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Hammer #21

Deeper: A Hammer Novel

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Johnny diMarco is a spoiled, rich brat who has made his way through almost every Dom at The Hammer Club. None of them can handle him. Even Oliver has tried and has sadly had to admit defeat.

Dolph Waters is a newcomer to the Hammer, but he’s been a Dom at a club up north for quite a while. When he hears about Johnny, he’s intrigued and agrees to meet the sub and give it his best shot.

It doesn’t take long for Dolph to realize that Johnny needs far more than a simple blistering spanking, the sub needs attention and intense focus from his Dom. The more he gets to know Johnny, the more Dolph falls for him and wants to be the one to give Johnny what he needs. His biggest obstacle is Johnny himself who has decided that BDSM is a lie, one he isn’t interested in anymore.

Can Dolph convince Johnny that they can not only be friends, and lovers, but also Dom and sub? Or is he doomed to have his heart broken?

Previously published by Torquere Press.

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 17, 2013

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107 people want to read

About the author

Sean Michael

663 books1,212 followers
Often referred to as "Space Cowboy" and "Gangsta of Love" while still striving for the moniker of "Maurice," Sean Michael spends his days surfing, smutting, organizing his immense gourd collection and fantasizing about one day retiring on a small secluded island peopled entirely by horseshoe crabs. While collecting vast amounts of vintage gay pulp novels and mood rings, Sean whiles away the hours between dropping the f-bomb and persuing the kama sutra by channeling the long lost spirit of John Wayne and singing along with the soundtrack to "Chicago."

A long-time writer of complicated haiku, currently Sean is attempting to learn the advanced arts of plate spinning and soap carving sex toys.

Barring any of that? He'll stick with writing his stories, thanks, and rubbing pretty bodies together to see if they spark.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for Vivian.
2,921 reviews487 followers
December 31, 2013
Prickly or Patience--Who will win?

The battle of the Dom v. Sub begins with a less than charming intro to Prickly, aka Gianni aka Ombre. Having been tossed aside by every other Dom at the club, Dolph, aka Patience, takes on the challenge.

I liked the getting to know you aspect of the Dom/sub relationship between Dolph and Gianni, but it dragged in places. Dolph's approach to Ombre works--there's a lot of breathing exercises and separating his boy from upsetting external stimuli. It all made perfect sense, but to be fair this is a sedately paced story. Don't go into it thinking that it will be quick in any sense of the word.

Loved the different emphasis on sensation play, with pain taking a backseat as Dolph introduces his boy to a much wider range. Neither character is very complicated and we learn more about Gianni than Dolph. I just felt like either there should have been more plot driven "events" or more character depth to warrant the length.

Favorite quote:
“I don’t want you to hate me and send me to another person.”


