The Menagerie

by J.P. Caruso

Rowan Campbell loves his life, finally. He’s happy. He’s happy, but… there’s something missing. Some itch under his skin he can’t quite scratch through his work as a paramedic or hobbies or family gatherings or casual hookups alone. Then one day he responds to a 9-1-1 call at an exclusive BDSM club, the Menagerie, and immediately splurges on a membership. He isn’t expecting much… until he meets the notoriously hard-to-please club veteran, Malcolm Savaryn. Mal is a firecracker of a man: Sharp and witty with a take-no-shit attitude, he fascinates Rowan from the start.

Rowan has a big secret he’s afraid to share, and Mal has walls that seem impenetrable. Both men have dark pasts, and mental health struggles have marred them, leaving them wary of relationships. Their chemistry is immediate and unmatched, though, and they quickly enter into a steamy Dom/sub relationship, meeting weekly at the club. It’s just sex, right? But can they keep things strictly sexual, or will one or both of them develop feelings along the way? And if so will they find the courage to admit them and risk their hearts?

The Menagerie is a compelling exploration of BDSM, trust, and the slow evolution of friendship and love between two complex characters.

Genres: BDSM, M M Romance, Romance, Erotica, LGBT, Smut

424 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 13, 2025

About the author

J.P. Caruso is from Massachusetts’ North Shore, where she lives off of iced coffee year-round. With bachelor’s degrees in graphic design and biology, she’s transitioned from a career in art to a career in science with aspirations of becoming a pathologist. When she isn’t working, she’s playing survival-crafting videogames, drawing spicy art, or practicing krav maga and muay thai kickboxing, in which she is a first-degree black belt.

Primarily a M/M romance writer, J.P. has been in love with love her whole life, and she has been honing her writing skills since she was a teenager. Her first foray into writing was through fanfiction, and she has participated in numerous fandoms throughout the years. Since then, she has written everything from TV commercial scripts to poetry to scientific manuscripts. Her fiction writing features detailed world-building, feel-good character development, flowing descriptions, and poignant turns of phrase.

Reviews

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very slow burn. The book was quite long (usually a good thing in my opinion) but very little happened besides weekly appointments (you couldn’t call them dates).
The sex scenes were ok but I also want to know the characters and there was too little of that. The whole story was from Rowan’s PoV so we did find out a little more about him but not as much about Mal.
Also not a huge fan of this style of writing tense (present continuous?) but that’s a me thing.

[Jenny (Nyxie) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely emotional horniness. Obliviots who were just fuckbuddies catching feelings, my favorite.

Tags: BDSM club meet, emotional slow burn, kink, BDSM, spanking, toys, breath play

[Jess]

…hear me out. for the first half of the book i couldn’t shake this odd feeling like something just wasn’t clicking for me. and then it dawned on me, it reads like one of those national geographic or animal planet videos lol.

*in my best david attenborough voice*

in the natural habitat of the menagerie, here we have a rowan in the wild, a baby dom competing with other doms for the submission of mal, who is greatly desired as they are fascinated by his beauty. you see those mating dances they’re all doing? it seems like the sub is interested in only one…

lmao so yes, the book essentially opens with rowan participating/competing in a gangbang with 9 other men to be mal’s dom. why mal is a super celebrity at the club? i don’t really know. it’s reiterated how gorgeous he is and how everyone loves his performances but we don’t really get to see mal in that element outside of any of his scenes with rowan. and no, those were not public.

lust at first sight & we get rowan’s pov the whole book but both he & mal were equally annoying? one annoyance: mal kept testing rowan at different points in the book… like hellooo, rowan stand up for yourself a little bit? one scene in particular i felt like rowan shoulda put his foot down & said he was not comfortable but nooo let’s do what mal wants because i really like him blah blah blah.

if you LOVE details then babe, this is the book for you. we got the description of every. single. man. who participated in the opening act, the decorations of the clubhouse, the kinds of liquor behind the bar, every single answer to rowan’s membership questionnaire, even down to ‘the exact same platform bed that has been in every other room so far’ like please, chop these descriptions in half lol.

it was very kinky, very dom/sub, very bdsm with bondage of a few different types, spanking, choking, edging, toys, etc etc. for most of the book we got the scene on saturday night, diner after to recap, see you next week & then rowan in his head until the next meet up. we barely got them together after they realized they had feelings for each other.

there were also a few inconsistencies that my brain could not ignore. not to mention having sex in a club bathroom stall & completely taking off your pants & underwear… who does that lmao. maybe i was so appalled i read it wrong???

anyway. i mean, i didn’t hate it? but i am kinda mad at myself that i read it lol.

