Angel and the Assassin by Fyn Alexander
Blurb:
Kael Saunders loves to dominate handsome, masculine men like himself. Being in charge is his way of life whether it be in his work with the Secret Intelligence service, his personal life, or in the dungeon. The last thing he expects when he is out on a hit is to fall in love with Angel, an eighteen-year-old boy desperate for the love and guidance of a Daddy. Yet Angel also has a passion for being spanked and restrained. Two very different men find love in a world of skilled assassins, Bosnian terrorists, and dungeon play.
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Review:
This book deals with a BDSM kink that isn’t always popular with fans. It’s the Daddy kink and while BDSM fans may not mind it, the problematic characterization could also be an issue. Unfortunately Angel acts like a VERY immature child, which makes his Daddy dynamic with Kael uncomfortable. It’s not just a kink, Angel alternates between acting like a bratty eight year old and spouting out wizened psychological insight. It’s very uneven and kind of ridiculous while Kael is more evenly portrayed but unlikely to get much sympathy from readers.
Angel’s actions are pretty ridiculous. He sees Kael murder his step father but has no problems jumping into bed with the assassin. Angel frequently has temper tantrums, crying fits, and acts like a brat. He’s worse than a brat though because he’s openly defiant in much more immature ways than teenagers. He even sits in the middle of the street then crying hysterically because he simply wasn’t ready to go home. Who acts like that? Unfortunately I asked that question over and over as Angel bounces between his two characterizations. One moment he’s crying and defiant the next he’s lecturing Kael on his flaws and insecurities. Neither personality felt honest or appealing and really I felt bad that Kael was dealing with such a brat.
Not that Kael is all warm and loving either. His body count is high and his indiscriminate cruelty isn’t likely to win readers over. I personally didn’t mind this so much – after all he’s a cold blooded assassin – but I just couldn’t understand why he put up with Angel’s antics so much. Their BDSM play is way too advanced for the novice Angel is and locking Angel in a dog cage while Kael leaves for more than a day is more than ridiculous and dangerous, it’s ludicrous. So unfortunately there are numerous issues and problems that are may discomfort readers. It’s highly reader dependant though so be sure to read several reviews and make up your mind.
I didn’t particularly hate this novel but it’s over the top and ridiculous in many ways. Since it’s so over the top, I never got worked up over the antics that forced other readers to turn away or not finish the book. Neither character is particularly likable or interesting to read though. Also their dynamic is weird, though that’s likely to grow as Angel matures (eventually). See for yourself as your mileage may vary.
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three am 
I couldn’t get past the Daddy kink in this story. It made me really uncomfortable.
The Daddy kink is weird given how immature Angel is portrayed. Since I didn’t particularly give a shit about Angel, I wasn’t that bothered. I figured he was pretty messed up anyway so that’s not surprising.
I think this is going to be a hard sale for a lot of readers.
Daddy/boy relationships (notice it’s not called a “Daddy/son” relationship, and that’s on purpose) rarely if ever have anything to do with incestuous desires or even role-playing such.
Having not read this book, I can’t say in what manner the relationship between these characters was written, but never in my personal experience (most of which is neither hearsay nor anecdotal) have I encountered the “boy” partner in such a dynamic pretending to be and/or behaving like a child or immaturely in any fashion. Never.
I can understand the squick factor if the relationship in this book was written the latter-described way, and if it was, then somebody didn’t do their research. Neither age-play nor incestuous age-play are synonymous with the Daddy/boy relationship. Apples and oranges.
It’s my opinion that a well-written book with a true Daddy/boy dynamic will find a more accepting audience among readers who’ve had live and in-person exposure to real people living this lifestyle, as opposed to readers who have not.
Here is a good, concise article that you may find informative. Some photographs may be considered NSFW depending on where you work. Daddy / Boy: Love, Power and Masculinity
Thanks for the clarification! I think you hit on it exactly. The reason why the Daddy kink has really bothered readers is that Angel is portrayed as wanting a real Daddy. Not a kinky daddy but a incestuous daddy. Since Angel frequently acts like an 8 y/o well a lot of readers don’t seem to like the Daddy connotation then.
I think readers can appreciate a well written and *true* depiction of Daddy/boy kink. While you’re right those who experience it are likely to be more accepting, I think the downfall here is the immaturity and actions of the “boy” which make the Daddy kink too close to incestuous or psychologically needy for readers’ tastes. If this had been written properly, I doubt you would have seen such a reaction. I know I wouldn’t have had an issue and honestly I don’t mind the Daddy/boy kink in BDSM. I think its incorrectly used in this book to explain immature and ridiculous behavior while the strong, stoic type is stereotyped as the “Daddy.”
Thanks for the article.. I may need to twitter that since I know a lot of ppl attempted to read this book but got turned off thinking all Daddy/boy relationships were this twisted.
Thank you for that insight. It actually helped me to work out why I was so uncomfortable with the relationship in this particular story when it has never been a major issue for me when reading it in the past. Very interesting.