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Come to Your Senses #1
I See You
Christian Sartori: Surveillance officer, facial recognition guru and aspiring surfing god.
Ben McCormick: Casino games dealer, couch surfer and down on his luck.
Christian falls for Ben's Raphaelite-like beauty the very first moment he sees him, dealing at a busy pai gow table, but fraternisation between their departments is strictly forbidden. Christian instead catches glimpses through the cameras at work, hoping management won't notice he has "eyes on" Ben more than he should.
When Ben is brutally attacked as he leaves work one night, Christian is fortunately watching and comes to his aid. This starts them on a road that travels from friendship to more as they both deal with injuries, a career change, the farce that is Valentine's Day, and a mother with a crippling gambling addiction.
I See You is a story about love, compassion and helping out your fellow man, which can sometimes bring you things you never thought possible.
Ben McCormick: Casino games dealer, couch surfer and down on his luck.
Christian falls for Ben's Raphaelite-like beauty the very first moment he sees him, dealing at a busy pai gow table, but fraternisation between their departments is strictly forbidden. Christian instead catches glimpses through the cameras at work, hoping management won't notice he has "eyes on" Ben more than he should.
When Ben is brutally attacked as he leaves work one night, Christian is fortunately watching and comes to his aid. This starts them on a road that travels from friendship to more as they both deal with injuries, a career change, the farce that is Valentine's Day, and a mother with a crippling gambling addiction.
I See You is a story about love, compassion and helping out your fellow man, which can sometimes bring you things you never thought possible.
210 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 20, 2016
14 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Susan Reeves
8 books29 followersSusan Reeves is a lifelong avid reader who has had a fairly interesting life so far and has some stories of her own that she wanted to share. She lives in the most beautiful place in the world, in her opinion, and you’ll find glimpses throughout her stories as she loves to share it with her readers.
Susan also loves to potter around the kitchen, walk along the healing sands of her local beaches, and have coffee therapy with friends.
An advocate for equality, living simply and all things green, Susan spends any spare time spreading light and love in hope that it touches those who might need a little.
Susan also loves to potter around the kitchen, walk along the healing sands of her local beaches, and have coffee therapy with friends.
An advocate for equality, living simply and all things green, Susan spends any spare time spreading light and love in hope that it touches those who might need a little.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 14, 2016
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this story. I loved the idea of a secret crush, but I also enjoy a good friends to lovers story where one of the MCs steps in to take care of the other. It gives me the warm fuzzies.
I fell in love with Christian and Ben right away. They were a breath of fresh air. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of angsty stories where the MCs are broken and angry. There’s a time and a place for that, and I’m not saying I don’t like those sort of books. I was just so happy to read about two men who were good at their jobs, but lonely. Yes, something bad happens to bring them together, but I got the feeling they’d get together whether the attack happened or not.
I also liked how realistic Christian and Ben are. They’re just two guys trying to make a living and then fall in love. It’s natural that Christian wants to take care of Ben, but I considered it also natural that, eventually, Ben sort of lashes out because he wants to do things for himself. He loves Christian, but sometimes it can be smothering. There aren’t pages and pages of strife, and there’s no break up. It’s, once again, two men who want to be together working it out.
Read Kenna’s review in its entirety here.
4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this story. I loved the idea of a secret crush, but I also enjoy a good friends to lovers story where one of the MCs steps in to take care of the other. It gives me the warm fuzzies.
I fell in love with Christian and Ben right away. They were a breath of fresh air. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of angsty stories where the MCs are broken and angry. There’s a time and a place for that, and I’m not saying I don’t like those sort of books. I was just so happy to read about two men who were good at their jobs, but lonely. Yes, something bad happens to bring them together, but I got the feeling they’d get together whether the attack happened or not.
I also liked how realistic Christian and Ben are. They’re just two guys trying to make a living and then fall in love. It’s natural that Christian wants to take care of Ben, but I considered it also natural that, eventually, Ben sort of lashes out because he wants to do things for himself. He loves Christian, but sometimes it can be smothering. There aren’t pages and pages of strife, and there’s no break up. It’s, once again, two men who want to be together working it out.
