Author Name: Chris T. KatBook Name: Stained
Release Date: June 1st, 2016
Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Bree Archer
Blurb:
Blair Clark has reached his breaking point. Forced to leave one job because of sexual harassment, he’s having difficulty finding another. Since no one believes what happened, Blair’s left with a stain on his employment record that he can’t get rid of. He’s had to move back home with his mother. As if that’s not bad enough, he realizes his crush, Travis, is simply using him. His romantic life looks as hopeless as his job search.
Jack Ross is sure he’ll never find anyone who’ll love him for who he is. All anyone sees is the port-wine stain on his left cheek—not the man behind it. Even his mother thinks he should get rid of it. But the procedure is difficult and painful.
When Blair applies for a secretarial position with Jack’s firm, both men learn that beauty is, indeed, in the eye of the beholder. It’ll take a lot of trust to chase away their insecurities, but if they take a chance on one another, love will find a way.
Excerpt: From Chapter One
“Can’t I?” I gazed into Travis’s brown eyes, the same eyes I dreamed about at night. In those dreams they were filled with love, but when I looked now, I only saw cruelty, arrogance, and something more, something darker I didn’t want to think about.
“No.” Travis snatched my chin, held it tightly between his big fingers and forced me to keep perfectly still. “No, you can’t. Choose a manly job and they’ll stop. Keep flaunting your sexuality and that’s what they’ll do.”
“Flaunting my sexuality? What’s that got to do with my job?”
“You’re a secretary, for fuck’s sake. It’s a woman’s job. Now stop adding fuel to the fire and cowboy up.” Travis’s voice remained low but it held an angry edge to it, one I recognized well. I dropped my gaze, and a moment later Travis let go of my chin.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, I winced when another guy asked, “Having trouble keeping the fairy in line?”
“Are you kidding?” Travis replied, puffing up his chest.
Enough was enough. I bolted up, ready to leave, when a big hand clamped on my arm. I tugged, but the grip tightened. Anxiety blossomed into fear, especially when the table dropped into sudden silence.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Travis hissed.
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, making it impossible for me to answer. What the hell was wrong with me? Why had I pursued Travis for so many months? Just because of his looks? Sure, he was hot, and exactly how I liked my men—big, fair-haired, and brown-eyed. But there was no love lost between us. Travis would never come out as gay, even though he liked to fool around with me whenever it was convenient for him.
“Blair, sit your ass down again, you’re attracting attention.” When Travis pulled at my arm with more force, I planted my feet. I didn’t anticipate Travis letting go all of a sudden, leaving me to stumble backward. I crashed into someone behind me, taking us both to the ground.
Rolling to my knees and away from whomever I’d thrown, I apologized, “I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?” Heat flooded my cheeks as embarrassment swept over me. Holding out a hand for the guy I’d tripped, I recoiled when the man sat up, revealing his face. A gasp tumbled over my lips and I stared openmouthed. The skin of the man’s left side was stained in red, giving him a slightly scary appearance, as if he’d been badly burnt.
“I’m fine,” the man said, his brows creasing in a frown. Obviously he’d seen my reaction and wasn’t too thrilled about it. I couldn’t help but stare even more. The man’s dark blue eyes bore right into me, daring me to say anything.
The stained skin drew my attention, no matter how hard I tried to look elsewhere. It looked so painful, a large blotch of red that started below the man’s eye, covered his whole cheek, and tapered out at his jawline.
“It’s not contagious, if that’s what you’re afraid of,” the man said in an icy tone. He rose in one fluid motion, holding out his hand for me to… to what? Help me up? Why would he do that? I eyed the outstretched hand, hating myself for the fear coursing through me. Just when I was about to take the man up on the offer, two big hands grabbed my waist and hoisted me to my feet.
Review:
This is a cute little book that generally move along at a leisurely pace with engaging characters and an interesting storyline.
