Ours

Young, Dumb, and Full of Bad Decisions #1

by Dominic N. Ashen

If growing up is hard, becoming an actual adult is even harder, and the transition between the two can, at times, seem like a minefield.

Cory is just an average 18-year-old nerd who plays video games and reads comic books. Well, mostly average. He’s also gay, in the closet, and into some pretty kinky stuff. Sure, his only outlet is the internet and his left hand, but with college right around the corner, he figures his secret is safe… Right?

Except Cory’s two best friends, Derek and Nic, recently found out about that secret. And just like a lot of teenage boys, they decide to think with their groins and take advantage of the situation. With the internet as their guide, they formulate a plan to train Cory into being their personal submissive plaything.

As they learn more about themselves, each other, and the kinky world of BDSM, Cory, Derek, and Nic may also discover that romance can bloom in the most unexpected of places.

Genres: BDSM, M M M, Romance, Erotica, Friends To Lovers, LGBT, M M Romance

418 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2024

About the author

Dominic N. Ashen is an award-winning author and avid reader, with a focus on gay, BDSM-themed erotica. After spending his youth in search of books with characters who were more like himself - queer ones, specifically - he decided to start creating some of his own. His first book, Steel & Thunder, was published in 2021, and was named a Distinguished Favorite in the 2021 NYC Big Book Awards. His stories star queer protagonists, most often gay and bisexual men, and feature themes of dominance, submission, and all sorts of kinks. Dominic loves the fantasy, sci-fi, and horror genres and has a penchant for writing longer stories where he is able to weave in the sex and kink right alongside the plot.

Patreon: https://patreon.com/dominicashen
Newsletter (18+): http://eepurl.com/he5x-X
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DomNAshen
Instagram: https://instagram.com/dom.n.ashen/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/dom.n.ashen/
Website: https://dominicashen.com/

Reviews

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.5 stars ⭐️

{This is it. This is how I die. They’re going to put in my obituary that I was fucked to death.}

~ Pure hornyboi fantasyland ~

This was a bit of a mess — a tad too long, mostly smut with no actual plot, a confusing POV. It reads like a fanfic, old school Wattpad style erotica, dumb teenage boys being super horny and dumb.
But… I enjoyed it?

Despite the iffy beginning, I actually started caring about these three dummies along the way. The characterizations were well done, all three boys having distinct personas and thoughts and feelings, and I enjoyed their dynamic, the sexual exploration and discovery, the personal growth they all went through.

Let’s be real, though. This was 400+ pages of porn. Lots and lots of (surprisingly good, if not a bit unrealistic) porn. [Can guys actually cum that many times?? And is male squirting an actual thing or just a porn thing? I have questions.]

The kink exploration felt pretty realistic, just teenagers thinking with their dicks and finding out what feels good, making mistakes along the way, not knowing what they’re doing.
I liked that they acknowledged when they fucked up, tried to learn from their mistakes.
The ending wasn’t as satisfying as I hoped though, and I thought their relationship needed a bit more balance between the three of them.

I don’t know if I can recommend this in good conscience, but if you’re looking for loads of smut and the kinks tickle your fancy then this read might be for you. Looking for an emotionally satisfying romance? Then maybe don’t pick this one up.

“You’ve always been ours, Cory.”

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

CW and tropes (spoilers):
- MMM
- Friends to lovers
- Queer awakening
- Kink exploration
- D/s dynamic (two doms one sub)
- Themes of homophobia (internalized and non)
- Virgin MC
- Dub-con
- Sharing & gangbang scenes
- Rimming
- Public sex
- Humiliation & degradation kink
- Spanking & impact play
- Face-fucking
- Bondage
- Cock cage
- Toys
- Brief cockwarming
- Facials
- Coming hands-free & multiple orgasms
- Squirting (?)

[Rafael Andrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply perfect! With 418 pages of pure male-on-male debauchery and a high body count, the author has truly captured the essence of MM erotica by not shying away from the explicit content. This is genuine gay erotica. Readers sensitive to graphic and intense sexual situations may want to skip this one and opt for something lighter, like "Aristotle and Dante" or "Red, White & Royal Blue."

[Bunni ❤️‘S monkey&woo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow… this felt very biographical and It had me hooked from the first page. A coming of age-sexual awakening and experimentation between three best friends.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Miru · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very hard book to rate.
The content was a kind of uncomfortable to read about and the consent was barely existing until maybe 85% in.
The ending was okay but it just didn’t make up for all the other things that happened throughout.

