David Marlow

Warning—CONTAINS SPOILERSChase Hyde is a forty-nine year old bodybuilder, in perfect physical condition, who fancies himself as a “roamosexual”. Unapologetically he seeks other muscular sex partners for one-night stands which focus purely on the physical, painstakingly avoiding all emotional attachment. Chase has been twice-burned in the romance department, and he remains very guarded of his feelings. When he meets Hunter Rowe through an online muscle-worship website, he’s under the impression that their connection will be nothing more than a casual sexual rendezvous. Hunter Rowe is a thirty-something advertizing executive from New York. Highly emotional and a self-identified sexual submissive, Hunter is seeking a long term relationship with a dominant, muscular Daddy. Hunter is himself a bodybuilder, in perfect shape. When he and Chase hook up for the first time, he rather quickly falls head-over-heels, and he embarks upon pursuing his dream lover. As the trans-continental relationship begins to heat up, both men become increasingly more serious about each other. Eventually they vacation together in Hawaii on a dream getaway where they profess their devotion to one another and establish a pseudo-matrimonial covenant. Almost immediately, things begin to go south for the couple as they start to realize their honeymoon is over. Once they begin noticing characteristics within each other that are irritating and annoying, they each start to question the degree of their commitment. Eventually they must decide if the relationship is worth fighting for, or if it had been mere romantic fantasy.The writing: David Marlow writes a flourishing, eloquent prose which is rich with intelligent, colorful vocabulary. His descriptions are vivid, peppered with rare superlatives and countless polysyllabic modifiers. My initial impression of this verbosity was that he was either an exceptionally brilliant linguist with an enormous vocabulary, or I was just plain dumb. Being an avid reader myself, I was surprised at how frequently I had to stop and look up the meaning of his often grandiloquent adjectives. Although I enjoy tackling a challenging read from time to time, the constant and unnecessary use of such anomalous and verbose vocabulary grew tiresome. I wondered exactly who his target audience was while writing this novel. College professors, perhaps?There is no question that his verbiage is remarkable. Not only is his vocabulary expansive, but he employs a kaleidoscope of colorful verbs which seem to flow together naturally and compel the action of the story ever forward. Marlow is a gifted writer, certainly neither lacking intellect nor talent. Perhaps my quibble with his loquacious dialogue has more to do with my own limitations as a reader. Certainly there is an educational benefit to reading his work. (I now know more words than I did before I began reading this book!)The most interesting aspect of Marlow’s writing style is the manner in which he uses the third person omniscient narrative. Most books today which are written in third person use a limited point of view to describe the thoughts and feelings of a single character during any particular scene. This has become so common, in fact, that when an author deviates from this practice he/she is generally said to be guilty of “head hopping”. Third person omniscient allows an author to explore the thoughts and feelings of all characters as they interact with one another. My initial reaction to these constant point-of-view shifts was to bristle. I have become so accustomed to reading stories in which point-of-view is rigidly contained to the mind of one central character, that it felt foreign to me. However, based upon Marlow’s writing credentials, I had to surmise that he chose this descriptive method quite deliberately. Once I was used to it, I didn’t feel it was in any way confusing, and I wish that other authors would be so bold as to follow his example. It just makes more sense to me that an author would know the thoughts and feelings of all his characters and would want to express them while the action was occurring.The Sex: The romantic and sexual scenes within the book are arguably the book’s strongest asset. The erotica was sizzling hot, and at times it seemed to veer into the classification of a “one-handed read”. I have no complaints about this whatsoever, for in my opinion the only thing better than delicious erotica is well-written delicious erotica. And believe me, this was a tasty treat!The Story: The plot pretty much had me from the beginning, as I sort of have a thing for dominant, muscular guys who are a bit cocky. Chase Hyde is exactly that, and essentially this book is the story of Chase. Although his arrogance and narrow-minded viewpoints concerning gender roles and simply the mere definition of manhood were moderately annoying, these attitudes seemed befitting of the character. In the beginning, the author described how Chase was solely attracted to other muscular guys, and when one of his friends got off on being worshipped and admired by less-buff admirers, Chase found this extremely unappealing.Initially I expected that the story would delve into the Dom/sub nature of Chase and Hunter’s relationship, but as it turned out, this seemed to be more of a sexual fetish than an actual lifestyle. The irony was that in many ways it was Hunter who proved