Review: College Discipline by Caitlin Ricci

Four stories of sex, romance, and college boys learning to kneel.

Hitachi is a police officer reduced to being a glorified babysitter for a rich man’s son. He resents his assignment, but Gabriel isn’t the brat Hitachi believes he is. He’s a man who likes pain, and who wants Hitachi to let loose with him too.

Leo fantasizes about having sex with a complete stranger, but when he gets his chance it isn’t nearly as wonderful as he imagined it to be. His dad’s boss tries to teach him a lesson about making stupid choices, but his education in submission doesn’t end there.

Jensen is horrible at math, and now he’s in a calculus class that he’s barely getting through. His parents get him a tutor, but this tutor is interested in teaching Jensen about far more than just math.

Timothy comes back home, to a tiny town he can’t stand, when his mother’s illness gets worse. He’s made a string of bad decisions, and his mother’s friend is determined to turn his life around before Timothy gets lost entirely.

Oh dear. This took me soooooooo long to finish, like ridiculously long for 55 pages. I had such high hopes for this group of shorts, I mean that blurb is pure yummy yumminess! However the execution was just….not good….

Jenson’s Tutoring - 1.5 hearts

Shallow. This had no feeling and the weirdest relationship development I've ever seen, most definitely the fastest. Jensen is coming over to Sam's house for his first tutoring lesson in calculus. When Jenson explains that his problem is being easily distracted Sam offers him a solution, hitting him with a crop.

This was actually a pretty good BDSM scene, a bit of rough fucking, crops and body clips, but it was not appropriate for people who had literally just met. It would have been easy enough to say that Jensen and Sam had been tutoring with each other for a few weeks and that it escalated to something more on this one occasion. Instead they were strangers and Jenson has no BDSM experience at all, oh but lucky for him he's been a inner pain slut all along without even suspecting *que eye roll*. Then when their one thirty minute scene ended they're talking about dating and being completely perfect for each other, it was just too rushed and too shallow.

Leo's Grand Plan - 2 hearts

Such a great concept. College kid organises a hook up with a stranger and it ends up being his dad's boss?!?! Awesome. However this story, like the previous one, did not set it up well.

Leo goes to a stranger's house for a rough/kinky fuck. He's told to put on a blindfold and get naked without seeing the man he'll have sex with, which he does. He gets a really rough fuck, like where his dick goes soft and he's in true pain. Then he takes off his blindfold to find his dad's boss and you know what he says when Leo asks if he'll tell his dad?

“Then I’d have to explain to him how I ruthlessly fucked his son so he would know that rough sex could be violent and painful for him and not want to be so stupid again in the future. No thanks.”

Yep, real stand up guy.

Anyway it takes them both about two seconds to try it for real, which they do. The scene wasn't bad, but it was rushed.

Hitachi’s New Assignment - 2 hearts

Ok I think this is going to be a running trend with these stories. They really just need to start with the sex and end with the sex because that character/relationship development is almost cringe worthy.

Hitachi is a police officer who has to pick up some rich kid from the airport and take him home. Apparently the kid's dad is trying to set him up with these police officers. The build up was virtually non existent and the dialogue was really stilted.

However, like the others the sex was hot. A bit of 'Officer’ role play with handcuffs, lots of dirty talk and some orgasm control. Then it was ruined by a 'forever’ type of connection *que another eye roll*.

On to the next story…. Here's hoping for a break in the pattern.


Timothy's First Rodeo - 1.5 hearts

Nope no such luck. This started out quite good with Adam rescuing Timothy from getting beaten up in his barn. After patching him up, Adam offers to let Timothy stay at his place to watch the rodeo on TV. All very nice and normal, then all of a sudden this older man (stranger danger) has his hand on the inside of Timothy's thigh…. Yeah…. Creep alert.

Then when this was said,

“You seem awfully eager to have sex with some guy you just met. Should I be worried about your mental state?”
“Only if you want a relationship . But this? A bit of sex isn’t a big deal.”

I was thinking, 'Yay maybe they will have a normal and appropriate HFN’, but... no! A few hours later Timothy is moving back to town to live with this man in a domestic discipline relationship.

Also Adam and Timothy's mum are like BFFs and talk all the time and that is a little weird….

“How long have you been planning this?”Timothy asked him.
“Planning to see if you’d want to be my sub?”
“Yes.”
“Since your mom told me how much trouble you were getting into out there on your own. She loves you, and I know you can be good, if only you have some guidance. I was going to wait to decide after spending some time with you here, but I was impulsive and wanted you right away. And now you’re mine, so it all worked out in the end anyway.”

Also much less sex in this installment, which is a shame considering that's the only part I liked.


Unfortunately these bunch of stories didn't work for me. There was no real character development, or characters who interested me in general. The concepts were great, hence why I requested it, but everything was played out too rushed with ridiculous happy ever afters.