Read Kenna’s review in its entirety here.
March 6, 2016
Plenty to like about this book. Interesting plot and premise, sweet, lovable characters, great setting. I did however, find that the author got a bit wordy at times and I found myself skimming past whole chapters. A good editorial revamp could fix this issue and turn this into a 4 or 5 star read. As far as I can see this is Susan Reeve's debut offering. I will be interested to see how she improves as she hones her craft.
February 23, 2016
I really enjoyed this story, and loved meeting Christian and Ben.
The fact the story takes place on the Gold Coast in Queensland, gave it a real appeal - it was a story that took place in an area where I'd been. There were familiar references, and a generous smattering of Aussie-isms, which I enjoyed.
The strengths of the story, were the wonderful touches of humour, and the Aussie flavour. The main characters - Ben and Christian - were very likeable, and the fact they had fights and made mistakes, made them real. I also appreciated the level of detail in the casino world, and wouldn't be surprised to find the author has a level of expertise in this area.
Well worth reading for a glimpse into the world of casinos, and a wonderfully over-the-top, romantic happy ending.
The fact the story takes place on the Gold Coast in Queensland, gave it a real appeal - it was a story that took place in an area where I'd been. There were familiar references, and a generous smattering of Aussie-isms, which I enjoyed.
The strengths of the story, were the wonderful touches of humour, and the Aussie flavour. The main characters - Ben and Christian - were very likeable, and the fact they had fights and made mistakes, made them real. I also appreciated the level of detail in the casino world, and wouldn't be surprised to find the author has a level of expertise in this area.
Well worth reading for a glimpse into the world of casinos, and a wonderfully over-the-top, romantic happy ending.
August 20, 2016
I picked this one up as a freebie after reading the blurb in an ad by the author in the Facebook M/M group. Well worth it. 4 stars from me.
Relatively angst-free, a few [lack of] editing niggles but nothing too onerous, and two really nice Aussie guys named Christian and Ben, hell bent on a HEA. Never thought I'd read a story about guys watching security cameras in an Aussie casino, but hey ho.... My least favourite thing about the story?? Trying to believe that two guys keep calling each other 'lovely' and 'beautiful', I remain unconvinced. ;)
Relatively angst-free, a few [lack of] editing niggles but nothing too onerous, and two really nice Aussie guys named Christian and Ben, hell bent on a HEA. Never thought I'd read a story about guys watching security cameras in an Aussie casino, but hey ho.... My least favourite thing about the story?? Trying to believe that two guys keep calling each other 'lovely' and 'beautiful', I remain unconvinced. ;)
May 8, 2016
I’m always cautious about trying new authors because I don’t want to have to turn around and hate all over their book. But I was eyeing this book on Amazon for the last few weeks, so when a request for a review came through to the blog, I took that as a sign that I should take this baby for a spin. And I’m really glad that I did.
Christian Sartori is brilliant at his job as a surveillance officer at a Gold Coast casino. So brilliant in fact, that he can manage to do his job while sneakily keeping one eye on cute dealer (cards – not drugs), Ben. Technically his borderline stalking is a no-no, but it turns out that his crush is the best thing that could have happened to Ben when he’s attacked one night walking to his car after work. Turns out that poor Ben has nothing and no one, so nice guy Christian decides to take him home.
Firstly, I absolutely loved the setting for this book. I’m not overly familiar with the Gold Coast (which is on the east coast of Australia) but it is a place that I’ve been to several times. In fact, I can only assume that the casino that Christian and Ben work at is Jupiter’s, which is a hotel that I’ve stayed at previously. So obviously, I was a little excited to read a story that was set there. But even for those readers that are unfamiliar with the location, I think the author did a great job of conveying the fast paced buzz of a casino environment. It gives the work scenes a sense of that frantic energy, even though Christian sees most of it as routine. I always enjoy a story that presents us with a job I’m unfamiliar with and shows us a bit of behind on the job action.
