Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: Lab Rat’s Love

AUTHOR: Ana J. Phoenix

PUBLISHER: Loose ID

LENGTH: 230 Pages

BLURB:

When Nex blows all his money on drugs and gambling, Kane offers to pay off his debts. But his generosity comes at a price: Nex has to become his lab rat. Kane’s company has developed a sex chip, and Nex is the only eligible test candidate.

Nex doesn’t mind having kinky sex with a drop-dead gorgeous CEO for testing purposes. Even less so when Kane turns out to be all Nex ever wanted in a Dom and in a boyfriend. There’s only one problem. Kane used to live with Nex’s deceased twin, someone who Kane may still be hung up on, even if he denies it.

Still, Nex wants Kane, and he knows there’s only one way to get him: kick the drugs and stay clean — before his addiction ruins the experiment and their budding relationship.

REVIEW:

I wanted to read this book as soon as I read the blurb but to be honest, at the same time, I don’t think I was expecting it to be all that well done. A sex chip that requires Nex to be at Kane’s sexual disposal in order to complete a testing phase? Sounds a little cringe worthy but sign me up cause that’s just the sort of messed up story I somehow always find myself compelled to dive into. And I’ll admit I don’t have the best strike rate with these books whose blurbs leave me asking WTF? Luckily for me, this book had a decent story to back up its crazy premise.

Nex and Kane meet for the first time over the deathbed of Styx, the man who was twin brother to Nex and, well, all kinds of things to Kane. Although I wouldn’t say Nex and Styx were estranged from one another they were separated as children remained connected as adults through rather distancing means. Nex is an addict who often required his brother to help him financially and Styx suffered from rather severe depression and couldn’t bring himself to spend time with his troubled brother. And that’s how it happens that despite Styx and Kane being together for fourteen years, Nex and Kane don’t know each other.

Styx and Kane’s relationship was a bit of a complicated one. They were best friends, housemates, sometimes lovers and business partners. Which is how the sex chip comes into play. The business that they owned together sells sex toys and Styx, who is often described as an evil genius, has come up with a chip that must be surgically implanted into a person’s brain and can then be used to control their sexual responses. For example, it can increase their arousal or it could deny them their orgasm. The chip that has been produced as a prototype has been tailored to match Styx’s DNA but now that he’s dead Nex is possibly the only other person whose DNA is close enough to Styx’s that the chip may still work. And as I mentioned, Nex is always desperate for some funds.

I found the whole sex chip angle really interesting and oh so wrong at the same time. It’s mentioned that the chip might be popular in BDSM circles but I wasn’t really sold on that. Put a chip in a Subs head and it’s no longer about them wanting to obey their Dom, it’s them not having any choice because the Dom has control of their brain. It seems to me this chip would be more popular with human trafficking rings and people who want themselves a non consenting sex slave. Anyway, that’s just my interpretation of what the chip would be used for, but I still liked the idea of the chip. In fact there really wasn’t enough about the chip once the story got going. The story focused more on the growing relationship between Kane and Nex.

This story is told from the point of view of both Nex and Kane but Styx’s presence is definitely felt throughout. Actually I think Styx might just be my favourite character and even though it would have been absolutely ridiculous I wouldn’t have complained too loudly if at the end of the story it was revealed that Styx was secretly still alive. But sigh. It wasn’t to be. Instead we hear from Styx through letters he’s left to both MCs as even from the grave he works to manipulate the people he’s left behind.

Of course even without Styx’s involvement Nex and Kane have plenty of problems to deal with as they continue to battle their growing attraction and Nex’s addiction. But the ghost of Styx is always there as a handy tool to hurt the other with. And I mean ghost figuratively btw, there is no actual ghost.

Overall, I’m glad I decided to read this. I’d recommend though that you don’t read this for the story about the chip because I would say that it is much more a story about love (awww). Styx’s unacknowledged love for both Nex and Kane, the love they both had for Styx and the love that builds between the two men who Styx left behind, with just a little help from the deceased evil genius himself.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Loose ID

Amazon