Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Embracing His Shame
SERIES: A Naughty in Pendleton Story
AUTHOR: Brigham Vaughn
NARRATOR: James Edward Jones
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 9 hours and 31 minutes
RELEASE DATE: April 22, 2026
BLURB:
A bad boy mechanic and a kinky accountant: can an indecent proposal lead to love?
Though Forrest Patton looks like a tweedy, uptight accountant, he’s anything but. Underneath the fussy bow ties and love of color-coded spreadsheets lies a man searching for someone to peel back the layers and fulfill his shameful fantasies. Eavesdropping at the diner in town leads him to wonder if the local mechanic might just be the man for the job.
Jarod Keener likes it rough, and he makes no secret of that. But he never expects to be approached with an offer to trade accounting advice for some dirty, risky fun. Always up for a challenge, Jarod dives in headfirst but Forrest doesn’t trust anyone to give him the humiliation he needs once feelings start to get in the way.
When a secret about Jarod’s family upends everything, Forrest will have to decide if he’s willing to give Jarod a chance to show him that he can have love and the kink he longs for.
Embracing His Shame includes: mild humiliation play, small-town gossip, and two men falling in love despite their best efforts.
REVIEW:
Forrest is a buttoned up accountant with a secret. He’s great at his job – running his own accounting business. But what he craves is someone to take charge. Use and abuse him with and edge of pain, humiliation and the threat of discovery. He’s tried in the past, but he’s grown bored – especially when the other guy has expressed “feelings” to him 🙁 He likes the unpredictability at being at his partner’s mercy. He also likes a side of pain and humiliation with his play.
Jarod is a mechanic who runs his own shop. Finally. He likes Pendleton and appreciates that he has a cousin there and his best friend Alexander. After a terrible divorce and being shunned by his hometown, he got tired of working for other people who took all the profits while he did the work. When he arrived in town he found a shop for sale and jumped on it. He’s never been happier being his own boss. What he’s missing is a play partner. He’s not interested in a relationship. He learned the hard way that wasn’t for him. Being bisexual, he’s open to partners, but he isn’t interested in “feelings”.
When Forrest overhears a conversation between Alexander and Jarod about their kinks, he thinks he might have hit the jackpot. He puts together a proposal for Jarod. Accounting advice in exchange for the kink they both desire. Without any mess. No feelings. No relationship. Jarod is gobsmacked. Forest doesn’t LOOK like the kind of guy who would go for any of that. But boy does he 😉
As Jarod and Forrest explore this side of themselves, they are both finding their way to satisfaction. Neither of them are perfect, but they fall into a rhythm. Jarod is in charge of Forrest in many ways. They meet at the garage, at Forrest’s place, at town event, etc. Things are going pretty well. They are compatible in their kinks and they seem to trust each other.
Both men are absolutely commitment phobic – for very different reasons. Jarod is convinced that he’s too dark, his desires are perverted and that no one would every want to keep him. Forrest is concerned that if someone developed feelings for him, they would want to do what he wants done to him (see previous relationships). So what is the end game for these two? Can they really just have a transactional “friendship”?
Gah! These two. So first, I’m not a fan of humiliation kink per se, but I thought it was handled well here. I’ve read one absolutely brilliant book with this kink against which I measure all others 😉 I felt terrible for Jarod and what he’d been through. Forrest tried so hard to compartmentalize his entire life, but discovers that maybe isn’t quite as easy as he hoped it would be. The chemistry is off the charts. The mistakes made were handled quickly and appropriately. I honestly like this more than I thought I would. The people of Pendleton continue to surprise me 😉 I was happy that the twist and resurfacing of the past did not derail these two!
James Edward Jones put in another great performance here. His ability to infuse all of the many intense scenes with the right emotional pitch is amazing. Whether it’s Jarod or Forrest reacting or driving the action, I never felt like there was any misses from the right voice and pitch. The scenes in this book are quite explicit and could have been incredibly uncomfortable in a bad way, but the narrator and author infused the entire story with understanding so that judgement wasn’t a think. Very well done.
RATING: 
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