The Way She Reads: Wes’ Denial by Joseph Lance Tonlet

Title: Wes’ Denial: Tease and Denial Book Two

Release date: 09/01/2016

Publisher: JLT Publishing

Cover & Graphic Artist: Preston Hultz, www.prestonhultz.com

Genre: M/M, Romance, Erotica, BDSM, D/s

Novel

103K+ Words / 300+ Pages

Book’s GoodReads Link

Blurb:

Wes has spent his life looking for that one special guy who will understand and love him—all of him. From his tender vanilla side, to his darker debauched side.

Throughout high school, his successful career in the Marines, and as a BDSM Dom, he’s remained confident his partner is out there waiting to be found.

However, several events shake his normally unflappable self–assurance.

And, even after he finds Grif, will his past catch up with him and possibly drive his soul mate away?

Tags: GAY, EROTICA, BDSM, D/s, DEGRADATION, SPH, BITTERSWEET,

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My thoughts:

“It’s an irreplaceable gift they choose to give us and it’s a gift they can just as easily choose to take back. Never fucking forget that, Quinn. Particularly when your sadistic cock and inflated ego are trying to tell you otherwise.”

Some books shouldn’t be allowed to end. But because stories invariably must come to a conclusion and I really didn’t want to say goodbye to Wes and Grif I did something I almost never do and rationed my reading. In fact, it would be safe to say that, in keeping with one of Wes and Grif’s preferred kinks, I denied myself the pleasure of reaching the end as quickly as I could have. And still I’m sorry I didn’t manage to make the book last longer. Because while Grif’s Toy was a fantastic read, this one is even better.

It was quite a journey because, dear God, Joseph Lance Tonlet sure knows how to draw his readers in and shatter their hearts at the same time. Chapter one is short but it packs a punch hard enough to leave you breathless and devastated. But, after that first chapter the story settles down and, as was the case for Grif in Grif’s Toy, we are shown both Wes’ past and his and Grif’s present in alternating chapters. In the process we learn how Wes turned into the man we met in the earlier book and how his relationship with Grif grows, develops, and gets ever closer and kinkier.

These two men are so perfect for each other. Their desires and needs are mirror images of each other. They complement each other, fit together like two halves of the same coin and yet, there’s a part of himself Wes is afraid to share with Grif. You see, Wes’ Denial is a most appropriate title for this book because the story isn’t ‘just’ about Wes denying Grif his pleasure and orgasms. It is also, or maybe more so, about Wes denying a part of himself, a part he’s afraid of, a part he doesn’t trust, a part that has led to horrific consequences in the past, a part of himself he can’t show to Grif although—or maybe because—he loves Grif more than life itself.

Like Grif’s Toy this is a very sexy and kinky story. I have to admit I’m surprised at how much the kink affected me despite the fact that I’d run a mile if anyone would even come close to playing with me the way Wes plays with Grif. But, while I loved all those scenes, I adored the depth of their feelings for each other even more. The trust necessary to maintain a relationship like these two men have is staggering and a thing of beauty. And yet, at no point is either man portrayed as perfect. Wes, in this book, is shown to be all too human and fallible and he’s all the more beautiful for it.

I don’t think there was a single word in this book I didn’t love. Over the almost twenty-four hours since I finished the book, Wes and Grif have never been far from my mind. Images, phrases and ideas keep on swirling through my head, making me smile and reigniting some of that excitement I experienced while reading.

Pushing boundaries is a huge part of BDSM, and if there is such a thing, the books by this author are my personal boundary pushing reading experience. I’m enjoying scenes and descriptions I feel I maybe ought to frown upon, and yet I can’t. JLT has managed to make me appreciate, admire, and even feel curious about something I don’t understand and can’t begin to wrap my head around and that, in and of itself, is a five star achievement.

I’m not going to say anything concrete about it, but I do want to finish this review by saying that for me this book ended perfectly. In fact, the ending could have been written for me. And while I hope that the author will at some point tell us more about Quinn and Gage, I won’t complain too hard if he doesn’t because Grif and Wes’ story is perfection, exactly as it is.

Long story short: Wes' Denial is almost certainly the best book I have read this year so far. And if it wasn't impossible for more reasons than I can count, I'd ask Joseph Lance Tonlet to marry me, just for having written that epilogue.