2.5 stars
Deep topics somewhat superficially approached.

January 7, 2016
Second attempt.


October, 2013 - DNF ( )

It's honestly no wonder that this author is an auto-buy for me.

This is another great addition to this series. I'm glad that Frank got his story told as well. ( )

While the setting, some of the characters, and part of the theme are the same in this fifth volume as in the first four books, the story has a somewhat different overall feel. Yes, there is BDSM and very hot bedroom activity, but the playroom, believe it or not, is a paintball field, and the underlying dynamic of the main couple, Frank and Stefan, is more serious. Just like the others in the first four books, Frank and Stefan develop as characters, but there is some real emotional growth here as well. I loved that!

Frank may think he's got it all sorted out, and is reasonably happy with his life, but when his newest rent boy walks in, everything changes. Not that Frank gives in easily, he has his reasons for living the life he does. Losing a lover to AIDs as well as being HIV positive himself has shaped who he is, but it is beginning to stifle him. His friends see it and worry, but there isn’t much they can do. Frank is going to have to want a change, or, at the very least, stop resisting it. The fact that his first chance at happiness comes in the form of one of his employees, which adds the rule of not fucking those working for him to the obstacles in his way, at first seems insurmountable. Frank's resistance is formidable, but, in the end, being captured is what he needs, and surrender comes easier than he thought.

Stefan is a trip and a half. He is tall, tough, yet can be incredibly gentle. He also knows he wants Frank, and goes after him without hesitation. The combination of all of that added to an understanding soul and a giving lover, and the man is truly irresistible. Stefan, too, has lost a lover to AIDS, but he isn't positive himself. He is many years younger than Frank, and even though he pretends to be Stefan, the soldier, half the time, he takes no prisoners in play or in real life. Well, actually he does, that is how he makes most of his money, but you know what I mean. It's an attitude thing, and Stefan had got that in spades.

Interestingly, the "capture and surrender" theme works on several levels. The physical is obvious, and anyone with a military kink, a prisoner fetish, or a thing for camo and being ordered around will enjoy this story for those elements alone. But the theme goes deeper than the physical, and the emotional side is not to be underestimated and works both ways. The raw emotions come through loud and clear, and if you're looking for a heartwarming, yet realistic romance between two men who honestly thought they'd never be able to love again, then this is your book. Just – be ready to be captured by the story. I think you might be surprised how much fun the surrender can be.





NOTE: This book was provided by Riptide Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
( )

While the setting, some of the characters, and part of the theme are the same in this fifth volume as in the first four books, the story has a somewhat different overall feel. Yes, there is BDSM and very hot bedroom activity, but the playroom, believe it or not, is a paintball field, and the underlying dynamic of the main couple, Frank and Stefan, is more serious. Just like the others in the first four books, Frank and Stefan develop as characters, but there is some real emotional growth here as well. I loved that!

Frank may think he's got it all sorted out, and is reasonably happy with his life, but when his newest rent boy walks in, everything changes. Not that Frank gives in easily, he has his reasons for living the life he does. Losing a lover to AIDS as well as being HIV positive himself has shaped who he is, but it is beginning to stifle him. His friends see it and worry, but there isn’t much they can do. Frank is going to have to want a change, or, at the very least, stop resisting it. The fact that his first chance at happiness comes in the form of one of his employees, which adds the rule of not f*cking those working for him to the obstacles in his way, at first seems insurmountable. Frank's resistance is formidable, but, in the end, being captured is what he needs, and surrender comes easier than he thought.

Stefan is a trip and a half. He is tall, tough, yet can be incredibly gentle. He also knows he wants Frank, and goes after him without hesitation. The combination of all of that added to an understanding soul and a giving lover, and the man is truly irresistible. Stefan, too, has lost a lover to AIDS, but he isn't positive himself. He is many years younger than Frank, and even though he pretends to be Stefan, the soldier, half the time, he takes no prisoners in play or in real life. Well, actually he does, that is how he makes most of his money, but you know what I mean. It's an attitude thing, and Stefan has got that in spades.

Interestingly, the "capture and surrender" theme works on several levels. The physical is obvious, and anyone with a military kink, a prisoner fetish, or a thing for camo and being ordered around will enjoy this story for those elements alone. But the theme goes deeper than the physical, and the emotional side is not to be underestimated and works both ways. The raw emotions come through loud and clear, and if you're looking for a heartwarming, yet realistic romance between two men who honestly thought they'd never be able to love again, then this is your book. Just – be ready to be captured by the story. I think you might be surprised how much fun the surrender can be.


NOTE: This book was provided by the authors for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )

Forty-one-year-old Frank is falling for twenty-five-year-old Stefan. The relationship is complicated by the age difference, by the fact that Frank is Stefan's employer, by the fact that Stefan is a rent-boy in Frank's establishment, by Frank's grief over the loss of his partner, and by the fact that Frank is positive. Of all these complications, the last three should be the most compelling, and while the story does spend a good deal of time on them (the last twenty pages or so, where they deal with everything, especially Frank's status, is really good), it also puts a lot of energy into the first two, which feel fairly unimportant in the face of the others. The age difference in particular seems way over emphasized, especially since Stefan is a mature twenty-five and Frank is not a particularly old forty-one. I dunno. I wanted to like this more than I did. The writing is good, the set-up fairly compelling. And there's kinky paintball, which, points for originality there. But the characters just didn't quite come alive for me. *shrug* YMMV. ( )