5 out of 5 stars
Kindle Edition. 2nd edition. 206 pages. Published March 29th 2019 by Dreamspinner Press (first published January 28th 2013)
Blurb:
Sometimes you have to get dirty to come clean.
When muscle-bound Denver Rogers effortlessly dispatches the frat boys harassing grad student Adam Ellery at the Tucker Springs laundromat, Adam’s thank-you turns into impromptu sex over the laundry table. The problem comes when they exchange numbers. What if Adam wants to meet again and discovers Denver is a high-school dropout with a learning disability who works as a bouncer at a local gay bar? Or what if Denver calls Adam only to learn while he might be brilliant in the lab, outside of it he has crippling social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Either way, neither of them can shake the memory of their laundromat encounter. Despite their fears of what the other might think, they can only remember how good the other one feels. The more they get together, the kinkier things become. They’re both a little bent, but in just the right ways.
Maybe the secret to staying together isn’t to keep things clean and proper. Maybe it’s best to keep their laundry just a little bit dirty.
Likes:
- Mental health issues treated with respect.
- BDSM by people who know what they’re doing.
- Great smut.
- Great characters.
- Realistic character growth.
- Trans side character.
Dislikes:
- The beginning didn’t hook me.
- Brad.
- Denver’s issues seemed tacked on and glossed over.
- Potential problems weren’t addressed.
I didn’t go into this book expecting a lot. Denver didn’t leave me with a strong impression when he appeared in the previous book, so I was a little unsure about him at first. Then when I saw Adam being bullied in the laundromat without fighting back, I got a little worried. I don’t like characters who are weak amd/or pushovers.
Luckily, Adam isn’t a pushover. Sure, his anxiety can keep him from being as forceful as other people, but he was willing and able to tell Brad to fuck off, and that almost made me cheer. Because Brad is an absolute asshole. I’m really hoping he isn’t the same Brad who is one of the main characters in the final book of the series, because it’s going to take a LOT of work to make me like him.
Denver really is the star character in this book. He is so kind/patient/caring that watching him introduce Adam to BDSM and work with Adam’s peculiarities was an absolute treat. And speaking of the BDSM, it was great. Clearly Cullinan did her research. I was a little bothered that Adam and Denver never really talked about what they were doing, but it worked for them. Plus, it was super hot.
I am always excited to see other letters of the LGBTQ+ alphabet soup in gay romance novels, and having Louisa there was a great touch. I don’t think I’ve seen more than a handful of trans side characters in gay books ever, so she stood out not only as a cool person but as a step towards better representation in the genre.
As Denver’s best friend, El didn’t show up very often, but it was nice to catch a glimpse or two of him and Paul.
My big issues with this book are actually not very big at all. Denver’s problems, both with learning and with people treating him like shit in the past, aren’t his fault. I didn’t like how he internalized them, or that his journey to getting better was glossed over. In terms of character growth and dealing with his problems, Adam does the lion’s share.
There’s also the issue of the pictures Brad saw when he looked at Adam’s phone. I thought for sure he’d make a big stink about it and tell everyone about the BDSM. But Adam and Denver never seemed to care. Also, when Adam went to the hospital, I thought for sure the nurses or paramedics would see his bruises and think he was being abused. Not only did that not happen but it was like no one even thought about it as a possibility. Just the fact that neither of these issues came up took me out of the story a bit.
I will definitely read more by Heidi Cullinan in the future. Especially if she has written other BDSM stories.
*I read the 2019 version.
Be sure to check out the reviews for the rest of the series – Where Nerves End, Second Hand, Covet Thy Neighbor, Never A Hero, and After The Fall.
Love is Love Reviews 