[antonia🫧 · Rating 2 out of 5]

story begun right away huh?

felt too young & meh.
i kind of struggled to finish it - also them being with other people?🤠

i kind of wish they hold come out to their parents also.

[S.G.H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well ..this was depressing

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF’D: NOT A FAN OF THE SHODDY POV & THE MESSED-UP “FRIENDS”

Right off the bat, I wasn’t a fan of the way the story was being told – literally being told by the author themself playing the narrator (the kind of storytelling used for faerie tales and campfire stories), which feels lazy for a novel of this length, because of course, that style is more on telling rather than showing. But what really extinguished any interest I might have had despite the very boring characters, was how a duo of supposed “friends” practically ganged up on and took advantage of their mutual friend for the sake of getting their rocks off. My kinkthusiasm is always up for any kind of adventure in the bedroom, but building them up as such “good friends for many years” only to lead up to this sickening set-up? I don’t know if the hypocrisy is intentional to showcase their stupidity, but I found it all sorts of messed up. It would have been more effective if they weren’t established as friends and just more of hang-out buddies or something, because what kind of friends would do this?? Perhaps if I had zero empathy for the characters, I’d find this amusing but putting myself in Cory’s shoes and imagining my friends doing this to me? This should have been tagged: “dark and disturbing themes” at the very least. It would have been less traumatising to have read a straight-up non-con to dub-con rape story by some random stranger or anyone else who didn’t mean anything to the MC, because at least that way, there wouldn’t be this warped narrative about the whole act being justified since they were “friends” anyway which was supposed to make the betrayal “okay” or “safe” and even “erotic”, because nope. It totally isn’t. Not for me at least.

Now I get that not all characters in stories are conscientious or mature enough to always do the right thing and it does appear like their idiocy is part of the story, but there is a world of difference between being stupid due to youth and blatant psychopathic tendencies, so some trigger warnings would have been nice. That way I wouldn’t have been robbed of the freedom to choose whether I wanted to engage in this or not (and would not have claimed an ARC of this on Booksprout), because this is not my idea of friendship, fun, sexy, or kinky, at all.

Then last but not least: there’s the issue of the weird random POV shifts which start out as 3rd-person impersonal leaning towards Nic and Derek’s side but then at some point it just suddenly switches to 3rd-person PERSONAL from Cory’s mind (yes, we hear Cory’s thoughts all of a sudden and totally out of nowhere) in the same paragraph. That was jarring. That could be forgiven if this were fanfiction, but it isn’t, yet that made this really feel like one. It’s hard to believe the editors (if any) didn’t catch that – unless the sloppy POV is intentional? If so, it makes for a really disorientating read, so… while I may have been able to soldier on as far as I could muster in hopes of finding some redeeming factor to the very unsavoury start, it was the messy storytelling that ultimately lost me. (The cover is really nice though and it made me have high hopes for the content.)

[Anne Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow title is perfect for this book
This is the first book. I’ve read from this author and I’ve Gotta say I was blown away. This book is really long like double the size of a normal Book I would read but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Three friends, Cory, Derek and Nic who are working on a project together, but Cory needs to get home, so he leaves his laptop with his friends. And this is when Nic and Derek learnt a few things about Cory because he left his browser open with different tabs showing. Firstly, Cory is gay and into some kinky stuff. And this Gets the friends thinking. After a week they get together and set up a plan for the next time the three are at the cabin. The plan is to get Cory drunk and let him know what they found. This plan is , something that changes all of their lives.
You will go through every emotion reading this book because these three guys don’t realise the damage they’re doing without even knowing. Cory just want to please, Nick and Derek, so whenever they suggest anything he either doesn’t wanna let him down, feels he can’t say anything or horny. But Derek and Nick never communicate with him next other than to give orders, but they never stop to think. What did you feeling at that time Cory?
But I’ve got to say I was hooked on this book because you just see these boys finally thinking what is best for them. There’s other storylines within this book. I’ve got to say thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes there were times when I thought guys please too much making me wonder about consent the way this author has written a story just really makes it compelling you have to get to the end.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, it's porn-with-plot. What do you expect? Do you expect lots of death-defying orgasms in each chapter? Long, thick dicks? Remarkably quick getting-up-to-speed at gay sex virgins?

I hope you do.