The characters, I must admit, were well-loved stereotypes, but that isn’t something I personally have a problem with. They’re well loved for a reason, right? The tough, gentle giant and the cute twink in need of help…as long as it’s well executed those are stereotypes that I’m never going to have a problem with. I did love both of these characters. And this was one of the very rare times that I didn’t have an issue with cutesy nicknames, so well done to the author for pulling that off.
I had two issues with this book that I feel warrant a mention. My main problem was with the point of view switches. Most of the story was told in Christian’s point of view, but we did also get to hear from Ben and occasionally a secondary character or two. The problem was that these transitions weren’t always clear. A few times I had actually read almost of a page before realizing that I was now in the head of a completely different character and I’d need to go back and read it again. It didn’t help that Christian and Ben had very similar “voices” when we’d switch from one to the other.
My other problem (well, problem might be too strong a word) was with the pacing of the story. Some scenes seemed to take a long time to get through, especially at the beginning of the book. Contrarily, while I enjoyed hearing about Christian’s job, I have a feeling that’s what slowed down the beginning of the story. Then, once the two men moved in together, time would skip forward by weeks. And while I understand why the author did that, that Ben needed to heal and gain some confidence back, it made it hard to swallow those “I love yous” when they were just dropped out there. I missed experiencing the two men growing closer, which is obviously an important part of a romance.
But overall, this book gets a big thumbs up. I’d be happy to check out more books by this author in the future.
Ooooh, I forgot to mention the epilogue, didn’t I? Epic. Awesomely epic! But it really drives home the fact that marriage equality has yet to find its way to Australian shores.
Reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews
http://lovebytesreviews.com/2016/04/2...
Christian Sartori is brilliant at his job as a surveillance officer at a Gold Coast casino. So brilliant in fact, that he can manage to do his job while sneakily keeping one eye on cute dealer (cards – not drugs), Ben. Technically his borderline stalking is a no-no, but it turns out that his crush is the best thing that could have happened to Ben when he’s attacked one night walking to his car after work. Turns out that poor Ben has nothing and no one, so nice guy Christian decides to take him home.
Firstly, I absolutely loved the setting for this book. I’m not overly familiar with the Gold Coast (which is on the east coast of Australia) but it is a place that I’ve been to several times. In fact, I can only assume that the casino that Christian and Ben work at is Jupiter’s, which is a hotel that I’ve stayed at previously. So obviously, I was a little excited to read a story that was set there. But even for those readers that are unfamiliar with the location, I think the author did a great job of conveying the fast paced buzz of a casino environment. It gives the work scenes a sense of that frantic energy, even though Christian sees most of it as routine. I always enjoy a story that presents us with a job I’m unfamiliar with and shows us a bit of behind on the job action.
The characters, I must admit, were well-loved stereotypes, but that isn’t something I personally have a problem with. They’re well loved for a reason, right? The tough, gentle giant and the cute twink in need of help…as long as it’s well executed those are stereotypes that I’m never going to have a problem with. I did love both of these characters. And this was one of the very rare times that I didn’t have an issue with cutesy nicknames, so well done to the author for pulling that off.
I had two issues with this book that I feel warrant a mention. My main problem was with the point of view switches. Most of the story was told in Christian’s point of view, but we did also get to hear from Ben and occasionally a secondary character or two. The problem was that these transitions weren’t always clear. A few times I had actually read almost of a page before realizing that I was now in the head of a completely different character and I’d need to go back and read it again. It didn’t help that Christian and Ben had very similar “voices” when we’d switch from one to the other.
My other problem (well, problem might be too strong a word) was with the pacing of the story. Some scenes seemed to take a long time to get through, especially at the beginning of the book. Contrarily, while I enjoyed hearing about Christian’s job, I have a feeling that’s what slowed down the beginning of the story. Then, once the two men moved in together, time would skip forward by weeks. And while I understand why the author did that, that Ben needed to heal and gain some confidence back, it made it hard to swallow those “I love yous” when they were just dropped out there. I missed experiencing the two men growing closer, which is obviously an important part of a romance.
But overall, this book gets a big thumbs up. I’d be happy to check out more books by this author in the future.
