Training Levi

Hard Hits #4

by Tatum Throne

[Siren Classic Erotic Alternative Consensual BDSM Romance, M/M, spanking, sex toys, HEA] Detective Levi Maden is good at breaking SWAT rules. After a bad call in the field that jeopardizes a child’s life and leaves Levi injured, he’s forced into the SWAT retraining program. Levi is not interested in retraining. He knows he made the right call. Lt. Brayden Temple quickly discovers that his next trainee is in need of more than rules and regulations. Levi needs someone to help him walk through the fear that has suddenly developed from his near-death experience. The last thing Bray expects is the connection he has for Levi. Bray is a Dom and wants Levi as his sub. Levi wants Bray as his Dom, but is afraid of moving on with a new man. After years of looking, he’s vowed not to have another man until he finds The One. Now, the strong, stoic Brayden Temple has come into his life, refusing to go away. ** A Siren Erotic Romance

Genres: BDSM, M M Romance, Contemporary, Gay, M M Contemporary

118 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 22, 2013

About the author

Tatum Throne has a Master's degree in Social Work. In 2006, she left the field of medical social work to be a stay-at-home mom and to pursue her dreams of writing romance. She has three rambunctious boys with her husband AJ. When not writing and doing research for her novels, Tatum enjoys baking chocolate chip cookies, hiking, spending time with her family, and volunteering. Tatum is a member of the RWA and lives with her family in a suburb of Cincinnati. Tatum enjoys hearing from readers!

Reviews

[multitaskingmomma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blog Post: http://headouttheoven.blogspot.com/20...

Published June 22nd 2013 by Siren-BookStrand, Inc.
Purchase Link
My Rating: 1 of 5 Stars

[Siren Classic ManLove: Erotic Alternative Consensual BDSM Romance, M/M, spanking, sex toys, HEA]

Detective Levi Maden is good at breaking SWAT rules. After a bad call in the field that jeopardizes a child’s life and leaves Levi injured, he’s forced into the SWAT retraining program. Levi is not interested in retraining. He knows he made the right call.

Lt. Brayden Temple quickly discovers that his next trainee is in need of more than rules and regulations. Levi needs someone to help him walk through the fear that has suddenly developed from his near-death experience. The last thing Bray expects is the connection he has for Levi. Bray is a Dom and wants Levi as his sub.

Levi wants Bray as his Dom, but is afraid of moving on with a new man. After years of looking, he’s vowed not to have another man until he finds The One. Now, the strong, stoic Brayden Temple has come into his life, refusing to go away.

I am always saddened then frustrated when after I read a great blurb with a great cover, the book ends up a dud.

Training Levi is supposed to be a romance novel laced with BDSM practices. I have no problem with that. However, when I read a romance novel and the romance flops to a point where there is absolutely no connection between the two main characters and myself as a reader, then I get frustrated. Adding to my frustration is the choppiness of the writing. Adding insult to injury ( I really must apologize for this comment but 'tis true), the HFN ending leaves too many things unresolved.

I love food and I love to cook, so if you are one like me, think of it this way: unstabilized whipped cream set in a warm room.

This makes me very sad as the premise of the blurb was really fantastic and I was soooo looking forward to how this story played out. I was ready to relax and just lose myself into a BDSM romance and instead had to plow myself through waist-high snow of text whilst wearing six-inch stilletto boots.

[Debbie Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Levi saves a kid from falling through the ice but because he broke protocol is sent for retraining. The trainer is Brayden Temple. There is attraction between the two men but Levi is not ready to submit to the retraining yet. It takes Brayden challenging Levi to a fight where he goes to the retraining if Brayden wins. Levi agrees but loses. During the retraining, their attraction grows stronger and not even Brayden saying he's a Dom daunts Levi even though he never thought of BDSM before. Brayden trains Levi both in the police field and as a sub. They fall for each other but Brayden is reluctant to commit until Levi is injured badly on duty. It is a wake up call to Brayden and he finally commits to Levi and moves in as Levi asked him to. When Brayden proposes, Levi eagerly accepts.

[~SexyBookWorm~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This just might be the best book Tatum has written yet....
Levi and Brayden are the hottest couple on the planet of fictional characters. If I could join their relationship I would!
The book was extremely well written and kept me on the edge of my Seat (at work I might add)!
I do have a couple questions abt the book though. ..
1. Levi has NO BDSM experience yet he goes with it without question or even one tiny doubt?
2. Bray admits his love for Levi early on to himself yet struggles to do so to Levi later on...why ?
3. Why did we have to wait so long to learn who Cedar was. ..talk abt anticlimactic!

But as I said this book was HOT Hot HOT! Tatum outdoes herself with basically every book she writes but this one was special. I'm beyond looking forward to her next book!

[BWT · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are all the same: Not a lot of accuracy in either the police procedure or the BDSM, and the writing is a bit staccato, but the sex scenes are hot as hell.

It's actually pretty comforting to me that the stories are all pretty similar. It's just pretty pure entertainment, not exactly mindless, but just sexy fun.

[Asterope · Rating 1 out of 5]

See review here (posted on Book 1)

[Serena Yates]

review to follow

[Nikko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was gonna give it 5 stars till i heard the guys he slept with.. hmmmmm