Rate this book

Where You Hurt The Most (2012)

by Anne Brooke(Favorite Author)

3.42 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1937551369 (ISBN13: 9781937551360)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Riptide Publishing

review 1: Darien is an escort, he's good at what he does, he's popular with clients and he lives well from the proceeds but really he has no life outside of it, so when his boss and friend Max asks him to take on his nephew as a free client he's quite happy to do so, even when Max explains that Dan is scarred and badly burned after a terrible car accident. Dan is bitter and wary so the first meeting doesn't go very well but Adrien perseveres and asks Dan to return a week later and so a tentative friendship starts. Dan won't show anyone his face, always wearing a hoodie to conceal the extent of his disfigurement but what the two of them haven't reckoned on is their relationship growing into something deeper than just escort/ client relationship and they both have to make choices tha... moret will ultimately change both their lives.I thought that considering the length this was a nicely paced tale, but I did think a little bit more knowledge of Adriens past would have fleshed it out a touch more.The ending was lovely and left me feeling that these two would end up making it just fine. An endearing and poignant little love story. I liked it very much.
review 2: Where You Hurt the Most is a beautifully written novelette from the first-person viewpoint of a British man who is an exclusive and highly paid escort. (This novelette and Cruce de Caminos, reviewed above, are two of the four fictions featured in Riptide Publishing’s Rentboys 2012 collection.) I am always glad to snap up the latest fiction from Anne Brooke because the writing is flawless – clean, crisp, minimalist, and elegant – and her insight into the interactions between people is profound. This story fulfills both expectations.Adrian seems to be the perfect escort, living the perfect life. He’s wealthy, cultured, handsome, and perceptive. He surrounds himself with beauty while pursuing a career doing something he loves. Sex for hire is only a small part of his job description, which involves being a good companion in an overall sense – someone attractive, gracious, and intellectually stimulating who can accompany wealthy male clients to social events to help them appreciate the finer things in life. Adrian even considers his boss a close friend.However, Adrian also seems to have a white-knuckled sense of total control over his life, which hints at a deeper sense of deprivation. He has never known real love. When his boss asks him to entertain a special client, a young cousin who doubts his attractiveness after getting badly burned in an accident, Adrian is intrigued. But his new client, Dan, begins to shake his sense of control from their very first meeting. Dan is defensive, vulnerable, and traumatized. He also may be the man for whom Adrian hasn’t even known he was looking, and the catalyst for some hard choices.Val for AReCafe less

Download links for: Where You Hurt the Most

Advertising