[Tascha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast heat, slow burn, a gangbang meet cute, a scrappy bottom sub who will be your new favorite character and lots and lots of consent and communication. Chef’s kiss. 😙🤌🏻

[Lyn Solomon-Linville · Rating 5 out of 5]

It starts with an EMT/Paramedic call at a BDSM club. Rowan realizes what is missing from his life, where he used to find pleasue before his Depression and PTSD was diagnosed, before he ended up in the psych ward. Now he can handle it, he's in a good place. After he joins he meets Malcom, a legend. Rowan is an inexperienced Dom, Malcolm is a power bottom. It starts with a gangbang and then hang on for a ride provided by this author who knows BDSM, but most of all knows people, their trauma, growing up Southie in Boston, how important it is to be seen, have a found family and being "on the verge of drowning in the torrent that is Mal Savaryn" Carry on. You will not be sorry.

[edmn · Rating 4 out of 5]

its been so long since I read MM romance that’s actually well realized,well written and not just same thing over and over again,this was one of those books,it really proves there can be spice with actually compelling relationship and compelling plot,and
like I said spice was good but I did feel like Rowan was a little bit too perfect and we never got to see him get really carried away,so I do wish we got more scenes where they really let loose and we didn’t get that a lot,for that reason this isn’t 5 stars but other than that I absolutely loved,so to sum it up relationship and pace great but with a little better spice it would be even better,either way can’t wait to read more from this author!

[Sarah☀️ Somerville]

DNF @ 59% - Stopping here because I'm just not particularly interested. Rowan is just too perfect (as a Dom) given his inexperience. The BDSM is missing all the elements that I find interesting, so this book is just one sex scene after another. I'm interested in Rowan and Mal's issues, but so far Rowan's are all reported to be in the past, and we're not seeing more than a hint of Mal's given the book isn't from his perspective.

[Adeselna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing could have prepared me for this book, and I am still shocked this is J.P. Carusso's first book, because wow! The book does start a bit slow in the first two chapters with Rowan being called to attend an emergency at the BDSM club, but once he’s in and he meets Mal, their first scene together with the g*ngbang was awesome.

Both Rowan and Mal have struggled with a lot of issues from their past, but they each find themselves safe inside their scenes. Mal is adorable. He takes his duty as a sub seriously, and the way he was involved with the club and the rules was really cool. A lot of BDSM books just talk about the fetiche part, but in this book there is a lot of attention towards little details from the club. Rowan is a great Dom, he focuses on Mal’s comfort while being strict. While most Dom’s just want to use Mal’s body and use him for their own pleasure, Rowan pays attention to his body language, he realises when something is amiss or when Mal needs more. That does not mean that Mal is helpless. He’s feisty, he knows what he likes, and it’s really awesome to read a sub who knows what they like and demands that pleasure from their Dom.

“The Menagerie” is just another amazing BDSM book to add to a catalogue of new k!nky books that focus on consent, but also using BDSM as healing.

[Laurie Kleveland · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5! For a debut, the writing was phenomenal. The language was simple and easy to follow, yet also provided depth to the scenes.

The book itself is basically all vibes. The characters meet at a gangbang at a sex club, which tbh was an amazingly written scene. Depending on what’s going on some sex scenes get lost and hard to follow for me, but this was written so well I never felt like I had to re read something to see what was going on. The rest of the book is a lot of sex between the MCs as Rowan struggles with his growing emotions for Mal. Both characters were sweet and spicy, and the decision to make the book entirely Rowan’s POV was definitely the correct one for the story. All that being said, if you don’t like sex this book might not be for you.

My issue was the book was very long and didn’t really have a lot of variety. The scenes they did together were always different, but it was 500 pages of intense sex, followed by a diner “date” over and over again. They learn a little bit about each other here and there as this goes on, but it never felt deeper to me. You felt a lot of emotion through the writing and language, rather than the character interactions. The chapters are also long ones with by the end of the book not a lot to separate the events in my mind.

Overall, it was fun to read. It had some of the best written sex scenes I’ve ever read especially in BDSM (and it’s very very light BDSM for those who it’s not their jam). However, it felt long and repetitive at times. All their personal interactions outside of sex felt like they were missing something. I also wanted more cute or emotional hurt/comfort moments between the MCs since there was a lot of potential for that. It would have also been nice to get more time of them as a real couple too since I spent the whole book waiting for them to come to their senses.

