Performance Review

Daniel and Ryan #5

by Tamryn Eradani

After a day testing Daniel’s limits and then a day being spoiled, Daniel has some time to reflect on his and Ryan’s relationship. He thinks they’re ready for their next step; planning a weekend away.

Genres: BDSM, M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Short Stories

44 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2017

About the author

Tamryn studied English and Creative Writing in school but has been writing since she could first hold a pencil. Recently, she’s turned her focus towards writing erotica. She enjoys writing stories where sex comes first, then feelings, because doing things out of order can be fun.

Tamryn has spent the past few months writing the Daniel and Ryan series with a lovely view of mountains out her window, and she’s now searching for a new mountain range to serve as her backdrop as she begins her next project.

Reviews

[Meags · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

The one with all the edging.

SO. MUCH. EDGING.

I honestly can’t work out if I felt sorry for Daniel or ridiculously jealous of what Ryan put him through.

It was so very sensual, so very sexy.

*unf*

It may have taken five short(ish) stories, but I’m officially all in with Daniel and Ryan.

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel and Ryan

Anticipation - Anticipation - Anticipation
All the "would he" "or" and "will he" was killing for Daniel and ....me
Just love Daniel and Ryan

So so glad there will be more. I stepped in this one thinking it was the last because I couldn't find a next one...i was already a bit sad....then it ended in a bath and I was shocked nooooo
But thank God.... there was the excerpt of #6

[Ariadna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My legit review for this installment would be AJSDL;KFJAS;LDFJSALFKJSAL;FK';ASLFK;SLDFLSAKDFJ TO THE MAX!!!

At this point, I have NO idea of how long this series is going to be (there's an excerpt for #6 at the end of this book.) And yet, I'll let you know that I DIED WHILE READING THIS SHORT STORY DUE TO HOTNESS.

Daniel and Ryan upped their play in a way that left me squirming as my brain melted. Partly due to what was going on the page (which was hot af), but also partly cuz of the level of intimacy between them. Oh, and it had a v. neat scene of aftercare (even better than the one from Book 3.)

Kinkwise, this story has overstimulation and edging. Neither are ~scary kinks~ but they are v. difficult to write in such an effective manner. I totes had to get up and drink a glass of cool water after I read this story cuz, yes, it was THAT GOOD.

EVEN BETTER was seeing Daniel and Ryan grow closer. I truly love the two of them together. ;P

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review for the whole series or, more precisely, what I’ve read of it. (Dnf at 20% of book 6)

I can see why others loved this series, but I only got to this point out of sheer stubbornness. If I hadn’t already made the rushed decision to buy the whole series while it was on sale, I would have stopped at the first book.
I gave Daniel and Ryan one more chance over and over again because they have the kind of approach to BDSM that should have made me love their story, but the writing style has been (not so) slowly killing my interest from the beginning. I struggled to read 37 pages over a weekend and I’m blaming my complete lack of feeling for them and their relationship on the third person present tense narration and the writing style in general, which made reading about Daniel working or having the most intimate moment with Ryan feel pretty much the same. Not for me.

[annob [on hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel was adorable in the way he can't stay away from seeking Ryan out at their shared workplace (where neither of them are out). It is so sweet to see the ingrained habits Daniel has stuck to for years start to change because of the force of emotions he has towards his crush Ryan.

This is the fifth book/episode in a series about an sweet and quirky office romance that need to be read in order to make any sense at this point.

[Pingmg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeps getting better!

[Sara]

4.5 Hearts

I give up and I give in. These two, Daniel and Ryan are addicting and regardless of how short each book in this kinky serial romance is, I am hooked.

This one was ridiculously hot. Like crossing your legs and squirming at your desk while you read it in your office during a career workshop for students hot. So hot.

This installment is basically one day out of the now standard weekends spent with Ryan and Daniel trying out new scenes and this Saturday was incredible. So freaking fracking incredible and so hot.