to be more dominant. He’s the one who aggressively pursued Chase. He lavished Chase with attention and gifts and even funded a dreamy (and expensive) getaway vacation to Hawaii. Hunter seemed to be trying to manipulate his mature lover to play a role which would satisfy Hunter’s wildest fantasies. The plot of the story is strangely interrupted by a one-hundred-forty page flashback of the previous relationship of Chase and his former lover Christian. Obviously this back story is intended to provide a history for Chase and to flesh out exactly who this character is and why he has become the “roamosexual” that he is today. Honestly, though, this back story could easily have been a book of its own, and it felt to me more like a tangent. I didn’t really care about Christian’s childhood or marriage to his first wife, nor about the strange and creepy relationship that he had with his former sugar daddy. All of these sub-plot elements occurred prior to Christian even meeting Chase, and their relationship of course occurred prior to Chase and Hunter. Basically the book contained a main story, a back story, and a back story of the back story. So what began as an extremely captivating read for me, became somewhat confusing and unfocused. When the story eventually returned to the main plot, I had all but forgotten the affection and admiration that I initially had felt for the central characters because I had been reading so long about an entirely different relationship. It was at this point that I just wanted to return to the romance between Chase and his boy, but instead this is when everything went sour for the couple. They began fighting with one another and had a series of squabbles followed by a very inappropriate instance of infidelity. Ultimately the story concludes not with a reconciliation but rather a revenge fantasy. Chase is so devastated by how horribly Hunter has treated him that he crafts a masterful plan to exact retribution. My sincerest hope was that both of the characters at some point would have an epiphany and see how shallow their obsession with the physical really was, and that they would ultimately realize that love is worth fighting for. So then when all of my expectations and hope for a happy ending are cruelly dashed, I still cling to a sliver of hopeful possibility. Perhaps Chase will find the happiness which I yearn for him to have. Perhaps he will reconcile with Christian, and in so doing this huge “tangent” within the midst of the book will at least have had a genuine purpose. Chase and Christian do meet again, but it is all for naught. Chase chooses his egocentric muscle obsession over a relationship. WHAT???!!The message: My sincere hope is that the author wrote this story not as an attempt to glorify hedonism and carnality, but rather as an expose’. I hope that his message is that the character within an individual is far more attractive and significant than the packaging. Honestly, though, I’m not entirely sure if this is what he believes. Perhaps it is up to the reader to draw his/her own conclusion. One could argue that Chase chose his own sense of worth over the entrapments of a traditional relationship, but I never got the feeling that he’d actually realized why it was that his relationships had always gone off track in the first place. Chase seemed to be more concerned with the fear that his sex partner would grow love handles than that he might not ever connect in any long term, meaningful way. I wanted him to love and embrace his passion for physical fitness in a healthy and positive way, but to not allow this obsession to become an elitist form of exclusion in which he constantly judged others.Well, right or wrong, that is the message I gleaned from the story. I know it may seem cliché, but I sincerely believe that beauty is skin deep, or in this case … muscle deep?It’s an interesting book, and I encourage you to read it. Great sex and amazing writing… just be wary of the fact that it is not guaranteed to provide you the typical HEA ending.… (plus d'informations)

Warning—CONTAINS SPOILERSChase Hyde is a forty-nine year old bodybuilder, in perfect physical condition, who fancies himself as a “roamosexual”. Unapologetically he seeks other muscular sex partners for one-night stands which focus purely on the physical, painstakingly avoiding all emotional attachment. Chase has been twice-burned in the romance department, and he remains very guarded of his feelings. When he meets Hunter Rowe through an online muscle-worship website, he’s under the impression that their connection will be nothing more than a casual sexual rendezvous. Hunter Rowe is a thirty-something advertizing executive from New York. Highly emotional and a self-identified sexual submissive, Hunter is seeking a long term relationship with a dominant, muscular Daddy. Hunter is himself a bodybuilder, in perfect shape. When he and Chase hook up for the first time, he rather quickly falls head-over-heels, and he embarks upon pursuing his dream lover. As the trans-continental relationship begins to heat up, both men become increasingly more serious about each other. Eventually they vacation together in Hawaii on a dream getaway where they profess their devotion to one another and establish a pseudo-matrimonial covenant. Almost immediately, things begin to go south for the couple as they start to realize their honeymoon is