TLDR: 3.5 stars because It was extremely enjoyable, with great writing, but just felt a little flat outside the sex and too long for not much but the same thing happening over and over again. Also as a personal preference I love non-sexual emotional moments between the characters and it just wasn’t there for me.

Side note: at one point the book says “it set Rowan’s heart ablaze” and now I really need to know if Demon Slayer influenced this lol

[Misc · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been years since I last read a BDSM MM book that shows its writer actually understands the subject matter a little deeper than shallow depictions in the media. Granted, I haven't read a lot of BDSM books, but still. The mature writing style probably also helps to ground this book and makes it more believable than the usual edgy wannabe yet hopelessly juvenile and laughable style I've seen in many books.

Also bonus points to this book for not succumbing to the norm and for keeping it strictly narrated from one perspective only. Most dual-POV books, especially 1st-person dual-POV, on the market nowadays are rubbish since many writers frankly aren't competent enough to delve into the mind of separate characters in a convincing manner, and yet they still do it either because it's a popular framing device that sells well for romance books, or they're just that delusional in their writing prowess I guess.

That's not to say that this book is perfect, because it isn't. I personally didn't mind the lectures about kinks because I'm not well-versed in the subject, and the writer consciously incorporated the characters' relationship progress in them instead of just dumping them willy-nilly without much purpose like some books I've read, but I can imagine the large swaths of BDSM lessons can get a bit tedious at times for more seasoned kink enthusiasts. I also felt the detailed play scenes could've been tightened in pacing and shortened in length, even if I did enjoy them as a whole. This is a common trait in many new writers, so I hope that this debut work is also a learning experience for the author and they'll pay more attention to the editing stage and how to trim the fat, so the speak, in future works.

And I guess Rowan is a bit idealistic for a protagonist (again, not surprising since this is a first published work), but whatever, I don't care because I love him lol. The dynamics between the characters, the banter and the budding romance are what pushed me to give the book the highest rating, even with its hiccups here and there.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love loved it. The writing. The progression of their relationship! Starts off with a bang (literally) but it's such a good read because of the progression of them getting to know each other is so juicy. I am obsessed with their banter and the conversations and how they talk, but get to know each other so slowly and organically. It’s so good. I gave up sleep a few nights to read this, and I’d do it again. (and probably will on a reread.)
I love Rowan and Mal’s chemistry. Learning about the BDSM world along with Rowan is so interesting.
I love how open it is about sexuality and kinks and what it all means for the characters and for someone. You don't have to be into BDSM or some of the stuff they do or talk about to find this hot and love this book.

Oh man. When he pulls out the condoms it’s like a knife to the heart. Aaaahhhh. Makes the end even better.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t stop thinking about this for one major reason - the single POV third person of the *inexperienced* Dom character being the biggest one. It was such a unique and refreshing way of telling the story compared to sooooo many others out on the market today.

There was essentially insta-love, which, ugh. But both characters waited until they had a deep emotional connection before confessing it. A lot of the dialogue between the two of them was just going over what they’d done in scenes and deciding they both liked it - some more conflict there, especially on Rowan’s part, would have been welcome. And while Rowan’s mental health issues eventually reared their ugly head, it basically was just Fine. Everything in the book was Fine, except for one scene when Rowan saved the day and basically was a vehicle to move their relationship forward.

So yeah, I guess the book was Fine.

[Mystisith · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 🌟 Now that was different. The writing is very dry + 3rd person & I needed a bit of time to get used to it but once warmed up... It is a kind of reverse slow burn with our 2 emotional porcupine men meeting at a cold gangbang & learning how to navigate their relationship from there. The BDSM component is perfect & the way trust & feelings are treated is realistic. Negokink for the win! The sex is borderline clinical & won't be everyone's cup of tea but there's a learning curve for the characters that translates into the wording too. The ending is highly satisfying.

[etoile1996 · Rating 4 out of 5]

very spicy, but also emotional love story

Enjoyed this debut, the two leads have some baggage and hang-ups but from the moment they meet it’s clear that something more connects them.

My only quibble is that at some point in the middle of the book, the author or the editor conflates Boston’s South End with Southie. And it was so distracting because those are very distinct and different parts of Boston. (The author means Southie always in those instances.)

[Zoë Elias · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts with a g a ng. b a n g

Got your attention? Great! Cause this book was amazing !!

We have a bratty power bottom (or as Malcom likes to call himself “The best bottom in the world” , and Rowan, the inexperienced Dom who struggles with depression.
But when they come together , pure magic and chemestry happens!

