Handyman by Claire Thompson

TITLE: Handyman
AUTHOR: Claire Thompson
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 61k)
GENRE: Gay contemporary erotic romance
COST: $5.50

Will Spencer has taken a six-month sabbatical from his high pressure life in Manhattan, retreating to the quiet world of Scarsdale and a new home in desperate need of a makeover. Enter Jack Crawford, handyman. Will hires Jack to gut and redo his kitchen, but he’s taken aback at his attraction to the older man. Jack just doesn’t seem to be his type, not to mention that he’s most likely straight. The best he can hope for is friendship. Considering how lonely Jack has been since his wife died two years earlier, that friendship finds deeper roots than either man expects. So does the desire…

NOTE: This is a review originally written for Uniquely Pleasurable.

The fantasy is a common one in romance. The sexy handyman showing up to fix whatever needs to be done, addressing the lonely homeowner – usually a woman – in such a way to fuel desires for more than a little bit of stolen conversation. There’s a safety in this fantasy, because who hasn’t experienced that moment of loneliness for themselves? In Handyman, author Claire Thompson has transposed it into a gay romance, and sometimes, it actually works. Both men are nice guys, though at different ends of the spectrum. Will has long embraced his sexuality, but he’s never had a committed relationship, sticking with sex buddies and casual flings. Jack married young and is Mr. Faithful, even after his wife’s death. When the men get to simply act, they’re not only believable, they’re likeable, too. This is one of the novel’s greatest strengths.

Where it falters is the author’s propensity for speechifying. Both men have a tendency to talk and talk for multiple paragraphs, as they expound on their feelings and history and then their feelings again. If it was internal monologue, it would be a lot more believable. Placing it in the dialogue gives the story an artificial air and pulled me out of it, because frankly, people don’t talk like that. I could probably buy it if it happened once, or twice, or was restricted to one of the men. But both Jack and Will do it. Repeatedly. And more than once I had the thought, I don’t even know women who talk this much.

That type of overtelling mars the first quarter of the story, too. Backstory for both men is told while they’re alone and in their POV, but then, when they’re getting to know each other, it all gets told again. Without much change. It’s repetitive and redundant, and frankly, a little boring. It eventually smoothes over, but it’s a sluggish start, and it holds the story back from what ultimately turns out to be a quite sweet romance.

I was impressed for quite a while at how realistic the author made Jack’s responses. True to his lifetime rooted in his heterosexuality, he was slow to come around, and reluctant to pursue the more intimate aspects of a sexual relationship. But after all the set-up, it gets sacrificed for expediency. It takes only a couple of days for him to give it up all the way, which felt like a cheat after all the careful work that had been done setting up his characterization. I didn’t believe it, which makes it hard to believe as strongly in the romance, too.

All that being said, when the men are simply allowed to be, it’s a quiet, safe romance with more than a little charm. It just could have been so much more.

Readability	7/10 – Nice prose gets bogged down with long speechifying in the dialogue
Hero #1	6/10 – The speeches replace character development, though he’s a nice enough guy.
Hero #2	6/10 – I thought the turnaround was a little too swift to be believable, but again, a nice guy.
Entertainment value	6/10 – This would have been higher if I hadn’t been jerked out of the story by long, unrealistic speeches.
World building	8/10 – Solid and indicative of the writer’s capabilities outside of dialogue
TOTAL:	33/50

Sub for Hire by Claire Thompson

TITLE: Sub for Hire
AUTHOR: Claire Thompson
PUBLISHER: Ellora’s Cave
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 56k)
GENRE: Gay BDSM erotic romance
COST: $5.95

When his finances become precarious, aspiring writer Josh Hanson checks out an ad for a BDSM dungeon looking for submissives. The money is good, and since he’s not in a relationship, Josh thinks the arrangement is perfect. That is, until he has a scene with a man who shatters the barriers he’s put in place in order not to get hurt by his part-time job. Michael is gorgeous, arresting, and the most sensual Dom Josh has ever known. But Josh is still a sub for hire, and it’s going to take more than one session for either of them to believe otherwise…

The story starts out with a bang, as Josh auditions for a role as a submissive for hire at Dungeon Dreams. The owner, Sam, personally puts potential hires through the ropes with what would be a standard one-hour session, and the intensity and chemistry between the two leaps off the screen. The BDSM is hot and evocative, even though there is no actual sex involved, and the promise of what is to come tantalizing at the very least.

It maintains a level of smooth presentation for another chapter. Michael is introduced and he’s likeable enough, though there is a too good to be true vibe to him that never gets shaken. Unfortunately, I got jerked out of the story in chapter three by an editorial mistake that I probably would have overlooked if it wasn’t played as important later on in the next chapter. See, when Josh is in a scene, he’s known only as “slave j.” The first time he and Michael interact, it starts out with the same intensity that was present in the opening sequence with Sam, but then, Michael asks him, “Would you do that, Josh? Would you give of yourself so completely to your Master, to the one who owned your heart?” Completely innocuous, and absolutely 100% fits the tone of the scene. Except Michael called him by name, and it stopped me enough to go back and read to see if I’d missed the point where Josh told him. I couldn’t find it, so I just dismissed it as nothing and continued reading. I fell back into the gorgeous rhythm of the scene, letting it play out, but then, at the very end of it, after these two have had a very profound moment, Michael is leaving and we get this exchange:

“Sir—Michael…” Slave j’s voice was earnest, even pleading.

Half reluctant, half eager, Michael turned back. “Yes?”

“My name is Josh.”

Honestly, it’s not even a big editorial mistake. I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it if Josh hadn’t made a point to tell Michael. And then both of them spent the next chapter ruminating on the ramifications of such a detail getting shared in the first place. The only reason I bring it up at all is because it pulled me out of the story for a short while, and I became wary as I read, wondering what other inconsistencies might pop up.

None did. Within a few chapters, I was back into the flow of it. Mostly. I find the author’s voice for erotic scenes highly engaging. She makes BDSM seem accessible, even to those who don’t practice. She highlights the mental aspects of it rather than making it all about the pain, which makes a refreshing change. Where I don’t sink into her prose as much is in the dialogue. A good portion comes across as stilted. It might look good and be grammatically correct, but when I hear it in my head as I’m reading, it sounds artificial. It’s a personal peccadillo, though, and with this particular story, a minor one at that. Both men are likeable in their own way, and if they’re painted a little too romantic, it’s consistent with the tone of the entire story. Much like the overly romantic ending. It might be pain that brings them together, but it’s love that keeps them that way.

Readability	8/10 – An early editorial mistake made me wary, but as long as the characters aren’t talking, it’s a smooth read
Hero #1	6/10 – There’s a sweet sort of innocence about him that makes up a little for some of his stupid decisions
Hero #2	6/10 – Amiable, though the too good to be true vibe is hard to shake
Entertainment value	7/10 – The erotic scenes work best; some of the sappiness of the conclusion drags this down for me.
World building	9/10 – An excellent job in portraying varying degrees of BDSM
TOTAL:	36/50