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A review by colleen_m
Pent Up by Damon Suede
4.0
Not your average bodyguard-client relationship… absolutely worth a read for the steam alone, let alone the in-depth love development in a realistic gay-for-you way!
Title: Pent Up
Author: Damon Suede
Genre: MM Contemporary Romance
Plot Summary:
Ruben is a middle-aged failure trying to get back on his feet, sleeping on his brother’s couch, working in his brother’s security business, and wearing his brother’s ill-fitting suit. So taking on an overly paranoid personal security client who lives in a luxe penthouse on fifth avenue and does nothing more dangerous than day-trading is a huge step up… even if it gives him a really bad feeling. No one with that kind of money hires a two-bit bodyguard from Queens for ‘executive security’. So when Ruben starts having less than appropriate thoughts about his rich white boy boss, the only thing that shocks him more is that it looks like Andy wasn’t just paranoid after all.
Character Descriptions/Development: 4 stars
So everything was from Ruben’s perspective, and he has so much going on that it’s hard not to feel for him. I loved his character, his real strength that he didn’t really even know he had, that he was so damaged and was up front with himself about it.
Where this fell for me though was Andy - you only ever see him from Ruben’s POV which isn’t ideal. I felt like there was more to Andy that I needed in order to get a better idea of who he was and what was behind the masks - the shark, the Sears catalogue model, etc.
Storyline/Conflict: 4 stars
So this should have come off as bodyguard turned lover, because that was the basic premise, but it was so much more. There was Ruben’s internal struggle with alcoholism and having feelings for a guy, as well as the mystery behind why Andy felt he needed a bodyguard. I felt like there was a lot going on, and at times, it was difficult to keep track of what Andy was doing, and what was dangerous about it. Towards the end,
Writing Style:5 stars
This is the second novel I’ve read from this author, and I am amazed at the insightful topics, in this case the alcoholic angle, the gay-for-you mentality. The way things are described, the wisdom in the characters… I just can’t help but love it.
For example:
Heat: 5 stars
This was one of those slow-burns that actually scorches even when nothing is happening… the tension simmers through most of the book, before anything physical happens (about the 65% mark or so). What was even hotter - if that was possible - than the sex was the dirty talk. Holy shit.
Favorite Quote:
Ruben to Andy:
Title: Pent Up
Author: Damon Suede
Genre: MM Contemporary Romance
Plot Summary:
Ruben is a middle-aged failure trying to get back on his feet, sleeping on his brother’s couch, working in his brother’s security business, and wearing his brother’s ill-fitting suit. So taking on an overly paranoid personal security client who lives in a luxe penthouse on fifth avenue and does nothing more dangerous than day-trading is a huge step up… even if it gives him a really bad feeling. No one with that kind of money hires a two-bit bodyguard from Queens for ‘executive security’. So when Ruben starts having less than appropriate thoughts about his rich white boy boss, the only thing that shocks him more is that it looks like Andy wasn’t just paranoid after all.
Character Descriptions/Development: 4 stars
So everything was from Ruben’s perspective, and he has so much going on that it’s hard not to feel for him. I loved his character, his real strength that he didn’t really even know he had, that he was so damaged and was up front with himself about it.
Where this fell for me though was Andy - you only ever see him from Ruben’s POV which isn’t ideal. I felt like there was more to Andy that I needed in order to get a better idea of who he was and what was behind the masks - the shark, the Sears catalogue model, etc.
Storyline/Conflict: 4 stars
So this should have come off as bodyguard turned lover, because that was the basic premise, but it was so much more. There was Ruben’s internal struggle with alcoholism and having feelings for a guy, as well as the mystery behind why Andy felt he needed a bodyguard. I felt like there was a lot going on, and at times, it was difficult to keep track of what Andy was doing, and what was dangerous about it. Towards the end,
Writing Style:5 stars
This is the second novel I’ve read from this author, and I am amazed at the insightful topics, in this case the alcoholic angle, the gay-for-you mentality. The way things are described, the wisdom in the characters… I just can’t help but love it.
For example:
“Never in his life had he made love so recklessly, reaching into someone while they reached back into him. This wasn’t getting off, but getting in or getting to each other. A gleaming bridge over acid and alligators. Their bodies knotted together surely, but something else besides: a terrible, bright know that made him feel broke and mended at the same moment.”
Heat: 5 stars
This was one of those slow-burns that actually scorches even when nothing is happening… the tension simmers through most of the book, before anything physical happens (about the 65% mark or so). What was even hotter - if that was possible - than the sex was the dirty talk. Holy shit.
Favorite Quote:
Ruben to Andy:
“I love you in a way that makes hard work easier. Makes bad choices clear. Makes me safe from myself. And that shit’s not easy. It’s sharp like a serrated knife, and it hurts. You cut away everything that isn’t me.”