Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Bad Boy
SERIES: Masters of Romance
AUTHOR: Emma Alcott
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 10 hours and 55 minutes
RELEASE DATE: April 29, 2021
BLURB:
Russ
They call me a bad boy, and thirteen years ago they would have been right.
I’ve done things I’m not proud of.
Served time.
Broken hearts and bones alike.
But I’m a changed man now. I don’t break the law for a living anymore; I write books about guys like me who fall in love with other guys. It’s as close to a happily ever after as I think I’ll get…
Until Colton shows up in my remote cabin in the middle of a snowstorm, so timid and young and sweet.
I’ve given up my wicked ways, but damn if he doesn’t make me want to do bad, bad things…
Colton
I didn’t mean to get lost on my way to the big New Year’s Eve party, and I definitely didn’t mean to drive my car into a snowbank, but here I am in the middle of nowhere, stranded in front of a creepy cabin, about to freeze to death.
The only way I’ll make it through the night is if I go inside, but there’s no telling who might be in there. It very well could be a serial killer, or a horror movie monster…
Or a bearded, tattooed bad boy with a big secret who’ll steal my heart and make me never want to leave.
Bad Boy is the first book in the Masters of Romance series, where romance authors don’t just write about happily ever afters—they live them. Get ready for love, laughter, and some serious steam. No cheating and no love triangles, guaranteed. Bad Boy can be read as a stand-alone, but it’s way more fun to binge them all. Which author are you most excited to see get his HEA?
REVIEW:
Colton is a 20 year old guy on his way to a New Year’s Eve party with really bad directions from his BFF Gavin 🙂 Though he follows these direction, he ends up at an isolated cabin in the “murder woods” and when he tries to turn around in the drive, he gets stuck in a snowbank. No matter what he does, he can’t get himself unstuck. He also gets soaked to the bone by the snowy conditions and has no choice to but seek shelter or he will definitely freeze to death. When no one comes to the door after his frantic knocking, he finds the door unlocked and lets himself in where he finds a very happy doggo and a fire. His teeth are chattering and he’s freezing so he moves in front of the fire and proceeds to try to warm himself while chatting to the dog.
The cabin’s owner, Russ, has just settled in to a much needed soak in his top of the line tub in his bathroom sanctuary when he hears his dog, Kismit, barking. Eventually he stops though, so Russ continues his bath 🙂 When it starts again and as he’s getting out of the tub, he hears the front door close. Whaaaaa? Someone has brazenly entered his house? Then he finds his literal wet dream in the form of the most beautiful boy in front of the fire and he’s immediately smitten! Aside from being gorgeous and just his type, this boy is so sweetly submissive and also very obviously attracted to him as well. He wastes no time in making his desire known and it seems like Colton is on the same page. And off we go!
Russ and Colton can’t get enough of each other 😉 Russ is a writer on a deadline and should be working on his latest book, but he’s 100% distracted by Colton. Worse, however, the local sheriff, Colton’s BFF Gavin’s father bangs on the door ruining a perfectly good New Year’s morning. Gavin has alerted his dad that Colton is missing and so the sheriff follows the bad direction and seeing Colton’s car assumes the worst. Russ has a past – one that he’s mostly already shared with Colton, but the sheriff is not convinced he can leave Colton with this guy! He is still trying to blame Russ for something that he has no proof of, but once a bad guy, always a bad guy, right? Colton has to stand up for himself and convince both the sheriff and his father that he is fine – and as a nearly 21 year old man, he can make his own decisions. Needless to say, this does not go over well and becomes the source of most conflict in this story. While Russ and Colton want to build a relationship, Russ feels like Colton will be giving up his entire support system because none of his family or friends will give Russ a chance and see him as only bad for Colton. Of course Colton disagrees.
Russ’s support and encouragement comes form his author friends. Their chats bolster Russ’s confidence in how he can overcome this obstacle. They all see how happy Russ is – after years of really nothing but work, he’s found someone who fits him. Colton’s father has treated his son with a lot of control and Colton is ready to make his own decisions. Colton has also had an abusively manipulative boyfriend who has further undermined his confidence. Russ does his best to point out the gaslighting and also give Colton the love and support he so richly deserves. It’s going to be a bit of an uphill fight, but as a team, they feel they are ready to face it. Now if only they can convince the locals to give them a chance 🙂
I absolutely loved this kick-off to a new series. It starts off with a bang (literally 😉 ) and it hits a few tropes that are some of my favorites, including forced proximity, opposites attract, age gap, reformed bad boys looking for love. The one hurdle that some readers may need to get past is the insta-lust/insta-love at the beginning. I was a little surprised at first given Colton’s timid nature and lack of confidence that he somehow became brave immediately with Russ, but once I got over that little shock, it was full speed ahead. Throughout the course of this story, both Russ and Colton grow a lot in different ways. Colton has been kind of walked on and doesn’t have much confidence in himself. But with Russ’s love and support, he grows into a man – stands up for himself in ways that astound not only him but also those around him 😀 I was cheering for him the whole way. Russ has paid his debt to society, but in what I think is a lesson that we can all take away from the story and is so appropriate right now, he continues to be dogged by his past mistakes. The rest of the folks in town are not ready to cut him a break – despite him being a quiet and rather isolated productive member of society and tax payer and home owner. Only when Colton and his dad express their support for Russ do things even show a sign of changing. I loved how Colton grows into his own power. Gavin, his BFF is a hootand he’s there to support him all the way 🙂 Russ’s group of author friends are hilarious and I am dying to read their stories – especially Will and Dash! I loved the overcoming perceptions angle of this story for both MCs. They were just a perfect pair and I adored them together.
As usual, Michael Ferraiuolo’s narration brings a whole new dimension to what is already a really good story. His voice choices are spot on and I loved the way he was able to convey the real care and affection of both Colton and Russ for each other. I also liked his particularly grumpy sheriff and Gavin’s spontaneity and joie de vivre 😀 Colton’s father was appropriately “fatherly” but also willing to listen and it’s obvious that he’s come to some realizations during the course of the story and begins to see his relationship with Colton in a new light. I’m really really looking forward to the rest of the audios in this series. I feel like the rest of the “Masters of Romance” are going to give us a run for our money 😛 Bravo! Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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