ROBIN

TITLE: ROBIN

AUTHOR: SEAN MICHAEL

Pages: 56

Date: 13/02/2014

Grade: 3+

Details: No. 6 Shibari Auction House

            Received from New Changeling Press

            Through Love Romance and More

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“Best friends and high school sweethearts, Robin and Sam are looking for a Dom who can give them both what they want. They've done a lot of reading and some experimenting, but nothing has worked. Neither of them has what it takes to top the other, and the online hookups and club visits have been a total disaster. Putting themselves up for auction at the Shibari Auction House is their last attempt at finding something that even comes close to matching the things they've read about.

When Master Renard sees Robin and Sam on the night's auction block, he decides he must have them and makes a pre-emptive bid, wanting them in his playroom sooner than later. He's intrigued by the two boys who look so different and by the idea of having two boys at once to dominate.

Can all three men find exactly what they need in each other? Or is it all just a lovely fantasy?”

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My thoughts:

I don’t like starting reviews like this but it has to be said: reading this story almost broke my heart. Not because of the content, it is in fact a fun and rather sweet story, but because it could have been so much more.

I loved Robin and Sam. The two young men were so sweet together and constantly looking out for each other; putting the other’s comfort and pleasure before their own. Their curiosity was cute as was their innocence and willingness to learn. I had to laugh at Sam’s chattiness and Robin’s silence and liked the way their Master for a week dealt with that difference. In fact, I loved Renard too. He really tries to get to know Robin and Sam in order to find out what they want and need from their week long introduction into the world of BDSM.

The interactions between the three men were hot and exciting as well as sweet and funny. In fact, this novella contained everything I’m looking for in an erotic story. But...

The story was too rushed. Time and again I would find myself really getting into a scene only for it to be over. Everything happened too fast. The various scenes came and went too quickly, issues were solved almost before they were recognised and the switch from Robin and Sam not knowing Master Renard to the moment they had accepted him as their master also happened too fast. In fact, all we get is one night with the three men and I would have loved to witness the whole week.

This is of course the sixth title in a series and it is quite possible that if I had read the previous instalments I would have known what to expect and wouldn’t have been surprised or disappointed by the speed at which this story unfolded.

I can’t help feeling that this novella was a missed opportunity. It is obvious that Sean Michael has it in him to write a great story about wonderful characters. It is also clear that this story has all the elements it needs to be really good. I just feel it needed more; more character development, more insight into the thought processes, more detail in the description of the scenes and less haste when it came to feelings developing. I was thoroughly disappointed when the story ended and could happily have read on about Sam, Robin and Master Renard for another few hours without getting bored.

Mind you, having said all of the above I do have to admit that I will more than likely go back and read the previous five titles in this series. I like the idea behind this story and enjoyed the smooth writing and interesting characters.

If you are looking for a short but hot and sweet erotic romance, ‘Robin’ may be exactly what you need.