TITLE:
LOVER ENSLAVED
24 Hours in Mumbai
AUTHOR:
EVA LEFOY
Pages:
44
Date:
24/02/2014
Grade:
3.5
Details:
A 1 Night Stand Story
Received from Decadent Publishing
Through Love Romances and More
Own/
Kindle
The
blurb:
“Stranded
for twenty-four hours in Mumbai, India, contract negotiator, Thomas Barkley
searches for a man who can make him forget his pain. When a trip through the
red light district leaves him cold, he turns to Madame Eve’s service and finds
a shot at redemption—but first, he has to survive it.
Indian male prostitute, Arjun Mukesh, begged Madame Eve to set him up for one night of real pleasure. He knows better than to expect anything but a brief hiatus from his miserable life. When Thomas showers Arjun with tender and very real affection, his heart begins to ache for more than a taste of the life he cannot have. Unfortunately, his boss Ranjeet won’t to let him go without a fight.
Amidst a spray of bullets, Thomas must convince Arjun to take a chance on a new life in America before it’s too late for both of them.”
Indian male prostitute, Arjun Mukesh, begged Madame Eve to set him up for one night of real pleasure. He knows better than to expect anything but a brief hiatus from his miserable life. When Thomas showers Arjun with tender and very real affection, his heart begins to ache for more than a taste of the life he cannot have. Unfortunately, his boss Ranjeet won’t to let him go without a fight.
Amidst a spray of bullets, Thomas must convince Arjun to take a chance on a new life in America before it’s too late for both of them.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------
My
thoughts:
“His
moans sounded like sobs from a long-forgotten, sad story.”
This
was my third 1 Night Stand novella in a month and I have to admit I’m quickly
turning into a fan of this series. I love the premise of these stories; two
people desperately looking for that elusive love connection turn to Madame Eve
to set them up with a perfect partner for one night. If all goes to plan that
one night will be the basis for a happily ever after, but not without some
obstacles to overcome first. I mean, what’s not to like?
In
this book American contract negotiator Thomas Barkley finds himself stranded in
Mumbai having just been made redundant. Thomas has lost the man he loved under
tragic circumstances 18 months earlier and hasn’t been able to be intimate with
anyone else since. He’s almost forgotten the request he sent to Madame Eve
months ago when he’s notified that his one night stand will take place in his
hotel that night.
Arjun
Mukesh has been a rent boy all his life. Since it is the caste he was born into
he never expected to be anything else and can’t imagine a life that wouldn’t
involve giving himself to men for money or the violence his pimp, Ranjeet
inflicts upon him. All he’s asked Madame Eve for is one night of real pleasure
since love is a dream he can’t afford to indulge himself in.
When
Thomas reaches the room where Arjun is waiting for him he walks into a violent
scene. He manages to scare Ranjeet off, but is heartbroken to discover that
this is what Arjun’s life is and always will be. The night the two men share is
a revelation for both. While Thomas discovers that he can develop feelings for
somebody other than the lover he lost, Arjun experience real pleasure and
intimacy for the very first time. Arjun has never been with a man who is as
anxious to make sure Arjun gets his pleasure as he is for his own.
More
violence follows the two men while they explore each other’s bodies as well as
life-stories. When Arjun disappears the following morning Thomas knows that he
has to find the man he’s begun to fall for as well as a way of bringing him
back to America with him.
This
was a charming little story even if there seemed to be a bit too much happening
for such a short tale. Personally I would have liked to see a bit more of the
two men discovering each other and a little bit less of the violence. Having
said that, everything we were shown about the two men was well written and
clearly painted. I especially appreciated Arjun’s story and his inability to
believe that somebody might want to give him pleasure for no other reason than
to make him happy, and his reluctance to believe that it might be something he
could hang on to.
Some
of the writing in this story – like the sentence I quoted at the top of this
review – was so beautiful it took my breath away. I also liked that the book
came with an epilogue, giving us a small glimpse of the future and the happy
ending Madame Eve had once again managed to create for two of her clients.
Now
that I’ve found these ‘1 Night Stand’ stories I find myself rather addicted to
them, so it’s just as well there seem to be a lot of them and new ones are
being published quite regularly. Sometimes a hot quick read is exactly what
this reader needs; at moments like that I could do a lot worse than turn to
this series.
