Get Hold Of For Real (Spires, #3) Articulated By Alexis Hall In Readable Copy
Dalziel is worn down and washed up, and for him, the BDSM scene is all played out, Six years on from his last relationship, hes pushing forty and tired of going through the motions of submission,
Then he meets Toby Finch, Nineteen years old. Fearless, fierce, and vulnerable. Everything Laurie cant remember being,
Toby doesnt know who he wants to be or what he wants to do, But he knows, with all the certainty of youth, that he wants Laurie, He wants him on his knees, He wants to make him hurt, he wants to make him beg, he wants to make him fall in love,
The problem is, while Laurie will surrender his body, he wont surrender his heart, Because Toby is too young, too intense, too easy to hurt, And what they haveno matter how right it feelscant last, It cant mean anything.
It cant be real, Some notes:
FOR REAL is bookin my Spires series, with there beingbooks in total,
Each story is loosely connected and will be about a different coupleso you can read them in any order you like,
GLITTERLAND, WAITING FOR THE FLOOD, and PANSIES will also get the same new covers and extra content, and their rereleases will be staggered.
After PANSIES you can expect a book for Niall amp David who appear in GLITTERLAND and one for Dom the Dom who you meet in FOR REAL.
Expected rerelease: TBC, sitelink com/book/forreal/ BR with Elsbeth and Belen
I am sad, This started out so strong, and I thought for sure this would be amazing, And it was good, really, I just had all these expectations after reading the blurb, So basically, it is all my fault that I didnt like this book more,
Because I truly loved Laurie and Toby, Laurie and his quiet ways and Tobys insecurities and babbling, The sex scenes were hot and I really liked those too, There was a lot of humor too, especially
when we were in Tobys head,
Maybe I should have stuck an extra finger in there, Thats what youre supposed to do, right One, two, three, dick, I cant remember how Laurie does me, By the time we reach that point, Im so delirious, I probably wouldnt notice if he used a cucumber,
But I have two problems that stopped me from liking the book more and I really wanted to,
I would LOVE to read about ayear old Dom and ayear old sub with them acting like a true Dom and a true sub.
That was not the case here, I would say almost not at all, I couldnt wrap my head around why Laurie would even submit to Toby, Toby who was too insecure and showing it to be able to handle Laurie in my opinion, I just felt it came out of nowhere every time Laurie dropped to his knees for Toby, I felt he just hadnt earned it somehow,
And the book was just too long, I felt it dragged a bit and that it went on and on about Toby and his nonexistent goal in life,
The thing I did truly love was that it felt like a real relationship, It wasnt all about the BDSM, And I like that. These men were people too, I like that in my BDSM books,
If I hadnt been so excited about reading about a trueyear old Dom and ayear old sub, my expectations wouldnt have gotten in the way and I probably would have liked it more.
I've read For Real by Alexis Hall twice in the space of three weeks, The first time I was so stunned by this novel that I couldn't even think to set it aside, My second read, instead, was all focused on savouring the language and the characters in this wonderful novel,
Toby Finch and Laurie Dalziel are utterly real and moving in their fears, hopes, and behaviours,
Toby is fierce, headstrong and scared as only ayearold can be but also so true to himself to be incredibly affecting.
His intensity is unwavering be it in the grief for his granddad's passing or in the passionate love he feels for Laurie, He demands love and attention but under this restless veneer, there's a fragile boy who's seen all his dreams stripped away from him and is now lost and adrift.
He might sound morose but he never is, even in his moments of utmost despair, The liveliness of his narrative voice is profound but also very often hilarious and the touches that make him different and special e, g. his love ofs' movies or the intensity with which he thinks about and discusses food are simply amazing,
Laurie responds to Toby's fierceness with a pretence of detachment and coldness, He uses the social convention of the age gap as a defence mechanism and the ultimate wall to protect himself from the inevitable capitulation in the face of Toby's courtship.
He's at the same time unavailable emotionally but overavailable physically until he comes to realise that what he and Toby do together spills out and moulds what they are and what they feel .
