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Velvet Glove #5
Velvet Glove: Volume V
Welcome back to the Velvet Glove, the most exclusive men's BDSM club in the galaxy! This fifth installment of the Velvet Glove series features In Three to Heal, where Jean is a broken man. He's been practically blinded and terribly scarred by an accident. Alone and angry, he turns to the Glove to take him out of himself for awhile. Club social director Kestrel introduces Jean to committed pair Noel and Richard. Can these two devoted men find a place in their heart for Jean? And can Jean accept them in return? Rock Stars and Size Queens finds famed singer Angel at the end of his rope. Manager Jax has brought him to the Glove, sedated and undercover, for some rest and a little therapy that only the Glove can provide. Jax hires Dom Roland to take Angel under his wing, then Jax dallies with Minuet, one of the club's best subs, and a bit of a size queen. Can these four men find what they need? Finally, in Fits Like a Glove, we learn more about Hercules, the owner of the Velvet Glove. The Glove is exclusive, hot and all his. Malachi is the club's head trainer and an extraordinary top. The man has a secret, though, one that Hercules discovers. If it gets out, Malachi's reputation could be ruined, and possibly the Velvet Glove's too. Can Malachi and Hercules maintain a relationship as well as their roles at the club? Or will their needs and desires bring their world crashing down around them?
340 pages, Paperback
First published June 26, 2009
93 people want to read
About the author
Sean Michael
652 books1,209 followersOften 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.
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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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 3, 2012
Two decent stories and one that I loved
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
“Three to Heal” - 6/10
PROS:
- One of the characters, Richard, is almost entirely mute. I worried that it would get old--the fact that he doesn’t speak--but instead I found his silence (and accompanying facial expressions) endearing.
- I liked that Jean is so scarred physically and that neither of his new lovers seems to take much notice of that. They see his personality, not his scars, and the resulting emotions that that fact brings out in Jean are sweet.
CONS:
- None of the three characters were very memorable for me. I’m writing this review about 4 days after having finished the story, and I had to flip through it again to remind myself who the main guys were and how their story progresses.
- Usually I buy into Michael’s “love-at-first-scene” storylines, but for some reason I thought these 3 guys moved a little too quickly. I guess it’s because two of them are already in a well-established, stable relationship; it seemed different than the stories in which 2 (or more) guys are actively looking for someone to complement them permanently.
“Rock Stars and Size Queens” - 7/10
PROS:
- I love stories in which one character is ill in some way, whether physical or mental, and the other helps to nurse him back to health. Angel is so exhausted by his most recent tour that he can’t even speak, and Roland’s tough love is just the thing he needs to get better.
- Michael does a good job of capturing the attitude of a prima donna character who’s used to getting everything he asks for. I chuckled more than once at Angel’s indignant reactions when Roland matter-of-factly refuses to let him do something.
CONS:
- As is often the case with stories that focus on two different couples, I was much more interested in one couple than the other. I read the Roland/Angel chapters with relish, but then when the Jax/Minuet chapters rolled around, I was tempted more often than not to just skip them altogether because they bored me.
- Even as much as I liked the Roland/Angel pairing, their relationship seemed to jump from “Angel doesn’t know whether he even likes Roland” to “Angel wants to be with Roland forever” rather suddenly.
“Fits Like a Glove” - 9/10
PROS:
- Mal is an incredibly strong character, mentally as well as physically. He’s the consummate Top: never loses his cool, always seems to have the upper hand. It’s DELICIOUS to see him submitting to Hercules…especially knowing that his longing to submit is so deep-seated.
- My previous impression of Hercules (from reading earlier Velvet Glove stories) was that he’s cold and impersonal, and that impression changed when I read this story. He maintains that cold persona in public (although he does let it slip a *bit*, which I liked), but he’s incredibly affectionate toward Mal in private.
- The primary mode of the men’s relationship is D/s, but there are also a couple of scenes that show them interacting as simply lovers and partners, and I liked seeing those almost as much as the ones in which Mal lets go of his control and hands it over to his Dom.
- I loved the ending.
CON:
- The prologue is written in first person--parts of it from Hercules’s point of view and parts of it from Mal’s--and I really liked both of their narrative voices. I was a little disappointed that the rest of the story was written in third person.
