Reviewed by Roberta
TITLE: Special Needs
SERIES: Special Needs #1
AUTHOR: K. A. Merikan
PUBLISHER: Acerbi&Villani ltd
LENGTH: 350 pages
BLURB: — Caretaking – You’re doing it wrong. —
Liam slept with his boss. Again. And lost his job because of it. Again. Set on changing his ways and tired of sleeping in his car, he applies for a job as a live-in caretaker, even though he has no experience in it whatsoever. He has a lot of practice in lying his way out of any situation though. Only problem is, his new boss – wheelchair bound owner of a sex hotel – is gay, cute, funny and oh, so fuckable! There is only one logical solution to Liam’s dilemma – pretending he’s straight. Brilliant!
When Ryan inherited his aunt’s B&B, he thought he’d hit the jackpot by changing it into a fetish sex hotel. Things didn’t go as planned though, all of his marketing efforts seem to fail, and the debt is mounting up. Being a wheelchair user doesn’t help in actively promoting his hotel, but his luck starts to change when he hires a new aide. Liam is open-minded, helpful and caring. All that Ryan needs from a caretaker to kickstart his business, but things would all be a lot simpler if he didn’t start crushing on his new employee. And even if, in some other dimension, Liam did return his feelings, how long can Ryan keep his fetish a secret?
The web of lies they weave around each other is more bondage than any of them enjoy.
“Special Needs” is book one out of a two part series.
REVIEW:
This is part one of a two part series. This story has it all and I do mean it ALL!! We meet Liam at the beginning of the book. Liam seems to have this thing for his bosses. He’s a chef by trade and his latest lover has kicked him out and fired him all in one day. He’s slept in his car for a couple of days and he’s on an interview for a caretaker position. Enter Ryan in his wheelchair. There is a bit of attraction on both sides. However, Liam tells Ryan that he’s straight in order to not sleep with him.
Now, Ryan is this cute, 25 year old virgin and he’s got this fetish B &B that he’s trying to get off the ground. Ryan is pierced and tattooed and so very kinky. He’s so inexperienced in the actual ways of sex and he so wants to be. However, he’s shy and very insecure. He’s been in his wheelchair for 10 years and feels that he’s not good enough. But he’s go so many fantasies and kinks that he wants to tryout.
Liam is this funny, charming, good guy. He’s tired of making the same mistakes and really wants to do better. So he decides to be Ryan’s friend and hook him up with other guys. So that Ryan can experience dating and having an intimate relationship. Liam falls more and more for Ryan the more time that they spend together and even though he’s trying to help Ryan, it bothers him that it’s not him that Ryan is turning to.
I have to say that even with all of the sex talk and even the sex that is on the page, this is really more of a character driven plot. You really get to know each of the MC’s. You get to know their thoughts and feelings on everything. There is a lot of inner musing going on with these two.
The secondary characters are just as wonderful and colorful as Liam and Ryan. You have the receptionist/handyman, Rodney who has this amazing dog fetish. Fay who cleans the B &B is just a sexpot in heels, but who really has a great heart. You have Roger the neighbor who is just plain odd. He’s obsessive about his garden and keeping people from his property. It’s kinda creepy, really. I loved Cole, Liam’s brother. He’s that amazing younger brother who loves his older brother, yet doesn’t really understand why he keeps doing the same stupid thing over and over again.
There are lies big and small that are all over this book. Ryan and Liam lie to themselves and each other. There is so much that is not said that really should be said. Talking about what you want and who you are is so very important in any relationship and these two just don’t seem to have grasped that fact.
I liked the premise of the story. I liked the idea of a fetish B&B. I like the idea that everything is not what it seems to be. I have an issue when it just drags on and on. There was so much that was in the story that I felt like I didn’t need to be in every thought or moment of their lives. I even can get behind the being insecure about what you look like and how you perceive yourself. I get it, however, I couldn’t get it to this extent.
I am hoping that the second and final part of this series clears up the whole Ryan can actually walk and why doesn’t he. I also am hoping that we find out what’s up with Roger and the mystery that was brought up a few times in the book.
RATING: 