Find on Goodreads!

Review: Fair Catch (Players of L.A. #2) by Leigh Carman

A Players of LA Novel

Two men.

One night of passion.

They never expected to see each other again.

They were wrong.

Tobias Bennett is a quiet and unassuming man who teaches yoga and enjoys parkour. Though he is proud to be gay, an abusive relationship with a domineering man has left Tobias wary of romance, and he keeps to himself in his tidy Los Angeles apartment.

Pro football player Sullivan Archer is Tobias’s complete opposite: loud, brash, fond of the spotlight… and deep in the closet. When a hamstring injury sends Van to Tobias as part of his therapy, neither of them is expecting to come face-to-face with his one-night stand. Now they’re stuck together throughout Van’s healing process, and the close proximity will force them to deal with some hard truths. For Tobias, it’s realizing his hookup is a celebrity. For Van, it means accepting that he likes Tobias more than he wanted. They’ll both have to acknowledge that if they choose to pursue a relationship, their lives will change in big ways.

Told in dual first person POV, Fair Catch is a new adult romance (I use that term in the loosest of terms) between 22 year old yoga instructor, parkour enthusiast, genius techie and millionaire 5' 6" Tobias "Toby" Bennett and 25 year old Superbowl winning, best NFL wide receiver in the league, 6' 6" alpha male Sullivan "Van" Archer.

That's a lot of hats these main characters wear. Usually when I read a story that give their MC holds many titles, it's used as the depth and characteristics that story lacks.

So is the case with Fair Catch. It was the equivalent of reading about paper thin types play acting a romance. I'm not a fan of those.

Also this story doesn't have trigger warnings, so let me get those out the way: domestic abuse, gay bashing, attempted rape and domestic violence.

The story starts out roughly, Toby (the smaller, beautiful owner of crystalline eyes) is herded into an office but a club owner (best friend of Van) for closeted Van Archer's pick of ass for the night. Toby was celibate and allegedly wary of others since his last relationship, one with a controlling abusive older, larger lawyer. So what does young Toby do when grabbed and told to go into the room? Why he drops to his knees and hooks up with the intimidating stranger's friend. Makes sense.

This monumental hookup is mentioned in the blurb, however, there is no description of this life changing scene, just exaltation of why the MC is so beautiful and smaller, there's a foot difference in height, don't you know?

The story jumps around to Van winning the Superbowl but getting an owwie. Then we jump to a yoga class with Toby as the teach. And it continues to jump all around to make for a bumpy transitions, declarations of not doing an action and then doing it either before or a few paragraphs down the line. The disjointed brand of story telling continues throughout. And the thing is, though weeks and months pass, the main characters basically spend a handful of days together, with no meaningful events written and shown to the reader.

Oh, there is sex. Repetitive sex that I could write the script for you: big hulking guy manhandles the little guy, calls him "beautiful" two finger probe into the "little hole", condom, lube, insert dick, thrust, "mine", cums and falls on top. Rinse and repeat.

Fair Catch was swimming around the 2.5 mark until the repeated attempted rapes plot line. Actually it's right around when the unnecessary villain/ex-boyfriend with the extremely weak blackmail twist was thrown in. After that, the story went onto an over the top tangent with a lot of bruises, tears, possessive behavior and and stereotypes.

The best things about the novel is the concept and the readability. It's very simple to read and you can quickly zip through.

The negatives outweigh the positives however.

The writing style - Too telling, contradictory and relies on stereotypical characters to make the story "interesting" and for added drama. The telling is so heavy, an example is that a character would need to look in the mirror to tell the reader they were horny and describe to you, instead of just writing it and letting the reader figure it out on their own. To say the book needed a through edit, content wise, is not wrong. There are too many examples of this writing style where it fails to showcase the character. More descriptive and time were spent on the superficial things rather than letting the character have a hint of depth. And key scenes that could have actually used a thorough description were ignored.

All of the character could instantly know what the other characters were thinking, been through, etc. Maybe clairvoyant is an unofficial hat to add to the list of jobs they all have.

The stereotypes - I really was not a fan of the way Leo, Toby's best friend was written. He was nothing more that a loud color wearing, cock hound who went into hysterics at a drop of a hat.

The abuse/domestic violence - I am always on the side of an abuse victim. However they react is their right. This book minimizes abuse (also again the characters can just tell what happened to each other):

"My last boyfriend. He was... not nice."
"What do you mean?" Then Leo gasps, gripping his shirt over his chest. "Oh My God, Toby. Did he hit you?"
"Not exactly. Well, sort of. I don't know, Leo. It was abusive, I know, but it all built up over such a long period of time, I didn't realize what was going on until it was too late."

