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.

QUID PRO QUO & TAKE IT OFF by L.A.Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

QUID PRO QUO by L.A. Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

Pages: 43

Date: July 1, 2015

Details: No. 1 Market Garden

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

For the past six months, Jared’s been selling sex at Market Garden, a London club that caters to the better-off. But business is slow in the run-up to Christmas, when businessmen and bankers are too busy bickering over bonuses to rent themselves a little high-class action.

Though Jared’s wallet finds the downtime unnerving, the rest of him rather enjoys the opportunity it gives him to admire Tristan, an old hand in the club whose reputation usually sees him well-booked. Jared has been crushing on Tristan for months—he’s no more immune to Tristan’s cockiness and confidence than the johns, and those are just Tristan’s inner qualities.

Just as Jared’s about to chat Tristan up, a businessman asks for something a little different: he wants to book them both. They agree—and Jared finds himself going from crush to mind-bending lust as he’s made the pawn in a sexual power game. Tristan shows him how a pro handles a john while delivering the top-shelf sex for which the Market Garden is so rightly renowned.

My thoughts:

Well, the first (second, third...) word to spring to mind after reading Quid Pro Quo would be HOT. This story sizzles as do Jarred and Tristan once they come together. And yet, while this very much is a sex-driven story, there is more than in this short tale to give us an intriguing insight into who Jared and Tristan are.

This story is told from Jared’s point of view and I loved watching him while he reconciled the business like arrangement he and Tristan have with Rolex with his developing feelings for and lusting after Tristan.

Tristan and the way he drives both Jared and Rolex insane with his hot game was delightful to read about as were Jared’s thoughts about Tristan’s teasing. I don’t often read books in a series one after the other but I have to make an exception in this case. As far as I know the next book, Take it Off is written from Tristan’s point of view and I can’t wait to find out what’s going through his head while he manipulates Jared and Rolex to mind blowing releases.

****

TAKE IT OFF by L.A. Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

Pages:          38

Date            July 2, 2015

Details:        No. 2 Market Garden

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

Turnabout is foreplay.

High-end Market Garden rentboys Tristan and Jared have found their niche. Men are willing to pay good money to watch Tristan tease Jared, and the two of them seduce London’s elite with sex and power games.

Except Tristan is less and less interested in getting money out of the johns these days. He wants his partner in crime, and he wants the seduction to be real. But is Jared just in this for the pay?

When Rolex, the john who started it all, returns to Market Garden, the boys jump on the opportunity to service him—and each other—for a fresh pile of cash. Rolex isn’t the only one itching for a rematch, though. Jared’s been waiting for a chance to get back at Tristan for teasing him so mercilessly the first time.

And for a former stripper, revenge is a dish best served extra hot.

  

My thoughts:

Posting my thoughts on these two books at the same time is more fun than I imagined it would be, because I completely misjudged where Take it Off would take us. Where I imagined Tristan would once again use his enviable control to drive Jared and Rolex crazy we got the exact opposite. And watching Tristan as he first hands over and subsequently loses control was a thing of incredibly hot beauty.

While both these books basically describe one full length sexual encounter, there is a lot more to these stories. What touched me most was how similar Jared and Tristan’s insecurities are. Just as Jared in the first book wished that Tristan would be interested in him beyond their joined money making potential, Tristan finds himself wishing for some off the clock intimacy with Jared. This may not be a romance in the strictest sense of the word – there is no happy ever after in either of these books – both Quid Pro Quo and Take it Off are romantic tales in that they deal with young men developing feelings for each other almost despite the circumstances they find themselves in. If you are curious how that romance continues you will want to read PayOff (clickety-click for my thoughts). I highly recommend you do just that.

In the meantime I’ll be looking forward to the release of On the Clock later this month. After all the teasing Jared and Tristan have put him through our Rolex more than deserves a happy-ending of his own.

PAYOFF

TITLE: PAYOFF

AUTHOR: L.A Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

Pages: 52

Date: 04/02/2014

Grade: 4+

Details: no.6 Market Garden

            Received from Riptide Publishing

            Through Love Romances and More

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“Tristan and Jared have got it made. When they aren’t raking in the cash together at Market Garden, they’re burning up their own sheets and getting closer by the day. But something isn’t right. Tristan’s on edge, and Jared doesn’t understand why.

Before Jason can hash things out, their services are requested by none other than Rolex. And Rolex doesn’t just want to be a bystander this time. He wants Jared while Tristan watches, and he’s more than willing to pay for it.

But Tristan’s reached breaking point, and even a huge wad of cash might not be enough to keep tonight’s arrangement from crashing and burning.”

-----------------------------------------

My thoughts:

It hasn’t been that long since I first discovered L.A. Witt and Aleksandr Voinov, and I’ve spent most of my time since then trying to catch up with their writing. These two authors together create wonderful and very hot stories – although I have to add that their individual novels are equally as good.

This is the second ‘Market Garden’ story I’ve read and I have to admit that I’m falling head over heels for series. At first glance it might appear that maybe the world of rent-boys isn’t the most likely place for love stories. First glances, however, can be deceptive since 'Capture and Surrender'  and ‘PayOff’ most definitely are romances.

Jared and Tristan have been working as a team for a while now and are good at it. Whenever they work a client together they are able to make far more money than they could individually. On top of that the two men have grown close. They share their bodies not only with or for their clients; they find their biggest pleasure in private, just the two of them together for the joy of it.

Lately things haven’t been that great though. Something is troubling Tristan and Jared can’t put his finger on what might be wrong but fears his partner might want to end what they have together. And whatever is wrong with Tristan, he is disinclined to talk about it.

When a favourite client of theirs hires them for the night things come to a head. The man wants to bed Jared while Tristan watches. It is not the first time something like this has been suggested or even delivered, but this time Tristan can’t stand it. Interrupting proceedings may well anger the client and upset Jared, but Tristan can’t deal with the jealousy he feels while watching the man he’s developed feelings for with the client they call Rolex.

What follows is inspired, beautiful, hot and not something I’m inclined to say more about. You should read the book and enjoy it for yourself.

I enjoyed this novella. It is a short and quick read but that doesn’t mean that the reader is short-changed. We are given enough story and insight into the characters to get lost in their feelings. Tristan’s tension and his inner struggle when he finds himself torn between the demands of the job he has loved for so long and his sudden reluctance to share Jared with anyone is palatable. And Jared’s confusion at the sudden and for him inexplicable changes in Tristan is understandable, as is his fear that Tristan might be losing interest in their off-the-job relationship. The scenes that follow once the two men have revealed their feelings to each other were inspired and sexy to the extreme.

I love how these authors have managed to take a setting and subject that might well have been sleazy in the hands of lesser mortals, and create an enticing world filled with interesting and charming characters. Witt and Voinov don’t try to make the rent-boys’ work sound like anything other than what it is. Yet the reader never gets the feeling they’re dealing with something shameful or anything other than recognisable personas with feelings we all experience.

If I have one regret where ‘PayOff' is concerned it is that it wasn’t a little bit longer. Not because the story was rushed, incomplete or unsatisfying. Quite the opposite in fact. This story and the characters in it charmed me so much that it would have been a delight to spend more time with them. Fortunately I haven’t read all the titles in this series yet. One of these days I will find the time to read the ‘Market Garden’ titles I’ve missed and I have no doubt that it will be wonderful reading experience.