Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
Carver Eliot has settled into his life as a private citizen and investigator, enjoying being his own boss and sharing David Logan’s bed. Then the case of one missing girl throws Carver and David’s comfortable situation into chaos.

David knew that one day one of Carver’s cases would fall under the jurisdiction of Pittsburgh’s police department. He was hoping it would be later rather than sooner. However, as Carver’s investigation unfolds, conflict of interest becomes the least of David’s worries.

The search for the missing girl leads both men into the shadows of Pittsburgh’s sex club scene. As jaded as he thinks he is, Carver’s eyes are blown wide open to a culture of pleasure and perversity he had only imagined. David, however, finds himself face to face with a way of life he thought he’d buried along with his lover and mentor three years ago. While Carver struggles to learn a new set of rules, David fights not to lose himself in the role he once knew so well.

Finding the girl is easy. Surviving the secrets their investigation reveals about each other and their burgeoning relationship is the true challenge.

BOOK REVIEW:
I read this book before I realized that it is a sequel to "Sins of Arrogance." Other than a few passing references that were probably explained in that first book, however, this book reads just fine as a stand-alone. The series is called "Creatures of Sin," and this is the second in the series.

This book centers around the relationship between David Logan, a police detective and Carver Eliot, a former cop, now a private investigator. David is a strict Dom, and Carver is learning to be his sub. In this story, Carver is working on a case that comes under David's jurisdiction, a definite conflict of interest. The case involves looking for a girl who has disappeared, and Carver ends up tracking her to a BDSM club. In an odd twist, David ends up having to go to the club as Carver's sub. This causes a sort of identity crisis for the two men, as they work through their trust issues and roles.

What we find out in flashbacks is that David's previous relationship was actually as a sub, and perhaps that explains why he seems uneasy at times in his Dom role. In fact, I had some issues with David as a Dom. At one point David leaves Carver, gagged and bound hand and foot on the floor, chained to his bed, while he goes to work. Carver maneuvers his way out of his bindings, but that really left me feeling queasy. Even in a fantasy, that's not sexy.

I did like David and Carver, and I felt that India Harper did a great job of world-building. The tension between police and private investigators rang very true, and I liked feeling the two men grow closer.

One of my quibbles with this book is that it starts out hot and strong. The first chapter, with David meeting his new master Robin, is awesome. Unfortunately it's a flashback. For the reader, this is disconcerting. We get invested in the characters quickly ~ and that relationship is not in this book.

If you like stories that involve kinky sex, you'll like this one, even with its problematic moments. In fact, the first three chapters of the book are worth the price of purchase, even if you don't read any more. I look forward to seeing more from this author team.

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