Rating: 4.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Anthology
I have had this book in my TBR for TOO LONG! This is a five-book set that chronicles the unorthodox love story between retired Special Forces officer Sam Bradford and sexually-confused billionaire Derek Constantine.
Sam is flat broke when he meets Derek in a bar. Derek recognizes Sam’s military bearing and offers him a chance to earn $10,000. All Sam would need to do is evade capture for 48 hours on Derek’s rural property. If, however, Derek catches him, he will only earn $1000. Oh, and Sam will be required to submit to anal sex with Derek.
Sam is immediately put off. He’s not gay, and Derek protests that he isn’t gay either. It’s all about domination, in Derek’s mind. Also, Sam’s broke. He’s confident that he’ll be able to evade capture—all the training and missions he survived are testament to that, but Derek is wily. And though Sam may very well end up on the bottom, he’s not a submissive man.
Look, I can’t review these five books without revealing a few spoilers. All of these spoilers are actually part of the book’s descriptive page, however, so I don’t think it’s THAT spoilery of me. Derek does win. He captures Sam very late in their first game, but the actual experience is not what Derek wanted. He is used to the men he captures being willing to submit to him, but Sam is defiant and correct when it comes to Derek’s true nature. Throughout the rest of the books, Sam and Derek come to terms with their own sexuality, in different ways and on different timelines.
Sam begins to investigate his newly awakened desires. He interacts with out gay men and learns that the brutal “claiming” sex that he had with Derek is not the only way to interact with a partner. He sees affectionate and caring gay relationships up close and personal with these new friends. Ever in denial, Derek seeks Sam out again, this time for a team urban manhunt, which brings both men far closer together than Derek ever expected.
I really adored Sam. His fearlessness, his ingenuity. He’s a quality main character with excellent insight and a dry sense of humor. Plus, once he commits, he stays committed. His sex buddies, Eddie and Jake, are also engaging. Expect all the butchness one can handle in these reads. Eddie, the consummate bottom, is a powerful man in his own right. As the volumes go on, the sex on the page begins with dubious consent and ends with actual tenderness. I found the give and take of Derek’s growth as a gay man to be so intriguing. As Sam submits more and more to Derek’s tough brand of love, Derek rewards him with more and more public statements of their relationship. Derek seeing Sam engage with Eddie and Jake is a turning point for their relationship—no longer is Sam only a bottom, and the playful sexytimes they share opens the possibilities in Derek’s mind.
It is clear that Derek is a self-loathing, closeted gay man, something Sam exploits early in their acquaintance, but the changes wrought over the course of the books are a complete 180 for Derek. Not that Sam didn’t have a big change, because he did. He just achieved it with far less self-flagellation.
The erotic twist on “the most dangerous game” theme, here was so enjoyable and made for a very compelling read. The second one volume ended, I turned the page for more. The bonus Eddie and Jake submission story was yummy, too. Warning: if you are looking for a “safe sex” book, this is not it; expect down-and-dirty fluid exchange.
This review is part of our September Reading Challenge Month for TBR Pile Week! Leave a relevant comment below and you will be entered to win this week’s fabulous prize of a loaded iPad Mini sponsored by Dreamspinner Press, as well as our amazing grand prize sponsored by Riptide Publishing. You can get more information on our Challenge Month here, and more details on TBR Pile week here. And be sure to check out our prize post for more about the awesome prizes!
Skimmed a bit here to avoid spoilers, but I’ve seen Brad on a lot of blogs and I’m so eager to check his work out now!
I hope you do! I loved the Sam and Derek collection, and recently enjoyed his WEREWOLVES OF BROOKLYN.
Whooo! Thank you 🙂
I haven’t read anything by Brad Vance yet, but this series sounds intriguing. I also just got Werewolves of Brooklyn, so will have give him a try soon.
Thanks for the thorough and interesting review!
Honestly, there’s lots of plot I didn’t summarize–so there’s surprises ahead!
Hope you like Werewolves of Brooklyn. I loved it!
V
I have a few Brad Vance books on my TBR list, but not this one. I’m not sure the premise is for me, but it does sound pretty interesting and unusual. Thanks for the review.
It was enjoyable, but I’m finding that all Brad Vance reads are! 😉
Dig in to that TBR and see!
