Review: Taking a Chance by Anne Brooke

The moment model and part-time actor Benjamin spots the sexually alluring David outside his local restaurant, he’s determined to get to know him better. So he takes a chance and pretends to be Timothy, the blind date David is waiting for.

When David asks him about submission, safe words and spanking, Benjamin knows the sensible thing to do would be to leave. Funny then how he finds himself eager to know more. Will it be a date to remember and, if David discovers his deceit, could he ever be persuaded to take a chance on Benjamin?

This sexy little short from new-to-me author Anne Brooke packs a lot of heat and character into 50-something Kindle pages.

The story:  The story takes place over the course of one night, and it's just as described in the blurb: Benjamin is drawn to David, an attractive, older gentleman, and decides to encourage the case of mistaken identity by taking a chance on David and the instincts that lead Benjamin to him.  It's nothing terribly complex, but I enjoyed the storytelling here.  Benjamin finds himself in a situation where he's learning about David and the circumstances of the blind date as he goes along.  He discovers David and his blind date "Timothy" had discussed some power play and exploring Timothy's submissive side.  While Benjamin hadn't been drawn to that in the past, he finds himself...curious. The story then goes on to explore that curiosity in a sexy and surprisingly insightful way.

The characters: I thought the first person narrative here was well done, and the author took me on a journey through Benjamin's thought process and growing interest in exploring his own submissive side. We don't know much about Benjamin - indeed, we don't even know his name until the very end - but what we do learn is more than enough to set the stage for the story.  More importantly, for purposes of his relationship with David, we learn through Benjamin's first person POV how his submissive side goes from hardly-even-on-his-radar to at-the-center-of-his-arousal.

I'd never got my prick out in public before. I wasn't that kind of a man. Was I?

I loved the questioning and open-mindedness to be found in this story. Benjamin might not have thought he was that kind of a man, but...he was open to finding out if that were true or not.

David was more of an enigma. We don't know much about him, either, but what we do see throughout the story is a patient, thoughtful, confident man whose focus is on Benjamin's comfort and enjoyment.  He wants to explore Benjamin's body and bring pleasure to them both. He's a dominant, but not domineering.

The sexytimes:  I'm the first person to admit I'm not much of a BDSM reader. With that said, the story piqued my interest, and the characters hooked me from the beginning.  This story is an erotic-themed short, so obviously there's explicit sexytimes in it.  What came as a pleasant surprise, though, was that a fair amount of the story that led up to the explicit sexytimes was just the characters' talking to each other...as they set the stage for the sexytimes.

Who knew talking about it to build the anticipation up could be almost as hot as the actual doing?

I'm a huge fan of dirty talk, and the level of anticipatory talking and description of what would happen was kind of awesome foreplay dirty talk, in my opinion.  And once they do get to the actual doing of these sexytimes actions?

*fans self*

HOT!

Nobody had ever treated me like this before. Nobody had ever appreciated me this much.  I didn't know how to react, but I wanted more.

David was a thoughtful and giving lover, and under his guidance, Benjamin came to embrace his submissive side wholeheartedly. I loved seeing that progression in Benjamin. And I loved seeing the care with which David brought him pleasure. 

Even if you're not a BDSM reader, this one does it with a light hand, and there's no corporal punishment or anything. It's more about power and D/s roles. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I'm a BDSM wimp. :)

Overall:  Taking a Chance was a quick, fun, sexy, surprisingly thoughtful read about a young man who didn't know he had a submissive side he wanted to explore...until he met the man who brought it out in him. I really enjoyed taking that exploratory journey with Benjamin, and the surprisingly sweet ending leads me to think Benjamin and David have more stories in their future. And if not...then please can there be? :) Recommended to bring a quick dose of sexiness to your day. 

Note: A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.