Title: The Gentle Dom
Series: Iron Eagle Gym: Book 7
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: August 14, 2018
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 193
Dreamspinner Press
When one of their own is threatened, the men of the Iron Eagle Gym will stand together and prove they are stronger as a family.
Stuntman Barclay Drambor suspects his fall from a roof was no accident. He believes his abusive ex was responsible, but he can’t prove it. Fortunately, a year has gone by with no word from Duncan, letting Barclay move on with his life—and that means dealing with the aftermath of his injuries. He finds personal trainer Reece “Rec” Gordon through a member of the gym, and it’s not long before their workouts together become much more intimate. Rec is gentle and goes out of his way to make Barclay comfortable, and in no time there’s talk of moving in together….
But just as Barclay is healing and finding a place to belong, Duncan returns to destroy his happiness. Though Duncan will learn he’s messing with the wrong group of men, in the end, Barclay must face him. Will Rec’s love and the friendship of the others at the gym give him the confidence to stand up for himself?
3.75 Stars!
While this is the seventh book in this series, I don't think you need to have read the others to read this one. The story focuses almost completely on Barclay and Rec, with a few other characters showing up at times.
Barclay is a stuntman on the mend. He's been trying to recover from a fall off a roof for over a year and just wants to get back to work and being himself. On the recommendation of an acquaintance, he joins the Iron Eagle Gym to start working out with Rec, a personal trainer. Rec sees the determination that Barclay has and wants to help him succeed. He also wants Barclay to see himself as the capable person he is. Rec works past Barclay's reluctance to let him get close and soon they find themselves spending a lot of time together.
But Barclay's fall may not have been an accident and his ex starts causing trouble.
Like a number of this author's books, there is a lot of sex. The BDSM element was very light to almost nonexistent in this book. Barclay was completely new to the idea, and Rec spends more time introducing Barclay to new sensations and toys. Barclay also has his injuries to contend with.
Barclay was very strong-willed to have been working on coming back from his horrific sounding injuries. His determination was commendable. I also could see why he had issues thinking that anyone would be interested in him while he was still recovering. I liked how Rec didn't push Barclay and took care to let him work at his pace. While I'm not sure getting involved with your personal trainer is a great idea, they work well together as a couple. Rec was a great guy, who did a wonderful job helping Barclay without being overbearing about it. The issue with the ex wraps up a bit conveniently, but I was happy to see Barclay stand up to him and get his life back on track.
I'm pretty curious about Union, the cop who came to help with Barclay's ex. I hope we see him in a future book.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
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