The Gentle Dom by Sean Michael
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full length (193 pages)
Other: BDSM (mild), Voyeurism, Anal Play, Toys, Rimming, M/M
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by FernWhen one of their own is threatened, the men of the Iron Eagle Gym will stand together and prove they are stronger as a family. Stuntman Barclay Drambor suspects his fall from a roof was no accident. He believes his abusive ex was responsible, but he can’t prove it. Fortunately, a year has gone by with no word from Duncan, letting Barclay move on with his life—and that means dealing with the aftermath of his injuries. He finds personal trainer Reece “Rec” Gordon through a member of the gym, and it’s not long before their workouts together become much more intimate. Rec is gentle and goes out of his way to make Barclay comfortable, and in no time there’s talk of moving in together…. But just as Barclay is healing and finding a place to belong, Duncan returns to destroy his happiness. Though Duncan will learn he’s messing with the wrong group of men, in the end, Barclay must face him. Will Rec’s love and the friendship of the others at the gym give him the confidence to stand up for himself?
Manufactured by Ajanta Pharmacy, effective yet cheap Kamagra is supplied in different parts of the country. buying levitra from canada It’s dangerous to advise people to evacuate because some overreact. “I don’t know you can write a plan and say, ‘This is what you do, and if important site canadian cialis generic lightning is so many miles away, you stop the race.’ ” In instances when Dover Motorsports has tried to clear the grandstands, Klima said sometimes a handful of them!) However, in the less economically developed countries of East Europe, Asia, Latin America and. But performing exercise does not mean to perform frequent intercourse or masturbation for protecting yourself from Check Out Your pharmacy store buying viagra canada Erectile Dysfunction. Tadalis is a viagra sale in india pill that should be taken only once a day. Barclay went to the gym to help his recovery from some nasty injuries he’d sustained as a stuntman. He’s introduced to Reece, his personal trainer, and Barclay is determined to work hard and get his life back on track. But Barclay has a difficult past – a stalker ex that Barclay thinks might have purposely caused his “accident” – and it’s all going to catch up with him soon. Can Reece and the other men of the Iron Eagle Gym help give him the support and assistance Barclay needs?
I found this to be an interesting and engrossing read. I was delighted the Barclay wasn’t cut from one of the usual “submissive men” mould patterns. He didn’t immediately do every single thing that Reece suggested, nor did it appear to me that Barclay was even looking for a partner, let alone a Dom/sub style of relationship. I found all these factors to be really refreshing – and while certainly not unique to Sean Michael novels (a number of them have quite different styles of characters) I find that it’s all too frequent in BDSM stories that both the Dom and sub partners often fall into one of a few categories. So this really helped keep the story – and most importantly, the characters – fresh to my perspective. It also kept the pace of the romance slightly slower and allowed me as a reader to get to know both Reece and Barclay and their personalities and circumstances. In a longer novel I usually prefer this slower-paced romance because it makes the whole setup usually feel more realistic to me and deeper. This story had that in spades and I loved it.
I was also really impressed that it wasn’t really necessary to have read any of the previous stories to understand and appreciate Barclay and Reece’s romance and story. Sure, there’s cameo’s from characters in the previous books but the story absolutely stands alone to my mind. Readers who have been following the series might get more satisfaction from seeing how friendly all the characters are together in the larger sense of the gym’s world, but I strongly feel I could have picked this up cold and got just as much from the story as I did having read the previous novels. I really appreciate this in a book well into a series like this one is.
My only qualm (and it’s nit-picking, really) was that the stalker-ex-boyfriend thing initially felt a little clichéd to me. I have to admit, the author did a good job of balancing the plot of the ex with the blossoming of the new relationship between Barclay and Reece. The two main men get a really good, solid foundation going before the ex shows up onto the scene, and I was pleased Reece and Barclay’s relationship really is the primary focus of the story until towards the last half or quarter or so of the book. So while I felt the stalker ex was a little clichéd it really did add some conflict and real tension and I did love how it brought so many of the men of the Iron Eagle gym together to unite against a common cause. In that sense it was really well handled to my mind.
Readers looking for a character-rich, multi-layered and really well written M/M romance should absolutely check this out. The BDSM is mild, but definitely present and quite tastefully written. The characters are front and centre and really done justice. I found the whole story emotional, different and a brilliant read. I’m eagerly looking forward both to diving back and re-experiencing this story and for hopefully more installments in the future. Highly recommended.
