Quid Pro Quo (Market Garden) by L.A. Witt & Aleksandr Voinov
Erotic M/M Novella
January 7, 2013
Riptide Publishing

Today I am so happy to have  Book Huntress here for a guest review.  You can find her on Goodreads and Twitter.

Synopsis: For the past six months, Jared’s been selling sex at Market Garden, a London club that caters to the better-off. But business is slow in the run-up to Christmas, when businessmen and bankers are too busy bickering over bonuses to rent themselves a little high-class action.

Though Jared’s wallet finds the downtime unnerving, the rest of him rather enjoys the opportunity it gives him to admire Tristan, an old hand in the club whose reputation usually sees him well-booked. Jared has been crushing on Tristan for months—he’s no more immune to Tristan’s cockiness and confidence than the johns, and those are just Tristan’s inner qualities.

Just as Jared’s about to chat Tristan up, a businessman asks for something a little different: he wants to book them both. They agree—and Jared finds himself going from crush to mind-bending lust as he’s made the pawn in a sexual power game. Tristan shows him how a pro handles a john while delivering the top-shelf sex for which the Market Garden is so rightly renowned.

Well here it is my very first review for Smexy Books and I am SO happy to be able to contribute to this amazing group!!

My review style is pretty straight forward, I try not to retell the entire story in my review and don’t believe in spoilers (unless I do two versions, because come-on sometimes you just have to gush with those in the know ::wink::). I will however give you the down and dirty and let you know if a book is worth your precious reading time, cause if your TBR pile is anything like mine who has time for less than awesome?!

Simply put the synopsis for Quid Pro Quo does not do this story justice as to just how sexy this story is! This is a m/m storyline, so if that kind of thing doesn’t float your boat you should bypass this story, but if you do like m/m well then you are gonna rip through this story like I did. I loved every moment, Jared & Tristan have easily crept into my top favorites.

The plot is fairly limited to what can be accomplished in only 43 pages, basically Jared is infatuated with Tristan, a well-seasoned sexy-ass pro, and just as they start talking during a slow night they get picked up by a john – together. This isn’t just a straight-up deal though, the john (I love that we never learn his name) controls just what Tristan and Jared do with his wallet. The action is only ramped up if he puts more money down, and Tristan shows us, and Jared, how to really work it. And when it comes time for the “big finish” – oh wow!! Watching Tristan & Jared together, and urging that john to keep the money coming was killing me!

Oh God. Jared always expected the unexpected in this place, but the idea of working with Tristan? Oh fuck. Ooh fuck. He would pay top money for that shit.

The john’s eyes flicked back and forth between them. “Tell you what. I’ll start at two hundred. If I like what that gets me, I’ll pay for more.”

To the john, Tristan said, “All right. Two hundred, and we’ll go up in one hundred quid increments from there.”

Tristan’s lips left Jared’s, and he dipped his head and descended on Jared’s neck. He teased Jared’s nipple with his thumbnail as he spoke. “If you like what two hundred’s gotten you,” he murmured, his breath hot on Jared’s throat, “then another two hundred will be worth it, yes?”

God, but he was turned on, and he didn’t know who was controlling this little game: Tristan, who withheld action for money, or the john, who could turn up the heat any time he wanted to if he would just stop fucking around and put some bloody money on the table

But that devilish grin, that smirk, said the john was still in control. So was the way he slowly withdrew the crisp notes from the fold. And he held them. Didn’t set them down, didn’t put them back, just held them a few inches above the table, a finger sliding back and forth across the unwrinkled surface.

Like I said hot!!!!

My only criticisms would be that I didn’t get a few of the references (Grindr?) and I wanted to understand more about Market Gardens and the world it is in. Is it an alternate London where selling sex is legal and a legitimate business? Part of me thinks so since they do background checks and have the johns register, but as it caters to high-end clientele it could just be a very upscale establishment that takes care of its people. Not a huge issue, but it was a troubling point for me. Since Market Garden is the start of a new series I am confident we will find out more about this world and the characters they have created.

It’s hard to point out too many other issues as it is really just 2 scenes, the pick-up and the sex. There are no extraneous plot points or useless pages, each word is there deliberately and adds to the build-up that this story is. By the end, we have a really good understanding of Jared as we see much of his inner monologue, and a fairly good feel for Tristan and where their relationship is headed. Of course you are dying to know what Tristan is thinking and feeling, and what he’s heard about Jared.

This is a short, but oh so sexy story and so worth the read, as a fan of both authors I went in with high hopes and I was not disappointed!!! Basically one really long and amazing sex scene it is none-the-less a top to bottom (pun intended) fantastic read and I can only imagine what these authors will do with this new world, there are oh so many possibilities.

Rating: A

Recent Reviews:
Joyfully Jay – 4.75/5
Rarely Dusty Books – 4.5/5
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