~~A copy was provided to me for a No Glitter Blown review~~
~~~Reviewed for Hearts On Fire Reviews~~~
Profile Image for Anke.
2,506 reviews98 followers
June 26, 2014
Huh? What the heck happened here? It was a rather nice read, much better for most of the time that I honestly expected. Safe even for readers who don't like reading about bdsm, there was rather none of that in it. It was an engaging read for me. Along the line the nickname 'Ombre' got on my nerves majorly. Then the build up to the family dispute - well done, only to then fizzle out? Hey, I was looking forward to a showdown! And not just 'call the police' and be done with it! Extremely unsatisfying, really.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Tam.
Author 21 books103 followers
January 26, 2014
Yeah, I was on a roll. It was what I expected but I did enjoy it more than some. I do have a soft spot for poor little subs who are treated badly by their families and thus have crappy self-esteem. Although given how Johnny was described, it took Dolf about 4 hours to figure him out. Doesn't say much for those other doms. It was nice to see them building a friendship through shared experiences, like learning to cook. And Dolf made a mistake which in the Hammer world is unheard of. So kudos for that. There's not a lot of BDSM, but if you are into sounding there is a brief scene.

So you know what you'll get with Hammer novels. I do hate that they kind of end abruptly. This ended with the police car coming up the drive to deal with the brother who was trying to get Johnny committed. So I would have loved to see a nice confrontation and resolution to the family thing. But it was a standard story with lots of sex (which I may have skimmed a bit at the end).
Profile Image for Serena Yates.
Author 104 books771 followers
July 21, 2016
The premise for this book is interesting: take a sub, seemingly totally out of control, who is driving every Dom crazy, and see what happens when he is (finally) paired with the right Dom. I like the message behind this: a working BDSM relationship is built on more than just a shared admiration of floggers and chains. The psychology of the two partners is just as important, and in a case like Johnny's, with years of emotional abuse by his family behind him, the "normal" road to submission will not work. He recognizes and says it himself: what he needs most is a friend. Dolph would put it slightly differently, I suspect: they need to build trust before they can get to the "kinky stuff". But what they're both saying is essentially the same thing: they have to figure out what works for them.

Johnny is desperately looking for his subspace, so he can forget the mess his real life is. He is blackmailed by his traditional Italian father and older brother into obeying all kinds of rules unless he wants to lose his stipend and, eventually, a lot of money. Johnny managed to find temporary peace in subspace once, but has since not been able to recreate the situation. All the Hammer Doms have tried but Johnny's restlessness only escalated. With Dolph, Johnny soon notices a difference and while it takes him a while, and he insists he isn't "doing the Dom thing" with Dolph, the progress is undeniable.

Dolph may be new to the Hammer, but he is an experienced Dom. He is prepared to deviate from what he thinks might be the thing to do, so that he can focus on what Johnny needs. And that proves that he is not only a really great Dom, but he understands human nature and the things that Johnny has gone through as well. Of course, it isn't easy, and he needs all the patience he can muster, but he is absolutely the right man for the job. Some of the things he does to Johnny in the second half of the book, when they really begin to "dig deep", are very creative and totally hot!

If you like BDSM stories with a healthy dose of psychology thrown in, if you enjoy reading about men who find out so much more about each other than what each other's kinks are, and if you're looking for a read that is hot, fun, and interesting, then you will probably like this novel.


NOTE: This book was provided by Torquere Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Profile Image for Charly.
754 reviews31 followers
August 19, 2014
I liked it, but I didn’t feel that it lived up to its potential

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 6/10

PROS:
- One of the first things Johnny does when Dolph begins laying down the rules is type them into his phone so he won’t forget them. This made me chuckle. A 21st-century sub.
- I found it very easy to pity Johnny. I wanted a happy ending for him. I wanted him to be content and loved and appreciated, and I liked Dolph well enough early on that I was perfectly happy for him to be the one to provide these things for Johnny.

CONS:
- The story begins with Oliver, a well-established character in the Hammer universe, utterly at his wit’s end with regard to Johnny. Readers who are at all familiar with the series will recognize that Oliver being so out of sorts is unusual, which means that the author is setting us up for a huge fight with Johnny the wunder-brat. Unfortunately, this huge fight never materializes. Dolph struggles with his new sub, but only a bit. Only superficially. The trust and the ease and the flow all come too quickly, at least in my estimation.
- I wanted to see some more details about Johnny’s family, about his life before Dolph.
- It’s difficult every time for me to suspend disbelief when characters enter into long-term D/s or M/s relationships after practically no time. It’s less than 5 minutes before they’re agreeing to a year-long contract.
- It bothered me that Dolph makes a rule that Johnny isn’t allowed to swear and then swears repeatedly himself.

