Reviewed by Susan

TITLE: Lap Dog

SERIES: Shelter #2

AUTHOR: Kate Sherwood

PUBLISHER: KSB

LENGTH: 202 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 22, 2016

BLURB:

Tristan Beck sells his body for a living; Simon Yeung sold his soul for his family.

Simon’s job is to make things run smoothly for his uncle’s business, and he does his job well. When he’s assigned to convince Tristan to work for a family ally, Simon develops a strategy and then implements it. Nothing personal.

But when “convincing” really means “forcing” it couldn’t be more personal for Tristan and his friends. Tristan may be a prostitute, but as an independent he was in control—not of individual encounters maybe, but at least of his client list and what he was willing to do for them.

As Simon gets to know Tristan better, he begins to question his own beliefs, and when Tristan’s friends get involved, Simon realizes that a family you choose can mean a lot more than a family you’re born into. Thanks to Simon’s actions, Tristan has to choose between staying with his friends or losing his freedom–unless Simon takes desperate steps to free the man he’s coming to love.

REVIEW:

Lap Dog is the second book in the Shelter series. I had not read the first book, but this did not pose a problem in the reading of it at all. Everything that I might have missed was explained well and the supporting characters were introduced well. The story is written well and engaging. I initially was not sure about the story at all. I really was unhappy with Simon continuing to refer to Tristan as ‘the whore’. This just rubbed me the wrong way. It was not until about the 30% mark that Simon started to see Tristan as a human being and not an object. Despite this, I ended up really enjoying the story. I was drawn into the dilemma that the characters faced. How were Simon and Tristan going to get out of the mess that they were in?

The supporting characters are colourful and substantive and really help the story move along without outshining the main characters.

Simon has a real transition in this story in the way he views the world, himself and others. He has no one in his life that he trusts. His family interactions are mostly cold and he is emotionally alone. Then he is shaken to discover how much Tristan’s friends are willing to sacrifice for him. What would it be like to have that kind of loyalty in your life? Could he ever find that for himself?

Tristan is facing a situation that he cannot control or wish away. He has always exerted control on the way he leads his life and the decisions he makes. Being forced to do something he does not want to do initially makes him want to bury his head and ignore it. But the real threat to his friends, by Simon and who he is working for, is a game changer in the way he views his choices.

Simon’s change in thinking is a catalyst to a journey full of twists and turns, plots and sub plots, that have you rooting for them to not only win, but to find a way to do so together.

RATING: 

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