A really great book! The characters are wonderful, the story is great, there's a lot of great humor, and I just love all of it. ( )

I loved this book. In the squirrel cage of crazy that was Lane's life, I'm amazed that he is healing and trusting. This story is filled with good characters but it is totally emotionally driven. Right when I thought that Lane was going to move forward the spectre of Acton knocks him down. I enjoyed the slow burn romance in the story. It took Dereck a long time to even get past the Moredock name as he had lost money in the ponzi scheme even though Lane had nothing to do with it. Keep in mind as a reader that this story is BDSM lite at best and the puppy play was not used to humiliate as it normally is but to build trust. I was touched at the way that Lane was able to handle the animals when he had so few people skills. The ending was beautifully written and I can't wait to get into book two. A highly recommended emotional story. ( )

I had lots of thoughts about this story. but I got busy and forgot the write them down. I'm not one of those people who can think about a story and then write a brilliant review.

also ... I don't really like bdsm books. not that I don't like bdsm but more the way how things are portrayed. and this story reinforced those feelings.

normally I would stop reading... but I liked the characters (except for Brin)! and I do remember thinking that I liked the story well enough but wouldn't rate it very high. but then I thought if a story is capable the make me keep reading even though my hangups say don't. .. well that says something. ( )

I don't know why I'm surprised, but what a read this turned out to be! I was a bit apprehensive because of the "puppy play" warning, as that is one kind of kink I'm not really into. I'm not into humiliation and to me it pushes (or crosses) the boundary into that territory. But...in this case it didn't feel humiliating or demeaning. It wasn't glossed over, but it also was never made the main focus of the story at any time either. So it all worked for me lol.

Lane is a beautiful, shy creature. A boy nearly broken by his parent's betrayal and abandonment and the harassment of the police and media.

Derek is a man who has been looking for that special something (or someone) in his life. He's a Dom looking for a sub, who will fit "just right". He hasn't had much success up to now. And because of the money issue, the instant attraction he feels towards Lane is more than unwelcome. But when circumstances occur that bring them together, they find their way through the maze of problems that's laid out for them.

The slow build of the relationship, no glossing over issues and working together, is all beautifully described and laid out in this story. I hope these authors come together more often if this is what they create! ( )

Contemporary BDSM-themed m/m romance following twenty-year-old Lane Moredock, who is under the suspicion of the FBI for involvement in an investment fraud scheme his parents pulled off, and Derek Fields, a photographer in his mid-thirties who lost a small nest-egg in that fraud. The strength of this story is absolutely the character development. Lane and Derek (and the secondary characters) feel perfectly real within a few lines and just continue to grow and reveal themselves more fully as the story goes on. While we do get both Lane's and Derek's points of view, most of the romance beats are Lane's (and it works, somehow). Big old trigger warning for sexual and psychological abuse, which Lane spends most of the book learning how to stop reliving and move on from. It's handled pretty well (though some time with a kink-aware therapist probably wouldn't go amiss, and that never happens), but it is pervasive throughout the story, so if that is a nope for you, steer clear of this one. ( )