Title: Long~Term
Author: Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brooks
Publisher: Amber Allure
Buy Link:
Genre: M/M contemporary BDSM romance
Length: 27, 000 words
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
A guest review by Jenre
Summary Review
A well written BDSM romance which effectively looks at both the positive and negative sides of being in a 24/7, D/s relationship.
THE BLURB
Teague Albright, a small-town university president, didn’t think much about the little submissive that he used one night at a local club. But when he later encounters the same young man, who has been abandoned by his top and thrown out of their residence, Teague’s protective instincts go into their usual patterns and the “Albright Sub Rescue Agency” is open once again.
But Ian McClean is more than just another kid to help, and he gets to Teague in a way none of the other “rescues” have. Teague wants to keep the boy, but all he’s heard from other people, and even Ian himself, is that Ian’s nothing but a grifter and a slut who lives off the men he gloms onto. External threats and internal tensions threaten to break them apart as the year wears down.
Yet as Ian learns and works and eventually proves himself, Teague discovers that anyone can indeed change…even him…
THE REVIEW
This was an interesting take on the theme of the D/s lifestyle. It looks at two different points of view. There is Teague, an older Dom who has often taken in young subs who have been abandoned by their Dom partners and helped to get them back on their own feet. He does this by offering them shelter for a month during which time they have to actively look for a job, or move into education. After the month is over he sends them on their way, happy to have helped them. Although Teague never asks for it, he is repaid by a willing partner in his bed for a month. The story begins as Teague notices a young man who had serviced him at his club a few nights back. It’s obvious that the man, Ian, has been thrown out by his Dom and so Teague takes him home and sets out the rules for getting Ian’s life on track. Things are different almost from the beginning with Ian because his sub training is so ingrained. Ian sees everything he could possibly need in Teague, but he also knows that he has to earn the man’s respect.
I have to admit that this was sometimes a very uncomfortable read for me. Ian’s past treatment by his previous Dom masters had been harsh and at times bordered on the abusive. His training had led to some psychological problems such as an inability to climax and also a deep seated need to be in a submissive lifestyle, so much so that he had passed himself on from master to master, unable to cope on his own. This has meant that he is seen as a slut and a sponger to the point that Ian even believes this of himself and hates himself for it. So at the beginning of the book I was deeply troubled for Ian who is conflicted between needing the submission and yet wanting to prove himself to Teague. This complexity in Ian’s character is what compelled me through the story as I was drawn into his struggles and wished to see him well.
I didn’t like Teague as much as Ian, although I thought he fit well into the caring Dom character role. I liked that he was tempted by Ian’s submissiveness and yet also strong enough to resist, knowing that Ian needs to make it on his own. He did on occasion slip into ‘smug Dom’ mode but I thought the authors had done a good job of showing how attracted he was to Ian whilst recognising that giving into the attraction wouldn’t be the best thing for Ian at that time. The internal conflict between the men and their growing respect for each other, along with the development of Ian’s self confidence, was by far the best part of this book for me.
I think if this story had stayed as one where the conflict was mostly internal and couple-focused I would have liked it more. As it is, there is an external conflict which is brought in part way through the book and didn’t work for me. I don’t want to say too much about it because I don’t want to give away spoilers, but the whole situation was odd and felt slightly unrealistic to me, and so added a forced note into what had been an intensive, emotional journey between the two characters.
Overall, though I would still recommend this story, especially to those who like D/s character based stories. This pair of authors always produces well written books and this one is no exception.
I was happy that I won this one. First of all I like books written by this duo and I like d/s stories.
It did not disappoint. I like the way the story flowed although Teague was indeed a bit opportunistic. I loved Ian’s career switch 🙂
As for the external conflict, it helped things to push forward for Ian so in that way it worked for me.
I liked Ian’s career switch too. I really felt for him and all his frustration whilst job hunting. Let’s face it, I just liked Ian as a character :).
Adding to my maybes, I´m intriged by these two dinamics :thinker:
Thank you for your review 😎
No problem Helena. I don’t think you’d regret reading this story.
I don’t usually go for D/S books, Jen, but this sounds interesting from your review. Think I might have to give it a shot. 🙂
~Tis
Hooray! I love being an enabler :). Hope you enjoy it, Tis!
Great review, Jen. I’m thinking about it, as I said over at your blog. I’m practically allergic to “smug Doms” after all the reading I’ve done (and I haven’t even been seeking out BDSM themed books!) but I totally agree with you that this is a talented writing team.
Thanks, Val :). Teague is only occasionally smug and, like all smugish Doms, gets the wind put up him later in the book. Don’t let that put you off the book.
Thanks, Jenre. We put in a lot of work on this one. Ian was difficult to get right and I’m glad he resonated. :blush:
Hi Angelia
Ian was definitely done right. I sympathised with him a great deal.
Well I hate to disagree,I read this and I love the writers,however this was not as good as the rest of their books. I like BDSM,but the Dom in this had no tenderness or feeling. I would not recommend this sorry to disagree.
No worries, Mary. We all have different tastes and I’m sorry this didn’t work for you as much as it did me.
I couldn’t even bring myself to finish this one. I knew going in that some of it was far-fetched (what university president can keep a revolving door of live-ins?) but I felt like the relationship moved way too fast and I never saw where they were building love and trust, it was just suddenly there. I never grew to like either of the characters very much. I also didn’t like the weird journal entries, they just broke up the flow without adding to the story. I also could see the weird detour coming and it just didn’t make sense. I might go back and finish it later.
Hi Nolagal
I quite liked the diary entries and thought it a nifty way to get some of Ian’s past experience to the reader without him having to tell it to Teague. Ah well, it’s a shame you didn’t connect with the book but, as you say, you could go back and give it another go at a later date.
Ian’s past treatment by his previous Dom masters had been harsh and at times bordered on the abusive. His training had led to some psychological problems such as an inability to climax and also a deep seated need to be in a submissive lifestyle, so much so that he had passed himself on from master to master, unable to cope on his own.
And this is why I am sooo sick of this genre. I’ve read 2 books that literally make me want to scream in rage because of how the Doms treat their subs by very popular authors, and they got 4 star plus rating at goodreads!
Most books I’ve read always somehow make it sound like the subs SHOULD be submissive 24/7 hours a day, and failure to do so is the subs’ failure. Not to mention smug doms who always know what they need within an hour of knowing them. The doms won’t even THINK of make them independent person.
Hi Lidya
Although Teague was a little smug at times, I thought he was also just what Ian needed to recover from his past mistreatment by other Doms. It sounds like maybe you need to take a break and read a different m/m sub-genre :).