Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Joel & Brent
SERIES: Shibari Auction House Duet
AUTHOR: Sean Michael
PUBLISHER: Changeling Press
LENGTH: 92 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2017
BLURB:
Untried and virginal, Joel still knows he’s looking to be pushed. He wants to give up control, but he wants to fight, as well. Auctioning himself off for six months of no-holds-barred subbing is the only solution he can come up with to getting what he wants.
Master Brent believes he’s the only man for the job of giving Joel the experience of a lifetime. He can give Joel what he really need. But once the contract is up, will Brent and Joel go their separate ways? Or have they found something together that is far more than either of them could have hoped for?
Publisher’s Note: Joel & Brent (Shibari Auction House Duet)contains the previously published novellas Joel (Shibari Auction House) and Brent (Shibari Auction House).
REVIEW:
I’m pretty much always up for a good bdsm story and smaller bites like this book are easily fit into my day around whatever else I have going on. When the book starts off, Joel is just getting ready to auction himself off for six months of pretty much no holds barred subbing in order to test his limits and to also get rid of this pesky virginity he’s been carrying around for nearly 27 years. He doesn’t expect to like the man that wins him but finds himself pleasantly surprised when he meets Brent. Joel’s story takes place over maybe a couple of days at the beginning of the six month period so you get to see him learning and starting to come to terms with what life will be like for him from now on. There were some nice introductory scenes here and I really enjoyed the emphasis on good aftercare shown as well.
From here, the story moves onto Brent; with only a week left in the original contract, Brent is trying to find the perfect collar in order to ask Joel to stay with him permanently, without the contract from the auction house between them. Both men have come a long way at this point, as evidenced by all the modifications that have been done to Joel. The shorter of the two stories, there was nevertheless a nice solid scene before the end and the transition between ‘contracted’ couple and genuine pair was nicely done.
This was a fairly quick read and I liked the stories in general but, unfortunately, I ultimately found the book lacking in the substance I look for and want in a good bdsm book. What you’re getting here is just the beginning and the ‘ending’ of the relationship between Joel and Brent with none of the substance in the middle that I really wanted to read. None of the things that Brent said he was going to do to Joel in order to push him were shown, which was disappointing. As a result, I just didn’t feel the love between the two men at the end of the book that was supposedly there; I hadn’t gotten any substantial glimpse at their lives together over that six month period in order to feel that connection.
If you enjoy bdsm books and are looking for something quick to read during your day, this could be for you but if you enjoy more depth of character and more intense scenes you may not care for this one.
RATING: 
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