Title: HIS: Manlove Edition

Author: Nicola Cameron, Lucy Felthouse, Giselle Renarde, Noelle Keaton, Pelaam

Genre: Contemporary / BDSM

Publisher: Evernight Publishing

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: Strength. Power. Experience. There’s nothing like a man who knows how to get what he wants, both in and out of the bedroom. And these dominant alphas want nothing more than to please and possess the men they love. No kink is too risqué as these men ensure their lovers never want to be anywhere but under their command.

Come and find out how good it feels to be HIS.

Be Warned: m/m sex, BDSM

Product Link: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/his-manlove-edition/

Review: These stories focus more on the Silver Fox/Daddy fetish. They are not all about kink and BDSM though, mostly about the age difference and emotions between two people with such a great chasm in their ages. If you’re expecting only D/s relationship with the ultimate submission as a goal, don’t, you won’t find them here. Here goes my review for each of them.

In His Name by Nicola Cameron ♥♥♥2.5 Hearts

This story was about a priest who was compromised, found himself suddenly in lust with his superior, and put on sabbatical for six months to re-evaluate his life.

Searching for work Sean crosses paths with Matt, the general manager of the shelter he’s applying for. Matt is older than him, silver fox type, a strong man managing this hell of a world where people suffer and suffer and then suffer some more, and he is HOT. For six months, Sean battles with his demons and his guilt. God and a life he thought he wanted since he was nine years old, or Matt and a life serving God’s best interests without the title of “Padre” and a chance to live like everybody else?

Mostly this was a read on struggling with your inner thoughts, guilt, and wishes. A book on forcing oneself to see reality, make life-changing choices, and having a strong man by your side help you do just that. The romance part was not so much my thing as the instant love theme doesn’t really inspire me. It didn’t help that declarations of love were out in the open before the pair had even come together, with one of them being literally a virgin. Somehow, that juts puts me off. The rest of the read though was quite good.

Garden of Eden by Lucy Felthouse ♥1Heart

No! No! A huge screaming no! This is exactly the type of insta/sappy/cheesy love I totally dislike. I had my fears when Dale was introduced as being a virgin, submissive, and gay at twenty-one years old, waiting to make up his mind of what he wanted, visiting a BDSM club for the first time, meeting a posh Dom and wanting more than just sex/domination, wanting real love. But when after one date at a posh restaurant where Dale and Lee mostly had disagreements between them, (while the rest of the date and their “bonding” were thrown to the wind by skipping them and going directly to the end of the nigh) Lee confesses that he has “feelings” for Dale… Well, right there I draw the line. A no-go for me, because it’s so utterly unrealistic I can’t even begin to comment. Of course, it went totally out of hand when by the end of the story, the undying, unconditional love was declared by both of them.

As for the Dom/sub dynamics, everything there was amiss. The Dom lost me the moment he opened his mouth (the dialogue was horrible), so not the confident, strong and silent guy he was supposed to be, and the sub, well let’s just say that he did not feel the twenty-one year old inexperienced kid at all. Actually, Leander felt more the inexperienced guy than Dale there. During the entire read Leander was in a way begging Dale and he only took on a transformation when Dale chose to submit to him. There we had Lee taking a deep breath and going in Dom mode, yet what followed was so cliché I couldn’t stomach it. It didn’t help that there was no sense of chemistry, no sensuality at all and the sexual act itself was yet again skipped.

A very disappointing read!

This Stage of Life by Giselle Renarde ♥♥♥3 Hearts

The story starts nicely with Andrew returning to his high school after thirteen years to watch a dress rehearsal for a show the kids were going to play. He had forgotten however, the crush with his former dancing teacher, but all came back in a rush as soon as he laid eyes on Mr. Czarneki again. After the rehearsal was over his high school friend (who was the reason he was there in the first place) and the rest of the teachers gathered up at Mr. Czarneki’s house, and a fake excuse has Andrew staying back when everyone else leaves. Up until that moment Andrew thought he had things figured out, that Mr. Czarneki wanted him to stay, but he began to have his doubts as his former teacher disappeared in his bedroom, leaving Andrew to finish his dinner all alone.

That is until the door opened and his former teacher greeted him again in a completely different outfit and attitude. In front of Andrew stood a Dom.

Unbelievable! One moment they are talking about his teacher’s deceased wife, the next the story jumps into hardcore BDSM. What on Earth? And just how did Czarneki know that Andrew was a kinkster, when not even we knew anything about it? I mean we are reading this story from Andrew’s point of view; it would be only fair to know such a thing, right? And that damned huge leap, from zero to hundred in a fragment of a second. We’re talking about giving consent to unknown element unthinkingly and without even a small talk for boundaries. Nothing, zero, zip! A master/dog scene blasts right in front of our eyes, taking us unaware into a smacking, slashing, whipping, humiliating session; Just. Like. That!

But that doesn’t mean it was not good. I might have found some of it hilarious and even ludicrous, but I also found it damned HOT! This read certainly managed to get the personal feel into it, the chemistry between the characters, and the hotness that accompanies good scenes. Master & pup kink might not be my favorite, but I surely enjoyed this one.

Campaigning for the Billionaire by Noelle Keaton ♥♥♥♥3.5Hearts

Politics and politicians is the theme of this story, with the leading character, Dylan, being a campaign staffer, and the second lead being Charles, a self-made billionaire running for Senator.

I liked this story, it was quick and to the point, with a good narration, and a chemistry between the two men that made it to the surface and reached me as a reader. Add in that the little bit of suspense and tension, a third provoking element with a nicely placed blackmail leading the story to an unseen turn of events, and you have a very nice and enjoyable politician’s hotbed story.

The intimate part was also well thought and written. The lust Charles and Dylan shared was most delicious, and their lovemaking quite sensuous and sexy.

This was definitely a read that I enjoyed, without having the final declaration of “never let you go” spoiling it for me. I found it mostly appropriate thinking this happily ever after should definitely end Just. Like. That.

Date with a Stranger by Pelaam ♥♥♥♥♥4.5Hearts

There was no way I would have thought the turn this little story took, but I’m so glad I kept on reading it.

So there I am reading about Cassidy who at first sight seemed like a pretentious, rich jerk. Sorry, but he did. I goes into this high-class club were the patrons are all rich and show it. He takes his place at the bar and starts searching for someone to take home when a twink makes his appearance. Admittedly, the twink is hot, and has all heads turning. While some other pretentious rich jerk send him a pink cocktail and gets rebuffed unceremoniously, Cassidy orders champagne, and what do you think, the twink falls head over heels with the older rich man.

At this point, I’m wondering how someone can be so shallow and slutty. I mean gold-differ doesn’t even come close, Jeff was so not appealing, not to mention that as hard to get as he played it, he went down way easily. And just as I’m about to let this one go, boom, the plot takes a huge U-turn and I’m left with my jaw hanging in the air. Damn, what a great change and what a surprise in such a little story. In hindsight, you understand that this story is one hell of a role-playing fantasy, so hot, sexy, and so I-want-to-do-that-too kind of idea.

Loved it!