There are sweet bits, and it's funny that porn-with-plot manages to still have a 70% breakup. (If that's a spoiler, I'm ... no, I'm not really sorry.) The dubcon is problematic in the way of all dubcon, but somehow more hot than most, and to the author's credit, it does manage to resolve in ways that don't feel bullshit. There is an older character (like, maybe my age? *sighs*) whose involvement with the dubcon stuff rings false (that is, you'd think he figured it out).

Otherwise, like, calling this a "novel" seems a little arch, but this man writes kinky sex very well, and I for one am pleased that he does.

[Oh, and I adore that the "where are we going to go to college" subplot (such as it is) is totally not believable; Cory gets into my alma mater (ok, sorry, it's the Technology Institute of Massachusetts, TIM), as does his best friend, and this isn't really a big deal for them, whereas it would be in the real world. Also, people who've not attended elite tech schools often think that "and there's a new computer lab" is a big deal, kind of like when in the appalling movie "Blown Away", partially filmed at MIT, there's a plot element where the people go to "the computer lab". News flash: the entire campus is a computer lab. I wish these people had a nerd consultant. Probably there are the same issues with the football stuff, but I don't know anything about football!]

This is fun. Don't read it expecting great literature, or even great romance, and you'll be fine.

[S.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprise for me – it was a fun read, but also covered some really interesting topics deeper than I expected. I was a little concerned with how things started because getting Cory drunk and then persuading him into sexual acts was more than a little problematic. Along with the initial stages of their relationship – and Nic’s insistence on sticking his head in the sand – made it more than a little unsettling.

It would have been very easy to leave this as a slightly dub-con friends to lovers story, but Dominic went further along the path, making the three of them see the errors that they had made, face up to things about themselves and realise that what had begun under such dodgy circumstances could mean so much more.

Derek struck me the most out of the trio – he has an obvious need to control things which explains his Dom side, but I appreciated his willingness to learn from the mistakes he made. I was also impressed with how open he was to Carl’s teachings and his obvious desire to do better. I liked how Nic struggled with his perception of himself and how he figured out his relationship with his family as well as how he felt about Cory and Derek. Surprisingly, Cory seemed to be the one who was most well-adjusted about the whole thing, which was an aspect I didn’t expect but definitely appreciated.

The sex scenes were numerous and entertaining, and I would definitely recommend this if you are in the mood for some BDSM light role playing, copious amounts of sex with varying people and three kids figuring out what they mean to each other. I received an ARC through Booksprout.

[Emma Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ours by Dominic N. Ashen is a captivating exploration of the transition from adolescence to adulthood, delving into the complexities of self-discovery and relationships. The story follows Cory, an 18-year-old who harbors secret desires, including his attraction to men and his interest in exploring a more unconventional side of intimacy. When his best friends, Derek and Nic, discover his secret, their friendship takes an unexpected turn as they explore new dynamics together.

Ashen skillfully navigates the intricacies of teenage curiosity and the journey toward understanding one’s own identity. The book's portrayal of the evolving relationship between Cory, Derek, and Nic is both engaging and authentic, offering a thoughtful look at love, trust, and the boundaries of relationships.

What sets Ours apart is its ability to balance the thrill of discovery with the emotional growth of its characters. The narrative is well-crafted, with scenes that are both intense and meaningful, making it a must-read for those interested in exploring the nuances of identity and connection.
The MMM dynamic is reminiscent of Fifty Shades of Grey, but with a unique twist that adds depth and authenticity to the characters’ experiences. The scenes are incredibly well-written, providing not just a story but a detailed manual of BDSM techniques that feels both educational and exhilarating.

Overall, Ours is more than just a story of youthful exploration; it’s a compelling coming-of-age tale that resonates on multiple levels, leaving a lasting impression.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[fanboyriot · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

👀 PWP
⛓️ Doms/Sub Relationship
🏳️‍🌈 Friends to Benefits to Lovers

While borrowing Cory’s laptop Derek and Nic find out a few things from some unclosed tabs… and well the friends suggested a win for all of them.

I have no idea what to say about this book. I knew there would be spice but oh my god… it was every chapter, I’m not complaining—it was written really well but just wasn’t expecting it to happen so quickly or that much.

While I did enjoy this book and the characters were great I did find the age to be kinda an ick. Have such a heavy BDSM relationship while in your senior year of high school is a bit much. I feel like it would have been better as a college level setting. The other issue is mentioned in the book and it’s worked out quite well.

