THREE HEARTS--

Before Reading:

1 room, 3 tops and someone will be ENTERED

After Reading: It's all about the C's. Cum , Cocks and...Cakes?!

"You brought cake," I said. I tried not to let the look of horror show on my face.

"For afterward," Butch replied. "I baked it myself. Is there room in the fridge?"

Hadn't this guy heard of the definition of "eternity"? The time between you cum and they leave. Who ever heard of cake after sex?

Actual cakes.

Not an ass euphemism. Don't look at me like that, we both know you went there. ;) It's an erotica short, it's to be expected.

"But you're not thinking of topping him--you want him in your secret chamber."

"Secret chamber?"

"Man cave. Boy pussy. Man-gina. Lurve canal."

From Top to Bottom by Kevin Klehr was not what I expected it to be based on the blurb. I thought it was just going to be 3 cherries served on a platter. However it happened in this PWP, it was just going to happen.

Not so, totally not so.

Told from 1st POV in a British setting possibly(?), Tony is thirty, very close to his father (like they discuss their sex lives--his dad was actually my fave character--get to that later). Tony loves sex and isn't very discriminate. Plus, he's a bonafide top.

He gets told by a bottom, "it's just another way to feel cock". And Tony has a revelation. Why not try bottoming? So he places an ad online, "top curious about being a bottom, wants to meet likeminded tops." Two like-minded blokes respond: Butch, cake baking bear with a philosophical look on life and Ford, a top who has a boyfriend and just wants to get down to fucking.

I was in accord with Ford. Butch and Tony were very poetic, and the prose had a tendency to get purple-y.

I won't say who first pops their road to "nirvana", but the story gets straight down to sex.

*growls*

While erotic, it also was quirky. There were so many slang for ass. Soooooooooo many. Some good, some weird as fuck like "chew my gremlin". I have to save that in my all time quotes. Some I haven't even heard before. And this is coming from a Dallas Sketchman fangirl (RIP).

Who wouldn't laugh at:

"My gremlin feels satisfied"

or

"My gremlin is hungry. My gremlin's been watching soap opera and wants to feel the leading man."

The leading man, of course being:

While chewing over the gremlin ass talk, the author ups the ante with a spoken word session on the joys of gay sex. And it's hosted at an honest to goodness orgy.

Here I am thinking it's just going to be quick one and done type of deal. But no ma'am, Tony and Butch pound their way through the flesh "playground". The sex was described in a joyous, ritualistic tone, where it was an ode more than erotic.

For the smutsters: rimming, felching, snowballing, double penetration was had. (pssst...someone fibbed about being a backdoor virgin)

The story was different. And while weird euphemisms get thrown in the mix, Tony's dad added more hilariousness. He's very upfront. Tony explores the pleasures of being topped.

As does his dad.

His dad goes into detail how much he shot after discovering his G-spot. Truthfully, my favorite scenes included Tony's dad from getting a colonic, to his pegging joy. I was fully there for Dad, despite the weirdness.

There was a message with this erotica. I think I know what the author was going for and I enjoyed that. The story was memorable more to me for the odd words and descriptions, not so much for the erotic bit. Which is the point of PWP for me.

The story ends at an odd place. Two of the original three tops form a friendship. A crush isn't returned. I wouldn't say it was faptastic. Weird and poetic mainly.

But hey at least there was cake?

Am I right?

A copy provided for an honest review.

It's a Unicorn Bang Review! Chelsea, Sara and I get into the sweet daddy kink that is Exposed.



4.5 Hearts--Seduction by photo shoot.

A sweet love story with a side of daddy kink. Not what I expected prior to going in...

"It's like I want to crush him up into a little ball and tuck him directly into my heart..."

...but it works.

Exposed is foremost a romance between two damaged souls who happen to meet by chance one rainy night in London, of all places. Emyr is a Welsh twenty year old rising rock star. His innocent looks and provocative lyrics have a following. Greg, forty two year old Canadian web designer and photographer, couldn't imagine his luck bucking into the crying man. Emyr's face begs to be captured on camera, Greg's camera. But even more so Greg notices someone who is cracking at the seams, he's been there, is still there. So he invites a stranger to his hotel room, just to talk. And Emyr accepts.

