TITLE: ⟫ Ours
AUTHOR: ⟫ Dominic N. Ashen
SERIES: ⟫ Young, Dumb and Full of Bad Decisions
RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5
BLURB: ⟫ If growing up is hard, becoming an actual adult is even harder, and the transition between the two can, at times, seem like a minefield.
Cory is just an average 18-year-old nerd who plays video games and reads comic books. Well, mostly average. He’s also gay, in the closet, and into some pretty kinky stuff. Sure, his only outlet is the internet and his left hand, but with college right around the corner, he figures his secret is safe… Right?
Except Cory’s two best friends, Derek and Nic, recently found out about that secret. And just like a lot of teenage boys, they decide to think with their groins and take advantage of the situation. With the internet as their guide, they formulate a plan to train Cory into being their personal submissive plaything.
As they learn more about themselves, each other, and the kinky world of BDSM, Cory, Derek, and Nic may also discover that romance can bloom in the most unexpected of places.
REVIEW: ⟫ This was a surprise for me – it was a fun read, but also covered some really interesting topics deeper than I expected. I was a little concerned with how things started because getting Cory drunk and then persuading him into sexual acts was more than a little problematic. Along with the initial stages of their relationship – and Nic’s insistence on sticking his head in the sand – made it more than a little unsettling.
It would have been very easy to leave this as a slightly dub-con friends to lovers story, but Dominic went further along the path, making the three of them see the errors that they had made, face up to things about themselves and realise that what had begun under such dodgy circumstances could mean so much more.
Derek struck me the most out of the trio – he has an obvious need to control things which explains his Dom side, but I appreciated his willingness to learn from the mistakes he made. I was also impressed with how open he was to Carl’s teachings and his obvious desire to do better. I liked how Nic struggled with his perception of himself and how he figured out his relationship with his family as well as how he felt about Cory and Derek. Surprisingly, Cory seemed to be the one who was most well-adjusted about the whole thing, which was an aspect I didn’t expect but definitely appreciated.
The sex scenes were numerous and entertaining, and I would definitely recommend this if you are in the mood for some BDSM light role playing, copious amounts of sex with varying people and three kids figuring out what they mean to each other. I received an ARC through Booksprout.
