Black: MM Kitty Play Romance, Quin & Perin

The premise seemed simple with an undercurrent of emotional conflict.  What we got was far more complicated, more angst, more depth than I thought we'd get.  I'm so glad.  Initially thinking the story would be kinky sexy with a side of emotional struggle, I went into it with a lighter heart than I ended with.  Trials came both at the individual as well as the pair and the feels were heavier than anticipated and I was struck by the vulnerability and difficulties of both men.  Their love was hard-won and well worth the emotional journey to watch them achieve it.

Having the synopsis focus on the kitty play, it seems like that would be the focus of the story.  It's actually one part of it, but it really comes through well with how it's integrated.  Rather than being a necessary sexual act or lifestyle to feel complete on an every-day basis, it becomes a shared kink that's more for sexual and certain personality trait expression that fits in with the life they already live.  I like that it started off as a joke, then a surprise, and then grew into something fun, sexy, and excitingly comfortable.  It was an interesting take that I enjoyed reading about, especially since it was super hot.

Dima and Tony's relationship was a bit of a roller coaster and there was a good mix between Tony's tenderness and persistence and Dima's prickly, offensiveness.  There were huge reasons as to why Dima was the way he was.  There was one surprise reason and it altered their dynamic in a huge way that ultimately made their connection, their struggle to find their way together, and their ending much deeper.  Dima needed him so badly in so many ways that I loved watching Tony's heart slowly break down Dima's defenses until they could make everything they had together work.

There were a few confrontations that I felt were unnecessary because it just made things more complicated, but there wasn't anything so huge that it derailed the story or the relationship.  It was Tony's mellow yet determined nature that saved them over and over again.  Tony's situation with his family was supposed to be an individual focal point but didn't get a lot of attention or resolution.  His grief wasn't really addressed, nor was his relationship with his sister and her boyfriend, Jan.  Jan was inserted as an important side character and yet he seemed so milquetoast during most of his moments.  Everything with Dima and Tony had varied depths, but what surrounded them didn't really enhance that.  Instead it seemed as if the world around them was merely a prop instead of something well-balanced to support them.  Overall, though, I was so caught up in Tony and Dima that I could forgive all that and ultimately enjoyed their story quite a lot.

*$3.99 on Amazon!

“Meow!”

There it was.

The sound that made my knees buckle.

He purred, neck stretched, eyes half-lidded.

With those cat ears, in his hair.

And the tail, that he flicked.

A ray of sun in the drizzling rain. I’d been a traveler, floating adrift, while he’d stayed in one place. How was I supposed to know he’d become my anchor? My light. My everything. But would I ever become his?