Great story

This was an interesting M/m story. Great romance and some sexy sex, but more than that, it's a great view of the differences between being a sub, a service sub, and a full-time D/s relationship. They are all different and require different levels of dedication.

Jace is a sub who has just left a relationship with his dominant. And then to heap insult onto injury, he lost his job. When he goes to the club to watch a scene, he gets invited to join another demo. After that demo, he was invited to go to an exclusive gay BDSM resort as a service sub, available to anyone who wants him.

Quinn is a trainer at the resort. He helps clients learn new skills and helps train subs to be better. He has been a FWB with one of the other trainers, but that's been fading for a while. When he sees Jace, he's instantly attracted to him, and knows that it's time to do something.

I really enjoyed this book. The conflict felt so real. Everyone has dealt with someone like the antagonist at some point, so it was really relatable. ( )

Fantasy BDSM, including a secretive luxury resort/club on A Key West island, at its best, this story is about a betrayed sub finding his feet in a way he’d never have dreamed possible, and an emotionally withdrawn Dom/trainer finding he can love again. The mix between the realism of a working sub’s life, the budding romance between the new sub and the experienced Dom, and the (somewhat predictable) villain weaving his evil plans is fun, entertaining, and very hot in places.

Jace has left his cheating boyfriend, then lost his job, and is somewhat at loose ends when he runs into Carlo, a mysterious man who makes him an offer he cannot refuse. The club he is recruited for caters to rich men, and Jae is determined to do a good job working as a staff submissive. Being on call practically 24/7 is not easy, and some of the clients are easier to deal with than others, but Jace doesn’t have any real issues with any of that. What does make him worry is sadistic trainer Drew who seems determined to make him fail and who gets him into some pretty unsafe situations. Jace deals with all of it by focusing on Quinn, the trainer he is fast falling for.

Quinn doesn’t want to feel the connection with Jace he detects the first time they meet, but he has little choice. It takes a while to find out why he is so hesitant, other than the whole “we are working colleagues” situation, and when his back story is revealed a lot becomes clear. I liked that he wasn’t easy to read, but I did think he could have figured out what Drew was up to a little sooner. Still, he’s a great guy and the way he takes Jace under his wings is wonderful.

Make no mistake – there are some darker moments when the BDSM borders on abuse, but it is made very clear this is not for titillation. Those situations either happen because there is a true masochist meeting up with a sadist, or it’s due to the villain interfering in what is otherwise an extremely careful, safe, sane, and consensual setup.

If you like your BDSM extremely hot and set in a fantasy-like club in the tropics, if you enjoy watching a character explore what BDSM means to him and how he might come to explore his limits, and if you’re looking for a read that is super-hot, sweet, and with a touch of suspense, then you will probably like this novel. ( )