Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Liam
SERIES: Love at the Haven #4
AUTHOR: Stella Shaw
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 170 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2021
BLURB:
The brawny Dom and the beautiful Diva—and the secrets they keep
A personal trainer and part-time escort, Liam is burly, bossy, and perfectly cast as the resident Dom at the Haven Hotel. And if anything falls outside that box—like the lacy lingerie he keeps hidden in his gym bag—that’s easily ignored, right?
Felix’s career as a successful model means being at the beck and call of anyone who requires him. He’s expected to be satisfied with glamour, money, and subservience. No one would ever believe his secret desire to take control.
When Liam agrees to show the outrageously pretty and delicate Felix around Liam’s infamous Room 8, neither one expects the disobedient desire that sparks between two such opposite men. Felix is looking for a lover who’ll let him call the shots, whereas Liam is fighting the desire to submit. Their passion and power could make for a kinky role reversal.
They just have to surrender to their deepest needs.
REVIEW:
Liam is the fourth novel in Stella Shaw’s Love at the Haven series of sex-positive books centered on a small, London hotel where male escorts rent rooms by the night. It’s a safe environment that only allows consensual sex with single, vetted, male clients.
Liam’s niche is as the Dom at the Haven. His clients thrive on submitting to him, and they desire a wide array of kinks, some that don’t even include sex. Liam enjoys his work. “They want me to help them navigate their secret desires, to manage intimacy, to discover what they can cope with. For them, that’s my role.” Felix is a highly successful, in demand model, preferred by many designers because of his androgynous style. He’s an easy-going, fun-loving guy with waist length blond hair, high heeled boots, and a gender-bending appearance.
Felix has very little control over his professional life where he’s pulled in every direction by designers and photographers and has to succumb to their every whim. He’s feeling the desire for a power exchange in the bedroom. His appearance leads most men to assume he’ll be the more submissive of the partners, which is the opposite of what Felix wants to explore.
Felix is at the top of his career; Liam enjoys his work but, nonetheless, feels woefully inadequate as a personal trainer and escort. He’s convinced Felix will grow tired of him being a simple, plain man without much to offer. He fears Felix will dump him and it’s not worth getting involved and risking the pain of a broken heart when Felix inevitably leaves him. He doesn’t realize that Felix just wants an ordinary guy who isn’t trying to use him to get his foot in the door of the industry, or wanting to be seen on the arm of a stunning model.
Felix hires Liam for a session that Liam naturally assumes will be one where he dominates Felix. He would be wrong. When he meets Liam for his appointment at the Haven, Felix makes the decision to turn the tables and assumes the role of the more dominant partner. I was initially disquieted by Felix and Liam’s first interaction and felt as thrown off as Liam seemed to be. Liam was clearly uncomfortable with Felix’s pushiness and the shift in power exchange, and I wasn’t convinced that it was fully consensual. If not for the blurb, I wouldn’t have known Liam was “fighting the desire to submit”. He never said no, though, and it later became apparent that he was okay with the dynamic.
Ms. Shaw’s characters are always highly likable from the start. As usual, the chemistry between the men is undeniable and the sexy times are hot. Liam has the added allure of very light kink for those readers so inclined. I certainly found it appealing. The Haven’s found family of escorts is an ongoing trope which I love, but it wasn’t as strong as in Micah. Tom has a much greater presence, though, and his antics are delightful. He brings absurdity and humor to the story.
The rent boys in this series break the stereotypical mold of characters who need rescuing by an older or affluent john, or punter as they’re called in London. While most are working multiple jobs to make ends meet, they’re not struggling in poverty, homelessness, or addiction as rent boys are often portrayed. Escorting is something they choose to do to pay the bills, but they all derive some level of satisfaction or enjoyment from the job. None feel demeaned, none have been forced into the work, and none need rescuing by a savior. This gives the men a much more equal footing in the relationship. I like those rescue scenarios in other books, but Ms. Shaw offers a refreshing alternative with a positive spin on sex work that I liked.
Liam is a welcome addition to the series, following a similar low-angst formula as its predecessors. I’m happy to recommend this most enjoyable book.
RATING: 
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