ON THE CLOCK by L.A. Witt and Aleksandr Voinov

ON THE CLOCK by L.A. Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

Pages: 219

Date: July 13,2015

Details: No 8 Market Garden

            Copy Received from Riptide

            Publishing through NetGalley

E-book

The blurb:

“When Blake Raleigh’s favorite rentboys retire from Market Garden, they’re sure their friend Jason will be a perfect replacement. Though Tristan and Jared are a tough act to follow, Blake returns to London to test out their recommendation.

Jason is right on the money. Negotiations turn him on. Getting paid turns him on. The higher the stakes, the hotter things get. Each trip to London is more expensive than the last, and the webcam sessions don’t run cheap, but Jason is well worth the sticker shock.

The more time they spend together, the more Blake wants, and not just sex and transactions. But Jason’s been burned before by men who thought they were in love with him, and he’s not making that mistake again. When the lines between personal and professional start to blur, it’s going to take more than money, jewelry, and sports cars to keep Jason from clocking out and walking away.”

My thoughts:

Rolex *sighs*. We’ve met him before in Quid Pro Quo and Take it Off (and if you haven’t read those two books I strongly suggest you do so first), but only through the eyes of Jared and Tristan – the Market Garden rentboys he hires on those occasions. In On the Clock we are given the opportunity to get inside Rolex’s (or Blake Raleigh’s, if you wish) head and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

When Blake meets Jason, the rentboy he’s been advised to seek out by Jared and Tristan, it appears to be a match made in heaven. Blake thrives on negotiations and powerplay while Jason gets turned on by being paid. And when they first meet that’s the big attraction – a person whose kink complements yours perfectly. But of course things don’t stay that simple, and it isn’t long before Blake finds it is not just sex and games he wants from Jason. He’s no idea how to label what he does want but he knows he’s in trouble when he finds himself wishing someone would look at him the way Jared looks at Tristan.

And how can Jason possibly trust that Blake has feelings for him beyond sexual attraction. Other customers have thought they’d fallen for him, but all they wanted was to own him. How can Jason possibly be sure Blake loves him as he is and not just addicted to their sessions?

And that brings me to the way the book ended. For me the ending was perfect. It fitted the story and was completely realistic. However, what I loved may be an issue for other readers because we are not given a fairytale ending. When we leave Blake and Jason they’ve come to an arrangement they can both live with and are starting the sort of relationship most others wouldn’t be able to imagine but which may just be perfect for them. I like that it was left up to my imagination to come up with ideas about how they would develop that in the future.

If I have one regret after reading this book it is that we only got to see the story through Blake’s eyes. Jason fascinated me and I would have loved to hear his thoughts too. But, that wasn’t to be and, I can’t say I felt as if I was missing out on vital information while reading the book. It was only after I finished reading that I realized how much I would have loved to hear Jason’s voice.

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with these authors and this series when I say that On the Clock was scorchingly hot and a captivating read. Blake and Jason together are more than enough to set (virtual) pages on fire. Add Jared and Tristan to a scene and the heat almost becomes unbearable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and find myself kind of sad that it is by no means sure there will be more Market Garden books. As far as I’m concerned this series could go on indefinitely.