over. Once they begin noticing characteristics within each other that are irritating and annoying, they each start to question the degree of their commitment. Eventually they must decide if the relationship is worth fighting for, or if it had been mere romantic fantasy.The writing: David Marlow writes a flourishing, eloquent prose which is rich with intelligent, colorful vocabulary. His descriptions are vivid, peppered with rare superlatives and countless polysyllabic modifiers. My initial impression of this verbosity was that he was either an exceptionally brilliant linguist with an enormous vocabulary, or I was just plain dumb. Being an avid reader myself, I was surprised at how frequently I had to stop and look up the meaning of his often grandiloquent adjectives. Although I enjoy tackling a challenging read from time to time, the constant and unnecessary use of such anomalous and verbose vocabulary grew tiresome. I wondered exactly who his target audience was while writing this novel. College professors, perhaps?There is no question that his verbiage is remarkable. Not only is his vocabulary expansive, but he employs a kaleidoscope of colorful verbs which seem to flow together naturally and compel the action of the story ever forward. Marlow is a gifted writer, certainly neither lacking intellect nor talent. Perhaps my quibble with his loquacious dialogue has more to do with my own limitations as a reader. Certainly there is an educational benefit to reading his work. (I now know more words than I did before I began reading this book!)The most interesting aspect of Marlow’s writing style is the manner in which he uses the third person omniscient narrative. Most books today which are written in third person use a limited point of view to describe the thoughts and feelings of a single character during any particular scene. This has become so common, in fact, that when an author deviates from this practice he/she is generally said to be guilty of “head hopping”. Third person omniscient allows an author to explore the thoughts and feelings of all characters as they interact with one another. My initial reaction to these constant point-of-view shifts was to bristle. I have become so accustomed to reading stories in which point-of-view is rigidly contained to the mind of one central character, that it felt foreign to me. However, based upon Marlow’s writing credentials, I had to surmise that he chose this descriptive method quite deliberately. Once I was used to it, I didn’t feel it was in any way confusing, and I wish that other authors would be so bold as to follow his example. It just makes more sense to me that an author would know the thoughts and feelings of all his characters and would want to express them while the action was occurring.The Sex: The romantic and sexual scenes within the book are arguably the book’s strongest asset. The erotica was sizzling hot, and at times it seemed to veer into the classification of a “one-handed read”. I have no complaints about this whatsoever, for in my opinion the only thing better than delicious erotica is well-written delicious erotica. And believe me, this was a tasty treat!The Story: The plot pretty much had me from the beginning, as I sort of have a thing for dominant, muscular guys who are a bit cocky. Chase Hyde is exactly that, and essentially this book is the story of Chase. Although his arrogance and narrow-minded viewpoints concerning gender roles and simply the mere definition of manhood were moderately annoying, these attitudes seemed befitting of the character. In the beginning, the author described how Chase was solely attracted to other muscular guys, and when one of his friends got off on being worshipped and admired by less-buff admirers, Chase found this extremely unappealing.Initially I expected that the story would delve into the Dom/sub nature of Chase and Hunter’s relationship, but as it turned out, this seemed to be more of a sexual fetish than an actual lifestyle. The irony was that in many ways it was Hunter who proved to be more dominant. He’s the one who aggressively pursued Chase. He lavished Chase with attention and gifts and even funded a dreamy (and expensive) getaway vacation to Hawaii. Hunter seemed to be trying to manipulate his mature lover to play a role which would satisfy Hunter’s wildest fantasies. The plot of the story is strangely interrupted by a one-hundred-forty page flashback of the previous relationship of Chase and his former lover Christian. Obviously this back story is intended to provide a history for Chase and to flesh out exactly who this character is and why he has become the “roamosexual” that he is today. Honestly, though, this back story could easily have been a book of its own, and it felt to me more like a tangent. I didn’t really care about Christian’s childhood or marriage to his first wife, nor about the strange and creepy relationship that he had with his former sugar daddy. All of these sub-plot elements occurred prior to Christian even meeting Chase, and their relationship of course occurred prior to Chase and Hunter. Basically the book contained a main story, a back story, and a back story of the back story. So what began as an extremely captivating read for me, became somewhat confusing and unfocused. When the story eventually returned to the main plot, I had all but forgotten the affection and admiration