Book Reviews

Book Blurb

When Kane Harris’s world turns upside down, his lifelong best friend is the only one to catch him.

Years ago, Ian Kelly accepted Kane would never return his love, since Kane believes he’s incapable of it. Ian's willing to settle for what he can get—a best friend, sometimes casual lover, and occasional submissive. He’s learned he can’t live without Kane, but he can’t let Kane know. Because when—not if— Kane confirms he’ll never return Ian’s love, Ian won’t be able to take it. But when Kane loses his job and asks Ian to step up their play to help him deal, Ian’s ability to hide his feelings falters. Then Kane starts his own computer security firm and asks Ian to join him, and Ian struggles further at the thought of the constant contact they’ll have.

It’s not until they visit the exclusive club the Iron Door for a night of play that things come to a head. Kane screws up big time, and he doesn’t know how or even if he can fix it. He’s sure that if he doesn’t, he’ll lose his best friend, his Sir, his everything… forever.

First edition published by Dreamspinner Press, July 2015.

Book Review

Take two somewhat socially awkward “geeks”, make them best friends and sometime f*ck buddies, add a touch of D/s to their preferences, and you end up with one fascinating story. Part character study and part intriguing personal drama, ‘Turning His Life Around’ had me spellbound from the very start. Kane and Ia are wonderful, complex characters who do nothing the easy way.

Kane pulled me right into the story. He is intelligent, knows his stuff, but doesn’t like people very much. The fact he had an awful boss and got treated very badly may have something to do with my sympathies, but the way he stood up to the idiot boss made all the difference. Kane is anything but weak. The complicated relationship with his best friend / roommate / fuck buddy / occasional Dom, Ian, was the next thing that got to me, and as Kane's awful past starts unfolding, his behavior, hesitancy, and belief he cannot love anyone began to make sense. Kane has a long, hard road to travel and I was with him every step of the way.

Ian is a great guy and a good friend. He used to be a bit blind to certain aspects of Kane's personality, but is waking up fast as the novel progresses. He is deeply in love with Kane, but can't say it outside their D/s scenes for fear of being rejected. And he is sure Kane will reject him, because he knows Kane inside out. Can you spell I-S-S-U-E-S?
This could have easily been a “standard” friends-to-lover story. Nothing could be further from the truth, since there isn’t much “standard anything” in this story at all. The motivations and reasoning for who Kane and Ian are, and why they behave the way they do are pretty unique. The subplot of the two of them starting a business together on top of everything else that is going on made things even more interesting. A total delight!

If you like complex characters with real issues, if you want to find out how two “geeks” handle life when they figure out a “normal” job just isn’t going to work for them, and if you’re looking for a read with depth, revelations, and lots of character growth, then you will probably enjoy this novel as much as I did. And yes, to top it all off, the sex is pretty hot too!

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 247 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	11-May-2020
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Turning-Life-Around-Grace-Duncan-ebook/dp/B088HJMC41