Reviewed by Jenna
TITLE: What You See 
AUTHOR: Faith Ashlin
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 238 Pages
BLURB:
What you see isn’t always what you get.
When ex-freedom fighter Richard buys a slave’s freedom, he has a deal to offer. Being more inexperienced than he appears, he needs someone to teach him a few things. Sex for money and help is what he’s proposing. Denny can always say no.
Denny agrees, and as they settle into their new life, they learn things about themselves and each other, as well as the nature of freedom and love.
But when are things ever that easy? Their world is suddenly shattered by a ghost from Richard’s past. That’s when Denny takes control, shows what he’s made of and fulfils a need Richard didn’t even know he had. It turns out neither are what they appear to be.
REVIEW:
I’m extremely pleased with this book. What You See is an erotic romance/fantasy, filled with emotional angst and healing. Ex-freedom fighter, Richard, lost his one and only lover to martyrdom in their struggle to fight oppression and end slavery. Though the freedom movement succeeds, not all slaves gain their freedom. After years pass, Richard wants to move on, but he’s embarrassed about knowing next to nothing about sex. His martyred lover was so sexually abused that in their time together, they barely touched one another.
Richard decides to make a proposal to Denny, a former slave who is still being exploited. Denny agrees to accept money and security to teach Richard about sex. These lessons are very hot, but also quite sweet as well as romantic as their relationship evolves into something more. When everything seems perfect in their lives, Richard’s past comes back to haunt them, almost breaking Richard in the process.
When I first read the blurb for this book, I saw “sex for money,” and imagined it would be an erotic rent boy or kinky slave book. Though What You See was very erotic, I was in no way disappointed to find a moving romance filled with plenty of grief and angst. I was on the brink of tears many times, but I love a book with the power to squeeze my heart. With respect to erotic scenes, I really loved the reversal of traditional roles. Denny, the young former slave, is more sexually dominant than Richard, the older, wealthy, and famous freedom fighter. I really loved seeing Denny coax his timid employer out of his shell. Overall, this book was an awesome read and I’ll certainly be reading more from Faith Ashlin. I recommend What You See to anyone who loves M/M erotic romance, deeply emotional hurt/comfort themes, and dark M/M fantasy.
RATING: 
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