It’s worth noting that the relationship does start on dubious consent terms, drunk messing around, all the while two of the characters have girlfriends. It does get pretty messed up and toxic in the middle of this book, but the last few chapters work through that and the character development within those chapters was so nice to read.

Overall, this book felt like a spicy fanfic (in a good way), it has a little plot here and there but it isn’t the main show. This book was fun to read and has a great ending.

Thank you to Book Sprout and the author for is ebook, in exchange for a honest review!!

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (5/5)
Angst Level: 💧💧💧 (3/5)
POV: Multiple, Third Person
Release Date: 25, August 2024
Rep: Poly (Main Relationship), Gay (Main Character), Bisexual (Main Characters)

⚠️ Content Warnings:
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Outing, Infidelity, and Biphobia
Minor: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Rape

[Scott Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very hot. Very good.

This book was a nice surprise. I enjoy reading the occasional Sub/Dom full-length novel, but I don't often leave the end of these books with a lot of warm fuzzy feelings about the relationships presented in the stories as I usually have some issues with the cruelty, selfishness, dubcon and sometimes even non-con on display. Yes, this book has some of those things, but where it stands out is that those things eventually become a big plot issue that leads to a lot of discussion among the characters, and a lot of education and growth for these friends. The three main characters in this story are best friends, and high school seniors, and while technically 18 years old, and technically adults, they were not emotionally prepared for the direction their relationship was about to suddenly careen out of control. There's genuinely a really good story here, and the characters a really well-developed. Enough so, that I was bummed the book ended when it did. It felt like this was just their beginning. Since this is book 1 of a series, is there hope that we could see more of these characters? There's also a lot of really hot sex scenes here. This is definitely solidly in the erotica genre, or could be considered porn with plot, and it's not a very long wait from the beginning of the book for the action to start. Enjoy.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kim B · Rating 4 out of 5]

MMM
High School
Bi-awakening/ GFY
BDSM

First of all - this isn't my typical read, but I read the first chapter and was intrigued. This is really well written and I definitely found myself feeling all the emotions of these three very different characters. They are all high school seniors - very different people / not your typical best friends - but they had been friends for years and still hung out. Cory is a pudgy nerd who is gay - but not out in the open. Nic is the popular football player. Derek is also a popular boy who comes from money, and he basically lives on his own as his parents are off working overseas. One night they are all working on a school project on Cory's computer and he has to leave, and Nic and Derek have work to do still so he leaves the computer with them and plans to get it back the next day at school. What the two boys discover on Cory's computer surprises them and changes the course of their senior year, their friendship and their future.

There were definitely times when I wanted to yell at these boys because there is so much stupidity in some of the things they do, but remember...they are young, immature boys and are experiencing very adult things like BDSM, Dom/ Sub relationships, as well as what they "identify" as - bi, gay or straight.

[Mark Menard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Little Disturbing
Derek, Nic & Cory have been friends since 3rd grade. Now in their senior year of high school they enter a world none of them really understand, Derek & Nic find out Cory is gay and that he is into kinky things. So they plan to train Cory to be their personal sexual plaything.
Even as I finished the book I had no respect or interest in Derek & Nic. The way they went about taking advantage of Cory just never set right with me. Cory never had a chance; he was blindsided and questioned what was happening during the whole ordeal. Something inside of me feels like Derek & Nic should have been dealt with in a harsher manner than what they went through. It isn’t the subject matter of BDSM, is just how Cory was treated by two boys who were supposed to be his friends. He never really got a chance to explore his sexuality before being forced into an abusive relationship. And it was abusive, nothing Derek & Nic did was for the benefit of Cory- it was all about them.
With all that being said I need to point out some positives. This is the 9th book of Dominic’s that I have read. I like his writing style; it flows well and is captivating. There are always twists, turns and surprises along the way to keep the story interesting.
I received this book as an ARC and this is my honest review.

[Nichole Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was intense and went 0-60 pretty quickly! I was sucked in to the story really easily. While I did see reviews comment on about consent and safe s*x, I will say that being told from a high school/18 year olds POV, that while they should think of these sorts of things, not many do. And some of this is what leads to the fight the three MMCs have mid-way through the book. I liked seeing Cory eventually stand up for himself, and when Derek finally realized he made a mistake about many things and tried to work on himself and owned up to what he did. Nic took more to own up to things, but part of that was because he was dealing with the struggles of his own s*xuality. Through it all, we saw them struggling with the change in dynamics with their friendship, from being closer to pulling apart because of lack of communication, and eventually closer than they were at the start because of everything that happened and finally talking. This was the first MMM book I've read in awhile, and I enjoyed the plot, I loved Cory, and while I had a love/hate relationship for Derek and Nic for most of the story, I did like to see that they did care for Cory, they searched for him in the storm, apologized for hurting and using him like they did, and that they were willing to admit they were wrong and missed each other. I'll definitely be reading other books by Dominic in the future.

