Before I begin my review I should say that also unlike the previous installments I do believe it will be best to read as the last installment or all least after the 5th installment ("Capture & Surrender") since there is a specific mention of both Nick & Spencer (Market Garden #3-#4) and Frank & Brandon (Market Garden #5) and the place they are in as a formed couple.
We've met both Cal and James briefly in Nick & Spencer's story. James was the last person Nick went with before realizing it's just wrong for him to be with anyone but Spencer. It was partly because of the way their relationship was building and also because James was difficult (and so damn different from Spencer), he struggled with every order and Nick felt as though he can't be focused as he should with him (or any other client for that matter..). When Nick is ready to leave in the morning, a resentful Cal does more than his job requirement as James's driver and drops him home.
It was obvious there that Cal has feelings for James, some attraction at least, and he doesn't know how or if to act on them. This installment starts with James doing the first step and after a night together they are both quite confused. Since the whole novel is told from Cal's POV it's hard at times to get James's wants and needs though at a certain point they become quite clear. Cal is willing to do whatever it takes to learn how to be there for James so he won't go "destructing" over the rentboys at "Market Garden". But the question is, does he actually have it in him to give James what he needs? Apparently he does but he still needs help figuring both himself and James which is why he hires the best man for the job...
Yet there is more to life than good or even great sex. While Cal is everything sexually that James needs there is still a huge distance between them emotionally though they have a great connection when they actually talk. I didn't like their sexual interactions. I'm not even sure why but it just didn't "work" for me. I was annoyed at most of them if not all of them. So I kept waiting for the actual connection part and was disappointed to get a highly emotional Cal who isn't even in tune with himself to realize how much he loves and needs James. He was just so damn angsty and emotional - can't read, can't write, can't sleep (surprised he didn't burst into tears into his pillow at night). It wasn't sexy to say the least and it also didn't work with the "Dom persona" he was with James. While I could get James being a certain person at work and needing something totally different in bed (or around the bed.. in the billiard room.. whatever..), I just didn't "believe" Cal's character. He was too insecure and emotional for me to accept as a person who can be in total control without it being a TOTAL act.
So sadly I'm finishing this series at the moment with a bit of a soar taste, though I won't forget how much I LOVED (and ached) through "Capture & Surrender" just two days ago. I really hope Voinov and Witt find the time to write more in the series and I truly hope that it would be more in the lines of Frank & Brandon's story or along the lines of Tristan & Jared (yeah, it probably just means a little less BDSM.. I feel a bit tired of it at the moment..).
Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 172 pages, 27 April 2015 / On GoodReads
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Market Garden is an Erotica MM Romance series by L.A. Witt and Aleksandr Voinov.
Welcome to Market Garden, a London club that caters to the better-off. Businessmen and bankers come here to relax and indulge in their every whim and fantasy, and Market Garden offers it all in top-shelf quality: threesomes, voyeuristic pleasures, domination, ropes and camo and leather. Men of every stripe, colour, and nationality deliver these high-end services—everyone has their reasons to sell sex. And it’s the hottest sex in town.
And sometimes, it’s even served with a side of true love.
While I didn't know what to expect when I started the first installment in the series, now I can definitely say it's an absolute favorite! I liked some better than other, mostly "Capture & Surrender" but also "Tristan and Jared" story.
Each couple has their own stand alone novel / bundle and while all the installments are rather short they do bring us a full story with a sweet "Happy for now" feeling at the end.
As long as you stick to one couple there isn't much importance to the order in which you read these. I think it's better to pick a couple and read their installments together and not read the whole series by the order it was written (mostly because Tristan & Jared's ending is in the 6th installment though their previous installments are the first and second in the series). That being said, the 7th installment should be read after reading Nick & Spencer's story as well as Frank & Brandon's (meaning installment #3-#5) since they both appear as formed couples in that final installment.
If you're looked these ones up and discovered pretty pretty covers it's because they are all re-published by Aleksandr Voinov. They're the same though. Still recommended :)
Books:
1,2,6. Tristan & Jared: Quid Pro Quo, Take It Off & Payoff (Published 5 January 2013, 23 February 2013, 1 February 2014, Bundle 6 October 2014) ★★★★★
3,4. Nick & Spencer: If If Flies & If It Fornicates (Published 9 March 2013, 8 June 2013, Bundle 9 October 2014) ★★★★
5. Capture & Surrender [Frank & Brandon] (Published 17 August 2013) ★★★★★
7. If It Drives [James & Cal] (Published 29 March 2014) ★★★
8. On the Clock [Blake & Jason] (Published 13 July 2015) ★★★★★
Welcome to Market Garden, a London club that caters to the better-off. Businessmen and bankers come here to relax and indulge in their every whim and fantasy, and Market Garden offers it all in top-shelf quality: threesomes, voyeuristic pleasures, domination, ropes and camo and leather. Men of every stripe, colour, and nationality deliver these high-end services—everyone has their reasons to sell sex. And it’s the hottest sex in town.
And sometimes, it’s even served with a side of true love.
While I didn't know what to expect when I started the first installment in the series, now I can definitely say it's an absolute favorite! I liked some better than other, mostly "Capture & Surrender" but also "Tristan and Jared" story.
Each couple has their own stand alone novel / bundle and while all the installments are rather short they do bring us a full story with a sweet "Happy for now" feeling at the end.
As long as you stick to one couple there isn't much importance to the order in which you read these. I think it's better to pick a couple and read their installments together and not read the whole series by the order it was written (mostly because Tristan & Jared's ending is in the 6th installment though their previous installments are the first and second in the series). That being said, the 7th installment should be read after reading Nick & Spencer's story as well as Frank & Brandon's (meaning installment #3-#5) since they both appear as formed couples in that final installment.
If you're looked these ones up and discovered pretty pretty covers it's because they are all re-published by Aleksandr Voinov. They're the same though. Still recommended :)
Books:
1,2,6. Tristan & Jared: Quid Pro Quo, Take It Off & Payoff (Published 5 January 2013, 23 February 2013, 1 February 2014, Bundle 6 October 2014) ★★★★★
3,4. Nick & Spencer: If If Flies & If It Fornicates (Published 9 March 2013, 8 June 2013, Bundle 9 October 2014) ★★★★
5. Capture & Surrender [Frank & Brandon] (Published 17 August 2013) ★★★★★
7. If It Drives [James & Cal] (Published 29 March 2014) ★★★
8. On the Clock [Blake & Jason] (Published 13 July 2015) ★★★★★
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