Overall comments: I liked the first two stories in this volume okay, but I think they pale in comparison to the third one. If you haven’t read earlier stories from the Velvet Glove series, the effect of “Fits Like a Glove” might not be as strong, but it has become one of my favorite BDSM stories ever. I’m certain it will be on my frequent re-read list.
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
“Three to Heal” - 6/10
PROS:
- One of the characters, Richard, is almost entirely mute. I worried that it would get old--the fact that he doesn’t speak--but instead I found his silence (and accompanying facial expressions) endearing.
- I liked that Jean is so scarred physically and that neither of his new lovers seems to take much notice of that. They see his personality, not his scars, and the resulting emotions that that fact brings out in Jean are sweet.
CONS:
- None of the three characters were very memorable for me. I’m writing this review about 4 days after having finished the story, and I had to flip through it again to remind myself who the main guys were and how their story progresses.
- Usually I buy into Michael’s “love-at-first-scene” storylines, but for some reason I thought these 3 guys moved a little too quickly. I guess it’s because two of them are already in a well-established, stable relationship; it seemed different than the stories in which 2 (or more) guys are actively looking for someone to complement them permanently.
“Rock Stars and Size Queens” - 7/10
PROS:
- I love stories in which one character is ill in some way, whether physical or mental, and the other helps to nurse him back to health. Angel is so exhausted by his most recent tour that he can’t even speak, and Roland’s tough love is just the thing he needs to get better.
- Michael does a good job of capturing the attitude of a prima donna character who’s used to getting everything he asks for. I chuckled more than once at Angel’s indignant reactions when Roland matter-of-factly refuses to let him do something.
CONS:
- As is often the case with stories that focus on two different couples, I was much more interested in one couple than the other. I read the Roland/Angel chapters with relish, but then when the Jax/Minuet chapters rolled around, I was tempted more often than not to just skip them altogether because they bored me.
- Even as much as I liked the Roland/Angel pairing, their relationship seemed to jump from “Angel doesn’t know whether he even likes Roland” to “Angel wants to be with Roland forever” rather suddenly.
“Fits Like a Glove” - 9/10
PROS:
- Mal is an incredibly strong character, mentally as well as physically. He’s the consummate Top: never loses his cool, always seems to have the upper hand. It’s DELICIOUS to see him submitting to Hercules…especially knowing that his longing to submit is so deep-seated.
- My previous impression of Hercules (from reading earlier Velvet Glove stories) was that he’s cold and impersonal, and that impression changed when I read this story. He maintains that cold persona in public (although he does let it slip a *bit*, which I liked), but he’s incredibly affectionate toward Mal in private.
- The primary mode of the men’s relationship is D/s, but there are also a couple of scenes that show them interacting as simply lovers and partners, and I liked seeing those almost as much as the ones in which Mal lets go of his control and hands it over to his Dom.
- I loved the ending.
CON:
- The prologue is written in first person--parts of it from Hercules’s point of view and parts of it from Mal’s--and I really liked both of their narrative voices. I was a little disappointed that the rest of the story was written in third person.
Overall comments: I liked the first two stories in this volume okay, but I think they pale in comparison to the third one. If you haven’t read earlier stories from the Velvet Glove series, the effect of “Fits Like a Glove” might not be as strong, but it has become one of my favorite BDSM stories ever. I’m certain it will be on my frequent re-read list.
October 24, 2016
I'm crying a little bit because it is over, I loved the characters from this series. I know there is Rock Stars and Size Queens but I know it won't be the same... Really terrific series.
February 21, 2015
Three To Heal (2 stars)
This one was a little odd. Not bad, just odd.
For one, it was very short for a threesome. That made for limited exposure to each man.
And then, why was Richard nearly mute (even if by choice)? I seem to remember him talking like anyone else in a later occurring story. Anyway, he and Jean were sweet together.
It’s Noel who did not seem to fit. There was such a huge distance between him and the other two, like he held himself aloft.
I mean, okay. If his preferences go towards watching and directing others, that’s a thing. But it felt distant emotionally too and that’s not a good thing in what essentially… Well, maybe it’s not supposed to be a romance. I keep forgetting that. Still, that last sentence from his perspective disturbed me. He’d bought Richard? Hm.
