Aleksandr Voinov

Take It Off is the second book in L. A. Witt and Aleksandr Voinov’s Market Garden series that follows a group of rent boys who work at an exclusive, upscale London club of the same name. It picks up Tristan and Jared’s story just a short time after we left them in the last book, Quid Pro Quo. It’s been perhaps a couple of months since their first encounter together, “performing” for Rolex, the nickname they gave to the wealthy john who set them on this path. Since then, they’ve show more continued their act for other johns or sometime to tag team the customers. Given how close they’ve become, Tristan has been catching feelings for Jared, but lately he feels like Jared has been pulling away. Tristan wants to take their relationship outside the club and away from the customers, but unsure if Jared feels the same way, he’s been trying to screw up the courage to find out. Then Rolex returns for a repeat performance, giving Tristan what he thinks might be the perfect opportunity to show Jared just how much he’s come to care about him, until Rolex and Jared turn the tables on him so that Jared can get sweet revenge by tormenting Tristan this time around.

The first story of the series was written from Jared’s POV, but this one is from Tristan’s perspective, which was a welcome change of pace. Previously Tristan was the confident, charming, and more dominant one of the pair, while Jared was a little more unsure of himself. We knew from that story that Jared was crushing hard on Tristan, so he was eager to team up with him to give their customer a steamy show. This time around Tristan is the one developing feelings for Jared. He’s starting to want alone time with him so that they can just get to know one another and do what pleases them rather than having to always please the customers. But because they’ve never really discussed it, Tristan isn’t sure if their performances together are just an act for Jared or if there’s something more to it. I liked seeing this more vulnerable side to Tristan, because it showed him as more than the confident, dominant lover. It was also an interesting twist to have Jared be the one teasing and tormenting Tristan, because it not only showed that Jared has gained confidence but also showed Tristan in a more defenseless state, where he just can’t resist Jared’s hotness. As with the first story, Take It Off is mostly about the sex, and whew!, is it ever steamy, totally setting the pages on fire. Also like the first, it has more of an HFN ending, with Tristan and Jared finally agreeing to see each other outside of work. However, I know that there’s one more story to come for these two heroes, the sixth book of the series, Pay Off, where I hope they’ll finally get their HEA. I just adore Tristan and Jared together and look forward to reading more about them and the other boys at Market Garden.

Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, including voyeurism/exhibitionism, sex work, and a little MMM menage action, which could be objectionable to sensitive readers. show less

I don't know how I feel about this book.

In many ways, it's an effective novel. The prose is a notch above most romance. The progression of the romance is enjoyable and the main characters have great chemistry. I particularly enjoyed the interrogation scenes, which balanced on the edge between violence and eroticism. It's an intense read.

However, I wonder if that intensity was directed in the right direction. In my opinion, a romance novel about an American soldier and a Nazi implicitly asks show more questions: Why use this war that's so laden with suffering as the setting for a romance? Why focus on the struggles of these two soldiers specifically, when the pain of the people in the concentration camps is what (rightfully) looms largest over this historical period? These are difficult questions to answer. They are also, to me, extremely compelling. That's why I decided to read this book: because any book that could answer those questions in a way that respects the legacy of World War II and the Holocaust would be extraordinary. I want to read extraordinary books, and the fact that Voinov is himself a German with a background in history encouraged me to hope.

This book doesn't mention the Holocaust--at least not as far as it pertains to Jews and non-whites. Moreover, though the Nazi character demonstrates his racism in the first few pages, that racism is never addressed later in the novel. The only wrongs of the Nazis discussed are those committed against POWs and gay men--both categories to which the Nazi himself belongs. So here we have a heroic, racist Nazi main character who is regularly portrayed as a sympathetic victim of both German and Allied institutions. Bizarrely, his swastika-emblazoned iron cross is repeatedly framed as a symbol of the main characters' love for one another. It's clear that any questions of how Nazis should be represented in media have fallen by the wayside.

I think a Nazi could enjoy this novel. That's not a thought I ever want to have about a book about World War II. I can think of a lot of things it could have done bettet, but too many of them produce new problems, unbury new historical traumas. Maybe the novel does answer those questions I asked earlier: maybe a romance novel can't address the legacy of the Holocaust. show less

While the setting, some of the characters, and part of the theme are the same in this fifth volume as in the first four books, the story has a somewhat different overall feel. Yes, there is BDSM and very hot bedroom activity, but the playroom, believe it or not, is a paintball field, and the underlying dynamic of the main couple, Frank and Stefan, is more serious. Just like the others in the first four books, Frank and Stefan develop as characters, but there is some real emotional growth show more here as well. I loved that!

Frank may think he's got it all sorted out, and is reasonably happy with his life, but when his newest rent boy walks in, everything changes. Not that Frank gives in easily, he has his reasons for living the life he does. Losing a lover to AIDS as well as being HIV positive himself has shaped who he is, but it is beginning to stifle him. His friends see it and worry, but there isn’t much they can do. Frank is going to have to want a change, or, at the very least, stop resisting it. The fact that his first chance at happiness comes in the form of one of his employees, which adds the rule of not f*cking those working for him to the obstacles in his way, at first seems insurmountable. Frank's resistance is formidable, but, in the end, being captured is what he needs, and surrender comes easier than he thought.

Stefan is a trip and a half. He is tall, tough, yet can be incredibly gentle. He also knows he wants Frank, and goes after him without hesitation. The combination of all of that added to an understanding soul and a giving lover, and the man is truly irresistible. Stefan, too, has lost a lover to AIDS, but he isn't positive himself. He is many years younger than Frank, and even though he pretends to be Stefan, the soldier, half the time, he takes no prisoners in play or in real life. Well, actually he does, that is how he makes most of his money, but you know what I mean. It's an attitude thing, and Stefan has got that in spades.

Interestingly, the "capture and surrender" theme works on several levels. The physical is obvious, and anyone with a military kink, a prisoner fetish, or a thing for camo and being ordered around will enjoy this story for those elements alone. But the theme goes deeper than the physical, and the emotional side is not to be underestimated and works both ways. The raw emotions come through loud and clear, and if you're looking for a heartwarming, yet realistic romance between two men who honestly thought they'd never be able to love again, then this is your book. Just – be ready to be captured by the story. I think you might be surprised how much fun the surrender can be.


NOTE: This book was provided by the authors for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. show less

Wow, loved this.
While this story takes place over a single weekend it never once rang my instalove warning bells. There is no talk of TruLuv or FOREVER. There is only the now, attraction, need, want and seeing where the moment takes you.
I've owned this story for so long but put off reading it because of the BDSM theme (not really my thing) but I wish I hadn't left it so long. This is not so much BDSM as BDSMlite. I'd even go as far to say it's BDSMfail. By this I don't mean failure on the show more authors' part (as a writing team they did a grand job) but on the character's (Malcolm, bless you).

My only complaint, there was a lot of sex for a novella length book that had so much character development (although much of Malcolm's realisations took place during sex). I'd have prefered a little less time in the bedroom and a more of them in the other moments. Changing the ratio slightly would have given it an extra half star from me. show less