that I initially had felt for the central characters because I had been reading so long about an entirely different relationship. It was at this point that I just wanted to return to the romance between Chase and his boy, but instead this is when everything went sour for the couple. They began fighting with one another and had a series of squabbles followed by a very inappropriate instance of infidelity. Ultimately the story concludes not with a reconciliation but rather a revenge fantasy. Chase is so devastated by how horribly Hunter has treated him that he crafts a masterful plan to exact retribution. My sincerest hope was that both of the characters at some point would have an epiphany and see how shallow their obsession with the physical really was, and that they would ultimately realize that love is worth fighting for. So then when all of my expectations and hope for a happy ending are cruelly dashed, I still cling to a sliver of hopeful possibility. Perhaps Chase will find the happiness which I yearn for him to have. Perhaps he will reconcile with Christian, and in so doing this huge “tangent” within the midst of the book will at least have had a genuine purpose. Chase and Christian do meet again, but it is all for naught. Chase chooses his egocentric muscle obsession over a relationship. WHAT???!!The message: My sincere hope is that the author wrote this story not as an attempt to glorify hedonism and carnality, but rather as an expose’. I hope that his message is that the character within an individual is far more attractive and significant than the packaging. Honestly, though, I’m not entirely sure if this is what he believes. Perhaps it is up to the reader to draw his/her own conclusion. One could argue that Chase chose his own sense of worth over the entrapments of a traditional relationship, but I never got the feeling that he’d actually realized why it was that his relationships had always gone off track in the first place. Chase seemed to be more concerned with the fear that his sex partner would grow love handles than that he might not ever connect in any long term, meaningful way. I wanted him to love and embrace his passion for physical fitness in a healthy and positive way, but to not allow this obsession to become an elitist form of exclusion in which he constantly judged others.Well, right or wrong, that is the message I gleaned from the story. I know it may seem cliché, but I sincerely believe that beauty is skin deep, or in this case … muscle deep?It’s an interesting book, and I encourage you to read it. Great sex and amazing writing… just be wary of the fact that it is not guaranteed to provide you the typical HEA ending.… (plus d'informations)

Warning—CONTAINS SPOILERSChase Hyde is a forty-nine year old bodybuilder, in perfect physical condition, who fancies himself as a “roamosexual”. Unapologetically he seeks other muscular sex partners for one-night stands which focus purely on the physical, painstakingly avoiding all emotional attachment. Chase has been twice-burned in the romance department, and he remains very guarded of his feelings. When he meets Hunter Rowe through an online muscle-worship website, he’s under the impression that their connection will be nothing more than a casual sexual rendezvous. Hunter Rowe is a thirty-something advertizing executive from New York. Highly emotional and a self-identified sexual submissive, Hunter is seeking a long term relationship with a dominant, muscular Daddy. Hunter is himself a bodybuilder, in perfect shape. When he and Chase hook up for the first time, he rather quickly falls head-over-heels, and he embarks upon pursuing his dream lover. As the trans-continental relationship begins to heat up, both men become increasingly more serious about each other. Eventually they vacation together in Hawaii on a dream getaway where they profess their devotion to one another and establish a pseudo-matrimonial covenant. Almost immediately, things begin to go south for the couple as they start to realize their honeymoon is over. Once they begin noticing characteristics within each other that are irritating and annoying, they each start to question the degree of their commitment. Eventually they must decide if the relationship is worth fighting for, or if it had been mere romantic fantasy.The writing: David Marlow writes a flourishing, eloquent prose which is rich with intelligent, colorful vocabulary. His descriptions are vivid, peppered with rare superlatives and countless polysyllabic modifiers. My initial impression of this verbosity was that he was either an exceptionally brilliant linguist with an enormous vocabulary, or I was just plain dumb. Being an avid reader myself, I was surprised at how frequently I had to stop and look up the meaning of his often grandiloquent adjectives. Although I enjoy tackling a challenging read from time to time, the constant and unnecessary use of such anomalous and verbose vocabulary grew tiresome. I wondered exactly who his target audience was while writing this novel. College professors, perhaps?There is no question that his verbiage is remarkable. Not only is his vocabulary expansive, but he employs a kaleidoscope of colorful verbs which seem to flow together naturally and compel the action of the story ever forward. Marlow is a gifted writer, certainly neither lacking intellect nor talent. Perhaps my quibble with