Toby can't tell if he was abused? It was just last year when he described being raped and beaten. Or the fact Toby stated he felt worse for his friend being called homophobic slurs than suffering through actual physical abuse and being raped. Both are horrible, let me be clear, but they are not equal.

And in case the past rape wasn't used enough, the attempted rape plot device was added... TWICE!

To create dramatic effect? The last one made no sense, nor did it add to anything other than it gave the alpha hero a shot to flex his muscles and allegedly save the day. The thing is Van wasn't there the first time the attempted rape card was brought to the table and he didn't seem as cut about it afterwards.

Van - I know he's supposed to read like a good guy. But the way he was written was not as effective, He realized his true self as being a gay man by not wearing sweats and sneakers but rather tailored, designer clothes. Seriously? Or how about the fact he knows about Toby's abused past but didn't care when he got mad at his lover and started to go apeshit on him? Or manhandling Toby in the heat of sexy times so soon after Toby gets beaten again.

If an abuse victim closes himself off from others, why would Van be the one to break their celibacy on? Nothing was shown to support that. The reader is told they're horny for one another, told they're soul mates, told they love each other...but nothing is shown.

This book has the potential to appeal to certain readers, if you rather not learn main characters' life stories, just want a beginning and middle and end with some sex thrown in and a lot of drama, then Fair Catch might be the book for you.

For me:

I'm sure this is my last Leigh Carman I'll read.

Not recommended.

Find on Dreamspinner Press or Goodreads!

Review: Blind Date (Back in the Game, #1) by Kay Doherty

Dekker Callan is content with his life though he knows something is missing. Wanting the kind of love his friends share with their partners, Dekker is talked into taking part in a modeling and dating show as part of a fundraiser. He immediately falls in love with the anonymous, sexy voice on the other side of the wall, but fate has a surprise in store–his mystery man isn’t single.

Slade Gannon wasn’t supposed to take part in the dating show. That spot was for his roommate, Phil, who becomes ill and asks Slade to take his place. Slade has just recently gone through a breakup with his cheating boyfriend, George. Shocked and pleased when he wins the interest of handsome Dekker Callan, before he can go on the obligatory blind date, his ex asks for a second chance. Believing Dekker can’t possibly be as good on the inside as he looks on the outside, Slade agrees.

Dekker and Slade hit it off immediately, drawn to each other despite Slade being involved with someone else. They finally get their opportunity to be together when Slade finds out his boyfriend is still cheating, but just as they seem to discover the happiness they’ve been waiting for, George throws them one last hurdle—and this one may prove to be insurmountable.

I have no shame in admitting, I jumped to read this because there was cheating mentioned in the blurb. Warning: there is on page sex between an MC and another character.

(Good) cheating romances aren't easy to find. Unabashedly doing whatever to get the other person...even if it means to break another's heart? It can make for a strong story. A lot of times when there is cheating in a romance, the author will cop out, try to make it the new person's fault for the other person who is currently in a relationship for stepping out.

Basically, blame game is supposed to be the stand in for passion. The old 'I wasn't myself, you made me do it' excuse.

You can find a version of that in Blind Date. For readers who need the protagonists to not admit to being guilty or owning up to their feelings from the start, Blind Date might be a choice for you.

Dekker Callan falls for a guy's voice during a charity dating auction. He wasn't allowed to see his contestants. He meets his choice, Slade Gannon on their blind date and falls for him after a conversation of shallow small talk. Slade just got back with his boyfriend...even though he feels something too for Dekker. And is upfront about it.Which kind of makes him a jerk but I can understand where he came from after the first date. Days of flirting stretched into weeks to try to move the story along, painting Slade's boyfriend George as a possessive cheater and liar though...pretty suspect for me.

First time author Kay Doherty read like...a first time author's effort to me. There were too many characters (who were also unofficial mind readers), too much superficial, poor development and over the top antics. Plus, instalove.

I tried to like this book. But it was a sinking ship when one of the MC's declared, "I'll start my seduction then. I'm gonna...I'm gonna eat food and make him wish it was him, and then I'll win".

And it kept sinking with contradicting antics from the characters like Dekker who told the reader he was outgoing and acted shy. Or declaring he was going to "go full force" in seducing Slade and by the next paragraph declaring he wasn't going to "force the issue".

The ex-boyfriend got crazier as the story progressed, though his behavior and the characteristics had me question his purpose for the story. Without him, the story has no conflict. And is just a lot of 'I can tell by the way you listened to his voice, he's perfect for you'

Rather than go into all of the quotes that I quibbled with. I'll just leave a few questions.


Simple questions: Do most friends waltz into bathrooms while showering and talk to each other naked? [Take out them being men as a factor] Or make out with each other (while in relationships) to make their sad friend feel better? Or know exactly what you're thinking by looking at you? Why was everyone able to read each other's mind, know exactly what they were thinking and thought exactly the same?