Rock Stars And Size Queens (2 stars)
Two pairings again, although this time they don’t turn into a foursome. (Not even slightly.) Which to my mind is a good thing.
Jax and Minuet are not really exciting; they simply wallow in their perfect D/s bliss.
Roland and Angel, on the other hand, feature an interesting struggle; yet as a result consent is somewhat dubious.
Things between them are actually pretty horrifying at first. Not so much the way it plays out, but having someone as strung-out and fragile as Angel suddenly finding himself in complete control of a stranger? That’s the stuff of nightmares.
Reminds me of Velvet Need, except in this case – although things turn out okay – the result isn’t nearly as convincing to me. Then again, I am very much into balance, plus the guys from Velvet Need just really burrowed into my heart.
So this was not a bad read – if you are in the mood for much sex and all the things I mentioned above. Still, it did not really tug at my feelings.
Fits Like A Glove (1-2 stars)
I don’t feel really enthusiastic about this one. And not only because I don’t like Hercules.
It simply takes so very long for this to turn into an actual romance, despite the fact that they profess their love for each other very early on (and keep doing so). That wasn’t love as I understand it.
Then again I am the kind of person who can’t imagine romantic love without friendship. Hercules simply did not seem interested in anything about Malachi, aside from beating him and glorying in having this tough guy under his control. So this was really just sex and pain for the longest while, with an occasional after-beating cuddle.
I also resent the very weak complication between them. This series tends to neatly divide Doms and subs – and the subs tend to be considered somehow lesser. They’re younger, frailer, needier, more likely to make mistakes or act out. And it seems to me they’re not as valued as the Doms. It’s in the way people refer to them. “Workerbees”, for example, is a cute word and fairly apt – but they’re all summed up that way and usually dismissively. In this series thus far there have been very few pairings breaking the mould.
Irritatingly enough, this one had all the makings of that. Yet instead they make a fuss about what people will think and how no one will be able to take Mal seriously as a Top if he is known to be someone’s submissive as well. It’s as though no one ever heard of a switch before. In fact, if anything, his deep immersion into both sides should make him an even better trainer.
Eh, Hercules shows more interest and caring towards Mal at the end, so at least it did not make me outright unhappy. But it just wasn’t a particularly interesting story to me.
This one was a little odd. Not bad, just odd.
For one, it was very short for a threesome. That made for limited exposure to each man.
And then, why was Richard nearly mute (even if by choice)? I seem to remember him talking like anyone else in a later occurring story. Anyway, he and Jean were sweet together.
It’s Noel who did not seem to fit. There was such a huge distance between him and the other two, like he held himself aloft.
I mean, okay. If his preferences go towards watching and directing others, that’s a thing. But it felt distant emotionally too and that’s not a good thing in what essentially… Well, maybe it’s not supposed to be a romance. I keep forgetting that. Still, that last sentence from his perspective disturbed me. He’d bought Richard? Hm.
Rock Stars And Size Queens (2 stars)
Two pairings again, although this time they don’t turn into a foursome. (Not even slightly.) Which to my mind is a good thing.
Jax and Minuet are not really exciting; they simply wallow in their perfect D/s bliss.
Roland and Angel, on the other hand, feature an interesting struggle; yet as a result consent is somewhat dubious.
Things between them are actually pretty horrifying at first. Not so much the way it plays out, but having someone as strung-out and fragile as Angel suddenly finding himself in complete control of a stranger? That’s the stuff of nightmares.
Reminds me of Velvet Need, except in this case – although things turn out okay – the result isn’t nearly as convincing to me. Then again, I am very much into balance, plus the guys from Velvet Need just really burrowed into my heart.
So this was not a bad read – if you are in the mood for much sex and all the things I mentioned above. Still, it did not really tug at my feelings.
Fits Like A Glove (1-2 stars)
I don’t feel really enthusiastic about this one. And not only because I don’t like Hercules.
It simply takes so very long for this to turn into an actual romance, despite the fact that they profess their love for each other very early on (and keep doing so). That wasn’t love as I understand it.
Then again I am the kind of person who can’t imagine romantic love without friendship. Hercules simply did not seem interested in anything about Malachi, aside from beating him and glorying in having this tough guy under his control. So this was really just sex and pain for the longest while, with an occasional after-beating cuddle.
