REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Kept in the Dark
AUTHOR: H.L. Day
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 254 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 11, 2018
BLURB:
Struggling actor Dean, only escorts occasionally to pay the bills. So, his first instinct on being offered a job with a strange set of conditions is to turn it down. No date. Don’t switch the lights on. Don’t touch him. I mean, what’s that all about? What’s the man trying to hide? Dean certainly doesn’t expect sex with a faceless stranger to spark so much passion inside him. It’s just business though, right? He can put a stop to it whenever he wants.
When Dean meets Justin—a scarred, ex-army soldier unlucky in love. Dean’s given a chance at a proper relationship. He can see past the scars to the man underneath. He’s everything Dean could possibly wish for in a boyfriend: kind, caring and sweet. All Dean needs to do is be honest. Easy, right? But, Justin’s holding back and Dean can’t work out why. But whatever it is, it’s enough to give him second thoughts.
They both have secrets which could shatter their fledgling relationship. After all, secrets have a nasty habit of coming out eventually. The question is when they do, will they be able to piece their relationship back together? Or will they be left with nothing but memories of bad decisions and the promise of the love they could have had, if only they’d both been honest and fought harder.
I had a feeling from reading the blurb that this would end up being a sweet story, which isn’t normally my go to type of story. However, I also love stories about healing, second chances, etc., and this one delivered that as well.
You can pretty much figure out what happens from the blurb, but there is a lot more to this story. Dean accepts the escort job with the strange rules – absolutely no lights, no touching, and very little talking. But the money is good, and Dean quickly realizes he is getting a lot more out of the strange visits than he expected. Even though the rules and mystery seem odd, and his best friend tries to get him to stop the now weekly appointments, Dean finds it difficult to stay away.
Not long after the appointments started, Dean and Justin meet while Justin is trying to get through another failed date. Dean, being a genuine nice guy, steps in and offers to date Justin, not caring about Justin’s scars. Their relationship grows, but Justin’s reluctance to take things further puts Dean in a bit of a quandry. If only he could get what he gets out of each relationship all in one, he would be set.
When the truth comes out, things take a bit of a down turn, and it takes a while for Dean to realize his wishes can be granted and he could have the best of both worlds. Throw in some miscommunication and some grovelling before things get back on track. There is a lot of back and forth for these two with Dean feeling guilty for continuing with his escort appointments while pursuing a relationship with Justin, and Justin flip flops on booking Dean and cancelling the appointments, but it is all good and comes from a good place. I loved getting to see these guys get the breaks they each so deserved and to find that with each other.
As I said, this was a sweet, heartwarming story that just makes you feel good and want to root for them the whole time. It was clear that Justin deserved to have someone to love and Dean was perfect for him in so many ways. This was my first book by this author, and I will definitely be on the lookout for more.
