Book #35 of 2016: For Real

[thistlechaser]

For Real by Alexis Hall
Rating: Loved (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)

Cover mildly NSFW, so linking. Hot cover here! Getcha hot cover here!

I have a limited amount of reading time at night, and a very good internal clock. Usually without fail, I know exactly when I have to stop reading, glance over to the clock to confirm it, and close my Kindle. This book blew that out of the water. Most nights I didn't glance at the clock until an hour later than I should have stopped reading, said "it's not a good stopping point, I'll read for just another couple minutes" and then another hour would pass. I actually got no work done today at my job because I was just so darned tired from lack of sleep.

Though a very simple story, it was handled well. A 19 year old teen meets a middle aged man in a BDSM club. They have a connection, and the story follows their relationship as it grows and builds. In most stories like this, the younger man would be the sub, but in this book he was the dom. That was a nice twist. (Some reviewers had issues with the 19 year old's age, saying he often came off as much younger, and thus the story made them uncomfortable since he was underage. I'd agree with the much younger part, I would have guessed he was 16 if the author hadn't repeatedly stated he was 19.)

Though it was right on the borderline of 'too much sex,' the story never crossed that line. Sex scenes are good and fun and hot, but more and more, I need substance to go with them. Sex scenes are like the sauce on a meal -- they make a meal better, but a dinner of nothing but sauce wouldn't be very satisfying.

While I very much enjoyed most of the story, it wasn't perfect. (I think I'm harder on stories that are close to perfect than I am on ones that are mediocre.) There was too much "Oh he won't love me because I'm too young" and "Oh he won't love me because I'm too old". Near the end, there was one of those annoying if they'd only TALK TO EACH OTHER, this whole issue would be settled! situation caused because the teen didn't charge his phone for a day (on purpose, he knew it was dead, right after their first big fight).

I'll admit I skimmed the last scene of the story, because it was more sex and the plot was settled by that point. Sex is nice, kinky sex nicer, but the story was over and it was just fluff for me.

This book very much reminded me of Manna Francis/manna's epic slash original fiction series The Administration. Sex, BDSM, cooking/food played a major role in both, and even mention of an unhappy, pacing jaguar in a zoo. (If you haven't read The Admin yet, I STRONGLY recommend it. Most of the stories are free on her site, and I deeply love the whole series.)

I didn't love For Real as much as a lot of people did, but especially the first half of it I loved a lot. If you're okay with a story about nothing but relationships, with a heaping helping of semi-graphic M/M sex scenes (kinky and not), then you should give this book a try.

Comments

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't care if a character were underage (I was sixteen when I moved in with Chris), but the idea of a nineteen-year-old being a capable Dom did make me giggle a little. :D

I've heard so many good things about The Administration series, but I just couldn't get into it for some reason. I think it was the setting and the characters? I just don't know.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Agreed, I don't care if one of them is underaged like that (a lot underaged would be more of an issue to me).

Sorry you weren't able to get into it!

[your-insomnia.livejournal.com]

I just read this too in like a day, haha and I agree with pretty much everything you said. I also didn't read the last sex scene XD I thought maybe the kink stuff was becoming too much for me, but you're probably right, the story resolved itself and I'm not usually in the habit of reading porn just for the sake of porn.

This book tried to go beyond relationships and romance but failed, imo. I couldn't care less about Toby's soul searching and career anguish. The grandad bit was sort of touching...but it felt almost tacked on? It was like "LETS MAKE THIS BOOK ABOUT SOMETHING DEEP AND PROFOUND AND NOT JUST KINKY KITCHEN SEX." Which we probably need so we don't get bored with Kitchen Sex, but maybe it just wasn't done right? Idk.

I also read the first book in The Administration series and while I liked it well enough, there wasn't enough sex and romance for me and then I found there are like 8 more books in the series and I can't take the torture of waiting for 8 books for MCs to get together and finally be happy.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

It's probably best that you gave up on The Admin then. It's only the last book where they get "happy" (not even really happy, but more like just... settled down with each other).

I like kinky stuff, so that wasn't at all why I didn't read that last scene. It just felt totally unnecessary to me. Tacked on, like you said.

I'm with you, I really didn't like the job angst as well. I guess it made sense, he's a teenager, he wouldn't have a good job, but the subplot just didn't do anything for me.

I didn't mind the grandfather though, it at least grounded him and made him more than just a kinky sex figure. But again, yeah, tacked on. Not really so much a part of the story.

Relationship books are just not to my taste, so it's to this books credit that I enjoyed it as much as I did.