| Genre | Gay / Contemporary / Students/Teachers/Professors / New Adult / BDSM / Erotic Romance / Humor/Comedy |
| Reviewed by | Serena Yates on 18-September-2013 |
School is back in session.
History grad James Sheridan thinks his biggest problem in life is trying to find a suitable outfit for his upcoming Ph.D. candidacy exam. That is, until he accidentally texts a changing-room selfie meant for his fashionable sister to his ex, the domineering Professor Carson.
James and Carson haven’t seen each since James fled their power games two years ago. Back in his undergrad days, Carson was his Professor, and not just in the academic sense: a man of unusual tastes and extreme sexual demands, James had been happy to sate Carson’s savage appetites. Too happy, in fact. He never could trust himself not to let Carson push too far.
Now James is older and wiser, and sharing some seriously flirtatious vibes with a cute menswear rep. When Carson replies to James’s errant text, ready to pick up where they left off, James can’t help being drawn back into Carson’s control. It’s only when Carson suggests involving the salesman that James has to ask himself how far is too far, and whether he’s willing to go there with Carson again.
The continuation of James and Professor Carson's relationship takes the lack of ethical behavior on the professor's side several steps beyond his morally questionable activities in 'An Inch At A Time'. Set a few years after the events of that book, it is now two years ago that James has walked away from their relationship because he couldn't take the professor's demands any longer and, even more importantly, because he was afraid of losing himself, of having no limits and letting the man do whatever he wanted without regard to James's preferences or real needs. To note: even though this book was published first, it is actually the sequel to the events of book two (which is like a prequel, and contains the beginning of James and Evander's stormy relationship); it is easier to understand it if book two has already been read.
It has been two years since James has left Professor Carson, and as this story unfolds, it becomes very clear why he did. The professor kept pushing him, and while James is now unarguably an academic success, he is afraid. He knows he is prone to addiction (his episode with substance abuse when he was seventeen proved that), he saw how the professor had become his "drug of choice", and he is afraid that he will lose himself unless he can learn to put up some limits. Since he cannot do that inside the relationship, he had to leave. The accidental new contact via text makes James reconsider, since the professor's demands still make him hot and he wants what the man can give him, if only he can learn to push back.
I have to admit that my opinion of the professor isn’t very high after this book. His behavior was somewhat questionable in book one, but since his methods were successful, and James seemed okay with everything he had done to him, I believed it was all okay. Not so in this second story. James is clearly tormented by what further things the professor makes him do, yet he cannot seem to resists. The professor knows James is an addict – yet he never discussed limits with him? A safeword is all well and good, but if Carson gives it to someone he knows to be yearning for his approval, how is James expected to use it? Carson should know that. If he does, and is trying to teach some obscure lesson by overstepping what is decent, then it is so well hidden I did not find any evidence.
This book is deeply troublesome in many respects. The professor's unscrupulous pushing of James into situations of ever-increasingly doubtful consent made me angry. James tries to put up a fight, but I have no idea how successful he will be in the long run. Anyway, the way he resists, by starting to date another man, is highly questionable in itself. Only a third book might be able to clarify some of the murkiness this one left me in. I certainly hope the authors decide to write it! The psychological tension and uncertainties of this volume definitely warrant dome clarification, as far as I am concerned.
If you like stories with a definitely uncomfortable level of "use" of one man by a more powerful man for that one's amusement, if you enjoy characters struggling for emotional and mental independence, and if you want to know what happens to James and Evander after they conclude their very successful academic tutoring, then you should give this book a try. Just know that it contains some questionable morals, a third man introduced into what might or might not be an on-again relationship between James and Professor Carson, and a whole lot of uncertainty as to what will happen next.
DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Riptide Publishing for the purpose of a review.
| Format | ebook and print |
| Length | Novella, 47 pages/11400 words |
| Heat Level | |
| Publication Date | 15-April-2013 |
| Price | $2.99 ebook, $3.99 Print, $5.99 (Bundle) |
| Buy Link | http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/giving-inch |
