Rance is thrilled to finally meet his friend's roommate he's been eyeing via social media. One problem, the feeling isn't mutual. Hudson wants nothing to do with him and the street racing world. If Rance is anything, he's tenacious, and he soon realizes that Hudson's attitude is nothing but a shield over his heart. Winning a race is easy but earning Hudson's affection might prove to be the toughest challenge yet.
It's no secret, Hudson Maas doesn't trust easily, and over the years he's created a thick armor over his heart to keep from getting hurt again. It shouldn't matter, Rance isn't his type and no guy in their right mind would want to date him with his disability. Situations soon demand Hudson must trust the one man he shouldn't. However, depending on Rance seems to go a lot further than a ride home.
A rocker by heart, Chacelyn Pierce is constantly ear plugged with heavy tunes blaring to stir up the phantom personalities that swarm her mind. It’s no surprise that she enjoys writing and reading to satiate her appetite for the male antagonist in a story. Married to a blatant redhead and mothering a diva, there is never a dull moment in the house. As a native Texan, she doesn't personally own a horse but follows the unwritten southern rule of knowing how to ride one. When she’s not testing the emotional capacity of her characters, she works as a dog groomer.
THREE & A HALF STARS--Chacelyn Pierce's "Torque" is the second book in the Drag and Drift series, a series featuring drag racers falling in love. They can be read as a standalone because this was my first time reading anything from this author and I was not lost.
The story is told from Hudon's POV. He's 26, handicapped, a software designer that shares an apartment with his fun loving roommate and prickly. He's been used in the past and it's left him with a permanent limp. He's never had a relationship, sporadic one-night stands and is very defensive.
His friend sets up Hudson on a blind date of sorts with Rance, a drag racer with a wealthy background. Rance has also been scoping Hudson's Facebook account has already fell halfway in love with Hudson's pictures. Only thing, Hudson knows nothing about this.
And have I mentioned he is one prickly sort? He's a prickly pear but it's an understandable defense mechanism. The words between Hudson and Rance are rough in the beginning, in fact Huson was mean at times to the modelesque Rance. Rance turns up the charm and the two become closer within the night.
Since this pretty much was a one off, I can't describe the ending as a typical HEA. The two thankfully do not declare insta-love after sleeping together but hint to having those feelings...possibly. I wish the story was longer because it was a pretty interesting set up. The read ended at a satisfying enough spot for me, but I would like to know more. One point that niggled me was Hudson's assumption that no one would want him for anything other than his money because of his disability. He has a roommate...just how much money does he really have?
Who should read? Those looking for MM with interesting enough characters but not an extreme amount of depth.
Would I read more from this author? Yes. In fact, I'm curious with reading the first book of the series. The couple makes a brief appearance in this book and they sounded like they would have a cool story.
I do applaud the author featuring a main character with a disability. The subject was handled well.
When someone has been hurt deeply enough, and/or often enough, they usually give up on intimacy, build a couple of walls around their heart, and shut down anything that used to be perceived as a weakness. Feelings are the first to go. No matter what happens, or who comes along, the fear of being hurt is strong enough to have them veer away from any further risk.
Such is the case for Hudson in this story. He has a bad limp and is very sure that he'll be hurt if he entertains the thought of a relationship. So, he refuses to have fun at all. When his soon-to-be-ex-roommate drags him out for a "night of fun" on his birthday, and takes him to see illegal street racing, Hudson is angry at the waste of time – no way is he going to find anyone interesting among these hooligans! –and the danger of getting caught attending an illegal event. He's an upstanding citizen and has no intention to get arrested! As for the potential date? Hudson is sure that the man called Rance will just be after his money!
Rance isn’t exactly your average street-racing hooligan. Yes, he enjoys to let go on the weekends, and fast cars are his passion, but he's a respectable businessman during the week. Why won’t Hudson believe him? Rance is interested enough in the enigmatic man who looks angry and uncomfortable all the time to make a move. He is also determined to break down the emotional walls Hudson keeps in such good repair.
What follows is the beginning of a mental and emotional fight for Hudson's heart. Rance pulls out all the stops, and I loved watching these two spar with words then make a go of having some fun between the sheets. If you like stories with a twist, if you enjoy reading about characters who are wounded and stubborn but ultimately cannot resist charm and a serious attempt at winning them over, and if you're looking for a read that is entertaining but has the serious undertone of a man with a bad limp and a scarred heart finding love, then you will probably like this short story.
NOTE: This book was provided by Evernight Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
In a Nutshell: I enjoyed this short story which successfully included an emotional connection between the leads as well as a sexual one. Sure, this happens quickly in one night but it still offers a good snapshot of two men becoming a couple.
The Set Up: Rance street races to relax from his high stress job and at one race he’s finally introduced to Hudson, who Rance has been longing for since seeing his picture on Facebook. Hudson is a self-proclaimed nerd who doesn’t trust easily. Now it’s up to Rance to change Hudson’s mind and see if they could mean something to each other.
Why I Read this Book: I really enjoyed novella one in this series and couldn’t wait for the next.
