Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Game designer Henry Delloit loves his life, his mountain community, his isolated dream home, and the snow. He also loves that the X-treme Games blow into the area for a month every year, bringing with them hundreds of athletes. 

Ecco Rasmussen loves boarding. He knows he’ll never make it to the big time, but as long as he can get on his board and go, he doesn’t care. If only his manager, Blake Dobbs, would cut Ecco a break. The man’s possessive and mean, and believes he owns Ecco. 

When Henry and Ecco meet at the Branchberry Games, it’s lust at first sight. An injury on Ecco’s qualifying run offers an opportunity to spend quality time together at Henry’s home, away from the crowds and out from under Blake’s thumb. 

At this rate, lust might turn into love, but not if they can’t keep their romance hidden from Blake.

NOTE: This book was previously published by Torquere Press in February 2010.

Book Review

Okay, I admit it. I'm a sucker for a cute guy needing to be rescued from a big brute. Even better if the rescuer is the usually quiet type who doesn’t strike anyone as a hero. This fun story has both. It’s about snowboarder Ecco – the one who could do with some help – and game designer Henry, who had no idea what he was getting in to when he started flirting with one of the athletes of the X-treme games. All he expected was – maybe – some fun, but once Henry and Ecco get to know each other, things change. I liked this illustration of what a little hope and love can do in terms of helping someone take back control of their life.

Ecco is a snowboarder who is desperate. He is in so much trouble that he doesn’t even know where to start. He just wants to snowboard and have some fun, but his manager, Blake, has different ideas. I think Ecco gave too much power to Blake before he realized the danger, then fell into a pattern of expecting abuse, and now has a very hard time figuring out how to get away. Without ID, money, or an idea where to go should he succeed, he doesn’t stand a chance. And anyway, he has tried to et away from Blake before – with disastrous results. When Henry comes along and seems happy to help him out, Ecco manages to pick himself up and starts effectively fighting Blake’s totally unprofessional and unwelcome possessiveness.

Henry is a quiet guy, a game designer, and a man with a big heart. He loves watching the X-treme games and flirting (or more) with the athletes, but he has never gotten more deeply involved. He also seems to think he is too old for them, but some of the athletes are not all that young themselves, so I suspect he is using it as an excuse. Meeting Ecco changes this for Henry. Not at first, when their interactions are purely lust-based. But when Henry begins to figure out that Ecco is in trouble, things change and Henry gets far more involved than he’d thought possible.

If you like athletes and the men they fall in love with, if you want to see a young man heal from years of mental and emotional abuse, and if you’re looking for an entertaining read with a lot of action between the sheets before it turns suspenseful and intense, then you will probably like this novel.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreampsinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 52569 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	27-April-2016
Price	$5.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/x-factor-by-sean-michael-616-b