Sahara Blue

Mastering Toby #2

by Jan Irving

A spin-off of Mastering Toby



Seth Hollis lives his passions online under the pseudonym "Lotus" and attracts ex-Navy SEAL Sahara Blue, who avidly follows the erotic tales of passionate submission Seth posts. While they forge a powerful connection, it's increasingly frustrating, because both men yearn for something real. Seth's writings have also attracted an unwanted and dangerous admirer, and when the glass window of Seth's shop is shattered one night, fate sends Sahara Blue to his rescue.


Unaware he has actually met Lotus, Sahara takes Seth under his wing, and that same mysterious and deep attraction flares to life. But Seth's deranged stalker won't let up, and Seth and Sahara will have to give up their secrets and learn to trust if they're going to keep each other safe.

Genres: M M Romance, BDSM, Contemporary, Romance, Erotica, Menage, Gay

230 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

romance author
Jan Irving has worked in all kinds of creative fields, from painting silk to making porcelain ceramics, to interior design, but writing was always her passion.

She feels you can’t fully understand characters until you follow their journey through a story world. Many kinds of worlds interest her, fantasy, historical, science fiction and suspense—but all have one thing in common, people finding a way to live together—in the most emotional and erotic fashion possible, of course!

Visit Jan's blog at http://jan-revealed.livejournal.com.

Reviews

[Darien · Rating 4 out of 5]

^^BLUE IS THE NEW RED HOT!^^

I am just such a huge fan of Jan Irving. Her books always hold such a special place in my heart, they are cute but always sexy, emotional with some angst and most of all her characters always feel like real people to me. The Mastering Toby series is exactly what I have come to expect from the author, where the first book in the series did nothing for me, the second book was all kinds of good. There is always something very worldly about her books, sex and kink mixed in with the spiritual, sounds like an odd mix but it somehow manages to work.

This book is about Sahara whom was first introduced in Mastering Toby, he was the hellaciously hot surfer looking dude. All pretty looks mixed in with his dangerous aura. He was lusting for an erotic blogger, who kept him up at night, and his hand glued to his man parts. All this without seeing his face, and getting to know the elusive blogger through intimate comments and his very sexy pictures. When a late night jog leads him to rescue a frail looking beautiful man, the stranger is bringing out all of Sahara’s protective and possessive instincts.

Seth is the elusive and sexy ‘Lotus’, his online erotic name. As Lotus, he is sexy, and every gay man walking wet dream. In reality, he is this frail and ordinary looking man, with no sex appeal or so he thinks. Until a comment from a Sahara Blue has him lusting after the man and with a name like that, it’s easy to go out and find the object of all his fantasies. When the store Seth owns and works at is vandalized, the very last person he expected to ever have contact with comes to his rescue.

What begins is a tentative relationship between two very different individuals. The sexy yet cave man like Sahara, and the timid Seth. Though both can’t deny that there is a lot of sparks flying about between them, they both are new to whole relationship and letting their feelings known thing. Also, they have a crazy who comes after Seth; all crazy man meets extreme ops. It’s up to Sahara to keep Seth alive, and it might end up costing him his.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book a lot more than the first in the series. I liked Sahara, his imperfections make him so lovable, and Seth is your typical virgin character. What I enjoyed the most is the author’s ability to mix sweet and dirty. It’s like this, the characters are having an extreme tender and moment and Sahara will say something downright sinful. I love the spontaneity of it all; you never see it coming. That’s why I am just a huge fan of Jan Irving. She brings intense and sexy in one great package. There is slight D/s relationship going on, but it’s not a very big thing. It is a mild case of BDSM, and offers up just the right amount.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

3.75 stars

Seth Hollis is a study in contradictions. His life has been shaped by his time in the foster care system and as a result he's shy and suffers from low self-esteem. He's young yet mature, a virgin with a highly erotic imagination and is by day a business owner and at night he's 'Lotus', a blogger who shares his secret fantasies of sexual submission. When he meets Sahara Blue online he's drawn to him and even goes so far as to find out where the other man lives even though he's certain Sahara would never be interested in a plain guy such as him. All his assumptions are thrown out the window however when Sahara comes to his rescue one night when his shop is vandalized.

Sahara Blue, an ex-Seal who works as a bodyguard now, is instantly attracted to Seth and quickly determines to make him his all the while unaware that Seth is also Lotus, the subject of many of Sahara's fantasies. However before they can move forward they'll have to deal with the danger surrounding Seth as someone else is also determined to make Seth his as well. As the danger escalates they'll need to open up to each and accept the help of friends if they want to outwit a very determined, and deadly, stalker. In the end though they'll discover that there's no price too high to pay for love.

