Review: Manties in a Twist by J.A. Rock

Title: Manties in a Twist (The Subs Club: Book Three)

Author: J.A. Rock

Pages/Word Count: 325 Pages

At a Glance: This book is funny; it’s poignant; it’s deep; it’s lighthearted; the characters are flawed; they are perfect; they are loving; they are human; and the message of the book—that life doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to be made together with the ones we love—is a truth we can all embrace.

Reviewed By: Carrie

Blurb: Look, I’ll never stop missing Hal, but this Subs Club my friends started to review suck-ass doms isn’t gonna bring him back or give him justice. For me, it’s just another chance to hang out with my friends, even if they think I’m too dumb to understand the important work we’re supposedly doing.

But maybe I’m not as dumb as they think—at least I know when I’ve got a good thing going. Which is why I just moved in with my dom. Ryan’s awesome possum. He’s really short, never makes me feel stupid, and is up for anything. One word: costumes. Two more words: women’s underwear. We’re all about the lace, no leather.

Except when we do pony play. We first tried it as a joke, but turns out I’m ballin’ at it. Now PetPlayFest is coming up, and I wanna take down the Subs Club’s archrival, Cinnamon the ponygirl, in the horse show.

My friends think I’m spending too much time with Ryan and ignoring my obligations to the group. But since when is friendship an obligation? Ryan’s my first serious relationship, and I want to take it . . . seriously. At some point I need to think about my future, not my past.

— Kamen

Review: Ahhh, the banter is back! This book is just awesome possum! Manties in a Twist is book three in the Subs Club Series, and definitely another great addition to it. The boys in the club are all growing up; they are in their late twenties now and their friend Hal has been dead for a couple of years. This book is the incredibly poignant story of Kamen growing up and learning how to do all those adulting things, and even taking pride in them as he and his boyfriend and Dom, Ryan, learn to live with and love each other.

“I went into the kitchen and got, like, weirdly, nonsexually excited by the contact paper in the silverware drawer when I opened it to get a spoon. We’d done that.”

“I finally felt like a grown-up.” ~ Kamen

Kamen has never been the smart one; he’s been the jock and immature one, never the one anyone counted on for anything except a laugh or a snarky song. But Kamen has layers, and he cares, and when you talk to him he listens. Kamen has his own truths, even if he finds them at the bottom of a jar of animal crackers, with peanut butter for dipping them in. At six-foot-four, he has the body of a god and he’s in love with a short, incredibly nerdy guy named Ryan, who totally accepts Kamen just the way he is and possesses him with his will alone.

“I loved that I submitted to him even though he couldn’t have physically overpowered me. I felt like his fucking dragon on a chain. I’d do anything he told me, but I’d murder anyone who tried to hurt him.” ~ Kamen

Ryan has longed for acceptance his entire life. Being so short, he is used to trying to compensate for everything that he does or says. Finding Kamen is a minor miracle for him, and learning to love himself as well as Kamen in all the different ways they explore their mutual kinks is a pleasure to read. You see so much promise in Ryan, and the way he puts Kamen’s needs before his own means he will only grow to be a better Dom as he settles into the role.

This book is funny; it’s poignant; it’s deep; it’s lighthearted; the characters are flawed; they are perfect; they are loving; they are human; and the message of the book—that life doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to be made together with the ones we love—is a truth we can all embrace. The BDSM is light and yeah, panties…and ponies…and the whole Subs Club gang coming together in new ways—I highly recommend this book.

I am going out on a limb here and saying that this is the light story before the deep story coming up next. I think it’s fitting that Gould’s story is last—he was, after all, Hal’s boyfriend and is having the hardest time letting go. Gould is choosing to punish himself by accepting the hurt submitting to GK and Kel brings him as his penance for Hal. Yeah, JA Rock is saving the best for last—June 6th release day people!

Read this series, but read it from the beginning. These books can stand alone, but the overall arc of the series, the death of Hal, can only be truly appreciated if you read them in order. The Subs Club is made up of different men whose stories fit together like puzzle pieces: you can admire the artwork on a puzzle piece, but you can’t appreciate the big picture unless you put them all together.

TNA_Signature_Carrie