Thus begins their connection and their path to more.

"I am, you know," he said after a moment.
"Are what?"
"Yours. Completely."
"Ha... When did I ask you that?"
"You didn't have to."

Greg is a dominant who is still reeling from his last sub and the aftermath of what he thought was a scene. It's been five years and his self imposed celibacy has never been tested as it is with Emyr. There's an innocence that is alluring. But once he sees how obedient Emyr is, well it just calls to him. From the moment these two men meet, their connection is palpable. I kept reading along, saying to myself, this couldn't really happen, could it? Meeting a rock star and tumbling into their world?

But it's Greg and Emyr's connection, their ease with one another, the way they exposed their inner workings to each other. (Not without hesitation from one of the men) That's what I bought. It's what sold me anytime I questioned an initial response.

Greg tries to back away from the celebrity. Emyr is too young, probably straight. The impromptu photo shoot/ session didn't break his celibacy. But Greg's subconscious and feelings won't be denied. The boy got under his skin.

You get sort of numb after a while when you cut off human contact, and you end up telling yourself all sorts of bullshit--like, that you don't actually need it, that it's not so bad going without--and then you carry on building a shell around yourself with these lies. But, what you don't realize is that shell is brittle and thin and made of denial, barely containing the visceral need growing in your guts like some formless, ravenous, single-minded creature.

Though the story is told from Greg's POV, we get a good sense of Emyr. He might be young and inexperienced, but he was mature in a lot aspects. He was persistent and willing to try new things. I loved that as the daddy kink was presented on the table, he researched! And discovered a part of himself he didn't knew existed. Greg is his first real relationship, and in a way, it's Greg's first real relationship too.

"Trust me, Daddy."
Daddy. I smiled, and he gave me a coy grin in return. "You're determined to wear me down."
"I am that."
"You're incorrigible."
"That too."

I'm a fan of age gaps, damaged protagonists with internal baggage, heroes who aren't the best at communicating their emotions. Exposed definitely has that. The angst is more internal struggles than external. Greg and Emyr have to trust, communicate. And I think it was my most favorite thing about this novel, (besides the daddy kink, duh). It was that the two communicated, even when it hurt. It was equal footing where it counted.

Now let's get to the daddy kink shall we?

Daddy kink is fairly tamer on the BDSM scale. And this story is not necessarily a formalized, contract bound pairing. It read more natural. And if you're a reader who clutches their pearl at the mention of daddy kink, this is a romance first. The daddy kink if I had to rate it on a 1 to 5 of extremes, 5 being the most hardcore, it's a 1. There was role playing, a few spankings, D/s. Bonus for the bare backing, (semi)public sex, size difference and big guy bottoming scene. I like it when daddies get breached too. ;D

If you're going in expecting hardcore scenes, you might not enjoy this as much. The sex is melting hot (hello it's a Deckard), there are definitely re-read worthy chapters. What I enjoyed about it is that it wasn't overly long drawn out scenes. Every sexual encounter read organic and fit the main characters. I did slowly grow to love the main characters, separately and as a pair. I think they're perfect for each other.

It's no surprise I enjoy this author's work and his back list varies in taste. This was the most romantic, most sweet I've ever read from him.

"You've nothing to worry about, silly--I'm yours... And you're mine, and I'll take care of that poor, neglected heart of yours just as well as I take care of that poor, neglected cock."
"Well, it's not so neglected anymore," I said, making as if to mull it over what he had said. "You do take good care of it--that bodes well for my heart, I suppose."

I'm not surprised he wrote it, the tell tale signs of his writing are all there. Vivid settings, it's a road trip for a large chunk of Exposed, I felt like I was there with the pair and the cast of side characters at each location, an interesting cast of characters (Owain, Barrie, Rose and the nain dominatrix!) that you can't help to enjoy. His side characters have a tendency to enrich his stories without overtaking the shine from the main characters. There was a little suspense-ful twist, that wasn't over dramatic. It ended a little tamer than introduced.

Overall, a great read that I'm happy to add to my favorites of 2017 list.

