Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Inked Music
AUTHOR: Sean Michael
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 195 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 9, 2019
BLURB:
Can a wealthy but bored businessman rescue a tortured musician from his self-imposed purgatory with a scorching kinky romance?
When Rene Conette attends an intimate performance at a local bar, the guitarist moves him enough that he attempts to go backstage but is stymied by the man’s bodyguard. Putting it down as not meant to be, he goes on with his life only to run into the man again, late at night at a bookstore.
Gavin Turner used to be a famous musician until an obsessed fan kidnapped and tortured him. Then it came out that he was into the BDSM lifestyle, and the court of public opinion ravaged him. He lost his Master and his self-confidence. Now he hides behind his ink and his bodyguards, who make sure he doesn’t come into contact with anyone or anything he doesn’t want to. Though it’s been years since he satisfied his needs, he doesn’t think he can trust again.
If Rene can work his way past Gavin’s defenses, they might find they complement each other perfectly.
REVIEW:
The story is engaging embracing a number of tropes – famous recluse, rich businessman, reluctant sub, taking things slow. On the whole, it encompasses them all very well. The characters are well rounded and I didn’t take long to warm to them. I liked Gavin better than Rene, I have to say because I thought Rene was a little pushy and overbearing given Gavin’s past.
The writing isn’t the best I’ve read lately. It’s a bit stilted a times and the dialogue doesn’t quite flow as smoothly as it could. I was disappointed at how quickly Gavin dropped his defences and went from being terrified of the world and basically agoraphobic, to throwing himself into the kind of relationship that requires absolute trust. That didn’t ring true with me. Rene’s idea of going slow doesn’t come near my definition. I think, if Gavin hadn’t been so wounded at the beginning, it would have been paced nicely and the growing relationship would have flowed a lot more naturally. As it was, I didn’t buy it, especially at the beginning.
Apart from my comment above, I thought the way the two progressed deeper and deeper into the lifestyle felt very natural and not forced as in some of the BDSM books I’ve read. Rene is not overbearing and takes his role as Dom very seriously, constantly conscious of Gavin’s needs and limitations. I liked the dynamic that grew between them, and the sex scenes were pretty good.
If you like gentle but serious BDSM this is the book for you. A good, solid D/s relationship built from the ground up and genuinely quite beautiful. Yes, it’s rough around the edges but that didn’t take away much from the enjoyment and there’s plenty to get your teeth into, so to speak. Gavin and Rene are cute characters and the secondary cast are varies and well- fleshed. I’d recommend it as a good book for the beach or maybe a rainy afternoon with a coffee and a blanket.
RATING: 
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