Reviewed by Shelley

TITLE: Screwing the System
SERIES: Screwing the System
AUTHOR: Josephine Myles
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: 214 pages
BLURB: He’s nobody’s bitch. Until he gets a ride on the bitch seat.

Forced to apply for a job he doesn’t want, Cosmo Rawlins has only one aim in mind: fail the interview and get back to making music. Except his attempt to shock the older, sharp-suited Alasdair Grant doesn’t have the desired effect.

Instead of getting thrown out of the office by flaunting an interest in BDSM, Cosmo finds himself on his knees, apologizing to the sexy, good-looking Top.

Alasdair has more important things on his mind than training a novice sub, especially a rebellious bad boy like Cosmo. But there’s something beneath the younger man’s defiant attitude that’s too intriguing to ignore.

As Alasdair takes Cosmo in hand—and for a wild ride on his Harley—he becomes obsessed with bending the young rocker to his will, both in and out of bed. Until he goes one demand too far, and Cosmo is gone in a cloud of dust. Forcing Alasdair to admit that earning Cosmo’s loyalty—and love—will involve the toughest challenge he’s ever faced.

REVIEW:

This book has been on my list to read for AGES! So in an effort to dwindle the pile I dragged my feet and threw myself onto my love seat, puffing out the biggest sigh. I don’t know why, I just thought it was going to be a chore. Shrugs.
But then this happened …

“So, Mr. Grant, (… )Are you a hands-on kind of boss?”

“I prefer to keep a professional distance from my employees.”

“So if I wanted to get to know you better, more intimately”—

—“I’d have to fail this interview.” “Fail it? But you’re doing so well.”

“Let’s just say I have a few extracurricular activities that might interfere with my ability to sit down and drive each day.”

Oh my! Can you imagine saying that to your prospective employer who’s really built and looks like George Clooney? Yeah? Okay, maybe I would too, especially if I was Cosmo and trying to sabotage the interview in favour of my dole benefits.

Cosmo is in so much trouble; he just played the kinky gay card to the WRONG boss. Or is it the RIGHT boss? Cosmo doesn’t know the first thing about kinky sex, only what he’s seen on DVD and now here he is, on his knees, horny and looking up at up at the pissed off ‘wall of man muscle’ standing over him.

Turns out this book was not a chore at all. I flew through the pages with a smile on my face and a fan in my hand. This is my first Josephine Myles novel and my first impression was that her style is reminiscent of Anne Tenino, which is a good thing. The writing is a breeze, the sex is sweltering, and the characters are divine even if one of them is a cheesy Daddy type who shops at Bikers –R –Us. The humour is perfectly pitched, but unlike Tenino, it is very British for which I am forever grateful. I always get such a kick when I can so closely relate to the Briticism’s.

I know guys like Cosmo: common, cocky, confident, street smart dole scroungers with a plan to make it big, or just make it. When Cosmo hooks up with Alasdair, it’s would seem he’s landed with his arse in the lard – but he’s not a complete scrounger and he ain’t prepared to be anybody’s twink house boy either. Cosmo is not a twink; he’s a struggling musician with a kink.

Alasdair’s like a proper posh git by day and a leather wearing Top by night. He says all this cheesy stuff but the man dominates like a Master! What starts as Cosmo’s education in submissive kink quickly evolves into something more. It’s a great dynamic, not only the age gap but the issues that come from two fella’s that live on opposite sides of the class scale, and in England that is still a great divide. In between the budding romance, the BDSM scenes (hot and hard) and the redemption of Alasdair’s guilt over the loss of a long lost lover, Myles gives us an unpretentious, humorous and unapologetically honest view of the class system in England. I just loved her perspective.

So what’s wrong with it? Well, the synopsis hints at some angst and there simply isn’t any. There was plenty of scope for it, but the author shy’s away from any anticipated conflict in favour of sweetness and humour. It’s a build-up that dwindles with a deflated with a soft pffzzz … just like my rating. There is a scenario at the end which was amusing yes, but I found the realism of it highly sceptical.

I do recommend this, it was good fun. Note I didn’t say clean fun, because it is quite deliciously filthy. For those who worry about the BDSM, Myles gets it right I thought. The play is not too soft and not too hard, but certainly hard enough if you know what I mean. The writing, the humour, the Briticism’s, the chemistry and Cosmo are what carried this for me.

If it’s on your TBR pile? Know that it’s worth your time and your money. I say go for it.

Shelley’s Rating:

BUY LINK: Samhain Publishing :: All Romance eBooks

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