Ooooh, I forgot to mention the epilogue, didn’t I? Epic. Awesomely epic! But it really drives home the fact that marriage equality has yet to find its way to Australian shores.
Reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews
http://lovebytesreviews.com/2016/04/2...
April 28, 2016
I love a book where the author reveals the characters layer by layer, making them so much more than one dimensional. That is exactly what you get with this book, characters that reveal layers of themselves a little at a time and I love it!
Christian does his job at the casino well, he doesn't bother anyone, and takes his work seriously. He also loves to watch a certain beautiful dealer, even if he doesn't think someone like Ben would ever look twice at him!
It is a good thing Christian is watching one night when Ben gets attacked, Christian wants to know who did it and why, and he gets more questions than answers. Ben is down on his luck and has a past full of hard times and heartbreak, will he take a chance and let Christian help him? Will he let him help to late?
You will love this book guys, and you'll get answers to all these questions and more, and you will be waiting for book 2 just like I am! Thanks Susan, for a book that keeps us on our toes and makes us fall in love with the characters!
Christian does his job at the casino well, he doesn't bother anyone, and takes his work seriously. He also loves to watch a certain beautiful dealer, even if he doesn't think someone like Ben would ever look twice at him!
It is a good thing Christian is watching one night when Ben gets attacked, Christian wants to know who did it and why, and he gets more questions than answers. Ben is down on his luck and has a past full of hard times and heartbreak, will he take a chance and let Christian help him? Will he let him help to late?
You will love this book guys, and you'll get answers to all these questions and more, and you will be waiting for book 2 just like I am! Thanks Susan, for a book that keeps us on our toes and makes us fall in love with the characters!
August 11, 2016
I See You looked like an interesting quick read, it was. The storyline is simple - boy see boy, falls in lust, and has no idea how to make it happen. As fate would have it, the answer is thrust upon Christian when Ben is assaulted. The problem? Christian was violating the rules by watching Ben on the surveillance system.
Luckily for Ben, Christian was breaking the rules. And luckily for Christian, his fellow workers turned a blind eye to his rule breaking. Ben was down on his luck and Christian was just the guy to help him out, no ulterior motive in mind, well not much anyway. When lust turns into more, both Christian and Ben realize that they have to take action or forever regret that they didn't.
Reeves presented a good story, filled with love, lust, insecurities, and pain. How these two young men deal with those situations make I See You a good read.
Luckily for Ben, Christian was breaking the rules. And luckily for Christian, his fellow workers turned a blind eye to his rule breaking. Ben was down on his luck and Christian was just the guy to help him out, no ulterior motive in mind, well not much anyway. When lust turns into more, both Christian and Ben realize that they have to take action or forever regret that they didn't.
Reeves presented a good story, filled with love, lust, insecurities, and pain. How these two young men deal with those situations make I See You a good read.
December 6, 2018
I really liked the characters and the overall story. I just wish Ms Reeves had a decent editor to help her straighten out the odd POV jumps as well as the summarized time jumps. Those all definitely pulled me away from the story too much.
March 2, 2016
Easy read with no conflicts. Mushy sweet
romance. m\m
romance. m\m
March 18, 2016
I almost gave up on this book at 25% but decided to tough it out and ended up really liking it.
March 18, 2016
What to say? The start is pulling, but as soon as the story starts to develop it gets boring.
January 29, 2020
3,5 *
PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!
To my ratings:
A 3,5* is clicked with a 4* but in review marked as 3,5*:
5* - very very good and rare (it would be a Blow-Away-book like ‘Jesse's Smile’ or ‘Joey’ from Angelique Jurd, ‘Save the the kids’ series
from EM Leya, ‘Love’s Tethered Heart’ from C.L. Etta or ‘Liberty’ from Seth King),
it's like an A+
4* - very good and will be often reread and is a WOW-book with interesting plot and surprises (like most of Andrew Grey books and Davidson Kings 'Haven Hart'-series)
it's like an A
3,5* - a really good book, which will be reread a few times (most romances where you can enjoy for relaxing and during waiting times in
hospitals). I can recommend them definitively!
