Rating: 4.25 stars
Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Hendrix has moved out to California for a new job and he is living in a company-provided rental as he gets settled. He isn’t a huge fan of California, however, and has made little effort to get to know the area. Hendrix finds himself irritated by his next-door neighbor, Miles, who loves to get a rise out of him. Miles is a cocky, arrogant, younger man and he drives Hendrix crazy. But Hendrix can also admit to finding Miles attractive and his dominant attitude appealing. It has been a while since Hendrix has submitted to anyone and something in him definitely is drawn to Miles despite himself.
Miles just loves to rile up Hendrix and he can admit to wanting the man. But Miles also knows getting involved is a bad idea; Hendrix is the kind of guy Miles could fall in love with and he knows that can never work out. For his part, Hendrix doesn’t want to get involved again with a younger man, as that hasn’t worked out for him in the past. But both guys are open for some hot sex, and when they finally get together, things are electrifying. So much so that they basically can’t stay away from each other. Before they know it, Miles and Hendrix have fallen into a relationship, despite their desire to keep things just as sex. Their connection is intense and consuming, and their attempts at caution have failed in the face of their desire for each other. Now, Miles and Hendrix must decide if they are willing to accept the feelings that are growing between them and take the chance at happiness together.
Necessary Space kicks off Kate Hawthorne’s new All in Good Time series and it’s an engaging and sexy story. While both men are initially hesitant about more than just sex, there actually ends up being very little conflict here since that pretty much falls apart as soon as they are together. What made this story really work for me is the wonderful way Hawthorne builds the intensity between Miles and Hendrix. There is this sense of almost a frenzy about them, a compulsion to be together almost despite themselves. The chemistry and connection between them comes through so clearly that I could just feel that pull bringing them together. From almost the first moment, they are in sync physically, but it isn’t long before it is the same emotionally. Neither man really fights his feelings; they both are just so consumed with one another that they find themselves all in, barely unable to come up for air for their need for each other. It left me as a reader just feeling drawn into their orbit, as their connection with each other feels so big and intense. It is able to really carry the story, even without much happening in terms of larger plot. There is a nice dose of kink here, with Hendrix delighting in submitting to Miles, and this is sexy, high-heat story.
This one is very character driven and focused on Miles and Hendrix, but we also get to know Miles’ best friend/roommate and former boyfriend, Grayson, as well as Hendrix’s brother, Wesley, among others. Wesley has a story coming up next and I think there is a lot of potential here among a variety of characters for stories of their own. Grayson also serves as somewhat of a source of conflict, as well as voice of reason, as the guys are so all in so fast and he is wary. So I think having Grayson and Wesley as strong side characters helps round out the story nicely and pull us back occasionally from the intensity of Hendrix and Miles together.
I think fans of Hawthorne’s style are really going to enjoy this one, as it is sexy, kinky, and nicely character driven. I loved the way this story just drew me into this relationship between Hendrix and Miles and enjoyed the way the men just fall so hard and fast for each other. I’m definitely looking forward to more for this series.
