The Playroom

by Colton Drake

Drew has spent his life following all the rules: working hard, staying fit, and keeping his emotions in check. At thirty-five, his career is steady, his body is toned, and his heart is safely guarded behind a wall of routine. But when he steps into The Playroom, everything changes.

Drawn by curiosity and a desire to break free from the monotony, Drew finds himself captivated by a world of new possibilities—and by Leo, a charismatic stranger whose intensity challenges Drew’s boundaries and awakens something he didn’t even know was missing. With each encounter, he starts to unravel the layers he’s so carefully kept hidden, questioning the life he’s been living and the passions he’s denied himself.

As Drew learns to let go, he faces the ultimate choice: retreat back into the safety of what he knows or take a leap into the unknown where pleasure, vulnerability, and love could be waiting for him.

The Playroom is an electrifying tale of passion, self-discovery, and the courage to embrace a different kind of love.

Genres: BDSM, M M Romance

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2025

About the author

Colton Drake writes M/M romance with heat, heart, and enough emotional chaos to keep readers up way past their bedtime. Known for crafting bold, character-driven stories packed with grit, longing, and unapologetic passion—thriving in the space where desire gets messy and love refuses to behave. He's a firm believer that romance should be intense, inclusive, and a little dangerous, building worlds where queer men get the spotlight they deserve—raw, vulnerable, and completely unforgettable. His books are fueled by too much caffeine, not enough sleep, and an obsession with complex men who fall hard, kiss harder, and never take the easy way out.

Currently he resides in the U.S. with his partner and four pups.

Reviews

[Monikat · Rating 3 out of 5]

D.n.f

I cannot put my finger on what my problem with this book is.
Bottom line I wasn't fond of Drew.
It's not the vanilla thing, although that was pretty much over mentioned, more like I didn't like the way he thought. Also, let's talk. Let's have that talk now. Don't start and then say, no , wait 🫷 we'll talk about that later.

I dropped the book right before the spice in the playroom even started. Sorry.😐

*Credit where it's due, the cover is gorgeous.

[FluffyRN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was a fun ride!! I really wish I was more eloquent with words because I have a lot to say 😅 Also I really don't want to give a lot away, so I'm going to do my very best to be spoiler free..

1st I really enjoyed this book! Yes, there was a playroom, and there was a lot of referencing to BDSM but ultimately, there wasn't a lot of BDSM action. Was this book spicy!? YES! There wasn't an overwhelming amount of spicy scenes, but the parts that were there were really hot! 🥵

"Does my bunny want to play?"

Umm, yes!!! That part was a lot of fun!

Drew and Leo. Their initial meeting is pretty unconventional. By their 2nd meeting, things get hot a heavy pretty quick. Drew is pretty reserved, and as he calls it "vanilla." Leo is not vanilla but likes vanilla because and I quote,

"Because with vanilla... you can add any damn filthy flavor you want."

(hot damn🔥) Anyways, this starts Drew on a journey of discovering things that are not vanilla!!

On their 1st official date, Drew and Leo have a random encounter with a guy Drew went on one date with. The guy was a jack ass! But this random encounter starts to escalate just as Drew and Leo are starting to really build their relationship. Having to deal with this kind of situation when you're just getting to know someone brings out a lot of vulnerability that can be tough to navigate. It was interesting to see how Drew and Leo worked through everything and how their relationship only got stronger.

While I really enjoyed this book and finished it in one sitting, there were a couple of things that threw me off. 1st, I'm not an editor, and normally, this doesn't bug me, but there were so many grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors that it was incredibly distracting.

2nd, I'm not going to lie, but the last few chapters kind of threw me off. I wasn't expecting it to take a turn the way it did, and it seemed kind of weird to have such a huge climax towards the end of the book. Not that it was bad, but it was surprising.

And 3rd, what is it with authors not writing an epilogue!? There is no cliffhanger in this book. Everything is resolved and wrapped up in a nice little bow. But I want more!! I want to know what is happening in 5 or 10 years!! I want to see what their life is like!! I want to read more!! This really is just a me preference, but it's the 3rd book I've read this month without an epilogue.

This is the authors 1st book, so I'm excited to read what they have next!

[Alex Dvorski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great Plot, Horrible Editing

I give the plot 4 stars. Solid. Good themes and character evolutions. Could use fuller descriptions. One moment the main character is on the floor, the next they’re in the bed. But there’s no description of the move happening. So it was difficult to understand what was happening.