Have I mentioned it was hot? *winks*

I like that we get glimpses of the relationship turning from seduction by donut, to D/s scene play and then to more as the men spend time together. It’s not just the time they spend, it’s the level of trust growing between them to give the other exactly what they want and being rewarded by it.

Daniel can almost forget that he doesn’t have everything he wants…

Ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter what Daniel wants, because Ryan’s going to do what he wants.

This book and Daniel’s experience during the scene is the perfect example of how I feel about the series as a whole. Don’t get me wrong with my frustrations about it because I truly love the hell out of Daniel and Ryan with their scenes and how strongly they feel about one another. I love watching as Ryan tells Daniel he’s beautiful when he’s a total mess and all fucked out and how much Daniel wants to believe that because it’s coming from Ryan. I adore being in Daniel’s POV and how hard he tries to please Ryan because Ryan has become all that he wants and not just when he’s being all bossy and hot AF.

And yet I wish that just once, we’d get inside Ryan’s head and get his POV. I would love to get him really seeing Daniel during a scene and after. I would have loved to be in his POV as he prepared for THIS scene, for reasons. Mmm hmm.

This series is the ultimate edge play for a reader; making you hot and bothered and then just when you think you’ll get a climax out of the content, you’re cut off and left cold. It’s totally delayed gratification and played well by the author. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t leave me as frustrated as a male dog who can’t have the female in heat in the yard next to him, it just means it leaves me wanting more and I really want more.

So this book and the scene was amazing. Ryan being sweet in the morning was super swoon worthy and Daniel being playful and learning to be less rigid with some of his OCD is adorable and endearing. That end proposal of a romantic spa weekend together has me jonseing for the next book and once again, wondering how long this series will be. I need some declarations between these two and maybe something more permanent than weekend play. Maybe if I beg I can have it? Or if I’m just a really good girl? Please?

[Ruthie Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

~~I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads ~~

This is the fifth installment of the story - and you should read them all, and in order.

I am really enjoying the regular revelations about these two men and their growing relationship. Each one so far has been satisfying in its own right, and adds to the whole. I wasn't sure that it would work, but actually, it feels like getting an update on a real time relationship, rather than getting the whole story in one fell swoop.

I am looking forward to seeing how things go in the next chapter.

[Blackmermaid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was too short and now I'm eagerly awaiting the next one. Finally, I was happy to read their first time together. I was wondering about that. I wonder how many more of these installments there will be? I plan to enjoy this series while I can and I can't wait for their spa getaway.

[VVivacious · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Review. This review can also be found here.

Daniel has two passes to a spa and he wants Ryan to accompany him. But he isn’t sure if their relationship is ready for them to take the next step, a weekend away.

This book is extremely short in every way. The story spans only two days but they are two pretty incredible days.

The story starts on a Saturday with a pretty intense scene, so anyone who was disappointed by the ending of the last book will be glad to know that the author is going to deliver on the promises of that ending even though it is not with that particular scene that was teased at the end of “Positive Reinforcement”. The story ends on the following Sunday which is basically spent in aftercare, so this book is in fact just one big scene, that’s it.

Though I liked the story, I get the feeling that this into the series I want some serious development to occur in Daniel and Ryan’s relationship and I can’t handle any more of these fillers. This one was good but I’m sure another like this will probably leave me a bit too frustrated. I feel like the story should be heading at a faster pace and sometimes it does move along gloriously well but then that pace is followed by a stand still.

I liked this one and the sneak peek into the next book promises exciting stuff but I don’t think I can handle another book like this.

Cover Art by Natasha Snow. The cover is the same as that of the previous book just with a change in background colour.