My first instinct after reading the words billionaire is, “No, thanks I don’t like those books, or those characters.” But then I keep reading and realize I really like the initial premise for this five-book set. As for the less than safe sex, yes I think it’s important (I hit my teens in the 80’s and was lectured about safe sex so thoroughly and often it’s hard to forget even decades later) but I’m an adult, and I can enjoy it if the characters don’t always play it safe, because it is fiction and no real live person was put in harms way before, during or after the completion of the story ;-P
I also grew up in the Safe Sex/ Just Say No era and it kinda throws me when I read bareback sex–even in erotica! I know it’s really off-putting for some readers, so I tend to mention when it happens….
Brad Vance is not new for me. I read Apollo’s Curse and really loved it. That’s why I took the chance of getting the first instalment of Sam and Derek when it was free. It blew my mind because it was completely different from the Brad Vance of Apollo’s Curse. But I found it really enticing and intriguing. And both Sam and Derek are interesting characters as well. Your review has convinced me to continue reading the books. I really want to know where these two are going. Thank you for your review, Veronica.
I hope you enjoy the journey! I was skittish at first, but grew to love the boys so much by the end.
I’m looking forward to reading this one. Down and dirty sounds great to me! Thanks for the review.
This book really celebrates masculinity–but I adored how all these almost hypermasculine characters still found tenderness and love–in very sexy ways….
I’ve got this in my TBR but haven’t had a chance to read it yet. I thought the blurb sounded intriguing & from your review, I still think so. Thanks!
I was hooked! Really.
Okay…this is too weird. I actually read this series over the weekend because it had been languishing on my Kindle for so long! It was such a guilty pleasure. Sometimes I just like to read a story that is nothing more than pure escapism with, as you so aptly described, lots of ‘down-and-dirty fluid exchange’. Appreciate the review!
Yep, kinda a guilty pleasure read–if ever I felt GUILTY about reading! 😉
Glad you liked the series, and that my review did it justice.
I think I would have a tough time starting this book but it sounds like the series might be worth it.
It had a surprising amount of heart, for the premise.
I don’t know about this one. The review has me interested but when sex is the main part of the story I’ve been giving it a pass ( for the last couple of years anyway). I have Werewolves of Brooklyn on my reader, I’m guessing that it was a freebie, so I may just start with that one. Thanks for the review.
Actually both books are lighter on the sex. The main part of both his character development, IMHO. Sam is a very strategic thinker, and he has a lot of introspection and preparation in the first couple books of the series. Remember, he doesn’t want to submit, but, once he does, he’s got some confusion regarding his sexuality–and this persists I the rest of the stories.
In WoB the sex is completely downplayed until the VERY end.
I’ve never read anything by this author but I’m torn about this one. Not sure if it’s for me. Thanks for your review!
It was a fun read, for me.i found the slow-building romance to be believable.
Thank you for the review! I like how descriptive you were and the warning of “down-and-dirty fluid exchange’ among others =D
I hope you consider it. It was really interesting, fun and sexy.
Glad you liked it! I had a lot of fun reading this! 🙂
I had this book on my kindle TBR pile for ages, and this week’s challenge was just the push I needed too read along. I loved it! It’s rough, tender, character driven and addictive. Definitely a good read!
Oh! So glad you think so! I enjoyed it, too, as you can tell!
Thank you for the review! I have not read anything by this author yet, but lately I have been looking for a story completely different from what I usually read…this one looks like it might be a great choice.
It is a wild tale, with great characters and heat that builds along with the feels. I hope you’ll let me know if you liked it!
Thank you all!!! I love Sam and Derek, so glad more people will discover them now xoxo Brad
My pleasure! They were a super fun couple to root for! 🙂
I forgot to mention! You can buy the audiobook of the first story here! Narrated by me in my sexy sexy voice :0
http://bradiobooks.com/collections/frontpage/products/sams-reluctant-submission-sam-and-derek-1
LOL, thanks Brad!
It sounds like this is one of those set-ups for a lot of wild fun and emotion. I did skim the spoilery bits, but I was happy with what I read. Glad to have this book on my radar now. Thanks, Veronica!
If you try it, make sure to write back and let me know if your liked it.
This storyline doesn’t sound like quite my thing; however, I do appreciate the comprehensive review. Thank you, Veronica!
My pleasure. Trust me that there’s a LOT of plot left out to enjoy. I hope one of the TBR challenges were interesting to you!
Hmm, this sounds familiar! Don’t have my kindle handy to check but I think I read this when it came out! Many many books ago! Lol
LOL! The TBR challenge stated the book had to be on our TBR list for at least a year, and this one fit the bill, for me. I’m sure lots have enjoyed Sam and Derek’s sexy Most Dangerous Game since it came out in 2013!