In the Rough brings kink to the cutting edge of technology. ~ Leigh, Guilty Pleasures
Blurb:
The virtual world has always been a safe, comfortable place for tech consultant Marcus Holly. He favors working behind the scenes, joining the ranks of Noble House as the kinky club expands to offer a fully immersive VR experience. Then he meets the club’s resident Dom, Enver Furst, and all his carefully contained desires spin out of control.
Bondage-happy Enver relies too heavily on tactile stimulation to buy into Marcus’s VR playground. But when Marcus needs a skilled test subject to beta with, he only has eyes for Enver. The results are immediate and addictive: Enver’s never experienced anything this raw and powerful. He’s just unsure if it’s the tech he can’t resist—or the man.
Comfort zone deliciously shattered, Marcus’s sessions with Enver soon transcend even their wildest fantasies. But someone from Marcus’s past is watching, and his dangerous obsession will force Marcus and Enver to either fight for the reality they’ve created together…or see it shattered beyond recognition.
I’m finding that the books in this series have all been hitting me the same way: I love the unique twist to this kink club, I love the people involved, and I love the power exchanges. But something always falls a bit short to keep me from truly falling in love.
In the Rough brings kink to the cutting edge of technology. Marcus is a technical wizard, crafting a virtual reality world that immerses the user in a dimension of sound, touch, smell and feeling that successfully imitates real life. Put it to work in a kink club and the possibilities are endless. With the resident Dom, Enver, as his guinea pig, Marcus pulls him into an intriguing world of virtual sex, where the feelings are just as real and the emotions just as strong. But a person from Marcus’ history was out to destroy him, and keeping his present and his past from meeting was something Marcus intended to do at all costs.
I loved the relationship between these two men and the way two people, so clearly opposite from one another, fit together so perfectly. But what caused me angst was the idea that Marcus couldn’t share this burden with his new lover because he wanted to protect him. I find that infinitely frustrating. With the intimacy required in the type of BDSM relationship between these two men, I found it infuriating that the past was something neither of these men truly wanted to discuss.
In addition, I felt that the story went on for longer than it needed to in order to fully get across the tale. Up until about the 70% mark, I was enjoying most everything about this book. But it should have ended there. Instead, it went on after I felt it would have been a perfect place to wrap up, and rather than giving me more insight into this couple that I genuinely liked, it seemed to drag on for me, overstaying its welcome. I actually found it disappointing that it didn’t end when I feel it should have.
The Noble House Kink series is truly unique, combining technology with human emotions that would not ordinarily seem to go together. But it works and is a new take on an enjoyable theme. My idiosyncrasies when reading this story may not be everyone else’s, so I would still recommend taking a peek into this VR world.
3.5 stars
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