Kimberly Gardner

The title and cover of this anthology from the relatively new MLR Press implies a little bondage, but that’s misleading. The theme is what ties lovers together, be it restraints, need or simple love. There are five stories, though one is actually an excerpt from the popular book “A Bit of Rough” by Laura Baumbach. I don’t like excerpts included in story collections, but the novel did start out as a story before Laura expanded it and people new to her writing will appreciate a show more “taste.” I usually don’t buy anthologies as I don’t want a good story to end, but this is a very good collection. I picked it up mainly because I love JL Langley’s work and was looking for something to tide me over until her next book. I never imagined I would like one of the other stories more.

“Key to Me” by Jet Mykles is by far my favorite in the collection. The story is seductive, and sexy with a teasing plot that drew me in. Noah is somewhat of a player, bouncing from one lover to the next never finding someone he wanted to stay with - until he starts receiving gifts from a secret admirer. He’s intrigued, and becomes obsessed with discovering the giver. The secret admirer finally arranges for them to meet, only Noah must be blindfolded and very lightly bound the entire time. The sex is hot as Noah flirts with a little danger and the possibility of love. Though I guessed the secret lover almost immediately, it didn’t dim the suspense as Noah is wooed by the unknown man. The ending was heartwarming, tender and more than a little steamy! I will look for more by Mykles.

“Roughly Tied Together” by Laura Baumbach is the excerpt. I’d recommend newcomers just skip this and go straight for the novel – much more satisfying!

“Gift of Eros” by Kimberly Gardner was enjoyable, but the ending felt unfinished. Val is a college grad student who has a hot one-night stand (or so he thought) with the new transfer student, Dylan. Only Dylan is much more than he seems. Val finds himself with a choice – the promise of falling in love and it being returned, or taking a greater risk. Dylan and Val are a great couple, and they have piping hot sex, but I felt their story was rushed at the end. Good, but a few more pages would have made it excellent.

“Rough Ride” by Laura Baumbach was released previously as an e-book stand alone short story. It features the men from “A Bit of Rough” having some fun in the snow, before heading back for some fun by the fireplace. James and Bram are a wonderful couple, and Laura excels at writing sensuous lovemaking with a “bit of rough”! Readers need not have read the novel and its sequel, but they do make the story better as readers know the men’s history together.

“One Good Favor” – by JL Langley and Dick D was a surprising and wonderful submission. Langley has an entire paranormal series about werewolves, but I didn’t expect this tale to fall in that genre. It was a clever, fun story about a rodeo rider looking for a new horse and finds more than he bargained for! I really enjoyed it, and wouldn’t mind reading another story about Aaron’s brother Adam.

Overall, this is a solid collection with a couple of real gems. Highly recommended! show less

I really liked both characters, and the bar setting really worked. I felt like the MC's other business should have gotten a bit more attention in the plot, as it was supposed to be his main focus whereas the bar was more his brother's thing. I enjoyed the slow pace, but relative to that, the ending felt rushed. I'm also not a huge fan of the level of are-we-together-or-are-we-broken-up that this story kept having, but I'm a low angst kinda guy *shrug*

I really enjoyed this one. The characters all spoke to me. I won't say that I liked them all, in fact at all times I had an issue with either Jason, Rain or Benny lol. But if a character touches me, in whatever way that may be, then for me the book is a success.

I would have liked to have had a little more about the way the guys all learn to live as a threesome. I found that was overlooked, but then again, I'm greedy and I always want more!

Bound to Please explains perfectly one of the reasons why I understand the existence of a ménages a trois, while I usually am a monogamous supporter.

Benny is in love with his boss Jason, a Dom and the owner of a BDSM private club (he is one of the character in Phoenix Rising, the previous book by Kimberly Gardner set in the same community). With his body and heart Benny is willing to give anything to Jason, but with his mind he is scared by all the different layers a BDSM relationship can show more have. Jason knows that, if he pushes the boy, Benny would probably agree to a Master / slave relationship, but deep inside it’s not what he wants.

Enter Rain, former porn actor and now fetish model; he is one of the models Jason is using for his exhibition, and he is more than willing to be the guinea pig for the most extreme of Jason’s pictorial fantasies. Rain is a happy to go guy, sex is something good and full of joy, and he lives it like that, willing to share his body with a freedom that Benny envies. But Rain is not selfish, obviously, and he finds in both Jason than Benny something he needs: Jason is the authoritative figure he needs to have an appearance of stability in his life, and Benny is the buddy friend he wants to not forget that, indeed, life is a good thing.

There is a complex work of balance in the trio: Jason needs both Rain than Benny, since the two together fulfil all his desires, his sweet and his hard side; Rain needs both Jason than Benny; and Benny needs both Rain than Jason, Rain to help him understand that there is not to be feared in the type of relationship the darker side of Jason needs. No one of them is complete without both of his lovers, missing one of them would be the end of the whole relationship.

I like all the characters, but for sure the boys, Benny and Rain, are the best; Jason is good but he fades on the background when the boys are around, something that is strange considering he is the Dom. Benny and Rain, purple and blue hair, are like boys at play, I have always the feeling to hear someone laughing when they are in a room. Jason is not their puppeteer, he is the one who is fallen in their net; I have this image of Benny and Rain building a net with colourful rope, and Jason totally caught in the middle.

There is a lot of sex, some of it also quite extreme, but above all I have this feeling of esthetical beauty: each scene is like a carefully planned painting, with full and deep colour, it’s a very visual feeling. On this matter, at the beginning the cover led me in the wrong direction: it gave me the idea of a futuristic / fantasy romance, and so I didn’t realize that indeed, this is a totally contemporary novel, and moreover, the sequel of Phoenix Rising.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608200442/?tag=elimyrevandra-20 show less