Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Vanilla Steamer

SERIES: Bold Brew Book #4

AUTHOR: Crystal Lacy

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 180 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2021

BLURB: 

Our barista likes some spice in his vanilla—and it turns out the customer he’s crushing on might as well.

Vann enjoys his barista job. He enjoys it even more when Landon becomes an early morning regular. Vann can’t resist flirting with the quiet doctor, even though he’s about eighty percent sure Landon is vanilla. That other twenty percent keeps him pushing at Landon’s buttons every time he comes in.

Things such as rope and impact play have never been on Landon’s radar. That changes after he develops an unrelenting crush on the barista who works at the local coffee shop. When he spends more time with Vann, Landon begins to realize his desires are anything but vanilla.

As the two explore Landon’s limits together, shadows of the past materialize to test them. Can Vann and Landon meet those challenges and strengthen their new relationship?

Vanilla Steamer is a stand-alone novel in the multi-author Bold Brew shared universe centered around an inclusive coffee shop set in a fictional small city. Each steaming hot coffee shop romance can be enjoyed alone, but collect all ten for the most fun! This steamy 53,000 word story has themes of new explorations and hurt/comfort, and is relatively low-angst, with a much-deserved happy ending.

REVIEW: 

Vanilla Steamer is the fourth book in the ten book multi-author Bold Brew series.  If you’ve been reading the books so far, you’ve probably already detected a theme.  Each story presents a different kink-based romantic relationship.  That makes sense given that Bold Brew, the coffee shop that serves as the center of this shared universe, is kink-friendly. It even prominently displays a bulletin board by the checkout counter full of kink related information, community sessions, social meetups and the like.

Crystal Lacy’s Vanilla Steamer presents the most kink content of the series so far. Landon’s exploration of his sexuality and kink proclivities, under the steady tutelage of Vann, drives the development of their relationship.  While kink has been part of the prior books, but I didn’t find it to be the central part of the storyline.  But here, it is the storyline.

Vann was very active in the kink community back in New York.  He even earned accolades in those circles for his rope bondage work.  But then Vann’s father suddenly and unexpectedly passed away.  Vann became, understandably, consumed by grief.  While he was still struggling, he insisted he was fine and ill-advisedly went forward with a rope suspension demonstration.  He lost focus for a few seconds during the demo and didn’t keep track of his partner.  Although no harm was done, it rattled him.  He doubted himself and didn’t think anyone could trust him again.  As a result, he pulled himself back from engaging in kink since.

Landon is a lonely ER doctor.  He thinks he’s “vanilla”, i.e. not into kink, but his insta-attraction/instalust for Vann makes him question if he is truly vanilla after all.  The story essentially follows Landon’s exploration of his sexual tastes and desires, with Vann as his willing Dom.  

Underneath this, though, an emotional connection forms between Landon and Vann.  They start to trust each other with their insecurities and fears, well beyond the bedroom.  They come to rely on each other in ways neither expected, and even start to seek out the other for support, a friendly voice, or a shoulder to lean on.

Landon and Vann seem like a mismatch on paper.  Landon is an introverted, straight-laced ER doctor.  Vann is an outgoing, gregarious barista, who’s hot and catches the eye of all the guys around.  But as we learn more about them, we find they actually aren’t so different after all.  The peeling back of the layers to expose their similarities was fascinating, surprising and really well done.

The biggest draw for this book may be the lengthy, scorching hot sex scenes, particularly those during a kink party held at a huge mansion in town.  🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥  Vann and Landon have got crackling chemistry from the first time they meet, but the sexual tension grows and grows, even as they begin to explore each other.  Vann supports Landon by pushing him out of his comfort zone and always being there to encourage him to embrace his wants and needs while at all times respecting his limits.  

Ms. Lacy does a really nice job of creating a well-rounded relationship between Vann and Landon, including developing the two of them into multi-dimensional characters whose sexual exploration together has latent meaning and significance to other aspects of their lives.  The writing is descriptive and engaging and the story is well paced.  It will suck you in and you won’t want to put it down.

There’s a ton of steam, not so much swoon, but definitely sweet, tender hearted moments threaded through the more carnal interactions.  Ms. Lacy made Vann and Landon very real and engaging.  The only area I found somewhat lacking was in Landon’s backstory.  He has been a longtime resident of the small town of Laurelsburg, yet he seems to not have any friends and we don’t even see him interact with those around him.  This is a sweet, good looking single guy.  To not have any friends or romantic options just seems off.  We learn about his family situation, but his pervasive isolation felt implausible. The text didn’t provide any rationale for it either.

As with the other books in this series, what I appreciate most is the open and non-judgmental way kink is presented, accepted and experienced without guilt.  Bold Brew the coffee shop is inclusive to all, not just the kink-friendly, but definitely for the kink-friendly.  Bold Brew the series is much the same.  It provides an open invitation for readers to try a different kind of story, and to have the freedom to enjoy it while reading about sexy male couples who are learning about themselves and finding their HEAs.  Looking forward to the next one!

RATING: 

BUY LINK: 

Amazon