REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Keeping Cade
SERIES: Crave Club #1
AUTHOR: S.E. Jakes
PUBLISHER: S.E. Jakes
LENGTH: 321 Pages
RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2019
BLURB:
Protection has its price, but so do fantasies…
Fantasy Week happens twice a year at Crave, and it’s always a big hit—a way to live out your wildest fantasy in a safe, sane, and consensual manner.
But when Cade comes in with his Fantasy Week invitation, he’s not happy about it. He’s stoic as hell and his preferences don’t seem to match his fantasy at all…and yet, despite that, he enjoys himself with Tegan and Vic. At least at first.
When it becomes glaringly apparent that the fantasy isn’t something Cade’s comfortable with, it’s confusing for the men he’s been paired with, and Tegan and Vic put a stop to the scene immediately.
What Cade doesn’t know is that Tegan and Vic are not only co-owners of Crave, but they’re also owners of a mercenary group, Gray Ops, that’s run out of Crave. They’ve also been circling each other for years… but nothing sparks until their session with Cade.
What happened in Room 4 is something none of the men can forget…but it’s got nothing to do with a fantasy and everything to do with blackmail. Can Tegan and Vic help Cade keep his secrets, while keeping all of them safe at the same time? Because the threatening to spill out aren’t only Cade’s…
*This series is set in the MEN OF HONOR world, in the bar called Crave from Bound By Honor
REVIEW: I read and enjoyed the Men of Honor series. I remember that much. However, it has been almost 5 years since the last, and admittedly, I don’t remember too much beyond that. I remember the names of the various couples, but I don’t remember anything about Crave or Fantasy Week. So, I went into this story with the mindset of it being a new story, which worked, but it did make me want to go back and refresh my memory about the guys from MOH who make appearances here.
So, Cade has a stalker who is threatening his bff/brother, Theo, who happens to be another special forces guy out on a mission. Cade and Theo have some secrets from their past that could really come out to haunt them if exposed, so Cade is doing what it takes to keep that from happening and to keep Theo safe. His orders are to accept the invitation to Crave’s Fantasy Week and fulfill the pre-arranged fantasy. Vic and Tegan are the ones tasked with carrying out what they believe is Cade’s fantasy. However, it quickly becomes apparent that things aren’t what they seem, and the guys call everything off and attempt to get to the bottom of things.
Vic and Tegan have apparently been skirting around each other for a while, so being assigned to do this fantasy together finally sets things in motion for them. All three of these guys have issues and troubled pasts in one way or another. Those issues, understandably, play a role in the dynamics of their threesome. These guys come across very animalistic at times, and the fuck or fight theme is prevalent throughout. So much so that it was difficult at times to see beyond that to the actual relationship. Other than Tegan and Vic helping Cade and saving him from Courier, I wasn’t feeling much of a connection. Vic and Tegan shared a long past, but that was about it.
Things took another turn when their pasts all collided. It felt a little too crazy, which is fine, but it takes some of the realism feel out for me and thus hard for me to take serious. There were a lot of other aspects that were enjoyable, however, such as the feeling of brotherhood between the Crave and Grey Ops guys. There are also glimpses of other characters who definitely have more stories to tell. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Stryker, Theo and Deran, and I definitely want to see Oz find someone to make him whole again. So, while this story itself didn’t blow me out of the water, there were enough aspects and other characters to keep me intrigued, wanting more and looking forward to seeing how the rest plays out.
RATING:
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