Reviewed by Vicki

TITLE: Dom on the Side

SERIES: Blowing It #3

AUTHOR: Kate Aaron

PUBLISHER: Croft House

LENGTH: 285 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 25th, 2016

BLURB:

“I’d love to Dom you one day. You’d be a natural.”

When a one-night stand makes Ryan Jessop a casual offer to introduce him to BDSM, he’s torn between denial of his submissive fantasies and their irresistible pull. Taking a chance, he discovers in Jim a skilled Dominant, and under his guidance, Ryan’s submission blossoms. Unfortunately, guidance is all Jim can offer. The one thing Ryan wants most—a loving Dom to whom he exclusively belongs—is off the table.

Sameer Farouk is the right guy at the wrong time, and as far as Ryan can tell, not kinky. No matter how clearly Ryan can foresee a future with Sameer, he refuses to settle for less than total compatibility, both in and out of the bedroom. Despite their obvious connection, breaking up is the right thing to do, even if it breaks Ryan’s heart.

Torn between them, Ryan must decide if he’s prepared to gamble everything on one man, or if he’d be better off with a vanilla boyfriend and a Dom on the side.

*Dom on the Side is the third book in the Blowing It universe, but can be read as a standalone.

REVIEW:

This book is seriously good….

I read Blowing It and Balls Up last summer I think, and loved them. Blowing It was fun, a very good story, but not THAT unusual, a good romance with a great couple, I loved it, but it wasn’t surprising. And I don’t mean that in a negative way at all. I loved it. But then I read Balls Up. Holy crap. It hurt me, it wrecked me, I cried and cried. But it was so fucking good. Such a horrible topic, Owen had testicular cancer, and we follow him through his whole treatment. It was awful. But Kate wrote it with such love and care, it broke my heart. And yes, here’s a big spoiler, it has a happy ending. In those two books we met Ryan, Owen’s best friend, and Ryan’s boyfriend Sameer. They were in and out of the picture, as friends are, until Owen hid his illness from them. Once they find out, Ryan was all over Owen, and right there with him. But the story was about Owen, not Ryan and Sameer, so they were a bit of a mystery. Friends, but not the main couple. Until now.

In Dom on the Side, we go back in time, to the early days of the friendship between Owen and Ryan. This is really Ryan’s story, about his relationships with the men in his life. We see lots of Owen, they are young and living together in an apartment, Owen struggling to establish himself as a writer, Ryan on his first job as a teacher. They are best friends, not lovers, but they are so damn sweet. They totally love each other, cuddle, fight, help, and hinder. Owen gives his heart freely and openly, and until Magnus comes a long a lot later, the one stable man in his life is Ryan. Yes, they have other friends, but really it’s Ryan. If only they could be a couple! But no…. Ryan has a need that no one has been able to meet, much less see. Turns out he likes a little kink with his sex, and we get to watch as he learns about the lifestyle through his relationship with Jim.

Ryan and Jim meet and fuck one night, Ryan thinking that will be all it is. But as Jim leaves, he mentions to Ryan that he’d like to “Dom” him. Ryan is not initially interested, but that word lingers in his head. He does some research, including a trip to a fetish bar that does nothing but turn him off. He eventually finds Jim’s profile on a dating site and Ryan gets up the nerve to contact him. The two meet for a drink and a discussion. They come to a mutual understanding, Jim will introduce Ryan to the world of kink, but Ryan has to understand there can be no romance, no love, no relationship beyond that. Jim has a boyfriend. Ryan isn’t sure, but agrees, and off they go. And we get an amazing introduction to the lifestyle as well.

Sameer doesn’t appear until well after the 50% mark. Ryan is satisfied with his “relationship” with Jim, but Owen is not. Owen, who is always looking for love, not only can’t understand why Ryan wants to be hit and hurt, also can’t understand why Ryan is ok with not having love. He keeps after Ryan, who on a drunken outing, takes a man home for some vanilla sex. That’s how we get Sameer in the mix. Sameer seems like a sweet guy, but not kinky. This does not work for Ryan, and he has no plans to hook up with Sameer again. Eventually the two reconnect, and with the meddling of Owen, Ryan begins to date Sameer. But there is always this thing with Jim hanging over his head. He continues to see Jim to get his kinky needs met, and can’t see how a relationship with Sameer can go anywhere. I’ll stop there! So that is the conundrum. Ryan is seeing Jim and Sameer. What to do, what to do!

So what I LOVED about this book was the slow introduction to BDSM that Jim gives to Ryan. I’ve read a lot of BDSM books, and most often both parties are in the lifestyle and just go for it. Or there is an experienced Dom, who overwhelms a new sub, and they go for it. This was a lesson. For Ryan, and for me. Jim is so careful, going over step by step, making Ryan think and feel, taking notes, checking in with him, it was just awesome. I loved their relationship. I loved that Jim was so clear about not wanting love, that it was only for the kink. It’s just a perfect, careful relationship. No romance, no love, at least not THAT kind of love, but caring and kink. Perfection! Then there is Sameer, he’s still a bit of a mystery to me. He actually plays a smaller role in this book, behind Owen and Jim. That was different for me. I hesitate to say there is romance between them, or love, the story ends at the beginning of their relationship, and we don’t get to see much. But that worked very well. This is Ryan’s story, Ryan’s journey, and Ryan’s men. I loved his relationship with the three men in his life, he gets something he needs, but something different from each of them. Kate makes it all work very well. It didn’t feel icky, no cheating, not weirdness. Ryan needs different things from each of them, and he gets that. Owen gives him friendship and unconditional love, Jim gives him kink, and Sameer gives him romantic love. Or will, as they progress and get there I’m sure.

Wow. This was such a different book in so many ways. The late introduction of the main love interest, the slow introduction and education about kink, the non-sexual love between Ryan and Owen, damn, it all worked so very well. Each of these books has been fantastic in their own way, and they fit together just perfectly. This one could be read as a standalone, it actually takes place before Blowing It chronologically, so if you haven’t read the others I’d read this one first. Then go read the others! Just get your tissues out for Balls Up, it’s a rough ride. If you have read the other two, wow. Wait until you read this one! The writing is just superb, the plot is creative, the relationships between the characters perfect, the kink is kinky but not icky, and the vanilla sex is sweet and hot.

I highly recommend this book for many reasons. It’s part of an amazing series, it has great characters, a fantastic story, and a perfect introduction to kink. If you haven’t read any BDSM books this would actually be a great place to start. You’ll probably learn something from it, I did, even after years for reading kinky books!

I sooooo hope we get another one! There’s another couple that needs some help in these books…. maybe we’ll see their story? Please Kate?

RATING:

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