From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

For Real (Spires, #3)

Alexis Hall

Start date: September 1, 2016

Finish date: September 30, 2016

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

Discussion leader: Jordan Lombard

Why we're reading this: For Real won the RITA Award!
[close] For Real won the RITA Award!

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Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Apr 20, 2015 Lenore rated it really liked it

Shelves: great-britain-my-love, reviewed-by-yours-truly, bdsm, m-m, erotica, toys, money-matters, kitchen-lovin, sex-to-the-nth-degree, favourite-authors

You’ve got to tell the world how to treat you. If the world tells you how you are going to be treated, you are in trouble—James Baldwin

For Real is a love story upending labels and stereotypes (sexual or otherwise); how two people come together not allowing themselves to be flattened into labels—dom/sub, top/bottom, beautiful/plain, younger/older, educated/uneducated, high class/blue collar, etc. It's the story of Laurie and Toby, who should have nothing in common, who, on the surface, are diamet ...more

51 likes · Like · see review

Apr 22, 2015 Ije the Devourer of Books rated it really liked it

3.5 stars
I have mixed feelings about this book. It is beautifully written and I loved the the different voices of the two main characters but I thought the story dragged a bit especially in the first half.

I knew I was bored when I started skimming through the sex scenes. Normally Alexis Hall's writing grabs me from start to finish but not this time round.

Still beautiful writing though. I loved the differences between the two men and their vulnerabilities. I also enjoyed the way the setting cha ...more

20 likes · Like · see review

May 03, 2015 Irina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: gay, 5-stars, favourite, romance, br-sofia, contemporary, erotica, bdsm, mel-rec, angst

Finally, FINALLY, I find my kind of book! The one that makes me cry, and smile, and think and ponder, the one that touches me deeply and warms my heart. The book that lets me care for two obscenely mismatched characters and feel the achievement of their happiness as my own.

I'm not a fan of BDSM theme in my books any more, nor am I particularly fond of erotica lately, but this one was unique and daring in those categories, so much that I couldn't decide at the beginning whether to be fascinated ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Apr 30, 2015 JustJen "Miss Conduct" rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebook, mm, bdsm-d-s, bgirls

4.5 star review by The Blogger Girls.

This ended up being a bit of a surprise for me. I’m not usually a big fan of large age gaps, and this story not only has that, but the roles are a bit reversed. It really works here though.

Laurence “Laurie” is a fairly well-to-do guy who is pretty much tired of the scene. He is still pining away for a past relationship which adds to his current depressive state. He hasn’t really met anyone in a long time that has made him want to submit, which for a submissiv
4.5 star review by The Blogger Girls.

This ended up being a bit of a surprise for me. I’m not usually a big fan of large age gaps, and this story not only has that, but the roles are a bit reversed. It really works here though.

Laurence “Laurie” is a fairly well-to-do guy who is pretty much tired of the scene. He is still pining away for a past relationship which adds to his current depressive state. He hasn’t really met anyone in a long time that has made him want to submit, which for a submissive, I imagine can be somewhat disheartening. Everyone he meets lately just doesn’t seem genuine or serious enough about it, until he meets Toby.

Now, Toby is out-of-the-park different from any dom I’ve ever read about. He’s only 19 for starters. But, while he is lacking in experience, he knows what he truly wants – he has just not been able to get it. Who is going to take a 19 year old seriously or believes he actually knows what he really wants? Lucky for him, Laurie takes that chance. I think the fact that Toby is so very different, Laurie is able to, for the most part, not compare their relationship to his past and even realizes it wasn’t the person but the relationship that he missed the most.

Laurie wants to help Toby discover his dom side, but that age difference plays a big part in Laurie not allowing himself to let things get too personal. It’s only a matter of time, however, before that is a bit out of Laurie’s control. The sex and passion and experimenting is off-the-charts hot and the struggles felt very real. Toby doesn’t just jump into the dom role like he is playing a part. It is a very natural progression, one that he knew he wanted to explore and that set him apart from his peers. He and Laurie are smoking together, and when they let the actual relationship progress, it is deep and meaningful.

This is a long story, but it never felt drawn out. I enjoyed the many aspects involved and ended up truly enjoying the differences – it isn’t the usual BDSM romance. If you like a somewhat non-typical BDSM with passion, angst and romance with a lovely HEA, definitely give this one a try.
...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Apr 30, 2015 G.B. Gordon added it

What did I think? Think? I'm supposed to be able to do that? ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Jun 06, 2015 Bibliophile rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-reads, comfort-re-reads, m-m, best-of-2015

2nd Read. I fell into an accidental BSDM hole this week and while I wasn't tied to a cross and forced to re-read this book by a Dom, I might as well been. Such a good read! I forgot how much I enjoyed it! I don't know if sentimentality is playing a factor, but I'm revising my rating from 4 to 5 for this read. Still highly recommended! ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 18, 2015 Alexandra rated it liked it

Shelves: mm

Read the first half in a blaze one afternoon, the other half took me a week to slog through. Whatever magic I felt in the first half had fled, but goddamn the prose was fab throughout.

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 12, 2015 Grace rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mm-kink, mm-not-usa-based, mm-romance, mm-smut, 101-books-in-1001-days

Wonderfully written and just a seriously gorgeous book!

The relationship between Toby, a young and inexperienced Dom, and Laurie, an older, more confident sub, is really wonderful and the way their dynamic evolves and develops is just gorgeous. The sex is unbelievably hot and I just adored the characters. Seriously amazing read!

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