Length: 60,000 words approx.
Cover Design: Dianne @ Lyrical Lines
Candy Cane Club Series
Book #1 - His To Serve - Amazon US | Amazon UK
Blurb
He’s the perfect sub -- gorgeous, responsive, and yet aloof, and every Dom at the Candy Cane fantasizes about claiming the sub who calls himself Saiph.
Nick Tierney sees through the facade of utter submission Saiph projects, and his instincts tell him Saiph has some complicated issues. He would love to help Saiph, but his desire seems hopeless in the face of Saiph’s adamant refusal to do a scene with any of the gay male Doms. Then Saiph offers himself up at the Candy Cane’s charity auction, and Nick seizes the opportunity to claim Saiph for himself, if only for a single night.
The chemistry between them is electrifying in its intensity, but Nick also comes away convinced Saiph needs help. Can he convince Saiph to take a chance and let down his guard enough for Nick to discover a way to help him heal? Or will Nick’s rapidly deepening feelings drive Saiph away for good?
4 Stars
This book was a really enjoyable read. It’s BDSM but definitely on the lighter side. There are some hard situations talked about, but nothing hard happens on page... We only experience some super light bondage starting out with a sub who cannot seem to reach subspace, since he doesn’t put himself into situations where he can actually submit the control he keeps a hold of.
Dominant Nick has been watching Saiph a while, and can see what Saiph is valiantly trying to hide by only doing scenes and going through all the motions of BDSM with people who are “safe”. After dealing with an abusive ex and having some serious PTSD when it comes to BDSM relationships. Saiph still can’t deny that part of himself, the submissive part. But he also can’t fully trust anyone to let go enough to fly.
I think that Nick was a genius when it came to helping Saiph, ultimately making sure that Saiph felt safe with him at all times, and then coming up with the Self-Bondage in order for him to still be “in Control” while not really being in control. After all the BDSM books I’ve read before, that was a new one for me and I was really impressed with how well thought out that was. The chemistry and dynamic between the two was a great thing to see. I really felt bad for Saiph when hearing what he went through, but was glad that Nick was the one to help him get past all his hurt. And thrilled that they ended up forming a bond as friends, then as lovers, in order to finally end up with a HEA. Overall I liked this book, but not as much as I liked book one of this series.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
His To Serve (The Candy Cane Club #1):
3.5 Stars!
Cameron is an actor with a chance to work with an up and coming director. This role could help his career greatly, but his character is a submissive and he knows little about the lifestyle. He does some research and finds himself at a club observing, but wants to know more. He just doesn't understand what the sub gets out it. He interviews one of the managers who puts him in touch with Anton. Anton manages to put Cameron at ease very quickly. They agree to Cameron trying a scene to see if it helps him understand being a sub better. The scene goes better than either man expects.
I liked both Cameron and Anton. They meshed well together. While Cameron had no idea that he was submissive, he managed to trust Anton so well that he found out more than he wanted to about himself. I liked that Anton went at Cameron's pace and that Cameron (once he accepted some things) was happy and eager to move forward. I found it a bit odd that Anton wasn't interested in a service sub, but as time went on, they headed in that direction more and more. That being said, the service that Cameron performs clearly works well for both men and fulfills Cameron.
There's a lot of time lapses late in the book. So as their relationship grows, we start to see the problems inherent in a doctor who works long hours dating an actor filming on site for months. I was glad that Anton realized that there might be more answers to their long distance issues than he originally was thinking, but kind of wished he would have talked to Cameron about it first rather than jumping ahead.
All in all, I liked the characters, but something just felt off to me about this story. Mistress Hyacinth is a great secondary character and clearly sees more than most of the characters give her credit for. I enjoyed her scenes in the book. If you want to try a BDSM story that has mostly bondage and sensation play with service thrown in, this book may work for you.
His To Save (The Candy Cane Club #2):
4 Stars!
Nick has been watching Saiph at The Candy Cane Club for a while. Saiph is very deliberate about who he subs for and what he allows. One night, Nick sees Saiph doing a demo with Mistress Hyacinth and is determined to find a way to meet Saiph. He recognizes that while Saiph seems to be the perfect sub, he's not reaching subspace and not getting what he needs out of the scenes he is doing. He is determined to either help Saiph or find someone who can.
Saiph projects a facade to keep people away. He's been hurt several times and has trust issues that are more than understandable. When he puts himself up for a charity auction, he's surprised when Nick buys him; he's even more surprised by Nick's insight and offer.
I enjoyed this book more than I did the first one, His To Serve. Nick is really good at reading Saiph and puts a lot of work into helping Saiph overcome his issues. While I'm not sure their solution would work for a lot of people, it clearly worked for Saiph. I liked that even though Nick wanted Saiph for himself, he didn't push Saiph on that front while they were working on Saiph's issues. I also liked that Saiph took the leap of faith and allowed Nick to earn his trust. I was very happy to see Saiph take the first steps to turn their friendship into something more. These two men helped heal each other and found happiness as well. I loved the Christmas scene at the club near the end; it was a lot of fun.
This story is a bit of a slow burn, hurt comfort story that I have a feeling I will be rereading someday soon.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
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Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.
Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.
McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.
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Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.
McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.
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