What About Now by Grace R. Duncan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
According to the blurb, Braden and Rafe broke up because Braden caught Rafe with another man. It turns out that Braden had misinterpreted what he’d walked into, which was actually an attempted rape. The real problem in their relationship was Braden’s confusion about his submission to Rafe’s dominance in bed. Braden was so confused about what he felt and what he wanted that he avoided Rafe; instead of talking to Rafe and giving Rafe a chance to explain what Braden had seen, Braden walked out on him.
Five years later, after much therapy and research in BDSM, Rafe is on a mission to get his man back. He conspires with Braden’s mom to urge Braden to take a vacation cruise benefiting an LGBT homeless shelter, so that he can have a whole month to make their relationship work again, in fact, to work better. He wants them to talk before they have sex, because he wants Braden to understand how a D/s relationship works and to not be afraid of being a submissive.
But it takes forever, half the book, for them to even begin discussing and figuring out what had happened five years ago. When they first meet again, everything they felt for each other is still there. It’s the easiest thing for them to say “I love you” and “I’ve never stopped loving you.” But it’s the hardest thing for them to communicate about their wants and needs in their sex life. It seemed the whole problem in their relationship was their awful communication skills.
If they had communicated earlier, five years ago, this could have been a different book. Rape wouldn’t have been used as a plot device to break them up (twice!). This could have been a book about two gay men figuring out together how to navigate and negotiate a D/s relationship. They could have explored scenes, gone to dungeons, received training together. Braden might still have needed a break from Rafe for the sake of conflict, because there was plenty enough conflict without adding attempted rape.
The sexual tension and BDSM scenes were the strongest parts of the novel. The characters, particularly Rafe, were likable, and the story was emotionally intense, well-written and interesting enough that I liked reading it. But the plot was so unnecessarily convoluted I wasn’t exceptionally impressed with the novel in the end. I’d probably try out this author again, though, because I liked the BDSM.
*ARC received from Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.