his loquacious dialogue has more to do with my own limitations as a reader. Certainly there is an educational benefit to reading his work. (I now know more words than I did before I began reading this book!)The most interesting aspect of Marlow’s writing style is the manner in which he uses the third person omniscient narrative. Most books today which are written in third person use a limited point of view to describe the thoughts and feelings of a single character during any particular scene. This has become so common, in fact, that when an author deviates from this practice he/she is generally said to be guilty of “head hopping”. Third person omniscient allows an author to explore the thoughts and feelings of all characters as they interact with one another. My initial reaction to these constant point-of-view shifts was to bristle. I have become so accustomed to reading stories in which point-of-view is rigidly contained to the mind of one central character, that it felt foreign to me. However, based upon Marlow’s writing credentials, I had to surmise that he chose this descriptive method quite deliberately. Once I was used to it, I didn’t feel it was in any way confusing, and I wish that other authors would be so bold as to follow his example. It just makes more sense to me that an author would know the thoughts and feelings of all his characters and would want to express them while the action was occurring.The Sex: The romantic and sexual scenes within the book are arguably the book’s strongest asset. The erotica was sizzling hot, and at times it seemed to veer into the classification of a “one-handed read”. I have no complaints about this whatsoever, for in my opinion the only thing better than delicious erotica is well-written delicious erotica. And believe me, this was a tasty treat!The Story: The plot pretty much had me from the beginning, as I sort of have a thing for dominant, muscular guys who are a bit cocky. Chase Hyde is exactly that, and essentially this book is the story of Chase. Although his arrogance and narrow-minded viewpoints concerning gender roles and simply the mere definition of manhood were moderately annoying, these attitudes seemed befitting of the character. In the beginning, the author described how Chase was solely attracted to other muscular guys, and when one of his friends got off on being worshipped and admired by less-buff admirers, Chase found this extremely unappealing.Initially I expected that the story would delve into the Dom/sub nature of Chase and Hunter’s relationship, but as it turned out, this seemed to be more of a sexual fetish than an actual lifestyle. The irony was that in many ways it was Hunter who proved to be more dominant. He’s the one who aggressively pursued Chase. He lavished Chase with attention and gifts and even funded a dreamy (and expensive) getaway vacation to Hawaii. Hunter seemed to be trying to manipulate his mature lover to play a role which would satisfy Hunter’s wildest fantasies. The plot of the story is strangely interrupted by a one-hundred-forty page flashback of the previous relationship of Chase and his former lover Christian. Obviously this back story is intended to provide a history for Chase and to flesh out exactly who this character is and why he has become the “roamosexual” that he is today. Honestly, though, this back story could easily have been a book of its own, and it felt to me more like a tangent. I didn’t really care about Christian’s childhood or marriage to his first wife, nor about the strange and creepy relationship that he had with his former sugar daddy. All of these sub-plot elements occurred prior to Christian even meeting Chase, and their relationship of course occurred prior to Chase and Hunter. Basically the book contained a main story, a back story, and a back story of the back story. So what began as an extremely captivating read for me, became somewhat confusing and unfocused. When the story eventually returned to the main plot, I had all but forgotten the affection and admiration that I initially had felt for the central characters because I had been reading so long about an entirely different relationship. It was at this point that I just wanted to return to the romance between Chase and his boy, but instead this is when everything went sour for the couple. They began fighting with one another and had a series of squabbles followed by a very inappropriate instance of infidelity. Ultimately the story concludes not with a reconciliation but rather a revenge fantasy. Chase is so devastated by how horribly Hunter has treated him that he crafts a masterful plan to exact retribution. My sincerest hope was that both of the characters at some point would have an epiphany and see how shallow their obsession with the physical really was, and that they would ultimately realize that love is worth fighting for. So then when all of my expectations and hope for a happy ending are cruelly dashed, I still cling to a sliver of hopeful possibility. Perhaps Chase will find the happiness which I yearn for him to have. Perhaps he will reconcile with Christian, and in so doing this huge “tangent” within the midst of the book will at least have had a genuine purpose. Chase and Christian do meet again, but it is all for naught. Chase chooses his egocentric muscle obsession over a relationship. WHAT???!!The message: My sincere hope is