What I Liked: This author shows talent in developing characters quickly. Readers get to know Rance and his motivations for pursuing Hudson just like we can see Hudson’s stuffy personality and what made him mistrust others. I like that Hudson shows some self-reflection about misjudging Rance and Rance’s easy personality and pursuit of Hudson offers good romance. In such a short novella every single word is critical to building both the characters and the romance and I think the author did a good job of both here. The one sexual interlude is nicely laden with emotional overtures such as Rance’s caution with Hudson during sex because of Hudson’s injury and Hudson desperately needing Rance’s reassurance post-coital.
What I Didn’t Like: This is a bit of insta-love/lust with the men meeting for the first time and in one night saying they’re willing to begin a relationship. I think novella one worked better for me because it was a friends-to-lovers trope and not a first meeting. At least the short novella doesn’t attempt to make the men claim they’re in love all ready. Both novellas have been good enough for me to want them to be longer.
Finally, I’m sorry to be picky but this short novella did have some editing issues and as much as I hate to be *that* girl, I will because it pulls me out of the story. For instance, during the sex scene it says “Rance’s back” and it clearly means Hudson’s back or Rance would be doing funny stuff to himself! There are quite a few examples of more than just tiny grammar issues and I have to remark on that.
IMO: This is a strong enough second novella that I’ll continue the series and can recommend it to MM readers looking for a quick, enjoyable read. *review copy provided by author*
Part of my rating for this story is based entirely on my own personal reactions and not based on the writing. Hudson is dragged by his roommate to a drag race, so not his area of interest. Then to top is off she tries to set him up with some racer. Hudson's greeting is rude to say the least. Having had some rough experiences with men who either found his limp off-putting or just want to be with him because he has a decent job, he's overly cautious. When the cops come to bust up the illegal street racing, which was Hudson's fear, he's forced to go with Rance as his roommate is dragged off by her boyfriend.
Hudson continues to be annoyed, assuming Rance is a ne'er-do-well racer. Rance is determined to show that he's different as he is a rich businessman running the family's import-export business, and reckless car racer on the weekend. Eventually Hudson succumbs to his charms, of course. My issue arose with how everyone just seemed to bull doze over Hudson. His roommate, takes him out in the country to a race, where he has to walk long distances over soft ground with a cane thus leaving him nearly debilitated when they get there, and then despite what he says, Rance just ignores most of it and pushes and pushes until Hudson gives in.
I find those kind of characters extremely annoying because they seemed completely disregarding the person's feelings and interests all in the names of getting them laid (or a boyfriend). It comes across as very disrespectful to me. *shrug* Here's where I said I had issues which many other readers will not. It's not obnoxious but I thought his roommate was not very caring about him other than to hook him up. I also don't get the fascination with street-racing.
While this is book #2, except for a brief reference to the couple in the first book and their connection to the roommate you could read this as a stand-alone. I liked that Hudson wasn't your typical m/m hero, having a damaged leg and not being your usual definition of a hot guy. The writing style is easy to read, and so while I did enjoy reading this story, it's unlikely to be something I would return to again.
4.5 stars. Hudson’s been burned by love before, and is now a devout cynic. Rance has a history of being casual with sex, but with Hudson there can be no games. And finding out what’s underneath Hudson’s prickly exterior drives Rance wild with want.
This was a hot little story. There was a bit too much telling in the beginning for such a short tale, but it gave some background into the men and their actions. Hudson bears emotional and physical scars from his past romances, and Rance wants to show him that trusting and loving someone are still things Hudson is capable of if he took a chance.
A night of watching an illegal street race goes wrong and right with Rance rescuing Hudson from the cops. As they lay low in the wanted car they begin to see there’s more than meets the eye with both men. Perhaps Hudson has hope yet, and maybe Rance is not such a criminal hooligan after all. The seduction Rance puts on is much like a show, and it’s great to watch that cocky smugness work. Hudson may have his doubts, but resisting the tempting man is not in the cards.
I liked this story. Yes, I would have loved it had it been longer, giving time for the romance to blossom and for the guys to become more three dimensional. Still, this little piece of work does what it set out to do which is to entertain and titillate. Chacelyn Pierce writes her erotica well. Recommended.
It’s not necessary to read the first book in the series, Revved. This story is very much a standalone.
This was quite a sweet story with sexy, hot and gorgeous Rance trying to win over heartbroken and shell-locked Hudson. It was quite fun seeing that the persona Rance had adopted to get away from his week-self – the multi-millionaire winning businessman – had no charm over Hudson, on the contrary had quite the opposite results.
Hudson has been hurt enough in his life, his disability making him a target of cruel men who wanted him only for his money. He is not going to let this playboy charm him and lose his heart yet again.
But this story is the “don’t judge a book from its cover type”. I liked it a lot, although it was too short and things happened too fast for me. The trusting issues Hudson had were dissolved in a matter of one night and that made the read lose some credibility in my eyes. Even if the insta-love was somehow avoided by making it insta-lust instead, it still held that longing of intimacy love gives.
Despite the things that didn’t sit well with me and some typographic errors that were to be found throughout the text, as I said I liked this one and found it quite entertaining. And if you like a fast read, sweet and romantic, with insistent and gorgeous protagonists that don’t give up even in the face of cruel rejection, then this is the book for you.
I liked how the very activity Hudson disliked pushed him into Rance's car and forced him to have to give Rance a chance. This was an enjoyable, short read, and does not require having read the first book in the series (that focuses on another couple) to appreciate this one.