Title: Pleasing Michael
Author: Stormy Glenn
Publisher: Torquere
Genre: Contemporary M/M, BDSM
Length: 13K (31 PDF pages)
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Summary Review: This short BDSM story missed the boat on many levels. Neither Jack nor Michael passed the “three dimensional” test and were eminently forgettable.
THE BLURB
Jackson Davis is a gay man’s wet dream, but he’s tired of finding lovers who only seemed to want him for his looks, not a real relationship. One night at a bar, Jack discovers a man watching him. The man never approaches him, never speaks to him, but when Jack finally confronts the man, he is astounded by the reaction. Thus begins Jack’s obsession with pleasing Michael.
What follows is a story of frustration and confusion for Jack as Michael commands and dictates, rewarding Jack when he’s good and punishing him when he’s bad. Jack is worried that letting Michael dominate him makes him less of a man. Can Jack accept the fact that pleasing Michael makes him happy, or will he lose the best thing that ever happened to him?
THE REVIEW
Everyone wants Jack because he’s so handsome. Why then can’t he find someone of his own rather than going home alone every night or having one night stands? Men sleep with him just to be able to boast to their friends that they had sex with him because he’s so hot looking. However, Jack has one fan – someone definitely wants him for his own and he’s making his wishes known by showing up at the club that Jack frequents every Friday night. This man usually spends the night staring fixedly at Jack, which makes him very uncomfortable but excited at the same time. The one time that Jack demanded an explanation from his admirer he’s amused and appears to know everything about Jack’s past and present life, which was kind of creepy. Was he an admirer or something more sinister, such as a stalker? Then one Friday night Jack decided not to go to the club because he wanted to avoid his admirer, and his decicision had far-reaching consequences.
This is where I started having difficulty with the plot. Turns out that Michael, Jack’s admirer, so intimidated him that he can no longer get off by himself. Did Michael somehow manage to figure out a way to get into his conscious and subconscious mind? Does he have special powers? It doesn’t appear so, yet he has the ability to control Jack without even being physically close to him. I found this unbelievable. Michael’s motivations and plans for Jack are soon revealed – he is actually looking for a submissive or a “housewife” and Jack is his intended victim.
I was disappointed with the plot and characterizations of this BDSM story which wandered into the arena of comedy unintentionally at one point, and seemed to lose focus time and again. Both Michael and Jack were one dimensional at best and never rose above being just ordinary. When Jack found out what Michael really wanted he was quite happy to leave his present life behind, which was surprising. Even though his job as a diswasher in a cafe was nothing to write home about, at least it gave him some financial and personal independence. Being patted on the head like a puppy and called Michael’s “pretty boy” was now apparently all that Jack desired in order to be happy.
Jack started out as a strong, vibrant character but he changed into something else immediately upon meeting Michael who had a strange hold on him that was never explained except in the Dom/sub context. The beginning of Pleasing Michael reminded me of paranormal books where humans get ‘vamped’ and have no free will; this was very confusing in a contemporary story. In BDSM stories there is usually an attraction between the characters before there is a move on to the next level of a Dom and sub or slave relationship, unless they are involved in a scene in a dungeon or club where the participants are there for only one reason. In this case Michael was just a strange man that Jack met but he immediately put his life on hold for him and abandoned his previous life, which did not seem logical for someone who had never been part of the lifestyle. Initially Jack’s actions seem to be motivated mostly by fear, which I couldn’t understand, then suddenly it turned into love. Michael’s character wasn’t much better and came off as someone who was play acting, and this was borne out by his actions a little later on in the story. In case you’re wondering, there is the usual HEA.
Even though I can’t recommend Pleasing Michael, fans of Stormy Glenn will probably like this story. You can buy it at the link in the begining of this review.
Stormy Glenn is what I call my Doritos read. I find it satisfying at the time but don’t want it everyday and not very good for you, made of not so healthy things.
This sounds pretty typical. In most of them the more submissive guy is happy to give up his carreer and life (not that he usually has much of one) and just be a kept man busy taking care of the homefront. I looked at this and I’m wondering if I bought it. It’s bad when you lose track of what you bought. What you describe is what I would expect. That’s not saying much I suppose.
Does he have special powers? It doesn’t appear so, yet he has the ability to control Jack without even being physically close to him. I found this unbelievable.”
I found the same level of extreme improbability in the one book by her that I read.
Hi Val
I don’t know how this author doesn’t recognize that her stories (this one in particular) has these paranormal elements.
I couldn’t believe some of what I was reading. 🙂
Like you, Wave, I found this book totally forgettable. I read it, um, maybe two weeks ago and I barely remember what it was about. It didn’t even have the “OMIGOD this is so bad it’s funny” redeeming quality. It was just mediocre. I agree with your 2 star rating.
L
Leslie
I didn’t know if this was just me but I couldn’t relate to this story that had elements of what I would normally find in a paranormal book – they are called paranormal for a reason, and should not be confused with contemporary stories.
As I said in the summary, an eminently forgettable story.
Tam
>>Stormy Glenn is what I call my Doritos read. I find it satisfying at the time but don’t want it everyday and not very good for you, made of not so healthy things. << I really never looked at her writing that way, but what an appropriate analogy. 🙂 She does have lots of fans so maybe we're the ones who can't appreciate her talent.
Hi Wave,
Stormy Glenn writes too much and too fast.
More and more rushed,without heart and brain. – I`m certain she can do it better.
s.
Hi Simsala
I hope that she can do a lot better because this book didn’t thrill me. I kept reading, hoping that I missed something good, but I didn’t. I read it twice just to make sure.
Usually she writes for another publisher and you are always guaranteed a goodly number of those editing snaffus we all complain about. Wrong names from time to time, continuity errors, spelling and grammar. I think speed is some of that, there are a LOT of books produced by this author and it’s hard to maintain a high level of editing control when that happens I think.
I don’t understand why she produces so much stuff if a lot of it is dreck. Isn’t quality better than quantity. If I were an author I would prefer to write fewer books but have something of which I could be proud. Many of the readers who commented on this review seem to be of the same view.