Under the Influence

Title: Under the Influence
Author: V.J. Summers
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Genre: M/M contemporary romance
Length: Novella
Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

A guest review by Jenre

Summary Review
This book contains smoking hot sexual tension and good writing, but I would have liked to have seen more development in the characters.

THE BLURB

Working undercover in a club to bust a dealer should be routine. And it would be, if Max wasn’t distracted by a gorgeous Goth-boy. He wants to bury his hands in Ben’s spiky black hair, bury something else in his pouty red mouth. When his sweet candy boy refuses to stay away from the dangerous club where patrons are ODing in record numbers, Max doesn’t know if he should beat some sense into Ben—or fuck it into him.

With his thesis on the Goth subculture finished, Ben has no reason to hang around Candyland anymore. Except for Max. The brooding bouncer is too tempting, even if he can’t seem to decide whether to push Ben away or pull him closer. But Ben will take what he can get, because when Max pulls, it’s mind-blowing.

As the ODs continue, Max tries to fight his raging libido long enough to collar the perp. And the deadly dealer is closer than he thinks, scrambling to tie up loose ends—including one named Ben.

THE REVIEW

During the week Ben is a serious grad student, but come Friday night he whips on the eyeliner, squeezes into his tightest jeans and flaunts his stuff at Goth bar, Candyland. Ben’s had his eye on the bouncer, Max, for weeks, but a fit of pique which sends him into the arms of a blue haired young man ends in disaster for Ben. He wakes up in Max’s bed unable to remember how he got there. Max is trying to be professional and focus on his uncover job at Candyland, but Ben’s black hair and sinful body are a major distraction especially when he finally gets him alone.

There was much to like about this novella, especially in the interaction between Ben and Max. Their personalities clashed and their sexual attraction was high, leading to a number of sexually charged scenes between them that set the pages alight in their intensity. Ben spends much of the book pushing at Max, at first trying to get his attention and then later doing all he can to drive Max wild with jealousy. Max is torn between his job as an undercover cop and his desire to keep Ben safe and warn him away from the club. It was this push and pull in the relationship that kept my attention and made this a compelling and quick read.

Most of the action takes place either at the club or at Max’s apartment which I felt gave the story more of a focus on the main two characters, their feelings and needs rather than having the distraction of lengthy descriptions of setting.

Despite liking the characters and getting swept up in their relationship, I felt that more could have made of them as people. We are told that during the week Ben has a good job at the university, and that he’s just finished the thesis for his doctorate. I liked how this knowledge was then contrasted to the bubble-headed party boy act that Ben adopts when he goes to Candyland, but I wish I could have seen the other part of his life for myself, shown the serious side of him and his job at the university, rather than just being told about it. This was similar with Max. He’s undercover at the club, but must be the worst undercover cop ever because he’s been there for weeks and not even got a clue who the rogue dealer is – and yet I’d figured it out almost as soon as the bad guy appeared. Max also allows his dick to rule over his common sense in the investigation, and whilst this allows us to see Max’s dilemma between sticking rigidly to his job or getting emotionally involved with Ben, it didn’t particularly make him good at his job. I did wish I could see more of Max the cop as well as Max the man by showing us some scenes at the precinct, or interacting with other cop friends. In fact, Max doesn’t seem to have any friends which puzzled me rather. It seemed odd that he lived in a bubble which consisted of his undercover job and feelings for Ben, and even something small like a short scene between Max and a friend would have made him a more rounded character.

So whilst the sexual tension was smoking hot, and the subsequent sex scenes burned up the pages, I would have liked more in terms of character development for the heroes. Under the Influence wasn’t a bad read – in fact I enjoyed reading it, thought the writing was good, and whipped through the story at a fast pace – but it wasn’t outstanding either. If you’re looking for a short, hot read to fill in an evening, then I’d recommend this book.