His narrative voice subdued where Toby's is lively but equally profound and so often quietly meditative is always compelling,
Submission and dominance are clearly central elements in their relationship and the twist in the plot with the younger character being the dom adds a very interesting dynamic to their story.
Hall's writing style is a whirlwind of emotions it's funny, melancholic, intense, sensual, I was simply left speechless and the passages I've reread time and time again are countless,
As already said:amazingmovingclevericonoclasticstars,
And in homage to the wonderful scene set in Oxford: sitelink be/KqGmYppo Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart sang by Judy Garland in MGM's Listen, Darling ,AudioStars!
StoryStars
Overall.
stars!
Loved that the Dom in the story was the younger and smaller guy,
Loved that for a bdsm themed book, there were also funny and fluffy moments,
Mynd Alexis Hall book, and I'm beyond impressed! I admit I was confused, I wasnt sure who was the Dom here, Supposedly Toby calls the shots, but Lauren fulfilled that role a way too often, Yes, Im aware Toby is new in the scene, and I could really imagine him as the perfect controlled Dom in the years to come.
But this book felt strange, at least,
Am I allowed to have these doubts and at the same time love the relationship just as it is
As if.
Despite all of the above, I could really appreciate the D/s theme here, I loved that first scene together, when Toby asks Lauren I have to say it: it was refreshing and daring and I was impressed and amused,
Toby is so mischievous I was grinning like an idiot every time he managed to have his way with Lauren, He is very creative. And the time they meet at the club, I must say my own knees were like jelly in that same moment, And that scene when I thought everything was going to shit and become an embarrassing turning point of their lives but suddenly Toby says no.
I loved him to pieces then, I swear I would have kissed the floor at his feet and everything else around him,
And him.
Yes, there were plenty of moments I truly adored,
I loved how they werent the prettiest guys on Earth, Lauren is described as attractive but not handsome, whereas Toby is lanky figure and face full of acne doesnt make him the ideal picture we have of a Dom covered in black leather.
In fact, I was really glad I didnt miss the leather here, The BDSM dynamics in this book are more spontaneous, more due to the the heatofthemoment than an scheduled and calculated scene from both sides.
I dont say it was more natural nor adequate, but I believe it something different to everything Ive read before about the topic, More humorous, less serious, but equally fun,
I loved the kinky, And the food games.
The age gap was shocking and an important matter in the story, Josy pointed it out to me that Tobys POV was in present tense, whereas Laurens was in past tense, Its a smart move to show how age shapes them both in their way of thinking, or how their way of thinking suits their ages.
Tobys mind is more focused on the now, on the immediate, on the carpe diem, Laurens worries about a past that has been dragging him down for too long, and a perspective of things that is more mature, but that doesnt mean its more spot on than Tobys.
In fact, its Toby the one who recognizes whats important very early in their relationship and wants to grab it with both hands and never let go.
Lauren is wary and has been hurt, and he doesnt want another big mistake in his existence,
But Toby makes him feel alive for the first time since a long way ago,
He has never felt the compulsion of surrendering to anybody, Not since Robert.
And that scares him like nothing else does,
On the other hand, Lauren is more experienced in other aspects of life, and he wants to guide Toby, something that Toby wants to hide from him at all costs.
I liked seein that things were not that simple as to say that Tobywasabove and Laurenwasbeneath, because in fact they guide each other and their roles change depending on what they are dealing with.
They take care of each other, worry about each other, help each other, and protect each other, I liked seeing how they complement each other and that no one was a master in a specific field, they just were imperfect, and they learn from their mistakes and their insecurities and their demons.
I have to dedicate a few words to Alexiss writing, I really have a hard time with him, Im not a native speaker so every paragraph of his was a true challenge to my knowledge of the language, Alexiss cryptic style is unmistakable but it also requires such a high level of attention I sometimes miss the point of the conversation entirely.
Its one of those authors who really make me wonder “Do I really speak English”, Its not just the slang of the cultural British hints, Its more than that. Something that made reread entire paragraphs hoping to get the dialogue straight, The syntax is so complex and unusual I often wonder if Im the only one having problems with it,
My twin monster Josy and I read this together!