[LJ Henley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three best friends who do most everything together and have for years. Including homework. One night the three boys are doing homework and Cory leaves his tablet with his friends to finish studying. They find Cory's stash of men on men porn and each tab they open draws them more curious about just what dirty things Cory is into. Derek and Nic are straight and have never toed towards a line towards another guy, let alone their friend. But curiosity keeps building until one night they plan on getting Cory drunk and trying out some of those things on his computer. That night opens the three to blow jobs and more. But there is something bothering Cory... that he really didn't consent to the first time, nor other things the Nic and Derek tell him to do.

Feelings get in the mix. Denial and guilt too. But Dominic N Ashen has a gift of storytelling and although this is a different trope from Orcs and humans, high school senior friends and the mischief they can get up to together is really well written and has me wondering if there will be a second book on what the three friends get up to in college!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jamie McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ours by Dominic N Ashen is the story of three 18 year old best friends, Nic, Derek and Cory, who stumble into a kink-based friends-with-benefits situation and struggle to navigate that along with the last few months of high school, girlfriends, parties and familial expectations.

Expect a lot of heat alongside a lack of communication, which works well in this book due the age of the characters, feelings making everything even more confusing and frustration leading to a blow up. In the aftermath, the MCs go their separate ways and grow up a little too. Will they did their way back to each other before they all head off to college or will they find what they want and need outside of their group?

I really enjoyed the way these characters were written and not made to sound like mature adults while being told they're 18. Yes, they make mistakes and have lots to learn but it's an adventure to join them through the highs and lows.

A big shout out to Stephanie and Daddy Carl for (mostly) being the voices of reason and shoulders to cry on.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Danielle Mund · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this for the first time when it was unpublished and fell in love. I'm so glad the author has published his work and continues to write!

This is a new adult kinky triad story with dub con and coercion, free use, sharing, letting other people use the sub, internalized gay/bi phobia, etc. So definitely mind your triggers.

The spice is incredible enough to reread again and again but the emotional journey is just as satisfying. The two Doms have to come to terms with their sexualities, desires, the fact that they used coercion, and their friendship. The sub has to decide what his limits are. All three have to contend with going from friends to lovers.

Though the BDSM starts out very romanticized without the realities of consent and negotiation, there's a reason for that and the author grounds us back in a version of realism by the end.

Highly recommend. 5 star spice
**This is an ARC review

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I’ve gone back and forth on what to rate this, as most of the book, I hated two of theMC’s. I’ve decided to go with a neutral 3 stars because I enjoyed the story after the boys got their heads out of their butts, but the entire first half I hated. Biggest notes I made while reading were consent, communication and safe sex. Safe sex good lord, not once was a condom mentioned or asking about being bare. Even the full grown adult went bare with Cory. This is not normally a thing I’d have a problem with, but these were 18 year olds having Willy nilly sex with multiple sex partners and not once thinking about the consequences, especially for Cory. I will admit to also absolutely despising Derek and Nic for most of the book, they were both assholes to Cory. I for one would have found someone who cared about me and my pleasure because these guys were only caring about themselves half the time. Not honestly sure how I got through most of the book. Derek was a little better than Nic but not by much. When everyone got their heads out of their rear ends, and Carl showed the boys proper care for Cory, I was finally relieved and invested in their relationship. Thank God for Carl! I’d maybe read a sequel to check up on these boys.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title did warn us. The story 'Ours' definitely depictes three friends crossing a line into territory they don't fully understand forming a Dom/Sub relationship.

I found this story equally interesting and frustrating! Nic, I'm sorry he annoyed me the most! His childish ways, definitely highlighted the young, dumb part of the title.

Cory, I feel was thrown in at the deep end of this 'relationship' the care and sensitivity was not there from Nic & Derek and communication was heavily absent!

This rollercoaster of this book was wild to read, and yet I couldn't stop. So kudos to the author for making an uncomfortable yet gripping read.