[The Novel Approach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall: Review of Books One ~ Five

The inside of Daniel’s head is a fascinating place to be. He’s uptight to the point of rigidity. He’s punctual and persnickety. He isn’t sociable. He lives within boundaries and doesn’t deviate from them for any reason whatsoever. But, it’s his reasoning for being that way, his unending dialogue within himself, that makes Daniel intriguing and vulnerable and HUMAN. This story is told in installments, each book is a nugget, an insight into the relationship which is developing between Daniel and Ryan. In each book we learn some new nugget, we get a bit of progression, and just like Eradani’s character Daniel, we learn something new with each successive stepping stone. There is an intimacy in the way Eradani has written this story. They are highly erotic shorts and contain BDSM elements—it’s hard core, emotional kink, not necessarily physical bondage or pain. Daniel is a sub who wants to just “be” for his Dom. He longs to be available whenever, in whatever form his Dom wants to mold him into to meet whichever need his Dom may have. He lives for affirmation and the knowledge he has made Ryan happy. It’s erotic as hell. Would I have liked a dual POV? At times, yes. Did I feel that some parts of the story got left on the editing floor? Yes. But these two things were not enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of the story.

In Delayed Gratification, our two main characters meet over a series of donuts. Ryan begins testing Daniel’s self-control, not even being aware of doing it, by leaving a glazed donut on Daniel’s desk every morning. The total mistrust that Daniel shows toward a glazed donut is palpable. The dialogue that follows over breakfast pastries gives us insight into the kind of man Daniel is, and the kind of man Ryan is also. Eradani uses these verbal characterizations of outside influences as tools to teach us her characters. What we get from book one is that Ryan sees Daniel. He sees everything about him and his rigid control of the world. Ryan sees that underneath the prickly exterior is a man who loves donuts but won’t indulge. Why? Because he is also a man who knows that delayed gratification, especially with the good stuff like sex and donuts, is all the sweeter when you do allow yourself that forbidden bite.

The Start of Something New is just that. Ryan has begun tapping into what makes Daniel tick. Daniel and Ryan have scened together once, when the story begins, and the rate that Daniel begins to fall for Ryan is alarming to him. At heart Daniel is a service submissive. His derives great joy from just making his Dom happy, even in the small things. Daniel has decided that he wants to be on display for Ryan; he wants to show Ryan everything he could have, if Ryan will just ask.

“Last night had been a test—if Ryan could ignore him, if Daniel could be ignored, but now that Daniel has his attention he doesn’t ever want to let it go. He wants everything—Ryan’s hands on his skin, Ryan’s voice in his ear. He wants to be spread out, spread apart.

Book two ends with Daniel whispering the word “hope”, internally, as he feels his chest swell with the emotion.

Who I Am When I’m With You skips five weeks down the timeline of this romance. Daniel is discovering that he can find comfort in other things besides his rigid routines. Things like the way Ryan manages to dismantle him bit by bit, or when Ryan totally obliterates his control all together. Daniel is changing, in small, incremental ways as his relationship with Ryan progresses. He is more tolerant of his coworkers and he laughs…occasionally. They have started seeing each other during the week, not just on weekends, and that’s a huge step outside Daniel’s routine guidelines. Daniel still has a lot of self-doubt and issues with feeling like he isn’t good enough for someone like Ryan, but bit by bit he’s working on it. By giving himself to Ryan, he is being molded into a better man, a happier man.

“You’re beautiful, “Ryan tells him, his voice far away and yet the only thing in the room, the only thing Daniel’s fully aware of. Another time, Daniel might be embarrassed at the words. But he’s given himself over to Ryan, given Ryan permission to take, to mold, to make Daniel into exactly what he wants. And if Ryan wants Daniel to be beautiful then that’s what he’ll be.
 
“Beautiful,” Ryan says again, bending his head to press a kiss to Daniel’s shoulder, seemingly the only clean part of him at the moment. Maybe, but he’s more than that. He’s—He isn’t Daniel Brown, man of routine. He isn’t Daniel Brown Director of Sales. He’s Ryan’s Daniel.

