Title: Discovery
Series: Kinky in the City: Book Three
Author: Quinn Ward
Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited
Length: 179 Pages
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: I tend to run far, far away when I read in a blurb that a book features Daddy kink. For some reason, though, I decided to give this a try. And I wasn’t disappointed!
Reviewed By: Ky
Blurb: Sex is a lot like pizza. It’s good, but you won’t die without it…
Matteo’s always known he was different. Seeing his older brothers falling in love shines a spotlight on his own lack of desire. Modeling age play gear was a way to prove he could make his own decisions, nothing more.
Levi didn’t realize what a challenge it’d be directing the photo shoot for a new website. When he sees Matteo struggling, he instinctively falls into the role he’d given up years earlier: Daddy.
When Matteo discovers a side of himself he never expected, will Levi be able to show him that not all love begins with sexual attraction?
Review: Can I just say that I loved this story so I can get it out of the way and move on to actually discussing the plot? Thank you! So, I loved this story!
I went in with caution for two reasons: one, I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of the first book of this series, and two, I knew I would have to push my limits in order to read it. Let’s expand on those reasons. What I was missing from book one, Exploration was the communication between the characters, the talks, the connection, the believable pace of a new relationship, the power exchange between two people involved in a D/s relationship. This book had everything I didn’t find in the first one, and that made all the difference to me!
Matteo and Levi connected with each other and clicked with minimal effort. They completed each other, even if it came as a surprise to Matteo. Levi recognised something in him, and he introduced him to a lifestyle that fitted him like nothing he ever knew. Levi was what was missing from Matteo’s life; he was good for him, and he helped him function, be calm and deal with everyday life. I was surprised with how easy the author made reading about this kink. I was prepared to be uncomfortable for a big part of the book, and even maybe ::lowers voice:: put it aside, but the way they wrote the relationship between these two characters kept the story far away from anything that could be considered creepy and made reading their story easy. I tend to run far, far away when I read in a blurb that a book features this particular kink. For some reason, though, I decided to give this a try. And I wasn’t disappointed!
If you’re like me and stay away from books with a Daddy kink, don’t fear to give this a try. It will push your limits, like it did mine, but I don’t think it’ll cross them. The kink in this story is all about Matteo needing to get out of his head, go to a simpler time and not having to angst over anything. It’s about Levi providing a safe place for Matteo, taking care of him and giving him the peace and quiet that his brain needs every so often.
While I didn’t believe in the relationship between Calvin and Frankie from the first book, and couldn’t really see them in the roles they were supposed to have here, I had no problem seeing the dynamic between Levi and Matteo working and being what it was supposed to be. The way Levi introduced Matteo to the lifestyle, and the talks they had in order for Matteo to understand what was happening, and if it was something he wanted, made the story all the more real for me. They took their time and gradually progressed in their relationship. They didn’t rush, without that meaning that this is a slow burn. There is nothing slow about this story; they just took everything one step at a time. Matteo was the one who set the pace, and he was the one to set limits and decide what was okay to happen between them. I liked this aspect of the story, and I respected Levi very much for the way he behaved at times. He really cared about Matteo and just wanted to help him live his everyday life easier.
Also, I very much liked that the author decided to include a demisexual character in their story. The portrayal of Matteo and how he felt about intimacy was very believable. There were a few hard scenes to read when he tried to be “normal” and pushed himself to be okay with more than he was ready for. Those were some of the instances that made me greatly respect Levi for how he handled the situation at hand.
The only downside was that I was left with a few questions upon finishing the book. First, why did Levi call Matteo “Angel”? Was it just a nickname he picked that he liked, or was there another reason for it? Second, what happened with John and Denny? We were just teased about them but never got anything concrete about what was the deal with them. Are they getting a story of their own? Overly excited reader sitting right here! And third, and last, where did Matteo’s ADHD come from? From the beginning of the book it was pretty apparent that Matteo’s brain worked a bit differently than his brothers’, and he needed certain things in order to function under stress, but there was no mention of why that was. Then, near the end of the story, ADHD popped up all of a sudden, with no previous mention of it. It was like an afterthought or something.
Other than those questions, the only problem with the text were a few minor continuity errors but nothing important. Even though I read an ARC, there were no missing or double words and no grammatical or editorial errors, so I was very happy to be reading such a carefully written text.
The fourth and final book of the series is the one I’m most excited about. It’s sure to push some limits, and I’m anxiously waiting for it to be ready so I can get my hands on it!
You can buy Discovery here:
[zilla_button url=”http://authl.it/B07DVKPRVR?d” style=”blue” size=”large” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon/Kindle Unlimited [/zilla_button]
