Book Review: The Auction by J.R. Gray

Stark is too old to be selling himself, or his services. He’s too set in his ways, too piled in grief, and well…it’s been too long. But when your best friend is a big demanding drag queen, and hosting the event, it’s impossible to say no. It’s one night, he convinces himself, and then he can get back to his reclusive life.

Scotty can handle the club for one night. It’s Christmas Eve after all, and the auction is for charity. If she saw her ex she could deal with it, she hoped and it wasn’t like she had to bid on anyone. But when she comes back from the bar she finds her best friend had other plans, and now she has a date with a mysterious dominant.

The Auction is a short, steamy feel-good story about two lost souls who are brought together through a charity auction. They both have been hurt by love and are struggling to find their way back.

Anderson Stark is a shut-in who hasn't been able to move forward after losing his wife. His best friend convinces him to auction off his Dominate services for charity. Abigail Scott (Scotty) has stayed away from club life after a relationship gone bad. Her roommate/best friend decides it's time for Scotty to move on from her past and bids on Stark unbeknownst to her.

Stark and Scotty are haunted by their pasts and choose to hide in their own way. When brought together they rediscover their kinks in very small baby steps. They both must learn to move past their anxieties to make the relationship work but when one person can't find their footing will their relationship cease?

J.R.Gray packs a lot of punch into this short story. It's got a good mix of kink and resolve! 4 Stars

Review: Clouded Hell by J.R. Gray

I survive on avoidance. Physical pain to avoid the mental. Disposable flesh to avoid relationships. Work to avoid attachment.

My club became my empire of avoidance. Inside the ring millions are won and lost. The fight is confined to breaths, actions and reactions, fists and pain. Rules don’t exist. Only my opponent exists.

I’d been avoiding my needs for far too long when Remi stumbles into the Inferno and I’m hungry. The promise of a submissive with no attachment is far too tempting. I can’t resist him.

He was only supposed to be a distraction, but I know I'll never get over him. There isn't a chance in this clouded hell.

I have no words to describe the intensity of Clouded Hell.  This story is about two men struggling with life and carrying around heavy baggage. The story is dark, sensual and unforgiving. The characters battle themselves, their lives and the hell they live in. They are being held down by the weight of their world.

Dante has loved and lost, he can't move past grieving and pain. He blames himself and has not found closure. He's world has gone dark. He fights to feel and lives to suffer.

Remi is living a lie.  He can't come out of the proverbial closet without risking his life. He has settled, only reaching out occasionally to sustain his desires until he meets Dante.

"You're merely using me to get what you need?"  "And you're using me to get out that blackness I see in your eyes," he shot back.  "We're using each other."

What was at first just a fix, no real intentions beyond controlled play soon evolves into much more. Dante takes the lead as the Dominate and holds out until Remi is willing to join him. The characters are well developed, you not only understand their prospective but also feel their their emotional strife. The ending is an emotional ride that will pull at your soul. 5 Stars!

Review: Say Yes by J.R. Gray

Charles holds the key to salvation, but James has to say yes.

James failed. He tried to be what they wanted. He tried to deny it. He tried to be a good Catholic boy…but it’s become too much. He craves pain, submission. He’s denied himself far too long, and it’s eating him alive.

Charles thrives off the exchange of power. He knows the world revolves around control. It’s given and taken like currency, in business and in pleasure. He won’t get attached, though, or so he tells himself, until James turns his world upside down. He’s defiant and snarky, but Charles can taste the submission on him.

All James has to do is say one little word.

Say Yes is a contemporary story about self-discovery and acceptance. The characters are both fearful of commitment however for different reasons.

Charles is a wealthy, self-made business man who has been burned in the past. He has loved but it wasn't enough to fill in his ex-partner's cracks. James is a college student who has been hardened by his upbringing, disowned by his mother and continually denies himself of his true nature. When Charles meets James, he quickly becomes infatuated and pursues him. Once Charles lures James on a date, he introduces him to his world, a world that James didn't even know he needed. James discovers his control and freedom through Charles a alpha, no holds barred dominant. Charles continues to struggle with keeping his heart safe, fearing a repeat of his last relationship. In the end it's James who has to take a leap of faith. In order for James to share his burden, he will need to out himself for happiness. It takes a lot of strength to say yes.

I loved this story. Each character has to fight their demons in order to find happiness. They must accept themselves, their past and hold hope for a future. It also has a few steamy scenes that I may have reread a few times. 5 Say Yes Stars!