Overall comments: This is one of the more poignant hurt/comfort stories I’ve read recently. There’s quite a contrast in Johnny: he’s rich and supposed to be happy and surrounded by friends and people who love him. Yet he’s hurt and lonely, and he soaks up Dolph’s attention like a dying plant. I liked the story quite a bit, but I feel it could have been better if the author had explored a bit more resistance on Johnny’s part. Especially considering the “omg-this-is-one-of-the-worst-subs-EVER” introduction we get at the start of the story.
Profile Image for Vfields Don't touch my happy! .
3,525 reviews
September 28, 2014
The love affair between Sean Michael and myself has gotten a little spotty lately. His book list is more miss than hits nowadays, and I really, really am a Sean Michael fan. I feel one of the strengths of the Hammer series was the time Sean Michael took with his two main characters. Yes, yes, there's a lot of sex and a lot of one word sentences - Love. Need. Mine. - and so on but there was something that just worked, if that's what you were looking for. Lately his stories have gotten too short and lost their heft and everything just falls into place way too easily. Michael's works best when his characters have major hurdles to climb before they can get together. When there are more obstacles blocking the two main characters from that perfect love situation then love and the sex is the payoff.

Charley T talked me into trying Deeper. Rich, angry, boy sub meets wealthy, mellow man Dom. This is a better example of Shawn Michael doing what he does well to a point. There was a lot left open-ended. I was totally not happy with the abrupt ending.

Profile Image for Jennifer.
458 reviews
January 2, 2014
The sub in this pairing has some deep seated psychological problems that are only dealt with superficially. I can generally deal with this, but in this case it really annoyed me and I did not see the resolution of the story as being entirely satisfactory.
Profile Image for K.
1,607 reviews82 followers
December 22, 2013
I have to admit the Hammer Series is one of those guilty pleasure series, it doesn’t really matter how good or bad the books can be (and some can be very meh) I am going to read them anyway. That said, I found this one much better than some of the recent books in the series.

Johnny is a young rich sub, whose bratty attitude has turned everyone at the Hammer away from him, to the point where Master Oliver is considering refusing his membership. His problem is not actually just attitude, he’s been told he’s useless and good for nothing by his father and older brother all of his life, to the point where he believes it to be true. As a result he uses his wealth to try and buy a lifestyle he wants and until now he’s not allowed anyone close to help him find what he really needs. Master August takes on Johnny and the pair work their way closer. Whilst as usually there are fairly early declarations of love, this isn’t one of those where there is instant declaration of “mine”, it also isn’t a book where a D/s relationship solves instantly all the issues that Johnny has regarding his self image. I really enjoyed this one.
Profile Image for Bea.
513 reviews50 followers
January 26, 2014
Actually one of the best of this series. Like the rest, there is tons of sex, and it is incredibly hot! While the plot is not the strongest, I found the characterizations pretty good! If you like the others, you will like this one.
Profile Image for Lizzie.
446 reviews12 followers
January 15, 2015
What can I say, it's Sean Michael and there's just something I like about this author. The story doesn't stray far from the growing relationship between the two characters. Sweet and angsty.
Profile Image for Sarina.
766 reviews1 follower
February 11, 2017
Review written for Love Bytes Reviews.

I think Deeper will have to go in my top five favorites for this series. Johnny DiMarco is a spoiled, self entitled, bratty little rich boy that the owner of the Hammer Club, Oliver, is about ready to give up on. Damn near every Dom in the place has tried working with Johnny and all have given up for various reasons. When Dolph hears about Johnny, however, he’s intrigued and determined to try and help the younger man; he feels he’s up for the challenge and Dolph has the time necessary to give Johnny all the attention he needs. After spending a little time together, its pretty obvious that there is much more going on than just someone that’s terribly spoiled; Johnny is practically crying out for help and Dolph is determined to give it to him. Getting Johnny to trust him enough to open up is only half the battle, however; the other half is Johnny’s family…and they aren’t willing to relinquish control so easily.

Hmmm…this was a really good installment to this series! Johnny had a boat load of problems that mostly came from his family and how he was treated and I really felt for him. With how he grew up and the ‘rules’ he had to live by, if I’d gone through the same thing, I’d be lashing out, too! Dolph was the very picture of patience; he wasn’t willing to put up with any bullshit but he also wasn’t going to go running in the other direction when things didn’t immediately go the way he wanted or expected. Nearly the entire first half of the book deals with Dolph trying to unravel the mystery that is Johnny and why he’s so desperately unhappy and I really enjoyed that; it was great getting to see a slower build up to intimacy. The sex scenes were nicely done and the care Dolph took with Johnny was palpable; there was also very little kink in their interactions until later in the book when Johnny was more comfortable and open to it.

