Title: Wrapped in Leather
Author: M.A. Church
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Kink & Fetish
ISBN: 978-1-62798-422-5
Length: Novel (210 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (January 3rd, 2014)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3~3.5 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: To celebrate his decision to take the next step with his boyfriend Ian, Toshi Baylor plans a romantic evening at their favorite steak house. Toshi starts the special weekend with a bang by surprising Ian at home with lunch. There’s a bang all right, but it’s between Ian and another guy.
Jase Taylor’s auto repair shop and the BDSM club, Wrapped Up, keep him busy while he waits for Mr. Right, instead of Mr. Right Now. He’s a Dom, but playing with the club’s submissives isn’t providing the usual stress release. After a day from hell, he deserves a good meal at his favorite steak house.
Toshi and Jase find a mix-up with their reservations: a table for Baylor, not Taylor. When Toshi invites Jase to dine with him, they discover a mutual affection for leather and a shared belief that trust must be earned.
Before they can explore their common interests, Toshi suffers a series of attacks by vandals. Jase’s protective instincts kick in, but both wonder if it can lead to anything permanent.
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4567
Review: This is a story that combines romance and kinks nicely. Easily to read and follow the storyline we get to meet two characters that are quite charming. I’m a fan of kinky reads and, while sometimes they are quite heavy, this one managed to keep with a light-hearted feeling throughout the plot, even as things got a bit complicated and danger lurked down the corner.
Two men utterly different from each other share many things. Jase is a seasoned Dom, but he lacks the unnerving intensity some of them expel. He’s been cheated and dumped resulting to a lack of trust and a more cautious behavior, albeit he never stops searching for that one guy with whom he’ll share his life and interests. For Jase is not only looking for love, he’s looking for a submissive as well.
Toshi on the other hand is a man who’s also been cheated. His story with his ex is a bit louder as he actually catches him during the act. Now Toshi has no relationship with the BDSM scene but he’s been wanting more from his lover for quite a while now. He understands when he breaks up with Ian, that Ian could never be the one for him unless he settled. Toshi needs a more dominant man in his life that would be such in bed but allow him his own mind and choices in their everyday life. Toshi needs a man who will also share his addiction with leather.
So while Jase was a charming enough character, I think I mostly adored Toshi. As a sub, he was not the overbearing one, and as a newbie, he didn’t jump and leaped into a completely different person from one day the next. Toshi’s introduction to the scene was very well done for my preferences. I liked how overwhelmed he got, I liked his reactions, and I liked the fact that he could actually kick us. No doormat our Toshi and for that I loved him.
The romantic side of this book started nicely, with a lovely predestined looking coincidence that had a nice flirtation going on. I think that was the favorite part of this entire book for me, the flirt going on between these two guys and their reactions to each other. When the intimate scenes came in view, their first times fumbling around were so erotic and so hot, it nearly made me scream along. The scenes though as the story moved on were a mix, some of them taking you over; some of them, while sensual and erotic, lacked that edge that would make you fly. What started nicely and with an edge, somewhere along the way that edge got a bit lost. I expected more intensity but the more the story moved forward, the more everything seemed to rush toward the end.
The POV’s were a bit meshed but not so much to take you out of the grip the story has upon you. We have Toshi’s POV and Jase’s, but somewhere in between there was a mix up in narration that jumped from one to the other with no apparent cause or reason. As I said though I managed to stay invested in the story.
The action itself was interesting. While apparent who the cause of all disturbance was, it still made sense and was really wondering what was the deal with that “bad” guy there. I must point though that even here the story rushed in the end leaving me a bit unsatisfied with the whole deal. The story built and built and when time came to deliver a nice blow, everything seemed to magically dissolve itself.
The weirdest feeling, though, was that of this title being part of a series. It felt as if there was a previous installment and one to come, especially with the hints on the epilogue. Too many things were left unsaid.
All in all though it was an interesting book and generally enjoyable. For fans of the genre, it is a light book I don’t hesitate to recommend.
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