Rating: 3.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
Torin would like a relationship, but his nerves and anxiety get the best of him and he has no idea how to talk to people. So he decides to seek the companionship of a professional. Torin knows it won’t lead to a relationship, but it would give him experience and perhaps a little confidence to then navigate a relationship with someone else.
Torin seeks out a nearby brothel and starts regular visits with Davies, a professional who can give Torin almost everything he thinks he needs. But Torin is discovering a lot about himself and Davies brings out kinks that Torin had no idea he even had. But Torin is still conflicted about his time at the brothel. He knows his feelings could deepen for Davies, but anything more with him is not at all possible and Torin doesn’t want anyone to find out where he has been spending his time. But Davies may have given Torin the boost he needs to go after a real relationship with a co-worker that can fulfill everything Torin is looking for.
I knew going into this book that it leaned more toward erotica and the book delivers on that. The story of Torin is not relationship driven and this is not the story of finding true love with an escort. Torin and Davies have an intimate, yet strictly professional, relationship that works because it works for Torin. But this may not be the book for everyone if you are looking for a relationship to develop between the men.
As an erotic book, it works…mostly. Torin is anxiety ridden and nervous and stammering and inexperienced and it will depend if you like to read about those kinds of characters. For me, Torin did start to wear on me after a while and I may have been more interested in getting Davies story, but that’s not the book. The book takes us through six sessions that Torin has with Davies and each session increases in intensity of what Torin is looking for. He’s a virgin and has a lot of hang-ups and each session fulfills another fantasy of Torin’s.
What Torin didn’t know about himself is that he likes to be humiliated. Now, this is usually not a kink I prefer to read about, but it’s done in a role play style and Davies does exactly what Torin is looking for and since it worked for Torin, it was able to work for me. Also, as far the humiliation aspect, it rated on the tamer scale as well.
We don’t learn anything about Torin other than his job and I would have liked to have known him a bit more. The sessions also became repetitive as it became clear that each one would increase what Torin was looking to experience with Davies. In order for Torin to achieve this, he had to amend his contract each time with the owner, Mr. M. While this went toward learning what Torin was looking for, his explicit verbal conversations with Mr. M were awkward for him to have, awkward for me to read, and I questioned if this was the way it would be handled in an upscale club and also questioned if there was a little less awkward way to present it in the book.
Added in toward the end was Torin meeting a new guy and dating him and this got all sorts of muddled for me mixed into his interludes with Davies. And, Davies was probably the more interesting character for me here, but there are only hints of him offered.
So personal preference here. As an erotic book, there are parts that work, and if you like reading about anxiety-ridden, nervous, stammering virgins seeking new experiences this may then work for you.