It's like an B+
3* - it could be more then a one-time-reader (2-3 times a year),
it's like a B
2* - it was ok to read, but it's more a one-time-reader (I wouldn't recommend it heartily, but it was ok)
It's like a C-, D
1* - sorry, but that isn't really a book for me (too many mistakes, not nice plot, illogical, so an absolute NO-GO). It's like failure in the
whole line, dismissed, repeat the class
PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!
To my ratings:
A 3,5* is clicked with a 4* but in review marked as 3,5*:
5* - very very good and rare (it would be a Blow-Away-book like ‘Jesse's Smile’ or ‘Joey’ from Angelique Jurd, ‘Save the the kids’ series
from EM Leya, ‘Love’s Tethered Heart’ from C.L. Etta or ‘Liberty’ from Seth King),
it's like an A+
4* - very good and will be often reread and is a WOW-book with interesting plot and surprises (like most of Andrew Grey books and Davidson Kings 'Haven Hart'-series)
it's like an A
3,5* - a really good book, which will be reread a few times (most romances where you can enjoy for relaxing and during waiting times in
hospitals). I can recommend them definitively!
It's like an B+
3* - it could be more then a one-time-reader (2-3 times a year),
it's like a B
2* - it was ok to read, but it's more a one-time-reader (I wouldn't recommend it heartily, but it was ok)
It's like a C-, D
1* - sorry, but that isn't really a book for me (too many mistakes, not nice plot, illogical, so an absolute NO-GO). It's like failure in the
whole line, dismissed, repeat the class
March 3, 2023
I really could not get into this book. While the characters were sweet and kind, this had too much of an insta-love vibe with constant sex. I found myself wanting to skim parts of the book to get to story with substance. I also didn't like the style this was written in. It bounced between character view points without it being clear we were jumping to a different perspective. Not horrible, but not something I could find myself wanting to read again.
June 15, 2017
It took me forever to finish this book but I did finish which is why I gave it two stars. I am a romantic but this book was a little too lovey for me. It took pages and pages to get through how much much they love each other before anything actually happened. The concept of the book is what kept me going but I did skip a lot.
August 22, 2017
Team Sartori!
Totally romantic, totally sexy and so totally recommended to read to anyone that loves a love story and a page turner.
Totally romantic, totally sexy and so totally recommended to read to anyone that loves a love story and a page turner.
April 20, 2018
Cute story
July 10, 2019
Wonderful.
I enjoyed this story immensely, the chemistry between Ben and Christian was amazing. The storyline was gripping. I look forward to more in this series.
I enjoyed this story immensely, the chemistry between Ben and Christian was amazing. The storyline was gripping. I look forward to more in this series.
November 5, 2023
This was a free Kindle I had downloaded. It's steamy and I enjoy that but there's not much of a plot. It's a happily ever after book with almost no tension.
April 20, 2016
This one was just "okay" for me. It was a sweet story, but it was very, very feminine. For example, the leads stop mid-blow job to talk about their feelings and fret about an upcoming job interview. Mid-blow job! A lot of their thoughts and conversations struck me as very female in that they were very flowery and emotional. No shame in that. It's just not what I expect from two guys. I don't know any dudes who talk about their feelings and wax poetic as much as these two do. Or put off or stop sex to have conversations that aren't urgent - repeatedly. Or talk about their feelings so much during sex. I think it would've been more realistic to have the sex and THEN talk. Having said that, it's a romance, so I never go in expecting crazy amounts of realism.
I think the book could have benefited from more editing. It started to drag after a while. I love slice-of-life scenes, but there were a few too many for me here and during the last third of the book, I kept checking my reading progress bar to see how far away the end was.
There were also some obvious questions and conversations I felt like we didn't get to see. For example, why would a guy whose mother is choose to work in a casino? I would've loved insight into that. What ever happened to "Big D" as far as harassment goes?
There was a lot of interesting information about how casinos work. I have no idea if any of it was true or based on real life, but it FELT real, so props to the author!
Overall, this was a sweet story, but one I probably won't pick up again.