Sahara Blue is a spin-off of Mastering Toby but can be read as a standalone with no problems. I've not read the first book and was fine with this one although now I do wish I'd read them in order since the protagonists from that story caught my attention. The storyline, a tough masterful man swooping in to rescue and protect the innocent young man, was interesting if a bit predictable. I liked the protagonists as well as the circle of friends that gather round to help keep Seth/Lotus safe from his stalker. There is suspense and danger throughout and the author does a good job of showing that although Seth isn't the biggest guy out there he can take care of himself, and does so quite well in fact.

There are quite a few sex scenes in Sahara Blue including a brief menage (m/m/m) towards the end. The scenes are well written and very hot but they don't overwhelm the story. I did have a slight niggle and that was about Seth's total lack of experience and Lotus' extreme sexuality. I just found it a bit strange how a young man with no sexual experience could also be a very popular blogger about sexual submission to the point of having two different men falling for him. Despite that for the most part it was interesting.

As I mentioned there is a nice cast of secondary characters in this story. Jared and Toby, from Mastering Toby, along with a few of Sahara's other friends and also Seth's friend and employee all come together to help Seth. And when things go wrong for one of them the others all pull closer together still. The bad guy of the story, Seth's stalker, isn't too developed but works in the storyline.

There are some scenes that felt a bit improbable but for the most part this was an entertaining story. Sahara and Seth's relationship does have a D/s feel to it but it's very lite. Aside from the mention of restraints it's mainly in attitude and so shouldn't be a problem for those not into reading D/s stories.

Overall Sahara Blue is an enjoyable read. The writing is solid, the characters likable and plot interesting. Fans of the author and those readers looking for a romance that is sexy and has a bit of suspense also will enjoy reading this story.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the moment I opened the cover until I read the last word I was riveted. Jan has created another winner. A perfect sequel to "Mastering Toby." Sahara Blue is reading an erotic blog written by a mysterious blogger named Lotus. He wonders who this Lotus might be and if he would ever meet him. Little does he know that the man he encounters while running, Seth Hollis, is Lotus.

Seth is a insecure man who feels he can only express himself, his inner fantasies, though the character of Lotus. Unfortunately Sahara Blue is not the only person attracted to Lotus. Trouble ensues.

I highly recommend this book.

[Kari Gregg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seth is virginal, shy and very sweet regardless of his adventurous alter ego, Lotus, an erotic blogger who's drawn a creepy stalker. Sahara, a fan of the blog, meets Seth before he knows he's Lotus and helps Seth build his confidence and emerge from his reserved shell. Protecting Seth from the increasingly aggressive stalker gives Sahara the opportunity to slowly court Seth to him and make Seth his.

I loved that Seth isn't helpless -- he rescues his own self from the bad guy's clutches -- but also love that he can let himself be vulnerable with Sahara, who has his own insecurities. Don't expect perfect creatures, these are flesh and blood characters of the very best sort. An m/m spin on the classic woman-in-jeopardy trope with a bit of D/s kink thrown in.

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Uneven, awkward in places, a mashup of every gay trope in the book with a lot of social awareness on top. Too bad because there is a spark of something there that kept me reading (tho there was some skimming) to the end. Not enough to look for more unfortunately.

[OkayKim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the first in this brief series.

[Janna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre & Keywords:
M/M Romance, Contemporary, Suspense, Stalker, Virginity, ex-SEAL, Damaged heroes

~~~~~
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Heat level: 2.5 out of 3 flames
~~~~~

Why I read it:
I received a review copy from the publisher.

Thinking of the main characters, awkward was the first word that came to mind when I started reading this novel. During the first third or so of the book Seth and Sahara seemed to be unable to act after their feelings. Their attempts to make contact and get closer were so unusual and weird; it almost felt as if they weren't completely well in the head. But as the story progressed 'awkward' became 'adorable' and definitely turned into 'hot' and 'sweet' in the end. It turned out that both Seth and Sahara are emotionally damaged men and being together is the best thing that could happen to them.

So, eventually these heroes won me over. They are likable and layered characters, and definitely not the most common heroes. Their relationship has D/s tendencies although I wouldn't call it a BDSM relationship. The sex scenes are maybe a little hotter than plain vanilla, but that can be attributed to the kinky 'sex talk' they have going on and not so much to the sex itself. An important element in this story is Seth's virtual personality as Lotus, which he uses to make up and blog about his sexual fantasies. These fantasies sometimes are described explicitly and in the end they play an important part in his and Sahara's sex life. They also expose Seth's submissive nature quite clearly. I found it a bit difficult to rhyme Seth's sexual fantasies with his status as a virgin to be quite honest, but I liked how his two personalities - the shy, real life one and the sensual, virtual one - eventually melted together.