As for the editing, I give it 2 stars. There are so many typos, missing words, repeating sentences, and sometimes words/phrasing that just doesn’t make sense. I’m not sure if this was translated from another language, or if this just wasn’t reviewed by anyone besides the author. It was very difficult to stay locked into the story when I was proofreading the sentence structures, spelling, or guessing what the author was trying to say because the words didn’t make sense.

[Lukas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. Aside from a few minor spelling mistakes, it was fantastic! I loved seeing the relationship between Drew and Leo develop at a slow pace, rather than rushing as in other books I've read. And the chemistry, wow!! 🤩 The last few chapters of the book were incredible—I couldn’t put it down! I really hope to read a follow-up

[KaizzIndeed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had super high hopes for this book: great premise, debut author, k!nk awakening, etc and the plot didn’t really disappoint. What disappointed me were the grammatical and flow errors, including but not limited to: missing words, incorrect word choices, word jumbles (‘the what f*ck’ is said at one point), spelling mistakes, POV switches mid scene, and character name changes just to change back later in the scene… also, I’m a huge fan of backstories, so I would have liked more insight into Drew’s family dynamic. His family is mentioned once and that there is some tension, it may have added more depth to Drew’s character.

I have previously dnf’d books with these types of errors; however, kept on this with one despite them and I’m glad I did because the plot drew me in and kept me going. The spice was better than I anticipated but hard to follow at places due to the POV switches mid scene just to switch back the next sentence.

All in all? Plot was good; editing/beta reading could have been better. Looking forward to more from this author as they grow on their writing journey

[Bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the general gist of the plot and some of the nitty gritty was great but there were a lot of typos, straight out spelling errors, missing words and continuity mistakes. One example: Guy is walking around shirtless, decides to go to the bathroom to send a sexy selfie, next min he's lifting his top up to take the pic. Or another time, guy is bent over a chair while getting rimmed, next minute the penis hits the giver's forehead?! Unless it's a tail, that's not possible...

[Cari Sims-Burks · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNFd

DNFd at 10%. Premise was excellent. Characters seem great.

Missing words, misspellings, non capitalization of some names was too distracting to continue. Needed much more polishing before publishing

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the storyline and Leo and drew are the absolute best.

[Rikareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5-3.75

[Fancy]

dnf. couldn't cope with the weird and wrong writing. was it translated?

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. So. First of all, the plot/storyline pulled me. I WANTED to read this, I wanted to like it, LOVE it.

If I could have gotten past the spelling and grammar issues I'm sure I would have. There were just to many for me to stay in the story.

Full disclosure I made it 30% in so I can't speak on how it progresses and ends.

I had stopped reading after a couple chapters and read an entire other book because I kept getting pulled out of the story while trying to piece together what the author meant.

I honestly hate that I couldn't stay in the story because I love supporting indie authors. I'm hoping the author revises and reloads the ebook. Maybe then I can go back and reread and love this as much as I wanted to love it.

I hope the author does revise and fix the book and keeps writing because the concept is there and I love the idea of the story so much. I just couldn't stay in the story and that was a bummer.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost, to all the people who left reviews commenting about the editing...you should be ashamed of yourself. I started following this author not too long ago on TikTok and he is a self-published, indie author. This is his first book, so there is bound to be stuff like this. Some books I've read have way worse editing than The Playroom. You all down him for the editing part drastically and only focus partially on the story itself. Once again, you all should be ashamed of yourselves. I love the story and giving this book (and him) 5 stars. More about the story, the characters, and the hot spicy scenes. Not because of the editing (I'm sure it will be fixed with any future books he has)

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I actually happen to love vanilla.....with vanilla, you can add any damn filthy flavor you want."

Spice level = 🌶🌶

The love story between Drew and Leo is absolutely wonderful. Drew goes on a journey of self discovery with Leo as his special guide. The twists and turns will have you clutching your pearls and leave you wanting more! Also, remember, that love and sexual preferences come in all kinds of flavors. You absolutely won't regret reading this story!

[Allister Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Playroom is a captivating contemporary romance that masterfully blends sensual tension with deep emotional storytelling. The chemistry between the vibrant characters makes their layered relationships compelling, creating a beautifully tangled web of love, desire, and self-discovery. Fearlessly exploring love in all its forms, The Playroom is a liberating and touching read that celebrates connection and acceptance.

[Gerrhett Jensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It may be because I’m reading it so soon after its release but there were several spelling mistakes and typos throughout the book. The storyline was good but so much was skipped over that I think would’ve given the book more depth, especially the ending.

[elisereginaa.reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF at 39% because there was just way to many typing errors, but I still gave what I read 3 stars because I think the story is good and it was really something I would love to read, but the writing ruined it for me.. Maybe I’ll pick it up again later.