that the author wrote this story not as an attempt to glorify hedonism and carnality, but rather as an expose’. I hope that his message is that the character within an individual is far more attractive and significant than the packaging. Honestly, though, I’m not entirely sure if this is what he believes. Perhaps it is up to the reader to draw his/her own conclusion. One could argue that Chase chose his own sense of worth over the entrapments of a traditional relationship, but I never got the feeling that he’d actually realized why it was that his relationships had always gone off track in the first place. Chase seemed to be more concerned with the fear that his sex partner would grow love handles than that he might not ever connect in any long term, meaningful way. I wanted him to love and embrace his passion for physical fitness in a healthy and positive way, but to not allow this obsession to become an elitist form of exclusion in which he constantly judged others.Well, right or wrong, that is the message I gleaned from the story. I know it may seem cliché, but I sincerely believe that beauty is skin deep, or in this case … muscle deep?It’s an interesting book, and I encourage you to read it. Great sex and amazing writing… just be wary of the fact that it is not guaranteed to provide you the typical HEA ending.… (plus d'informations)

Warning—CONTAINS SPOILERSChase Hyde is a forty-nine year old bodybuilder, in perfect physical condition, who fancies himself as a “roamosexual”. Unapologetically he seeks other muscular sex partners for one-night stands which focus purely on the physical, painstakingly avoiding all emotional attachment. Chase has been twice-burned in the romance department, and he remains very guarded of his feelings. When he meets Hunter Rowe through an online muscle-worship website, he’s under the impression that their connection will be nothing more than a casual sexual rendezvous. Hunter Rowe is a thirty-something advertizing executive from New York. Highly emotional and a self-identified sexual submissive, Hunter is seeking a long term relationship with a dominant, muscular Daddy. Hunter is himself a bodybuilder, in perfect shape. When he and Chase hook up for the first time, he rather quickly falls head-over-heels, and he embarks upon pursuing his dream lover. As the trans-continental relationship begins to heat up, both men become increasingly more serious about each other. Eventually they vacation together in Hawaii on a dream getaway where they profess their devotion to one another and establish a pseudo-matrimonial covenant. Almost immediately, things begin to go south for the couple as they start to realize their honeymoon is over. Once they begin noticing characteristics within each other that are irritating and annoying, they each start to question the degree of their commitment. Eventually they must decide if the relationship is worth fighting for, or if it had been mere romantic fantasy.The writing: David Marlow writes a flourishing, eloquent prose which is rich with intelligent, colorful vocabulary. His descriptions are vivid, peppered with rare superlatives and countless polysyllabic modifiers. My initial impression of this verbosity was that he was either an exceptionally brilliant linguist with an enormous vocabulary, or I was just plain dumb. Being an avid reader myself, I was surprised at how frequently I had to stop and look up the meaning of his often grandiloquent adjectives. Although I enjoy tackling a challenging read from time to time, the constant and unnecessary use of such anomalous and verbose vocabulary grew tiresome. I wondered exactly who his target audience was while writing this novel. College professors, perhaps?There is no question that his verbiage is remarkable. Not only is his vocabulary expansive, but he employs a kaleidoscope of colorful verbs which seem to flow together naturally and compel the action of the story ever forward. Marlow is a gifted writer, certainly neither lacking intellect nor talent. Perhaps my quibble with his loquacious dialogue has more to do with my own limitations as a reader. Certainly there is an educational benefit to reading his work. (I now know more words than I did before I began reading this book!)The most interesting aspect of Marlow’s writing style is the manner in which he uses the third person omniscient narrative. Most books today which are written in third person use a limited point of view to describe the thoughts and feelings of a single character during any particular scene. This has become so common, in fact, that when an author deviates from this practice he/she is generally said to be guilty of “head hopping”. Third person omniscient allows an author to explore the thoughts and feelings of all characters as they interact with one another. My initial reaction to these constant point-of-view shifts was to bristle. I have become so accustomed to reading stories in which point-of-view is rigidly contained to the mind of one central character, that it felt foreign to me. However, based upon Marlow’s writing credentials, I had to surmise that he chose this descriptive method quite deliberately. Once I was used to it, I didn’t feel it was in any way confusing, and I wish that other authors would be so bold as to follow his example. It just makes more sense to me that an author would know the thoughts and feelings of all