This is sweet for this author, not necessarily your run of the mill schmoop. So if you're looking to finally delve into this author's work, Exposed is a great place to start. (His Actor's Circle series is also on the tamer side of the Deckard spectrum)

I don't know if the author will ever return to this couple. I think their HEA is pretty solid. But maybe a possible dabble into one of their scenes? I think I'm going to miss Daddy and his boy.

Who knew photo shoots could be so seductive?

Where I ramble my thoughts on the entertaintment of The Straight Line and why I needed it...

So this book has the honor (or horror - depends on who you ask) being read pre- and post- election.


(Don't worry this won't get political)

The Straight Line was supposed to be introductory peek into EAB's writing, because his other book Black Snow sounded all kinds of yum. But this book's blurb was a SRAL order du jour on the author's short menu: cheating, an uptight guy losing his mind over the third from he and his wife's supposed to be one time threesome...and look at the drawn cover.

Yaoi haze descended on me.

I saw the drama filled lights blaring loud and clear.



And the peek was only supposed to be brief; my review pile is so long, it probably has its own zip code at this point.

To be honest, I was going to DNF after the first 10%. The book's start was rough as fuck. And I was getting weird sort of FSOG vibes with not naming the genitals that is a pet peeve of mine: if you're old enough to use the fuck parts, call them by their name.

The husband and wife were your run of the mill couple I guess. The hubby was WAY uptight. The wife thought bringing her resident from her job would be a good idea to spice it up. And the third...he's one interesting character.

There's something intriguing about him. It could be fantasy that he represents.
Or that he fucked like a champ.
Or maybe that he dismantled the hell out of the husband, Courtney, piece by piece.

Thankfully, the author got into the groove as the story progressed. This is a self published book and reads as such - yes there is a need for editing. But I can overlook it especially if I'm hooked (which I was).

So I'm trekking along as the story continues to unfurl deeper with messy antics (I'll get to that)

And then the election. Cut to post election. :|

And mourning. What's a girl who loves to read to do?

Get back to the fucking book (and visiting GR for more books to add the massive TBR because book therapy is definitely going to be needed)

This book...oh...I feel like I should buy EAB a drink.



Because damn it. I was entertained!

It wasn't the best book in the world. Trust.

Biggest concern: Editing. It's self pubbed - so if you don't mind things like age discrepancies, or changing hair colors, the story entertains. But the editing issues are glaring that even I noticed.

I'm waffling on where it rates, somewhere in the 3.5 to not quite-4 stars range.

This story is yaoi-ish, drama filled with Courtney (uke) and Sebastian (seme). Sebastian's age varies (editing issues) but I believe he's 10 years younger than Courtney, the married suburban lawyer husband who was secretly closeted. It takes the invited third to rattle Courtney's world. Our book's seme is fantasy quality - tall, dark and handsome. Add the chemistry and charisma he oozed and it was just delicious.

But it wasn't just hot seduction for 300+ pages.

Courtney is an asshole supreme. His self hatred and the way he views and treats others including Sebastian and Claire, Courtney's wife, can be vile. Courtney is so paranoid and deep in the closet, he can't seem to realize his effect in the first half of the book.

And Sebastian isn't a saint either. In fact, he's about maybe a level 6 on my scale of cray . *squints* He actually touched level 7 - those threats. *widen eyes*

So...triggers: non-con drugging/physical abuse/emotional abuse/ cheating

If this was a RL couple, I'd be calling the cops. Messy x infinity

I even questioned why once or twice...but their chemistry. It's undeniable. I don't think either one could function without the other. Vicious...crazytrain cycle.

And if they weren't fighting, they were sexing. The yaoi sex sound effects...(it could grate on a nerve after a while.) And these went at it...hard.

There's a HEA (I was a little worried there around 83%) and it all worked out in the end. Maybe a little too easily after trekking through the soap opera that was Courtney and Sebastian's love life.

The novel could benefit from an edit - it needs to be shaved down maybe 15-20%. And some areas could benefit being expanded on.

But for what I got now? Especially now...



Enjoyable introduction into EAB's writing for me (despite my gripes)

I don't recommend "The Straight Line" for everyone. More for readers who don't mind the triggers and liars.

aka readers like me.

*on the hunt for more books*