I think the only minor disappointment I had was in that I expected Johnny’s family to make more of an appearance than they did; I was really looking forward to a good old fashioned smack down with Dolph laying down the hurt. I did smirk a little at the ending though; it may not have been exactly what I wanted but Johnny did get to show just how little his brother’s opinion mattered to him at that point. This was great read; I really enjoyed the characters and their interactions and I’m hoping I’ll get to see them, at least as a cameo, in later novels. If you’ve enjoyed Sean Michael’s works in the past, this is another good one and if you aren’t familiar with this series, you could still read it as a standalone just fine.

http://lovebytesreviews.com/2017/02/0...
Profile Image for Mary Dunlap.
1,226 reviews3 followers
September 16, 2019
Attention is what theis book is about

He wants attention making everyone hate him just to get that attention..then he finds it and it takes awhile before he knows he found all the attention he needs
Profile Image for DeeNeez.
2,024 reviews13 followers
November 19, 2025
I really liked this one. The focus on trust and character growth warmed my heart for these two. Yes there was a lot of sex, but it was about loving each other, not the kink.
Profile Image for Wendy❤Ann.
1,757 reviews48 followers
February 7, 2014
Reviewed for Hearts On Fire Reviews - 3 1/2 hearts

My name is Wendy, and I am addicted to the Hammer series. Okay, step 1 completed (admitting to the problem), but I’m not really looking for a cure. Reading this series is my guilty pleasure and I’m good with that. So, about this story…

“Deeper” describes exactly the situation that Johnny finds himself in – he continues to dig himself deeper and deeper into a hole as he chases that elusive something just beyond his reach, and then acts out when he can’t quite find it. He’s worked himself through most of the Doms at Hammer until he has even Oliver tense and admitting defeat.

Dolph’s interest is piqued on hearing about Johnny and seeing Oliver’s reaction. He volunteers to take the boy on. Dolph’s approach ends up being completely different than all prior Doms. He works on building the trust and quickly starts to fall for his new charge.

This book is very different from most of the others because it’s all about building the relationship before the BDSM comes into play. In fact, Johnny is afraid to venture down that path with Dolph because he’s convinced it will ruin the friendship and love that has blossomed between them, and in his experience, that leads to someone else leaving him. As Dolph presses for information on Johnny’s past to try to understand his reactions, he’s disgusted to learn about the lengths that Johnny’s family will go in their attempts to continue controlling him.

Ultimately, one determined Dom and one boy who’s hungry for that deeper connection make a great pair who can tackle anything in their path and set off a few fireworks to boot. There are no major plot complications in this story – just lots of sex with a side of domination/submission. With the exception of more focus on the relationship than usual, I got exactly what I expected and I’m wearing a smile!
Profile Image for Amber.
1,294 reviews33 followers
May 1, 2015
This book turned out to be a little bit different than I thought it would be. I figured it would be like the majority of his books focusing heavily on sex with just a little bit of plot. This one the sex took a backseat to the character development and plot. When I read the summary I had expected Gianni to be a rough reckless sort of character yet he turned into a confuse and abuse young man that was more lost than anything else. It was nice to see the trust gradually build between the two MC. The only thing I really had a problem with is the ending since we really don't see the lose ends being tied up dealing with Gianni's family. I couldn't help but think it was a rather strange way to end the book and dropped a star off because of it.
Profile Image for Sunne.
Author 4 books25 followers
January 24, 2014
I haven't read all the "Hammer-stories", just a few years ago "Forged" and "Bent" because they had been recommended to me.
Compared to these two this story just didn't meassure up. While I loved the fact that Dolph found other ways to focus Johnny (the breathing and the wrapping), the story dragged a bit and Johnny was a bit a too stupid brat. Additionally the whole "three names for Johnny"-thing got on my nerves, Johnny, Gianni and then Ombre, which actually reminded me all the time of the Spanish word "hombre", which just didn't fit for Johnny at all...so...yeah...well, something like this can meddle with my focus for a story. So I just liked it.
Profile Image for The Novel Approach.
3,094 reviews137 followers
January 28, 2014
These books typically pair a tough but loving Dom with a wounded submissive. Deeper is no exception. However, what sets this series apart is the way in which the author weaves the various story lines together and has the Hammer club be the central character in all the books—thus giving us that sense of family who help carry each other when needed.


See the entire review at The Novel Approach: http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/20...
Profile Image for Katy Beth Mckee.
4,739 reviews66 followers
January 24, 2014
While Dolph doesn't' seem as hard core as some of the other Hammer masters he does push Johnny to move forward and make his own way. He helps him see his potential. When Dolph backs off it always turns out so much better.
Profile Image for Lirajean.
355 reviews15 followers
July 21, 2015
Oh, these guys ... I wish I had a tenth as much sex as these men do. They'll whip it out anywhere, anytime! LOL!!
Profile Image for Tamarrion Lash.
327 reviews34 followers
February 5, 2014
Типичный Шон Майкл. Особо нет сюжета, зато куча порно. За что и любим.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews

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