His Roommate's Pleasure - Lana McGregor Please.

There's so much power in that one little word, and in this story, the main character, Adam, finds his voice with it.

4+ stars.

I really enjoyed His Roommate's Pleasure, a bon bon of a novella that's pretty much the fluffiest you can get in a story that still features paddles and spanking. You guys know me -- I'm a non-angst, non-BDSM reader usually, and I thought this story was just lovely.

The plot, in brief.
One night, Adam accidentally finds his roommate's porn stash. Josh catches him red-handed, but rather than turning into A-Situation-Of-Which-We-Will-Never-Speak, the two roommates instead find that they're both turned on by the same things. Soon enough, they decide to act on their mutual interest and *ahem* "play" out some scenes together. However, what happens when their scenes lead to feelings and desires for...something more?

The characters.
Loved them! They're both college freshmen, and although they've been roommates all year, it's only in this second semester of freshman year that they actually become friends -- and, obviously, much much more.

Adam, the MC narrator, is the skinny guy who got picked on by jocks in high school. He's kind of finding his way through his college experience, and unfortunately that hasn't included much by way of sexual exploration. However, when he finds Josh's porn collection, Adam is awakened to a whole new set of desires he never even knew were out there to explore. He finds his inner sub, and OMG, it is insanely hot and sweet and adorable and intense as he recognizes his kinks and desires.

Josh, Adam's roommate, is a total jock. We don't get anything from Josh's POV, but he seems like a good guy. Adam initially has a built-in prejudice against him because of the jock thing, but they do find common ground soon enough (and not just their sexual proclivities). I wish we could have learned more about Josh, but I understand that this story is third person limited POV and, as such, much more about Adam's discovery about himself.

The sexytimes.
*fans self*

*fans self again*

Is there some water around here? I'm rather parched.

It was smooooooookin' hot. Loved the sexytimes.

As I mentioned before, I'm not much of a BDSM kind of reader, but this story had just the right amount of playfulness and genuine discovery to give their D/s play a lighter kind of feel. It wasn't about chains, whips, or pain; rather, it was more about control, pleasure, and discovering what each of them liked. It was a great combination.

I particularly liked that neither of them was very sexually experienced or at all experienced in D/s types of encounters. As such, it was really sweet and hot to discover what pushed each of their buttons at the same time these wonderful characters found out themselves. I really appreciated getting Adam's POV and thought process as he felt his way through his turn ons and kinks.

Also, if you're into dirty talk, this is a great book to check out. Just sayin'. :D

Overall.
I truly enjoyed this story, and I'd recommend it highly to m/m readers who like their kink with a lighter touch. There's a really sweet HFN at the end of the story that shows the boys move beyond just acting out scenes and into a much more promising and emotionally-involved relationship.

Basically, this was the fluffiest that a book could be while still involving D/s, collars, leashes, safe words, paddles, and spanking. I adored it. :)



Thank you to Carina Press and the author for providing a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.