*tilts head*

Something about the way the men interacted with one another read unnatural to me. The thin romance, the extreme HEA...nothing worked for me. If I don't find anything remotely worthy in either MC, I'm not invested into whatever is dished out. One guy is a adult toy store owner, the other is a wine and gallery owner. The fact that their jobs read tacked on and no development was given to either guy, more attention was paid to having cute twins and their hot buff boyfriends parade about... read paper thin. The premise was interesting, the delivery didn't work for me.

I know I'm not the right reader for this writing style. It's in the same vein of Stormy Glenn/Scarlet Hyacinth/Joyee Flynn which has a solid readership. Fans of that band of authors,  might enjoy Kay Doherty's efforts.


The story isn't bad. I'd be curious to see a story from this author, after a lot more books under her belt. But I'm pretty sure, this is a one time deal for me.

If you prefer not be invested in the characters, just want a solid HEA with an over the top/left field plot twist thrown in...check out Blind Date.

Find out more info on Goodreads or below!

Purchase Links:
NineStar Press: http://ninestarpress.com/product/blind-date/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Date-Back-Game-Book-ebook/dp/B01KGR5I5I

Author Bio

Kay lives in Colorado with her husband and their animal children. Family is important to her so there are weekly visits to her parents and frequent text messages with her brothers. She has a severe addiction to coffee and Mexican food. She loves to read and write and can easily become consumed by it for hours, much to the dismay of the husband and dogs. On occasion she can be convinced to venture out into world of the living.

Email: kaydohertyauthor@gmail.com

Twitter: @kdohertyauthor

Pinterest: @KDohertyAuthor

Excerpt

Kay Doherty © 2016

All Rights Reserved

Dekker kept his eyes locked on Alek as he walked onstage to exuberant applause and whistles. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shifted nervously from foot to foot as Alek made him sound like an oversexed Thor. He ducked his head to hide his blush behind the cowboy hat. He really wished Alek would just shut up. There was no way Dekker could live up to the expectations Alek was creating. He glared at Alek as he was escorted to his seat. Alek chuckled softly as he took his seat beside Dekker.

“Keep your head up and the hat back. These people paid to see that gorgeous face of yours. Don’t disappoint,” Alek whispered.

Dekker blew out a nervous breath and did as he was instructed. He wanted to fidget. He wanted to try to close the shirt over his exposed chest. Somehow, he managed to remain still.

Alek lifted the microphone to his lips while watching Dekker from the corner of his eye. “Contestant one, what would you like to ask our bachelor?”

“Well,” said a disembodied voice from the other side of the barrier. “Like everyone else here tonight, I like to have a lot of sex.” Great, contestant one was a player, thought Dekker. “I’m curious what kind of stamina you have? Can you manage multiple orgasms in one night?”

Dekker groaned to himself as he slid sweaty palms over his denim-clad thighs. “Yes, I can,” he answered. Applause erupted in the audience, and he shot Alek a pleading look. This was beyond uncomfortable. Alek smirked as he continued on.

“Contestant two, what’s your question?”

“Yeah, I prefer experienced men, so I’m wondering when you lost your virginity?” came a voice that was higher and younger than contestant one.

Dekker took a deep, fortifying breath. When he had lost his virginity said nothing about his experience level, but whatever. “Fifteen with a girl, eighteen with a boy,” he answered. He dipped his head down to hide the embarrassment, but a gentle nudge to his ribs from Alek had him raising his head again.

“Okay, contestant three, your turn,” Alek prompted.

“I have to admit, I’m eager to see you naked. How many dates would I have to get through before that happened?”

Contestant three’s voice was deep and gravely, like a smoker’s, with a slight southern drawl. Dekker caught Alek’s eyes. He imagined Alek was eager for that answer, as well, since they’d dated for months without it ever progressing to the bedroom. He scrubbed his face with both hands before answering.

“Um, I don’t know. Depends on the connection, I guess,” he answered. He’d had sex on a first date, but also never had sex at all with some men despite dozens of dates. Alek shook his head.

“Man of few words. Contestant four, you’re up,” Alek said.

“What would a first date with you consist of?”

Dekker shifted in his seat. Contestant four’s voice was warm, husky, and slid over him like honey. His entire body took notice. Damn, the man’s voice was sexy. He didn’t realize his thoughts had drifted until Alek addressed him over the mic.

“Dekker, what’s your answer?”

Dekker rushed to cover his sudden distraction and arousal by clearing his throat. He’d never been turned on by just a voice before.

“Sorry. I was thinking,” he said and once again scrubbed his hands down his pants. “There’s this indoor skydiving place that I’ve always wanted to try, so we’d do that first. After that I’d take you to the Tibetan restaurant I like. Then…I guess we’d decide if we still like each other’s company and go from there.”