I liked Blair and felt very sorry for him and his predicament, although I was often frustrated with him. He was basically a very needy person who lives with his mother and cries on her shoulder whenever things go wrong. With Jack, he simply swaps one mother for another. His relationship with Jack is more reminiscent of Master/slave than boyfriends - not that there is any suggestion of that in the book. I was constantly rolling my eyes at him.
Although I can't say Jack and Blair's relationship, per se, moved too fast I think Blair got very reliant very quickly and when Blair got himself into what was admittedly a very stressful situation, he completely falls apart and is carried around and rocked on Jack's lap even in the presence of Jack's father, who he was meeting for the first time, and his lawyers.
I'm not saying the relationship was unrealistic because all people and all relationships are different and I've read enough BDSM to know that some people are just naturally submissive, but Blair was just a little too wet for my tastes. That's not to say I didn't like him, because I did. He was sweet and brought out the mothering instincts in me.
Jack, I loved! Despite being disfigured, he was strong and confident and has got places in life. He falls hard for Blair and fathers him pretty much from the beginning, which Blair needed and which seemed to come naturally to Jack who came across as a very sympathetic and strong person with a kind heart. He's the kind of man anyone would want at their backs. How he never became frustrated with Blair's helplessness though I don't know.
As far as supporting characters are concerned, I loved Blair's mother, hated Travis and am undecided as far as Blair's sister is concerned. All the characters are well drawn and engaging.
All in all I found the book frustrating in places but a good, gentle read with a happy ending and gives a peep into the lives of a group of very different people and is well worth a read.
Buy the book:
Are: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-stained-2037263-149.html
Meet the author: Chris T. Kat lives in the middle of Europe, where she shares a house with her husband of many years and their two children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into it. She divides her time between work, her family—which includes chasing after escaping horses and lugging around huge instruments such as a harp—and writing. She enjoys a variety of genres, such as mystery/suspense, paranormal, and romance. If there's any spare time, she happily reads for hours, listens to audiobooks or does cross stitch.
Where to find the author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/christi_kat
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/ChrisTKat
Blog: http://christikat.blogspot.com
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Chris-T.-Kat/e/B008FQQH2Q
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5767496.Chris_T_Kat
Tour Dates & Stops: Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, Alpha Book Club, Gay Media Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, V's Reads, Kirsty Loves Books, MM Good Book Reviews, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, The Jena Wade, A.M. Leibowitz, Making It Happen, BFD Book Blog, The Blogger Girls, 3 Chicks After Dark, Jessie G. Books, Man2ManTastic, Nephy Hart, Open Skye Book Reviews, Butterfly-O-Meter, Inked Rainbow Reads, Velvet Panic, Molly Lolly, The Hat Party, Bayou Book Junkie, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Havan Fellows, Oh My Shelves, Book Lovers 4Ever, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, Outrageous Heroes a Rafflecopter giveaway
Meet the author: Chris T. Kat lives in the middle of Europe, where she shares a house with her husband of many years and their two children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into it. She divides her time between work, her family—which includes chasing after escaping horses and lugging around huge instruments such as a harp—and writing. She enjoys a variety of genres, such as mystery/suspense, paranormal, and romance. If there's any spare time, she happily reads for hours, listens to audiobooks or does cross stitch.
Where to find the author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/christi_kat
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/ChrisTKat
Blog: http://christikat.blogspot.com
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Chris-T.-Kat/e/B008FQQH2Q
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5767496.Chris_T_Kat
Tour Dates & Stops: Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, Alpha Book Club, Gay Media Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, V's Reads, Kirsty Loves Books, MM Good Book Reviews, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, The Jena Wade, A.M. Leibowitz, Making It Happen, BFD Book Blog, The Blogger Girls, 3 Chicks After Dark, Jessie G. Books, Man2ManTastic, Nephy Hart, Open Skye Book Reviews, Butterfly-O-Meter, Inked Rainbow Reads, Velvet Panic, Molly Lolly, The Hat Party, Bayou Book Junkie, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Havan Fellows, Oh My Shelves, Book Lovers 4Ever, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, Outrageous Heroes a Rafflecopter giveaway
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