Reviewed by Vicki

 

TITLE: If It Drives

 

SERIES: Market Garden #7

 

AUTHOR: L.A. Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

 

PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing

 

LENGTH: 222 pages

 

BLURB:

If it flies, drives, or fornicates, it’s cheaper to rent it.

After driving James Harcourt, his wealthy banker boss, around for a year and a half, Cal isn’t surprised by much anymore. Not even James’s regular trips to Market Garden, London’s most elite gay brothel.

But when James leaves the Garden alone one night and turns to Cal instead, Cal’s floored. After crushing on his boss for ages, it’s his wet dream come true . . . until the awkward morning after. Cal still has a job to do, but he wants to offer more. Yet James doesn’t take him up on it; he keeps Cal at arm’s length and continues his chauffeured jaunts to Market Garden.

As Cal learns what James needs from the rentboys, he tries to fill that need himself. But there’s more to James’s penchant for rentboys than Cal realizes, and it may be one role that Cal can’t fill without overstepping his duty.

 

REVIEW:

James Harcourt is a wealthy, fit, middle aged man, divorced and lonely, occasionally asking his driver to take him to Market Garden for some companionship. He brings a rentboy or two home, spends an evening in his guest room with them, then has his driver take them home in the morning. It’s physically satisfying, but certainly not emotionally so.

 

Callum is just the driver…. So we think. But he’s so much more than that. He’s intellegent, writing a novel and working on his thesis, and he honestly cares for James. He’s been driving James for over a year, watching him survive through his divorce, then his lonely life, driving him to Market Garden and listening to him with his rentboys. Wishing it were him with James instead of an anonymous man. Cal is strong and silent, trying to do his job and not get involved with James in an unprofessional way. But it drives him nuts to see James with his rentboys.

 

The pattern of Callum driving James to Market Garden continues until one night, James comes out of the club with no one. Callum drives them home and James asks him in for a drink. They give in to desire and spend a hot bit of time together. Callum freaks out after and leaves. Things are awkward between them, as Callum struggles with his need to help James, seeing his visiting Market Garden as a way for him to work out his loneliness and need. James is also his boss, so how much can he become involved is an issue. Callum wants to help James but doesn’t know how. He doesn’t understand what James needs, and what he gets from the rentboys. One night after delivering James and his latest rentboy to the house, Callum heads to Market Garden for help.

 

This seems at first like a simple plot, powerful business man likes to be submissive in his personal life, chauffeur who is submissive in his work relationship finds he likes to be dominant in bed. Chauffeur learns how to be more dominant and give his boss what he needs. End of story. But there is so much more to it. The employer/employee relationship between these two makes it more complex. James being stubborn and not wanting to admit to his needs doesn’t help. Callum doesn’t see past the obvious to see what James really needs. They come so close, then back away repeatedly, neither wanting to acknowledge inappropriate feeling for the other. Once Callum gets some help and a better understanding of the D/s lifestyle he is better able understand exactly what James needs. I enjoyed the conversations between Callum and the man who helped him figure put what to give James, and soooo wanted to be a fly on the wall during their actual lessons!

 

This is a an interesting relationship… There isn’t much romance between James and Callum, no wooing, wining or dining. They don’t get to know one another much, at least James doesn’t know Callum well, although Callum is much more observant and does seem to have a good feeling for James. They ride in a car together, have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine together, and have some seriously hot sex. There is a strong attraction and physical connection, but it was harder to find the emotional connection. They have some very hot sex, at first it’s “only” sex, but the emotional component does come later. Which seems difficult for James to accept.

 

What can I say about these authors? They are both technically skilled writers, they have created a great world with these Market Garden books. With a fantastic cast of characters that come and go throughout the books. In this one we see James, or Red Tie as he has been known before. Also Frank and Brandon, Nick and Spencer. I like to see glimpses of familiar characters in series like this. There is an interesting plot, a nice connection (mostly physical but that’s ok!) between the main characters, and some very nice sex scenes. Watching Callum learn and grow as a Dom was nice, I’d love to see what happens next with these two!

 

I enjoyed this book, as I have all of the ones in this series. If you have read and liked the other Market Garden books you’ll like this one as well. It would probably be ok if you haven’t read the others, although you won’t know who everyone is, but the previous books are so good its worth reading them too!

 

RATING:

 

BUY LINKS: Riptide Publishing