Out of Focus by L.A. Witt
Out of Focus - LA Witt 4 stars
I very much enjoyed this book which I read on my holiday. It was well written and flowed nicely. The story centres around 3 main characters. Jordan owns a farm; is gay and has his ex-boyfriend living with him. It is a tense and uncomfortable situation but Jordan can't quite find it in himself to chuck the guy out. At his sister's wedding, he meets Dante and Ryan (who also goes by Angel) they are the official photographers. He thinks they are gorgeous and decides to engage their services to photograph his horses. Dante and Angel are very excited at the prospect, especially as they are both attracted to Jordan. Dante and Angel are both Doms and quite often invite a sub into their bed to 'play' with - they think Jordan might be a good candidate. Jordan is looking for a distraction from his loser ex and without giving the entire story away, Jordan, Dante and Angel embark on a steamy sexual relationship. Inevitably this develops into more than just physical and that's where the angst sets in for all 3 of them. They fail to discuss it with each other and thus, their fledgling relationship in thrown into jeopardy.
The characters are all gorgeous and sexy and I enjoyed imagining them in the very vivid descriptions of their sexual antics. The BDSM scenes were highly emotive and much more sensitively portrayed than the typical whips and chains scenario. The author obviously put a lot of thought into the emotions behind the acts and that comes across.
This book had all the ingredients for a fantastic read, yet there was something preventing from connecting 100% with the story. I think that the names of the couple annoyed me - Dante and Angel - they sound a touch cliched. And also, the situation seemed mildly contrived and all very convenient. It was quite formulaic which doesn't necessarily bother me, but I found the sweet romance cadence conflicted with the darker aspects of the sexual scenarios.
Overall, I thought this was a nice, easy holiday read - it wasn't just the sunshine that left me hot and bothered!