Review: The Wrong Side of Right by Nya Rawlyns

Tony Mitchell is a loner who spends most of his life staying low, denying who and what he is until Aiden Caldwell walks into the shop and changes everything. Tony thinks his new supervisor hates his guts, but that doesn’t keep Tony from dreaming and yearning. His fantasies drive him to follow the older man, revealing a secret that only confounds Tony’s obsession.

Conflicted and confused, Tony falls under the spell of a man called Tank who leads Tony down a dark path of seduction and dangerous cravings. Under Tank’s guidance, Tony learns to suspend reality, to succumb. The one thing he doesn’t learn is how to say no.

Aiden Caldwell pulls Tony from the precipice but not from the addiction that threatens to consume the young man.

In the matter of love and trust, can two men intent on hiding their most secret selves find common ground as fate and their own tumultuous pasts conspire to tear them apart?

This is my first time reading from Nya Rawlyns. "The Wrong Side of Right" is a story about a twenty seven year old virgin, Tony who is a typical loner. He has no real friends, he despises himself and his sexuality, he works two crappy jobs - a manager at a Quick Lube (no joke) and bartender/waiter/minion. Tony is highly insecure, has a major crush on his older jerk of a cross dressing boss who treats Tony like crap and is so pathetic, he pays a co-worker teen for a weekly blowjob.

Based on the blurb, I thought this story would have been a sort of love triangle filled with kink and forbidden trysts. Warning: If rape is a trigger, do not read this book. You have been warned.

You see that guy on the right hand side of the cover? That's pretty much me after reading this book. I might get a little spoiler-y with my review. Forgive me.

Things I am sure about:

I do not like the writing style of this book. It is muddied, murky, and rough.
I am not a fan of the term "bio-break".
I did not hate this book.
I did not like this book.
I am confused.

Tony is full of despair, his thoughts are distorted and at one point he seems suicidal, sort of. I couldn't get a clear picture on Tony. I don't think Tony had a clear picture of himself. I do not have a problem with reading about depressed characters. I do not have a problem reading non-con. But I do take issue when I can't get a sense of a character. The only person I am sure of is Frank the cop. Everyone else is full of question marks.

Tony goes from a loner virgin to sleeping with six different men within a week (granted three of those men gang raped Tony.) But he seemed to have liked it and kind of brushed it off. How so you may ask? He goes to sleep with his sixth man consensually the day after...with no problems. I mean he was bloodied and bruised but his aches get kind of glossed over. He makes rash, silly decisions like falls in insta-love twice in a week (yes with two different men). I don't know if he's supposed to be naive since he sort of imprints to the men who fuck him and shows him any bit of attention. Hence, his pseudo acceptance of being violated. The rape scene was should have been clearer in my opinion but I know he was raped but I don't know what happened. I felt like this with a lot of the story. There was metaphorical prose where it didn't work for me.

The jerk of a boss, Aiden is possessive and acted like a five year old with his first crush by treating Tony like crap. He's too damaged to control his emotions. Don't think Tony was a full formed door mat. He took Aiden's treatment after making some noise or having an argument. At one point, it seemed Aiden was going to deck Tony and I wanted him to...that's where I knew there was a problem. Just when I thought I got a handle of the main characters - both men came out of the closet later in life and are trying to come to grips with it, something is dumped in to murk the storyline.

What is that pray tell? Mostly it is the biker bear named Tank. Tank is a behemoth is well over six feet and damaged. He's been through past rape and now has a 'don't mess with me' attitude.

Tank sees Tony in a bar, bruises his arm, Tony is scared and then a spot of dub con is added because Tony has a frottage scene with the bear right after. He's addicted to the dark. And the next day Tony who is need of his both jobs and never takes a day off, runs away with Tank. Say what? And then sounding and breath play is added in. But just when I though I got a handle, Tank's buddies comes in and gang rapes Tony.

What did Tank do you wonder? (I mean you don't get nicknamed Tank for nothing.)

Tank leaves Tony. I kid you not. The big bear leaves! To get help...uh huh.

I could have glossed over the rough patches and stuck to the main items that worked like the initial sounding and breath play scene. The act was hot. However, the build up to these acts was closer to nonexistent. But Tony thin Tank is great because he saved him. There's a deeper story with Tony learning his limits in edge play with tank. I found that under the murk but I can't feel for characters I have no feelings for.

The rape...it didn't seem to bother Tony as much. He didn't even worry about getting tested for diseases until months after being with Aiden. I had an issue with that. also with Tony's silly reasoning for trying to leave Aiden the last time. If he already explained he was going to do what he did (the scheme was an idiotic one from the start) why would he leave? It made no sense.

Tank was a coward.
Tony was confused and everything he foolishly struggled against...he still did.
Aiden was mean but him I get. Mostly.

And "bio break", why couldn't Tony just say he was going to use the restroom or urinate or defecate? It was odd to me. The kink was the best part of the book. But kink can not stand alone on a convoluted plot.

This story wasn't a steaming pile of "bio break", I can give it that. I'm down the middle with this story. *shrugs*