Monday, 24 September 2018

Fractures (Damon & Pete: Playing with Fire #5) by Tantalus



Buy link: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Available on KU

Blurb

Pete doesn’t know where he stands when Damon’s ex, Michael, turns up out of the blue.

Talk about bad timing.

Damon had thought his wounds long since healed. Yeah, right.

So where do they go from here?

Review

Damon and Pete’s story may have started as pure kink in the first book, Summer Heat, but over the course of the subsequent four books things changed. I like to think those changes took both men by surprise. I don’t think either of them was thinking long term, never mind relationships when that first encounter took place and yet…when Fractures starts both of them have reached the stage where they are ready for more than the occasional hook-up. Or so they think.

Do not get me wrong; this series is pretty much about the sex and various kinks and there’s plenty of it in all five books, culminating in a breath-taking and surprisingly moving public scene in Fractures. But, there is more to these stories than ‘just’ sexy-times. It happens almost imperceptibly, but as the tale continues we get to know these two men, understand why they are so good together, and watch as they, almost by accident, fall into something resembling a relationship.

For me the beauty of Fractures was twofold. As with the previous tales I just loved the hot scenes these two men engage in. But, I think I appreciated the opportunity we are given to get to know Damon better—discover what (or who) has made him the man he is—even more.

Not that this is a particularly heavy or angsty story. There’s just enough ‘conflict’ to flesh Damon out, make him truly three-dimensional, but nothing in these shorts is allowed to distract the reader from the heated passion between him and Pete for more than a few paragraphs or pages.

I feel I should add that the scene Pete and Damon engage in in Fractures is not for the squeamish. It is very graphic and properly hardcore. It is also one of the most intimate and beautiful scenes I’ve read in a long time. Who knew so much tenderness could be found in something that, on the surface, seems shocking, maybe even obscene?

It is no (longer a) secret that Tantalus is K.C. Wells’ alter ego, so it shouldn’t surprise anybody when I say that these stories are well written and thoroughly researched. Nor should it come as a shock when I say that Damon and Pete are vivid characters who quickly worm their way into your heart. And every Wells fan knows that her sex scenes are off the charts hot. The only difference is that these books take ‘hot’ to a whole new level.

Related reviews: Summer Heat | After | Consequences| Limits




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