Book Four is Positive Reinforcement. We are starting to really get into the meat of these two men, and what they are beginning to feel for each other. It’s a tough week at work for Ryan. Budget meetings and yearly plans have taken precedence over their relationship. Daniel is having a hard time without Ryan, or, should I say he is having a hard not being able to do anything for Ryan? That’s not a sexual statement; it’s the way Daniel feels. So, he begins compensating his own routine to create new ways to have a point of contact with the man he is fast falling in love with. He leaves smoothies on Ryan’s desk, reminiscent of the donut gesture that started it all. He tells Ryan which chair is the most comfortable in the conference room, and makes sure he sits in it. The two men start texting each other, having more and more points of contact, and intertwining their lives even when not seeing each other. This whole relationship thing is creeping up on Daniel and changing the way he views himself for the better. He still stays in his head A LOT. He obsesses mentally about everything. Daniel can be self-focused to the point of exclusion of all else, including Ryan. He is starting to realize that it doesn’t have to always be about his needs as a sub; it needs to be about Ryan and what he wants. When, at the end of a tough week at work Ryan asks permission to stretch Daniel out of his comfort zone in their sceneing, Daniel learns an incredible lesson in true submission.

“I know I asked you to do something you would struggle with,” Ryan says. “You always make everything look so effortless, but I wanted to see the effort tonight. I wanted to see you choose. Choose pleasing me even though it hurt. Choose pleasing me even though it would’ve been so easy for you to say no or ask for something else. One word and I would’ve stopped, would’ve held you like I’m holding you now, but you didn’t say it. You let me spank you. You let me turn your ass red. You stood there even when it hurt, because you wanted to make me happy. You chose my happiness over yours. You’re incredible.”

Daniel has finally discovered his need for yes, please, and always.

Performance Review is episode five, and it starts with Daniel reflecting on which day of the week he likes the best. The answer is Saturday, for sure, because then he has Ryan all to himself; they can play and spend time wrapped around each other, and Daniel still has Sunday to let his body rest and recover before the work week starts. This Saturday, though, Ryan seems to not be in such a hurry to do the things Daniel needs him to do. Once again, we get a glimpse at the internal struggle Daniel constantly goes through to be the selfless sub that Ryan needs. And once again, Ryan proves why he is the Dom and teaches Daniel a lesson in giving over complete control to Ryan and letting his Dom take complete care of him. The systematic way in which Ryan can and does take Daniel apart in this story proves that the two men are made for each other. The journey from what Daniel wants, to the realization he is getting all he needs, is masterful, and Ryan’s assertion that Daniel is beautiful when he finally gives in is affirmation to a man who desperately needs that in his life. At the end, they have taken the next step in their relationship journey and have decided to go away together for a spa weekend. Oh, and Ryan is asking for control even when they are not together—maybe, just maybe, in the next installment they will finally be honest with each other about how they feel. Oh, I hope so!

I have no idea how long this story will be since I couldn’t find any mention of how many books will be a part of the series. I will, however, buy each one as they come out, and eagerly await more, and when the last book has been released, I will probably go back to the beginning and re-read them all through to the conclusion. That’s the downside of having a story parceled out to you; you sometime forget subtle nuances in the storytelling over time. Do I hope Tamryn Eradani releases them in a swift and expedited manner? YES! Because Daniel and Ryan deserve a HEA, and I really need to make sure they get one. I do recommend these books, in order, don’t skip one, you can’t and stay abreast of what happens. They are so short anyway, just a few chapters apiece, but skipping one will mean you miss a building block of the MCs’ relationship journey. Start with book one, it’s been a delightful journey so far!

Reviewed by Carrie for The Novel Approach

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4.5 stars

This is another great installment for the story. I would have liked to see a little more forward movement in their relationship with this installment, but the scene they engaged in really took Daniel to his limits. Their chemistry just blows me away, every single time. At the very end, we saw a little more growth in Daniel. He’s understanding more about himself, and not feeling quite so adverse to what he wants and needs. On top of that, the guys take another step in their relationship, and I’m really looking forward to what happens next.

