Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Bryce
SERIES: Gentlemen of Emerald City
AUTHOR: L.A. Witt
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 7 hours and 30 minutes
RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2022
BLURB:
Alec.
I don’t do love. I don’t do relationships. What I do is tour with my band and enjoy the life we worked so hard to earn. When I’m home, my favorite escort is always happy to join me in bed.
Except he’s not an escort anymore. He has, however, hand-picked someone to replace him. I’m dubious because I hate change, but I’ll give this new guy a chance.
And, I will not fall in love with him.
Bryce.
This escort gig is seriously intimidating, and the last thing I expect is for my first client to be a literal rock star. No, scratch that—it’s the second to last thing I expect.
The last thing? How fast and hard I’m falling for him.
Bryce is book three of Gentlemen of the Emerald City, a sexy series centered around the high class, high-dollar gentlemen of Seattle’s most exclusive escort service. Each book is full of snark, sass, and sweetness, and like any Emerald City client, you’re guaranteed a happy ending.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the third book in this series and as such has spoilers for the two previous books; however, it can absolutely be read as a standalone. For maximum enjoyment though, reading/listening to book 2, Cole, will provide more context 😉
Alec is a rockstar who is finally back home in Seattle after a long tour. He’s had a go-to guy, Cole, at Gentlemen of Emerald City escort service that he’s comfortable with. But now that Cole has moved on, he’s recommended another resource. Alec really abhors change. It stresses him out because he has to deal with so much of it while he’s on the road. When he’s home he wants things to be as stress-free as possible. He doesn’t have time for a relationship and he’s not ever found someone who would want to deal with his extended absences. He decides to go ahead and give Cole’s recommendation a try and schedules time with him.
Bryce is a former housemate of Cole’s. He’s also as student and could really use a better paying job. Cole has moved on and moved in with his boyfriend now and so he encourages Bryce to give Gentlemen of the Emerald City a try. Bryce is excited, but when his first client is a rockstar, he’s a little bit intimidated. Things are going pretty well until they start getting a little hot an heavy. Then Bryce freezes. Luckily he can reach out to Cole and without breaking any confidentiality, he realizes that is was just nerves and he really does want to do this job . Thankfully Alec us willing to give it another try. Bryce has had plenty of sex. He enjoys it so why not get paid for it if he wants to and it’s two consenting adults?
Alec and Bryce develop a nice rapport. They share meals, text each other, etc. They actually become friends as well as lovers. Alec has specific boundaries and he and Bryce are able to try other things while respecting his hard rules. Surprisingly things get very comfortable for them. They have a lot of fun together and have almost as much fun talking/spending time together out of bed as in bed. And then Alec has to go back on tour. Both men realize they are definitely more invested in this “friendship” than they anticipated. Their parting is such sweet sorrow 😉
Michael Ferraiuolo does his usual fabulous job performing this audiobook. His Alec is a British transplant rockstar who definitely has his likes and dislikes. It’s clear from the choices made by the extremely versatile and experienced narrator that Alec is stubborn and gets in his own way 🙂 Bryce and Alec are such nice guys who are so compatible but Alec struggles with change. No matter how much they agree to the rules, the heart wants what it wants and they have to work their way through it. There is a nice balance of light moments to more serious contemplation of the “future” whatever that may look like. Characters from previous story are consistently voices here as well and I was happy to revisit Parker and Cole. I enjoyed the low angst and sweet resolution in this one. The sexy times are plentiful and contribute to the building of the trust and satisfaction in this “relationship” between Alec and Bryce. The sexual relationship in this story does not follow the usual style and I appreciated that this author provides some alternate desires than the common trajectory. The shifting desires and expectations of both men ratchet up as they are separated but they are reasonable given the lives that these guys lived. The duel POV kept me involved in the emotional arc of each man. The realization that in fact the status quo needs to change was a welcome change as it turns out although it takes some time to come to Alec 🙂 Very sweet story. Recommended especially for fans of this series.
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