The Club/BDSM scenes were so beautifully written with so many emotions and so much detail. The yearning tho , oh my …all the feelings ❤️‍🔥

[Keely McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! The writing, characters, and plot are engaging and left me wanting more throughout. The sex scenes are so hot and so well written, and the two main characters have palpable chemistry inside and outside of the bedroom. I came to appreciate their routine and looked forward to seeing what happened next!

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best written MM erotic books ever. Great character development and sex scenes that are hot but also advance the love story plot.
The side characters and Rowan's often mentioned but always off-page family make it feel a bit like fan fic in some ways, but that doens't detract too much from the story.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

[JJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Porn without plot usually bores me, but this one was hot and kept my interest. I loved both main characters, and their personal and relationship development was well done. I was not surprised to learn that the author has written fanfic - those writers excel at this shit.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instant horny with slow burn romance is a great trope. I really love BDSM novels every once in a while and this on definitely scratched that itch.

The emotional pay off toward the end that was building and building was really well done.

[Doozer T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absorbing, hot, and emotional. What more could you want?

[Book Enthusiast · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 26% too

[Kateryna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Unserious reader]

The book is really good; I just wanted to see if I still disliked slow burn, and I do. I very much do; I just don't have it in me.

[Mira · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my top reads of 2025.

[Cau_lly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice read.
I did drag my feet through the first pages but then I really got immersed, could even feel my heart drop when mal decided to do a scene with his old dom.

Could have been a 4star but I don’t like how his disorder was handled.
Okay so everyone in his family knows about his disorder and they are close but there was no mention of his family checking up on him weekly/biweekly and when he had an episode no one else but him was there?
I’m really passionate about how illnesses are handled in books.

[Jordy - Hard Earned and Slow Burn HEAs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rowan and Malcom’s romance starts in a most unconventional way. Imagine Malcom, Rowan and nine other dudes…. Yep. What a way to meet the man of your dreams. 😂

Fortunately Malcom’s a go getter so he quickly locks down baby dom Rowan and lots of fun and games ensue. You’d think it’s fairly straight forward from there but it’s not. Malcom has walls upon walls and makes Rowan really work to break them down. Even though it’s fast for the spice, it’s a slow burn overall for the feels and the HEA.

The spice is next level, but that’s to be expected given the setting for most of the book, how the two meet and the nature of their relationship throughout most of the book.

I flew through it, even with it being a longer book, the writing doesn’t drag (for me at least), the pacing was good and the various appointments these two had kept things interesting. I would have loved a bit more from Malcom, this book being told from Roman’s POV meant we don’t get to be in Malcom’s head at all and that would have perhaps helped to better understand Malcom and why he was choosing to keep Rowan at arms length for so long. Also would have loved a bit more at the end once the parameters of their relationship changed overall as well.

Check content warnings as always then strap yourself in and enjoy.

[ReadswithGroot · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It’s a feeling like no other, one that threatens to drive him insane each and every time. A heavy, gut-wrenching feeling that hits him in every single cell in his body.”

Looking for a your next spicy read but want something with a slow burn relationship development and no insta love?

The Menagerie by J.P. Caruso is a breath-taking read FILLED with over 500 pages of smut and two men who are afraid to love or be loved. The book is filled with lots of kink play like choking, toys, group scenes and bondage, but it’s also filled with things like PTSD and depression representation.

For a spice forward story, I really enjoyed the relationship dynamic and development between Mal and Rowan as it devolves from moments shared over several months as they get to know each other slowly and fall in love one week at a time.

Meet cute at a BDSM gang bang
Group scenes
Dom/Sub
Bondage
Impact play
Choking
Consent kings
Praise kink
Hands free O’s
Jockstraps and nipple clamps
Depression rep
On Kindle Unlimited
F*ck/ing/ed shows up 879 times

[Hannah]

This is the book that made me okay with reading third person present. I absolutely detested it before, but for some reason this book kind of sucked me in and I really loved it. I think it made it a lot more intimate and poetic, and that's saying a lot for a book with a meetcute that's a gangbang. Mal is a great character and I really loved their back and forth, and how Mal really wanted to be soft and vulnerable but never had an environment or people to do that with. It's definitely a spice-heavy book but that's how they advance their relationship so it seems natural. Very slow burn but sooo satisfying. In my top 3 books I've read in 2025!

[Daje1968]

I don’t know why I thought it would like this. I love a good D/s dynamic but don’t like hardcore BDSM and sex club is not a trope I enjoy. Also, the writing felt a little simplistic.