I really enjoyed the push/pull to this relationship and found it both frustrating and fascinating. ~ Slick, Guilty Pleasures
Description:
Doran Callaghan doesn’t know when to fold ’em. His gambling has landed him in debt and in jail, and now it’s got him stuck in the sticks in a reintegration program. He wants to turn his life around, but old habits come knocking, and some creditors are harder to shake than others.
Xavier Wagner cares more about the National Park he works in than the people around it, until a stranger awakens desires he didn’t know he had. Doran’s natural submissiveness turns Xavier’s ideas of how to treat a lover upside down. But Doran doesn’t seem to know about boundaries — or even to have any — and Xavier’s not sure that Doran will say no if he needs to. Which means someone’s going to get hurt.
While Xavier struggles with his principles, Doran’s past comes calling. Trusting each other is suddenly a matter of life or death, but Doran has to decide whether counting on Xavier — or himself — is a gamble he’s willing to take.
Review copy provided for an honest review
From the start I’ve been hooked on the books in Riptide’s Bluewater Bay series and I’ve loved most of them; as the series has progressed it is no longer focusing on the Wolf’s Landing television show and the people who have come to this sleep Washington town to film but it is focusing on the “regular” people who make up the town. That’s not a bad thing, it is just the way the series has evolved and why shouldn’t it as the townspeople deserve happiness too. For Xavier Wagner a National Park service ranger he really prefers the wilderness and animals to people but when he runs into Doran Callaghan at the gas station there’s something about the “kid” that makes him want to know more. This was a story of contrasts; it was sweet yet extremely sexy, there was good and bad and while some things came quite easily to this pair other things were very difficult. I enjoyed this book especially given that it was an interracial gay romance and the fact that even though one of the main characters had some baggage there wasn’t a whole lot of drama or angst.
On probation and in a reintegration program for gambling addiction Doran Callaghan is fighting to change his life one day at a time. He feels the call of gambling even buying lottery tickets every once in awhile just for that gambler’s high. At 22 Doran has been through a lot and while his life hasn’t always been easy he’s brought many issues upon himself. Doran doesn’t feel safe, not really yet there is something about the park ranger that he sees every Sunday that lures him and makes him want to take a chance.
Xavier Wagner has a good life with a job he loves and parents that have supported him through everything even accepting that he’s gay. When he sees Doran in the gas station he’s somewhat intrigued but lets it go because he thinks he’s way younger than him but when they cross paths again he can’t deny the draw he has towards the young man who really is only 5 years younger. Realizing that Doran brings out his dominate side with his natural submissiveness not only thrills Xavier but scares him as well.
I really enjoyed the push/pull to this relationship and found it both frustrating and fascinating. Doran hates being make to check in and keep on track with his programs because he doesn’t have a choice but yet he loves it when Xavier tells him what to do. I really wanted Doran to explore that and figure out why he liked giving up that control to Xavier but hated when he had to do it for others and while I believe it was because it was his choice to give Xavier the control he never really figured that out for himself. I liked that Xavier worried that Doran would allow him to push too far; this wasn’t a true D/s relationship yet there were some elements of that involved. I would have liked them to discuss it a little more and perhaps even discuss a safe word but I think that they both felt it wasn’t necessary which bothered me slightly. Doran’s fear that if Xavier knew everything about him led to some problems and while there were moments of insecurity on both sides I liked that these two didn’t play games and communicated fairly well.
I’ll admit that I was really hoping that Doran and Xavier’s Dad, Karl, would bond over their creativity and was kind of sad that the storyline of Karl needing an apprentice for his furniture designing and building didn’t go anywhere. I did however love that Karl was completely accepting and welcoming of Doran into his son’s life.
Overall, When To Hold Them was a very good story that was completely driven by the relationship of two seemingly mismatched people. There weren’t a lot of extra people in this story to bog it down or even a whole lot of conflict it simply was two people figuring out how to deal with the cards that life handed them and making the most out of it.
Thanks Slick