Book Review: Where You Lead by Mary Calmes

Title: Where You Lead
Author: Mary Calmes
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: Review copy provided by publisher
Published: December 25, 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

ATF agent Peter Lomax isn’t a hearts and flowers kind of guy, but he can be possessive, and it caused problems until Carver Fleming. Carver may be part of the art world, but he gets Peter, loves belonging to the man, and Peter treasures the way Carver understands them together.

Carver loves Peter, but he's fully aware that six months doth not a commitment make. Carver wants to make the relationship last forever, but he’ll have to leave their life in Chicago to take care of the family he loves. He wants to do it with Peter by his side, but going from the city of Chicago to tiny Colt, Kentucky is a big change.

Carver has only one Christmas wish: Please, oh please, let Peter fall enough in love with Carver's family to follow Carver home.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: I really enjoyed this passionate romance of an established couple on the cusp of a change.

The Set Up: ATF agent Pete Lomax is passionately in love with his boyfriend of six months, artist Carver. Carver needs to move home to small town Kentucky to care for his aging parents and he wants Pete to make the move too. But moving from Chicago to Mayberry is a lot of Carver to ask his boyfriend, no matter how in love they are.

Why I Read this Book: I like books that explore established relationships so the synopsis caught my attention.

What I Liked: I really like the characters and their relationship. Pete and Carver have an intensely passionate relationship, supportive of each other and emotionally intimate. The sexual and emotional intimacy are perfectly balanced as the leads laugh together, talk to each other about life goals, and then make passionate love. This is always great to read but I also really enjoyed the way the author put in some important back story, like how the couple met and their first big argument. This layered the relationship even more so as a reader I was immersed in their tension of Carver moving back home and wanting Pete to follow.

What I Also Liked: Carver’s family and even some of the Kentucky residents are nice additions to this novella. Carver’s mother is ill so Carver is needed at home to help care for her and his aging father. I really liked the scenes where Pete is introduced to the family, complete with the awkward hopefulness of meeting in-laws and being dropped in the middle of crazy family dynamics.

What I Didn’t Like: Pete and Carver have condom-less anal sex, which isn’t problematic for me since they’re a committed couple, but then Carver gives Pete oral sex post-coitus with no mention of clean up between. Like feltching (don’t Google that at work!), I know ass-to-mouth is a kink but I didn’t feel it was used intentionally here. Besides, I just didn’t find it hot.

IMO: Good established couple romances are far and few between so grab this one up if you like the trope as I do.

J9’s Rating:

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