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A review by kaje_harper
The Boy Who Belonged by Lisa Henry, J.A. Rock
4.0
This book was a well-written mixture of the domestic and the sexy, BDSM and simple comfort, family and friends, good moments and bad. In this story, Derek is struggling a bit to figure out what Lane really needs from him, while fighting the feeling that he is replacing Lane's parents in a Daddy-kink kind of way that he doesn't find appealing. Lane is finding his own feet, with work and in his relationship, and trying to separate out the abuse he suffered from Acton with the BDSM that he craves from Derek. He is much stronger, but the fallout from his parents' wrongdoing is still taking its toll. His mother gets in touch, and he is vulnerable to her, hungry for her love and attention, but she still wants what is best for her, not for him. But it's so hard for him to let go of the past.
I liked the fact that this is not a smooth omnipotent-Dom kind of BDSM story. Lane is hard for Derek to read at times, and they both make mistakes. They even question their relationship and what they really mean to one another, while the reader can feel the underlying love between them clearly. The sex/scenes are well done, not just hot but written to move the story and the relationship forward.
It's good to see Lane coming into his own. The side characters (and not least the dog and bird) add welcome humor and leavening to the story. They also give the two guys someone to talk things through with, and to ease the intensity of their relationship. It was that balance that I thought was the best feature of this story, and although BDSM is not really my thing, I could appreciate the way the guys worked with it, trying to give each other what they needed. Things are still a bit one-sided between the guys, but in this story I could see Lane becoming more of a partner to Derek. I began to believe in their happy ever after.
I liked the fact that this is not a smooth omnipotent-Dom kind of BDSM story. Lane is hard for Derek to read at times, and they both make mistakes. They even question their relationship and what they really mean to one another, while the reader can feel the underlying love between them clearly. The sex/scenes are well done, not just hot but written to move the story and the relationship forward.
It's good to see Lane coming into his own. The side characters (and not least the dog and bird) add welcome humor and leavening to the story. They also give the two guys someone to talk things through with, and to ease the intensity of their relationship. It was that balance that I thought was the best feature of this story, and although BDSM is not really my thing, I could appreciate the way the guys worked with it, trying to give each other what they needed. Things are still a bit one-sided between the guys, but in this story I could see Lane becoming more of a partner to Derek. I began to believe in their happy ever after.