

What can I say except I loved this story! Alicia took my prompt and threw in some unexpected twists dealing with paranormal abilities and Mythology which I happen to love. I didn’t feel the mythology overwhelmed the story and merely enhanced and explained why Cason was the way he was. It also made me wonder about his family history and how the mythology affected them. It also made me think that somehow the Fates had stepped in so that Cason couldn’t see Vince’s needs and desires. Without giving too much away, Cason now had to deal with Vince like normal people who stumble and make mistakes along with misunderstandings as we get to know someone. Without the use of Cason’s ability around Vince, discovering all there was about Vince was new and surprising. Anyway, I would have loved to find out about Cason’s family history since it was a tempting tease to what little we were shown.

I not only loved Cason and Vince's characters but I also loved Brandon, Cason’s friend who was a Dom and Brandon’s bratty sub Page, who was Vince’s roommate. They would be a fun couple to learn more about if Alicia ever felt like writing more to this story *wink.* I also enjoyed Vince’s friends and how they were protective of Vince even after the way he had behaved toward them.

This wasn’t an instant love story but a love that grew over time and I really liked that. And while their love grew Cason and Vince were having some very hot sex, yum. Cason retaught Vince that BDSM didn’t necessarily mean pain without the ability to say no, and that Vince needn’t be ashamed of his kinks and desires. That being said, Alicia did a great job of showing the readers the BDSM scene and some scenarios between Cason and Vince.

There was one particular scene that Alicia wrote that gave me a great visual and it sticks out in my mind every time I think about the story.

“You don’t know shit!”

Cason froze, then turned around slowly. Vince was standing in the entry to the dining room. His hands were clenched into fists against his thighs, thumping against his legs as he glared at Cason.

Somehow the image of Vince standing in the entry thumping his legs with his fists stands out to me and really conveys Vince’s anger.

Finally, I rate a story based on a prompt by how well the author fulfilled the wishes of the requestor. Another factor is if the author added anything to the story that made it unique or unexpected. And finally, are the usual factors that I use when reviewing a story. Alicia accomplished all of that. And since it’s my prompt she fulfilled, it’s much easier for me to critique what I find enjoyable or not. I give this story 5 Stars.

Thanks, Alicia for selecting my prompt!







( )

It's a free book and the author put her time and effort into fulfilling someone's fantasy. For that reason (and that reason alone) I am not going to pick it apart.
2 stars.


For those looking for hot BDSM scenes:
BDSM this is not! Or rather so mild I almost missed it. ( )

This story is little bit this and that. Very mild D/s. 2.75 stars. ( )