Title: Dirty Laundry
Series: Tucker Springs, Book 3
Author: Heidi Cullinan
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy from publisher via NetGalley
Published: January 2013 by Riptide Publishing
The course of true love doesn’t always run clean. But sometimes getting dirty is half the fun.Reviewed By: J9
Entomology grad student Adam Ellery meets Denver Rogers, a muscle-bound hunk of sexy, when Denver effortlessly dispatches the drunken frat boys harassing Adam at the Tucker Springs laundromat. Thanking him turns into flirting, and then, much to Adam’s delight, hot sex over the laundry table.
Though Denver’s job as a bouncer at a gay bar means he gets his pick of geek-sexy college twinks, he can’t get Adam out of his head. Adam seems to need the same rough play Denver does, and it’s damn hard to say no to such a perfect fit.
Trouble is, Adam isn’t just shy: he has obsessive compulsive disorder and clinical anxiety, conditions which have ruined past relationships. And while Denver might be able to bench-press a pile of grad students, he comes from a history of abuse and is terrified of getting his GED. Neither Denver nor Adam want to face their dirty laundry, but to stay together, they’re going to have to come clean.
In a Nutshell: BDSM surprise novel in a series I’ve enjoyed. I don’t enjoy BDSM romances, and this one was no exception, though I get why the author had this romance for the two characters.
The Set Up: Adam’s OCD and anxiety nearly cripple him but when he meets muscle-bound Denver, he feels safe for the first time in his life. Denver’s dominance quiets Adam’s demons but Adam can’t open up to Denver about his clinical OCD. Denver is used to being the dumb jock and has deep issues as well. These two will have to come clean about their dirty laundry to have a chance at a lasting relationship.
Why I Read this Book: I’ve enjoyed the previous two books in the Tucker Springs series and want to continue the series.
What I Liked: I like that this book doesn’t simplify Adam or Denver’s issues. Too often in romance all it takes to “fix” someone is true love (“wuv, tru wuv” for Princess Bride fans) and that irritates me. This book has complicated characters with clinical issues like Adam’s crippling OCD and anxiety but it never even hints that true love can fix him. In my opinion, it offers the more realistic theory that we can find people to help us cope with our issues. This book also shows Adam working with a therapist who understands Adam and Denver’s rather unorthodox way of coping. Adam still struggles with his OCD and anxiety but he and Denver have figured out a coping mechanism for living a meaningful life together and I really liked this.
What I Also Liked: Some of the characters from previous books, primarily El, Denver’s best friend, make good appearances here and I like that. This series is set in a small Colorado town so the people and places offer a great community atmosphere that I enjoy in series. The secondary characters don’t overwhelm the romance but add depth to the story that would be terribly missing otherwise.
What I Didn’t Like: I readily admit I’m not a BDSM fan. This series hasn’t featured this kink so I was taken unaware that BDSM would play such a huge role in the romance. I get why it did for these two characters but I didn’t enjoy it at all. I have issues with the power differential in BDSM and am deeply uncomfortable with the language of it, “bad boy needs punishment” sort of thing. The sex is full of BDSM, bondage, gags, sex toys and punishment—TOTALLY not my thing. I’m sure some readers will be giddy with this but I wasn’t and think the synopsis should have included this element so I could have skipped this installment in the series.
IMO: Not for me though I did like the complicated characters.
J9’s Rating:
That's a bummer about the BDSM. I can live with a little of it but the language stuff bothers me too. Otherwise it sounds great.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Moving in Rhythm by Dev Bentham because it dealt with anxiety disorders and coming out in a realistic way without it getting too kinky for me.
Thank you for the rec! I am going to read that. Thanks!
DeleteI have to admit, I'm hooked on this series and it's all because of the characters. I started it with Second Hand and picked this one up soon after. The BDSM was hard for me too, but it fit the characters and sometimes being uncomfortable reading something isn't a bad thing - to an extent.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, the characters make this series for me and I love their input into what the current character is going through. Their interaction is great and each book adds another layer to them all.