Truly and unexpected gem.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[L H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story felt like young guys trying to get to know who they are and what they want taking advantage of the opportunity presented to them on Cory's computer. They are very young and that helped to excuse some of the awkward, silly things they sometimes did, but it was also interesting following along as what Nic and Derek think will be a physical exploration turns into something else as feelings get into the mix. They are already best friends so its not surprising that they would come to feel things and have to figure out handle those feelings. This story definitely outlined the growing pains that accompany a set of less than mature young men figuring things out. Well written.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of this one. It wasn’t the fact that 75% of the book is basically smut, because I’ve been reading a long time and sometimes that’s what you’re in the mood for. The way the author went about it, though… I don’t know, it just didn’t sit right with me. There were consent issues galore, and the fact that it was literal teenagers going about all of this like they were more mature adults than they really are just rubbed me the wrong way.

I think Stephanie might be the best character in this book, honestly.

I’ve read other books by this author that I have really enjoyed, but overall, this one wasn’t what I was hoping it would be.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

[ThatBookishWitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars / ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okayyyy, that was certainly a book. First of all, special thanks to Dominic Ashen, 4 Horsemen Publications, and BookSprout for early access.

With that out of the way, I have to get critical. You’re telling me that a publisher that specializes in smutty/kinky books did not ONCE sit down and say ‘ hey, there should probably be a content warning in the book.’? I don’t buy it.

While I get it’s meant to be an ‘accurate’ depiction of young beginners in kink, and have no issues with dark kink, you HAVE TO WARN PEOPLE.

Nowhere in my EPUB is there a content warning of any type ( and I searched for it). It’s clear the author put a lot of love and research into the book, but all of that got trampled the minute the sensitivity reader was like ‘fuck it, no protection. Readers better rawdog’.

I was tempted to give it four stars despite this glaring issue but that, coupled with some stylistic things led me to give it 3.5. If a content warning gets added, I will bump it up.

That being said, this book has made me genuinely curious about some of Ashen’s other work, and I’ll definitely take a look.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Derya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about the discovery of sexual identity, which while often sweet and enjoyable, at times was a bit frustrating. Safe sex is a topic never really discussed - especially in reference to using condoms. Maybe I'm used to this from books with adult characters, but it felt weird that this was never mentioned at all. At least as far as I can remember.
What I missed the most was healthy, good communication. The lack thereof made me really mad at times.

"Ours" was still an enjoyable queer story and Ashen has an amazing style of writing.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Juniper · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s so much that’s noteworthy in this book, and the premise is a compelling one. There’s an interesting blend of heat, angst, and cautionary tale here, and while I’ll be honest that for 2/3 of the book I loathed Derek and Nic (being young and making bad decisions is one thing, being selfish ***** is another) I was invested in the story and hopeful that somehow things would work out for Cory, who deserves so much better than what he initially gets. Ultimately, I liked the trajectory, and resolution, of the final parts of the story, which ended in a good place for me.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Deb Kel · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an author Dominic is definitely growing on me. His books are just getting better and better! This was such an endearing, emotional and heartwarming coming of age storyline between three friends whose sexual awakening leads to plenty of experimentation between the three of them! Initially I felt that they were much too young to have a BDSM relationship but the author did such a great job of relationship building and evolved the storyline at a perfect pace that by the end of the book you completely understood and everything works out in the end!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[lisa moses · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!! This book took me on an emotional roller-coaster. I would say it's a journey of self-discovery and learning to stand up for yourself and not let anyone's judgment affect the way you live your life. Derek and Nic plan to make their best friend Corey into their submissive. The story is that of all the trials and accidental trauma that went into being in that type of relationship as a senior in high school.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book that showcases the sexual bi-awakening and experimentation among three longtime friends.

A small discovery (of Cory’s sexuality and kinks) that lead all of them on a journey. One that started with helping out their friend because they were intrigued, but grows into something more.

I really did enjoy the first parts of the book that made me continue flipping the pages for more and it did not disappoint.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't 100% sure what to expect going into this, but overall it was a VERY good book! I appreciated the fact that though things started out sorta *r*pey , like Stephanie mentions in the book, that they did eventually come around and get back on track! The friendship that they all had together was wonderful to read and witness change throughout the book. There was a good bit I didn't see coming, but that just made it an even better experience, in my opinion.

There were also a few typos, or words that didn't really need to be there, that I did notice but nothing major that I could tell!