Review of Middleman by Jayne Rylon

 by Jayne Rylon

3.5 stars

I don’t kneel for any man. Not anymore.
I had the perfect dominant boyfriend. Then Cortez left me to save the world.
After two and a half years lost drowning my misery in bad decisions, one man changed everything.
Rogan is the perfect submissive, who puts me back in control of both him and my life.
Until Cortez comes home.
Who am I? Cortez’s bottom or Rogan’s top?
Maybe I’m both.
Maybe I was made to be their middleman.

Hmm, a ménage romance, 3 hot men and a BDSM kink, sound like a steamy book.  And Middleman delivers on the steam, but a few little issues kept us from totally falling in love.

Kaden is an artist and a dedicated bottom for dominant Cortez.  Cortez is a soldier, and when the military calls him away for a special op for an extended period, he thinks he does what is right and breaks it off with Kaden.  Kaden is broken and spends the next years finding relief in other men, drugs and alcohol. However, while doing a portrait for a new sexy client, Rogan, he finds himself pulled into his drama and is happy to find relief for his broken heart.  But things aren’t simple, Cortez comes back form the dead and wants Kaden back.

This is a story about 3 very different men; Kaden, Cortez and Rogan. It is a hot hot steamy erotic story, but it missed a bit for us in the BDSM side, it is a bit more of a kink with light bondage and not really BDSM.  But, it is sizzling, the sex is off the page hot, and really if you are looking for serious chemistry and scalding sex than read on. 

A few things that made us scratch our head.  There is a lot of drama, Cortez leaving, Kaden’s broken soul, Rogan’s cheating ex, and it got a bit much, a bit like drama for drama sake.  Plus we didn’t really like how the fell into the ménage.  Seriously, if your boyfriend’s ex (the one he still says he loves and is heart-broken over) returns would you invite him to be your bodyguard? Yeah, no, it wasn’t really believable.  This is our first Jayne Rylon book, so maybe we aren’t used to her style, but we felt the story missed a flow, like it was a bit forced.  We like the 3 characters individually, and the Kaden/Rogan and Kaden/Cortez relationship but we weren’t really sold on the ménage.

But we are just being picky.  We wanted to like this ménage, we really liked the steam, and the sex scenes are phenomenal, but the story didn’t really work for us.

Review of Chasing Mr. Wright by Aimee Nicole Walke

 

 by Aimee Nicole Walker

2 stars

Grayson Wright is a man who knows how to do many things. He knows how to follow his dream and create a company, Wright Creations, alongside his brother. He knows how to be a good son, brother, friend, and employer. Grayson doesn’t know how to fix his toxic relationship with his long-time boyfriend.

Grayson decides to throw his boyfriend a surprise birthday party as a last ditch effort to rekindle the old spark, but it’s Gray who gets the surprise of his life when he turns on the lights and learns the ugly truth about his life. Now at age 32, he re-evaluates who he is, what he wants out of life, and the kind of man he wants to give his heart to.

Chase Rivers has an MBA from Georgetown with a minor in marketing. His life starts looking up when he accepts an entry level position at an ad agency. It isn’t his dream job, but it’s a great start and it just feels right to him. He hopes this new beginning in his professional life will spill over into his personal life.

Chase is unlucky in love and draws every loser, liar and cheater like a magnet. He’s an expert at finding the perfect mate for his friends, but strikes out every time for himself. He gives up on finding Mr. Right and agrees to a date with Mr. Right Now out of loneliness and desperation. Chase didn’t expect Mr. Right Now to lead him to the doorstep of his very own Mr. Wright.

If their first meeting was a fluke, then what was the second and third? Twisted fate? Bad luck? Fated hearts? Buckle up for a bumpy ride as these two men travel down a broken road of heartache and discovery.

The first few chapters had so much potential for this m/m insta-love story, but fell apart quickly.

We first meet Grayson Wright, throwing what should be a happy surprise party for his live-in boyfriend of 10 years.  Thinking that this would be a great re-boot for their waning relationship, what he didn’t bank on is being the one surprised.  Chase Rivers is a pretty boy that is unlucky in love, starting a new career at an ad agency hoping that this time things will start coming together. 

Oh there is SO much happening in this book we don’t know where to start; insta-love, bisexual shaming, chick-flick emotions, so many leaking eyes, fate fate and more fate, ridiculous misunderstandings meddling ex-boyfriends, inappropriate grandmas and so many references to ‘God’s plan’. It was a bit much.  Grayson spends 50% of the book being a jerk to Chase, he is hot and cold, going from rejecting him to wanting him.  And chase keeps coming back for the bait; seriously, has he been so broken by other men he will take whatever he is being handed.  I want him, I can’t have him, I want him, I can’t have him…..and repeat. 

This book is also way too long, a couple times it could have wrapped up nicely, but it just kept on going, probably 100 pages too long.  Chasing Mr. Wright also switched POVs, but it was confusing and muddled and more than once we wondered which one of these men was talking, but honestly didn’t care enough to go back and look. 

As we can see we can go on about all our issues with this book, but will just end here by saying, do yourself a favor and skip Chasing Mr. Wright.