Even though this book ran along the same lines as other authors do, what made it different was the connection, and I just loved that. To have that sort of pull without knowing someone that long, yet minding the control and not having them jump in that fast was what really set the pace for me. Really enjoyed it thoroughly. ( )

I am reviewing the ebook version that I read via my library.

Opposites attract. But can they make it last? The classic take on this trope is that the city boy teaches the country boy, but this is a trope-flipping pair of stories with more complexity than that. Mal is insufferable and Owen is nearly the exact opposite. Owen is self-aware. He has his work cut out for him, cracking Mal's hard shell. Or rather, handing Mal tools to do it himself. I am glad I read these one after the other, it's much more satisfying this way. ( )

Short fun read! Two pretty interesting guys that I fell for in no time flat. Their interactions are perfect! ( )

The blurb does a good job of giving a short run down on the story but I’ll add a few parts.

Country Mouse is told in third person through the eyes of the Brit, Malcolm, and the Yank, Owen. Owen is around twenty-three years old and visiting London for the first time. Malcolm is twenty-nine years old and works in trades. Both are looking for a hookup for the night and that’s where they spot each other in a bar.



First, I love the cover on this book very nice. I also like the title. Both cover and title are very appropriate.

Owen’s character actually confused me more than Malcolm’s. With Malcolm we see that he has hidden behind a mask for his work, for hookups and just for everyday communication between people. His business requires a tough 'don’t push me around’ exterior and his hookups require him to be a Dom just because he scores more partners that way. Even though we find out in the story that Malcolm is in no way a Dom, he can barely handle Owen when Owen starts to sass back and order Malcolm around.

Now back to Owen. When Owen and Malcolm meet in the bar, Malcolm is all Dom-like and Owen is all brat. Owen can definitely stand up to Malcolm and Malcolm is intrigued. They go back to Malcolm’s place and right off the bat Owen is a sassy sub who gets under Malcolm’s skin and Malcolm can't as easily control his desires because of Owen’s talking back. Owen can be quite the Dom himself or the bratty sub, or a lover that can see deeply into another person’s soul as they have sex. I think it’s all these opposing aspects of Owen that has Malcolm off-kilter. We never really get to hear or see a lot of what makes Owen tick. We just see him trying to figure out Malcolm and try to break down Malcolm's shields. Otherwise we hardly find out anything about Owen. In a way because we aren't told much about Owen, he ends up reminding me alot of Malcolm, only not as shielded.

Sex. There’s a lot of sex in this book. But the sex isn’t used just for sex, even though a one night stand is what both Malcolm and Owen were going for. Instead Owen uses sex to find out who Malcolm is behind his walls. Owen uses sex to make Malcolm feel safe and cared for, and while Malcolm at first is suspicious because even sex and orgasms are a competition in his world, he eventually succumbs to Owens administrations. By the end of the story, Owen’s kindness and openness has left Malcolm feeling raw and vulnerable in ways he hasn’t been in such a very long time.

What I disliked about this story was that it was time compressed. It happened during one weekend. Owen and Malcolm spent their whole time together after the pickup at the bar on Friday night before Owen had to leave Monday afternoon. During that time the two develop intense feelings for each other. I can see it’s possible on the one hand, because Owen is the type of person who gives his all in a relationship no matter how short it is. Malcolm is new to that kind of intensity. So is it because he craves Owen? Or is it only that he craves the kinds of feelings Owen makes him feel? So I have a difficult time with these instant lust/love stories, especially since we know the time frame for this event. The getting to know each other just seemed too fast and too forced.

I wish the story had been stretched out longer. I would have loved to see the budding friendship and love blossom over the course of at least a month; maybe where they weren’t even living in the same building, but needed to work together. I also felt short-changed in that we didn’t really get a deeper view of the characters personalities. We only saw the masks that both wore until they revealed themselves to each other in a little way. So this story is a bit unreal for me because everything happens way too quickly with a nice and tidy resolution, so I can only give it 3 stars
( )

Wow, loved this.
While this story takes place over a single weekend it never once rang my instalove warning bells. There is no talk of TruLuv or FOREVER. There is only the now, attraction, need, want and seeing where the moment takes you.
I've owned this story for so long but put off reading it because of the BDSM theme (not really my thing) but I wish I hadn't left it so long. This is not so much BDSM as BDSMlite. I'd even go as far to say it's BDSMfail. By this I don't mean failure on the authors' part (as a writing team they did a grand job) but on the character's (Malcolm, bless you).

My only complaint, there was a lot of sex for a novella length book that had so much character development (although much of Malcolm's realisations took place during sex). I'd have prefered a little less time in the bedroom and a more of them in the other moments. Changing the ratio slightly would have given it an extra half star from me. ( )