The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

Scott wants nothing more than to escape the numbing, loveless control of his parents. Too naive to see the danger, he flees to England to fulfill an on-line romance, and finds himself stranded in a foreign airport. Until Ben happens along, having packed his sister off to Spain to see her boyfriend.

Prince Charming, meet Cinderella: or, Dom meet sub - whatever. Of course Scott knows nothing of the BDSM world, and Ben has no notion of doing anything but a good deed for a terrified teenager.

Scott and Ben are great characters; they are explored deeply by the authors as their motivations and emotions are laid bare. The evolution of their relationship is handled with sweetness and a finely tuned sense of timing.

The authors take great pains to do two things: they cast a vivid light on the BDSM scene, and they make sure the reader understands the profoundly complex, supportive and self-policing network of friendships that feels like a family.

I was a little reluctant to read this, because, frankly, the whole Dom/sub scene gives me the willies. I'm an old married gay man and we never hung with the leather-and-chains crowd when we were young. But, it's not like I've never read any BDSM stuff (Mary Calmes, D. River). Plus I know one of the authors through our mutual love of writing, and I'd been anticipating this book for months on Facebook (and not reading any of the teasers)...so I plunged in.

The only thing I wanted to know more about was how Ben came to understand his own Dom nature. We learn a lot about Ben's life, but that one aspect of him remained opaque, to my regret. And the fact that I cared says much about how well Will and K.C. have done their job.