All in all, I wait with baited breath for each installment of the serial, and I can’t wait to see where the author takes these guys in the upcoming shorts. Each one moves the story along, some more than others, and I’m loving watching these guys slowly crawl toward something more permanent. At least, that’s where I hope the story is going. If you haven’t started this series yet, then get the first one and get started. There still five more to go, but the journey is amazing.

Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.

[Geri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I want to give Daniel a hug, other times I want to muss him up! Either way, I adore him....and Ryan. This series just keeps getting better and better. I really really enjoy reading about these two!

[Molly Lolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original review on Molly Lolly
Four and a half stars!
I’m so loving Daniel in this book. He lets go so beautifully. He’s slowly coming around to his feelings and accepting them. It’s wonderful watching him blossom and let go in little ways when he’s with Ryan. I adore the care Ryan gives to Daniel the entire time they’re together. You can tell he takes into account all of Daniel’s quirks and idiosyncrasies when devising a scene and making plans. But also in his expectations. Ryan and Daniel are slowly building something lasting and quite beautiful. I liked how Daniel mentions how everything started and what it could mean for their future. It’s a wonderful segue into the next story. One thing I truly enjoy about Daniel and Ryan’s dynamic is how Ryan takes control even when they’re not in a scene. It’s subtle and has been building slowly over the series. But Daniel does things different to please Ryan and make him happy. The scenes they do together is still more about the actual control, will power, and resistance than the sex. It makes my connection with the characters deeper and stronger. The scene Ryan created was so sensual. The emotions Daniel exhibits are clear as you read and as he goes deeper into the scene. I adore Ms. Eradani’s writing style and I can’t wait to see more from this series and what she has coming after this series is over.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fifth book from the Daniel and Ryan’s series. I liked it as much as I did the other instalments of the series. One of the things I liked the most about this, is the little changes their relationship is showing.

This is the only book, so far, that steps out of the work scene. We only get to see their time together. It leaves the work anxieties out of the picture and we can see how the relationship is growing. The plot is the continuing story from the previous books, we don’t get any new conflicts here but it was still a likable read.

It is the lightest of the series on BDSM scenes, although not in heat level. I really loved how the emotions are slowly making them change the original idea of their arrangement. I think that makes the relationship more believable for me. A slow-burn development of a relationship is one of the things I liked the most. I’m certainly enjoying this series.

* ARC provided by publisher in exchange of an honest review.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.5

[Life Without Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this whole series!

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

M/M. A multi-part series (each book is fairly short and $.99 each) about two co-workers who discover that their sexual proclivities actually complement each other very well (in a D/s way, but very lightly). They meet cute and start sharing time together (one MC is "domish," one is an OCD neat freak). Neither was looking for any long-term relationship but as they got to know one another they found their lives melded together more than just in a sexual way.

I rated each book separately. The story got a little boring in the middle as not much happened between the two but a couple of the books were worth 5 stars. Apparently there is going to be a #6 and I'm looking forward to reading it.

[Pixie]

Review to come

[Anthea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loved this series so far and as I have mentioned in previous reviews, these aren't full-length books, they're more like installments and are only three or four chapters long so are very quick and easy to read. TE is always able to cram a decent story into a few short pages but this time, it didn't feel like an awful lot happened. It was pretty much a prolonged sex scene, testing Daniel's limits, which ended with Daniel inviting Ryan away for the weekend. I don't feel like this was enough on it's own and would have liked it to be tagged onto the story about their time away together. Don't get me wrong, I still want to know what happens next time round but this book didn't grab me as much as previous ones have. In book four, I really felt like they were progressing beyond the limits of compartmentalising their entire relationship and developing actual feelings for each other and I didn't get that same feeling this time. Who knows, maybe a weekend away is just what they need....

Copy received from publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Cheryl from Alpha Book Club

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