And Sahara is nothing like you would expect from a big, gorgeous, muscular ex-SEAL. Well, some things you might expect, but mostly he didn't answer to the cliché image of the military type. He has more layers than one can see at first. His initial clumsiness around Seth intrigued me. Slowly the author reveals a sensitive and caring person under all those muscles as the story progresses.
Here is how Seth sees him:

"Sahara. Capable, soft-spoken, authoritative—which both turned Seth on and pissed him off, depending on the situation—and beautiful."

And his name - Sahara Blue - which I found rather ridiculous at first, kinda grew to me and it definitely didn't make him any less masculine. (if anything, I had more problems with both names of the main characters starting with an S - I can't help mixing the characters up every time when that's the case).

Operating besides these two lovable heroes was a wonderful cast of friends. Among them were Toby and Jared from the first book in this series: Mastering Toby. Although these books are obviously related, I had no problems reading this second book as a standalone. Nevertheless I'd like to read the first book now that I've met Toby and Jared, who are friends of Sahara. They seem like an interesting couple and I'm curious about Sahara's role in that book.
And then there were other friends of Sahara and Seth playing a part as well. Like Gecko, who takes part in a threesome with the heroes near the end, and Karen, Seth's closest friend.

From the above, one might think that Sahara Blue is a character driven book but that's not exactly true. There's a suspense plot arc involving a stalker taking up a significant part of the story. Seth's alter ego, Lotus, brought this stalker out and some unpleasant things happen, and not only to Seth. Although the stalker trope can be a bit of a bore when not executed well, here it worked out okay. At least for me. Seth's role and growth became more convincing by it. Still, the stalker himself and his motives felt rather farfetched to me, but what else to expect from a psycho, right?

Overall, this was an engaging story with interesting characters and an entertaining plot, except for a few weird and not very believable occurrences. Sahara Blue will appeal to readers who are looking for a contemporary read that is somewhat uncommon and has some D/s tendencies without it being about a pain filled, leather and chains kind of relationship. It's different from other m/m romances I've read, in a good way.

Linking:
Jan Irving’s website | weblog | Yahoogroup | on Goodreads

Buy Sahara Blue here

~~~~~

http://erotromreader.blogspot.com/201...

[Brenda Maldonado · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this story. In retrospect, I think I liked it so much, because I could completely relate to Seth. Seth may appear to be two people, but he's just two sides of the same coin. While some people may not think of this as a BDSM story, it has a very strong D/s component and Seth's needs and desires are at the core of it.

Sahara is a lovely character. Very limited background is provided, but then again, I have not read Mastering Toby. Who knows what awaits me there? Even with the limited background, I couldn't help but like Sahara. Any man who can embrace the name Sahara Blue and still go through life as an uber protective Alpha Male, gets my attention.

Truth be told the plot rambled a bit, but I was very focused on the relationship between Sahara and Seth, everything else was just part of the ride. I loved the descriptions of Sahara's floating home and Seth's fabulous shop. The author created a sense of place and space that resonated with me. The motion, the colors, the fabrics, it all fed a very sensual experience. My favorite setting was Mr. Chang's (sp?) estate. I was so entranced by the description, that I found myself wanting to go there for a weekend escapade. (Hot and horny gay men included please!)

Those who enjoy D/s, Master/slave dynamics are likely to enjoy this story very much. Those looking for a realistic contemporary perhaps won't like it as much. For what it is worth, it worked for me.

[Adara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished up this sequel to Mastering Toby. Sahara Blue is such an interesting character. I feel a bit like Seth isn't a strong enough character for him (as far as his build-up and background), though I do like them together and think they fit well. I did feel like there was a lot of build-up to the reveal of Seth's big secret, but it sort of petered out as far as tension went.

The story felt a bit strained and cliched, like she wasn't sure where to take it or how to get it where she wanted, but that might be because she had to put it down in the middle and picked it up again some months later. I think I prefer Mastering Toby more, but I still prefer Sahara's character over any of the others. I'm glad he got his happy ending.

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was hard for me to rate. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars (rounding up to 4). There were parts I loved and parts that made me go 'huh?'.

I loved the main characters and I did enjoy Seth's fantasies with Sahara...very hot!

Also, this is part of a series (Mastering Toby was the book before this one), but considering I haven't read the first book, this can be read as a stand-alone.

[Cherie Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Irving. There, that said it all. If she wrote it, it's undoubtedly brilliant.
This book? No exception. Quirky heros taking turns rescuing each other? Check. Hot and sexy romance? Check. Must have book? Check.

[Aidee Ladnier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a little better than the first book in the series, "Mastering Toby". Sahara Blue was an interesting character and I loved seeing his protective side come out. Seth's hot erotica was a wonderful starting point to their romance.

[Clover · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the cutest couple I ever read. the story was really interesting and the plot well written. lot of fun and hot sex too !

[JenMcJ]

to-read

[Ashley♥Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some parts were a bit choppy to read but I loved the MC's and the kink was sexy

[I Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sexy 😊