his characters and would want to express them while the action was occurring.The Sex: The romantic and sexual scenes within the book are arguably the book’s strongest asset. The erotica was sizzling hot, and at times it seemed to veer into the classification of a “one-handed read”. I have no complaints about this whatsoever, for in my opinion the only thing better than delicious erotica is well-written delicious erotica. And believe me, this was a tasty treat!The Story: The plot pretty much had me from the beginning, as I sort of have a thing for dominant, muscular guys who are a bit cocky. Chase Hyde is exactly that, and essentially this book is the story of Chase. Although his arrogance and narrow-minded viewpoints concerning gender roles and simply the mere definition of manhood were moderately annoying, these attitudes seemed befitting of the character. In the beginning, the author described how Chase was solely attracted to other muscular guys, and when one of his friends got off on being worshipped and admired by less-buff admirers, Chase found this extremely unappealing.Initially I expected that the story would delve into the Dom/sub nature of Chase and Hunter’s relationship, but as it turned out, this seemed to be more of a sexual fetish than an actual lifestyle. The irony was that in many ways it was Hunter who proved to be more dominant. He’s the one who aggressively pursued Chase. He lavished Chase with attention and gifts and even funded a dreamy (and expensive) getaway vacation to Hawaii. Hunter seemed to be trying to manipulate his mature lover to play a role which would satisfy Hunter’s wildest fantasies. The plot of the story is strangely interrupted by a one-hundred-forty page flashback of the previous relationship of Chase and his former lover Christian. Obviously this back story is intended to provide a history for Chase and to flesh out exactly who this character is and why he has become the “roamosexual” that he is today. Honestly, though, this back story could easily have been a book of its own, and it felt to me more like a tangent. I didn’t really care about Christian’s childhood or marriage to his first wife, nor about the strange and creepy relationship that he had with his former sugar daddy. All of these sub-plot elements occurred prior to Christian even meeting Chase, and their relationship of course occurred prior to Chase and Hunter. Basically the book contained a main story, a back story, and a back story of the back story. So what began as an extremely captivating read for me, became somewhat confusing and unfocused. When the story eventually returned to the main plot, I had all but forgotten the affection and admiration that I initially had felt for the central characters because I had been reading so long about an entirely different relationship. It was at this point that I just wanted to return to the romance between Chase and his boy, but instead this is when everything went sour for the couple. They began fighting with one another and had a series of squabbles followed by a very inappropriate instance of infidelity. Ultimately the story concludes not with a reconciliation but rather a revenge fantasy. Chase is so devastated by how horribly Hunter has treated him that he crafts a masterful plan to exact retribution. My sincerest hope was that both of the characters at some point would have an epiphany and see how shallow their obsession with the physical really was, and that they would ultimately realize that love is worth fighting for. So then when all of my expectations and hope for a happy ending are cruelly dashed, I still cling to a sliver of hopeful possibility. Perhaps Chase will find the happiness which I yearn for him to have. Perhaps he will reconcile with Christian, and in so doing this huge “tangent” within the midst of the book will at least have had a genuine purpose. Chase and Christian do meet again, but it is all for naught. Chase chooses his egocentric muscle obsession over a relationship. WHAT???!!The message: My sincere hope is that the author wrote this story not as an attempt to glorify hedonism and carnality, but rather as an expose’. I hope that his message is that the character within an individual is far more attractive and significant than the packaging. Honestly, though, I’m not entirely sure if this is what he believes. Perhaps it is up to the reader to draw his/her own conclusion. One could argue that Chase chose his own sense of worth over the entrapments of a traditional relationship, but I never got the feeling that he’d actually realized why it was that his relationships had always gone off track in the first place. Chase seemed to be more concerned with the fear that his sex partner would grow love handles than that he might not ever connect in any long term, meaningful way. I wanted him to love and embrace his passion for physical fitness in a healthy and positive way, but to not allow this obsession to become an elitist form of exclusion in which he constantly judged others.Well, right or wrong, that is the message I gleaned from the story. I know it may seem cliché, but I sincerely believe that beauty is skin deep, or in this case … muscle deep?It’s an interesting book, and I encourage you to read it. Great sex and amazing writing… just be wary of the fact that it is not guaranteed to provide you the typical HEA ending.… (plus d'informations)