I also resent the very weak complication between them. This series tends to neatly divide Doms and subs – and the subs tend to be considered somehow lesser. They’re younger, frailer, needier, more likely to make mistakes or act out. And it seems to me they’re not as valued as the Doms. It’s in the way people refer to them. “Workerbees”, for example, is a cute word and fairly apt – but they’re all summed up that way and usually dismissively. In this series thus far there have been very few pairings breaking the mould.
Irritatingly enough, this one had all the makings of that. Yet instead they make a fuss about what people will think and how no one will be able to take Mal seriously as a Top if he is known to be someone’s submissive as well. It’s as though no one ever heard of a switch before. In fact, if anything, his deep immersion into both sides should make him an even better trainer.
Eh, Hercules shows more interest and caring towards Mal at the end, so at least it did not make me outright unhappy. But it just wasn’t a particularly interesting story to me.
February 9, 2011
Overall
I felt like this book didn't live up to its ultimate potential and that the last story especially was so sex heavy that the underlying story was lost. Maybe I'm reading these for the wrong reason, but all the other stories satisfied my needs. (Um, you know, with plot.)
Three to Heal
I was a little disappointed with this story. We're given Jean, who is scared, mostly blind, and still coping with the accident he survived. He's set up with an established pair, Noel and Richard, who are happy to accept this quiet man into their lives, even if none of them were really expecting it. I wanted more exploration of Jean's issues, I suppose, although that's my only complaint. I would love to see Noel and Richard's back story!
Rock Stars and Size Queens
This was my favorite of the three, even though I wouldn't really consider Minuet a 'size queen'. Size Queen connotes prissy and spoiled to me, and Minuet is not that! He also never had a "That's not big enough" moment, which is classic Size Queen. Maybe I'm stereotyping, but I felt Minuet was unjustly named, even if that's what they call him--once--in the book.
I liked the dynamic of the two pairs and how all four interact as they try to find balance in their new lives.
Fits Like a Glove
I liked the story here, the look into an uber top who has a secret that only Hercules can take care of, and the eventual resolution. However, the sheer amount of sex just ... well it kind of bored me. Maybe it was just my state of mind, because I know that some of the scenes were there to show the growth of the pair in their relationship and I know their time together was limited. So if you want hot and heavy sex, this is the story to turn to.
Be sure to check out my other reviews on my blog.
I felt like this book didn't live up to its ultimate potential and that the last story especially was so sex heavy that the underlying story was lost. Maybe I'm reading these for the wrong reason, but all the other stories satisfied my needs. (Um, you know, with plot.)
Three to Heal
I was a little disappointed with this story. We're given Jean, who is scared, mostly blind, and still coping with the accident he survived. He's set up with an established pair, Noel and Richard, who are happy to accept this quiet man into their lives, even if none of them were really expecting it. I wanted more exploration of Jean's issues, I suppose, although that's my only complaint. I would love to see Noel and Richard's back story!
Rock Stars and Size Queens
This was my favorite of the three, even though I wouldn't really consider Minuet a 'size queen'. Size Queen connotes prissy and spoiled to me, and Minuet is not that! He also never had a "That's not big enough" moment, which is classic Size Queen. Maybe I'm stereotyping, but I felt Minuet was unjustly named, even if that's what they call him--once--in the book.
I liked the dynamic of the two pairs and how all four interact as they try to find balance in their new lives.
Fits Like a Glove
I liked the story here, the look into an uber top who has a secret that only Hercules can take care of, and the eventual resolution. However, the sheer amount of sex just ... well it kind of bored me. Maybe it was just my state of mind, because I know that some of the scenes were there to show the growth of the pair in their relationship and I know their time together was limited. So if you want hot and heavy sex, this is the story to turn to.
Be sure to check out my other reviews on my blog.
October 15, 2011
I loved Jax and Minuet. They are so good together. And to find Malachi submitted to Hercules was amazing. Wonderful ending. I love the book, but I was disappointed to find that I had purchased one of the stories as a stand alone. I hate it when I do that. Money I could have spent on another book :/ Oh well, recommend this one, but make sure you don't over lap your purchases as I did.
September 5, 2011
Easily my favorite of the Velvet glove volumes, the final story was outstanding, with an unexpected twist. Definately a re-read down the track
February 8, 2014
3 stars for Fits like a glove.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews