REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Serving Him
SERIES: The Retreat
AUTHOR: L.M. Somerton
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 151 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 24, 2018
BLURB: An escape from the real world can only ever be temporary.
Rowan Stanton knows he is submissive. He loves to look after people but the country hotel he works at can’t quite fulfil his need to serve. When he succeeds at getting a new role as houseboy at The Retreat, an exclusive BDSM hideaway in the New Forest, he believes it’s his dream job. Inexperienced in many ways, he soon realises he’s not as prepared as he thought for the demands placed upon him.
Lorcan Wilder is young, rich and successful. He’s also haunted by nightmares and has sacrificed a decade to his business. Selling it gives him the freedom to explore his dominant side and four weeks at The Retreat are the start of a new life. He doesn’t expect the young submissive employed to serve him will have such a profound effect on him. Exploring and pushing Rowan’s boundaries is exactly what he needs to separate himself from his past.
Lorcan makes full use of The Retreat’s facilities from the genuine dungeon to the secret toys concealed in every room. He rediscovers his energy for life and gradually reengages with the world. However, his efforts to compartmentalise the past ultimately fail and he comes to realise what he’s always known – that true submissives have an inner strength he can only envy.
By the end of his stay, Lorcan can’t let Rowan go, though he thinks he must. What will convince him that’s he’s allowed a happy ever after and will he find the courage to accept it?
The owner of The Underground BDSM club (from the Tales from the Edge series) is opening The Retreat, an upscale getaway estate where guests can stay for extended lengths of time (think vacation with BDSM themed accommodations). Lorcan is using his stay at the Retreat as a way to recharge and change the direction of his life which, up until this point, has been solely on his business. He’s now selling the company and ready to live life for himself.
Rowan is a young guy who likes to serve people, but he just isn’t getting everything he wants out of his current hotel job. He wants to mist that with exploring his submissive side, and when the opportunity comes up for a job at the Retreat, it seems perfect for him. He’s not entirely sure what it will all entail, but he’s looking forward to finding out. He is assigned to Lorcan’s stay, and while there are others on staff, Rowan is the one spending most, if not all of his time with Lorcan.
This is a dream job come true for Rowan. He can take care of someone who appreciates it and who takes care of him in return. He is able to explore his submissive side at the same time, and Lorcan turns out to be the perfect Dom for someone without a ton of actual BDSM experience. It doesn’t take too long for the to both realize they are a good fit for each other. Rowan was really sweet and I loved watching him grow into his role. Lorcan was interesting as well. He pushed Rowan a bit but was never too over the top. It didn’t come as much of a surprise that they they would both want to continue on together after Lorcan’s time at the Retreat was up. We even get see a nice glimpse of them a bit down the road.
I found this to be a really enjoyable story that can easily be read on its own. For those who have read the previous series, I’m sure it will be nice for them to see the other characters again. There are some minor bumps for these two, but it doesn’t take much for them to work through and get back on track. Lorcan’s nightmare issues seemed somewhat unnecessary, but it is dealt with fairly quickly. I liked this spinoff series starter and am definitely looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
Thanks so much for the review, its much appreciated! LM xx