I think the book could have benefited from more editing. It started to drag after a while. I love slice-of-life scenes, but there were a few too many for me here and during the last third of the book, I kept checking my reading progress bar to see how far away the end was.
There were also some obvious questions and conversations I felt like we didn't get to see. For example, why would a guy whose mother is choose to work in a casino? I would've loved insight into that. What ever happened to "Big D" as far as harassment goes?
There was a lot of interesting information about how casinos work. I have no idea if any of it was true or based on real life, but it FELT real, so props to the author!
Overall, this was a sweet story, but one I probably won't pick up again.
September 18, 2016
★★★½
Overall I enjoyed the story. For the most part it was light & sweet. There was the attack near the beginning which was the catalyst for Ben & Christian's romance; and the arc involving Ben's mother's addiction. There were some times when Ben & Christian argued, but IMO that best served to show they weren't perfect people. When people are living in close proximity & there is stress or in Ben's case both stress & injury, there's bound to be some instances when a person isn't always happy & agreeable. I thought it was more realistic to show them disagreeing with each other occasionally. I did like that they communicated with each other to work out their problems. Other than those few issues, things seemed to go rather smoothly for the couple. Christian's parents were outstanding, his downstairs neighbor was sweet, & their co-workers mostly all accepting. It was a low-angst, friends-to-lovers, hurt/comfort story. I did notice a few editing errors but they were fairly minor & didn't pull me out of the story.
Overall I enjoyed the story. For the most part it was light & sweet. There was the attack near the beginning which was the catalyst for Ben & Christian's romance; and the arc involving Ben's mother's addiction. There were some times when Ben & Christian argued, but IMO that best served to show they weren't perfect people. When people are living in close proximity & there is stress or in Ben's case both stress & injury, there's bound to be some instances when a person isn't always happy & agreeable. I thought it was more realistic to show them disagreeing with each other occasionally. I did like that they communicated with each other to work out their problems. Other than those few issues, things seemed to go rather smoothly for the couple. Christian's parents were outstanding, his downstairs neighbor was sweet, & their co-workers mostly all accepting. It was a low-angst, friends-to-lovers, hurt/comfort story. I did notice a few editing errors but they were fairly minor & didn't pull me out of the story.
August 19, 2016
This story takes place in the beautiful country of Australia. More precise the Gold Coast. I've never been to Australia but when I read books like this I always want to hop a plane.
There's a lot to like in this story. Great MC's, Christian and Ben. They were wonderful and I felt connected to them. There was a realism to them. They weren't perfect and it's those little things that I love.
There was some comedy and this was really very welcome! I love to laugh!
I grew up into a casino family. For four years of my life I was going to Atlantic City on weekends, weekdays, vacations. I'm crazy familiar with the life and the thought and research Susan put inot this tale was captured without question.
The story rounded off nicely and happily which made me, in turn, happy! Fun read!
There's a lot to like in this story. Great MC's, Christian and Ben. They were wonderful and I felt connected to them. There was a realism to them. They weren't perfect and it's those little things that I love.
There was some comedy and this was really very welcome! I love to laugh!
I grew up into a casino family. For four years of my life I was going to Atlantic City on weekends, weekdays, vacations. I'm crazy familiar with the life and the thought and research Susan put inot this tale was captured without question.
The story rounded off nicely and happily which made me, in turn, happy! Fun read!
October 24, 2016
Needs and editor.
September 19, 2017
Enjoyable.
December 11, 2018
3.25 stars
I really liked this up until the 50-60% mark. I enjoyed the slice of life thing going on and I liked that there wasn’t any drama caused by a meddling meddler 3rd party. What I didn’t like was the length. This would’ve been better suited as a novella. It’s just way too long. I had to skim some parts and it became a bit too cheesy in the end.
I really liked this up until the 50-60% mark. I enjoyed the slice of life thing going on and I liked that there wasn’t any drama caused by a meddling meddler 3rd party. What I didn’t like was the length. This would’ve been better suited as a novella. It’s just way too long. I had to skim some parts and it became a bit too cheesy in the end.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews