Grey’s Awakening by Cameron Dane

Blurb:

Greyson Cole needs to get out of Raleigh. Everywhere he turns, he sees people falling in love, getting married and starting families. It’s enough to make a grown man want to rip out his own hair. And for a cynic like Grey, one more employee getting engaged signals the need for a long overdue vacation. Grey owns a cabin in the mountains he has never even used, and he figures that’s just the ticket out of this nightmare of happily paired-up couples.

Grey doesn’t expect to be greeted by a belligerent, half-naked man the minute he opens his cabin door.

Sirus Wilder has known Grey’s twin sister for years, and she has given him permission to stay in the cabin while his residence across the lake is under repair. Sirus has never met Greyson Cole before, but he is thankful when the man lets him share the cabin for a few days. There is plenty enough room for them each to keep to themselves. Sirus has had his heart broken and isn’t interested in a hook-up, let alone something more.

Even so, Grey is, hands-down, one of the sexiest men Sirus has ever seen. Too bad he’s an arrogant ass and his eyes are so damn cold. Every once in a while, though, Sirus thinks he sees a hint of fiery passion in the controlled man sleeping one room away.

For Grey, one look at the roughly handsome Sirus puts Grey’s celibacy pact in serious jeopardy. One problem: Grey doesn’t believe in love, has even less patience for relationships, and he refuses to get mixed up in another messy romantic partnership that can only end badly.

Two weeks. Two hard men. Both running like hell from love.

Look out. Something’s gotta give.

Review:

This is a case where the author or publisher needs to know when to stop with the blurb.  On the one hand, you do know exactly the product you’re getting. On the other hand, you kind of don’t need to read the book when everything’s laid out in the summary. As always I just bought the book based on the author and cover, neglecting to read the blurb and discovered the giant thing on the first page of the story. But if you’re interested in the journey of these two men then perhaps it doesn’t matter that the entire story is laid out already.

The book is decent for sure with a lot of hot sex. Over 40 pages of hot sex out of a total of 130 pages, so if you’re in the mood for a lot of raunchy sex between two alpha men this easily could satisfy you. Now that is not to say this book is only about erotica because each scene does advance their relationship for the most part. There is a depth and emotion added to the characters and book that keep this from being entirely for the purposes of titillation. It is a pure fantasy book though as its not believable on any level and that’s ok. It’s a solid escapism story with a happy ending.

Grey and Sirus are interesting characters with some depth and complexity. Not all of their characters are appropriate and fitting, but if you can overlook that and just get into the flow of the story it won’t matter so much. Sirus is a truck driver who happens to dabble in art on the side and has a strong, sensitive core to his personality. He is often described as confident, talented, and intuitive, allowing him to give in to Grey and progress their relationship without any loss of the much needed masculine ego. Sirus is a solid character that is sure to resonate with his deft handling of Grey and all his issues. The blend of humor, attention, and affection Sirus uses would never be possible given they just met so it adds to the fantasy element of the story.

Just as Grey is a man with too many problems to be attractive to most men, but works here once you accept that basic premise. Grey had a difficult childhood and is the classic suit character with a job in finance that has trust issues. He had a bad sexual experiencing bottoming for the first time and since then, he refuses to reconsider this. There is a question of his intelligence as all it takes for Grey to reverse his thinking is for Sirus to point out that sex for the bottom partner can’t be that painful since a lot of people do it. He should have realized this before but it is a touching moment when Grey lets down his walls and trust issues enough to connect with Sirus on another level. It’s contrived, but moving nonetheless. This theme is repeated with various situations throughout the book but the writing keeps this story moving quickly.

The story is rather absorbing and has a lot of elements that taken alone don’t make much sense. From the violent sex outside during a torrential downpour—really, think about being on your knees with the rain pelting down painfully—but it was still a pretty hot scene where the logistics simply don’t matter. Additionally, Grey’s complete personality reversal at the end is stretching the boundaries of even this fantasy story but his declaration and actions are romantic and sweet.  The sex scenes do carry on a bit long but there is a lot of emotion and conversation added so the relationship really is advanced before, after, and during the scenes themselves.

A few problems that stood out were the lack of condoms and Siru’s job. The fact that these two men accept sex without condoms was not even remotely believable and stretched the fantasy element. Additionally, Sirus’ job as a truck driver plays an essential role to his personality in that he insists people accept him as a blue collar worker and ignore the high quality of his art. This side line read empty and didn’t need to be added because there is no purpose to Sirus’ working as a truck driver. He’s never seen driving; he rarely talks about it but demands acceptance. Why? He comes from a wealthy, accomplished family and is clearly extremely talented as an artist and is portrayed as a confident, intelligent man. I just felt the book didn’t need the added random element of his job as a trucker since it was never given much depth.

Overall this book did have some problems which I’ve pointed out, but I’m sure the majority will be like me and not care. The writing was tight and kept the story interesting and enthralling. The plethora of erotica will appeal to those wanting something hotter and the advancement of the relationship will satisfy romance fans. This is meant as a pure escapism, fun, enticing read and as such delivers rather well. If this sounds like your kind of book, check it out.

 Get it HERE!