Peyton... Protected

Studs & Steel #1

by Heather Mar-Gerrison

Peyton is the owner of the swanky new nightclub, Studs and Steel. He's already been involved in a hit and run and was lucky to come away from that with nothing more than a broken leg.
Now he's been shot at point blank range and is recovering in hospital.
He's got an ex-girlfriend and a son who could also be in danger, an ex-boyfriend that he's desperate to find and now to complicate matters even more, he's got a hotter than hot bodyguard watching his every move...
This is the first in a new series from the author of the Boys Next Door series.

Genres: M M Romance

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2016

About the author

Author of Studs & Steel and Riverside Series. I love to write M/M romance and as a sucker for a HEA, you're guaranteed one in my books. 🌈#happyheatherafters
You can read excerpts and have first glimpses of my books by checking out my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/heather.marg.... You can also see the stories told in pictures at Pinterest https://uk.pinterest.com/heathemg

Reviews

[Marianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved Peyton. Kody was broken and swore he won't fall in love again he did it anyway. Peyton needed protection and he gave it to him. I loved the book.:)

[Naomi-Lynn Marguerite · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but overly complicated.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Studs & Steel series begins with Peyton. A kid from the slums who has enough about him to want to get out and build himself a better life.
And he manages it quite successfully apart from the fact that one of the guys from his past is jealous of him and wants him dead...
This is the first in the series and concentrates on Peyton McKenzie, the owner of the swanky nightclub.
The series continues with River Redeemed, Alfie Abused, Buzz Bedazzled, Stake-Out, Simon Spellbound, Seth Saved and Thai Troubled....
I've also added in a few novella's that happen in and around the nightclub 'Studs & Steel' and todate have published, Looking out for Lorenzo and A Shoulder to Cry On. Dangerous Love, which is the latest in the Novella's is published 24th August 2017

[Sylvia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2☆


I just didn't like this one that much
I just wasn't feeling the chemistry between the Mc's.
I hope that I 'll like River's story ...

[Brievon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but the writing was poor and that made it difficult to read. I think the only reason I finished it is because I loved I Belonged to You...?: What If...? so much and I kept hoping this book would get better.

Characters would suddenly appear in Peyton... Protected, with no introduction, no history given and apparently we were just supposed to know who they were. The main characters do. Peyton wakes up in the hospital from a morphine induced haze and sees a stranger in his room. Somehow he is immediately able to deduce that this is the new boyfriend of his ex, Sam, who he hasn't seen in 4 years. In the middle of their conversation, Peyton also intuitively figures out the new boyfriend's name and starts calling him Luca, with no introduction. Characters were also introduced for no particular reason and never developed (i.e. Conner, Danny, George, Aston and Rudy).

The book is told from the dual POVs of Peyton and Kody (the bodyguard). I don't understand why Sam is even in the blurb, much less why he takes up most of it. Same was Peyton's first love but only makes two brief appearances in the book after the prologue.

I also couldn't understand why Kody was drawn to Peyton. Kody's thoughts on Peyton: "Man that guy was a dick. He might be pretty to look at but he was totally up his own fucking are and I found it really difficult to even have a civil conversation with him." Peyton's behavior doesn't improve, but all of a sudden Kody is falling in love with him?

The book is full of contradictions. In the beginning of the book Peyton states "I'd had more one night stands than I could count and I could quite confidently hold my head high and count myself amongst some of the best gay lovers around" yet later in the book states, "I'm not actually all that experienced." Four years ago, Peyton had a pregnant girlfriend and now he has a six year old son. Ideas were only half explained, leaving me with questions. How did a 19/20 drug addicted gang banger become a millionaire? Was Sam a prostitute? Did Kody ever have sex with Sam? How was Payton able to quit drugs so easily and why don't the many morphine doses he receives during his hospital visits cause problems with his sobriety?

As with many indie books, it was poorly edited with words missing and verb tenses not matching up. Too much of the book didn't add up for me and I felt like there was no development to Peyton and Kody's relationship. I stuck with this book because I know Heather Mar-Gerrison is capable of much more, but ended up disappointed.