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Forever Bound #1
Forever Bound : Book One in The Bound Series
When a soldier and a surgeon explore their darkest fantasies, they find that submission can be a gift of the heart...
Aaron Chambers is an Air Force pilot and a consummate soldier. He is strong and always in control. John Castle is a surgeon; his intelligence is daunting, as is his success. But when a twist of fate causes John to lose a patient, he finds himself mired in a downward spiral of doubt and loss of control.
Aaron's rescue plan is to give his soldier's will and body for one night to John. But hatred-filled eyes watch master and willing slave play, and riddle more than their playground with bullets. It is a fight for survival. It is a fight for love. It is a fight that leaves John and Aaron forever bound to each other.
Aaron Chambers is an Air Force pilot and a consummate soldier. He is strong and always in control. John Castle is a surgeon; his intelligence is daunting, as is his success. But when a twist of fate causes John to lose a patient, he finds himself mired in a downward spiral of doubt and loss of control.
Aaron's rescue plan is to give his soldier's will and body for one night to John. But hatred-filled eyes watch master and willing slave play, and riddle more than their playground with bullets. It is a fight for survival. It is a fight for love. It is a fight that leaves John and Aaron forever bound to each other.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 26, 2010
2 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Chloe Stowe
24 books91 followers Published Romance author... Cozy Mystery rookie... Daily blogger... Crazy woman.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 11, 2010
I don’t know where to start. This book was poorly thought out with plot holes and problems that any editor should have caught or questioned. The military portrayals were inaccurate at best. Coincidences abounded. The BDSM was bizarre.
Aaron, a USAF pilot and John, a doctor meet as young men in their early 20's and have an interesting first meeting. They survive a tornado together and find that they have a pretty overwhelming attraction to each other.
The book is told in real time and flashback as John remembers their life together while waiting to find out if Aaron is going to survive a sniper attack that occured while they were having imaginative bdsm sex in the backyard.
On the surface the book sounds great but it falls apart fairly quickly.
First – the bdsm. In this book you get to your subspace basically by being hypnotized before you really ever start. As soon as Aaron is ordered around he basically goes into a trance. Considering he is so highly suggestionable and a USAF pilot this is interesting but unlikely. It’s a unique spin but was unbelievable. They get training from a master bdsm practitioner that includes getting Aaron a little tipsy with brandy to get him to relax and hypnotize into his subspace faster. That is just the surface stuff. Once Aaron is in subspace he literally doesn’t move. He seems to not feel anything he just lies there. It’s really strange.
The military aspect. Aaron starts off as a lieutenant and is promoted to Colonel in 9 years - this is unlikely. He is engaged to his female crew member, Rosalyn. She is a sergeant in the beginning of the book. He explains that they are on again off again, not because she is his subordinate, but because it “gets weird”. That would be a problem actually. The sergeant that he is engaged to turns into a captain and a USAF pilot as well in the end of the book. Not likely. Additionally, although engaged for all those years they are still working on the same team. Finally, Aaron is deployed to Afghanistan for 4 years straight.
Coincidences: After 4 years in Afghanistan Aaron returns to take a two week vacation with John. This is the first time either man has seen the other in all this time (they have been emailing and talking on the phone). While they are driving to their hotel so that Aaron can have his first gay experience (John was already gay when they met, Aaron is gay for John), John’s ex, Liam, calls Aaron on his cell phone to harass him about the day Aaron and John met 4 years earlier. Liam is not only able to get his cell phone number but he also calls on the same day the two hook back up 4 years later? Are you kidding? Finally, Aaron is brought to the same hospital that his attacker and his girlfriend have ties to.
Also, Liam and John apparently take the same track in their education to become doctors. Although they live in Florida they seem to move all over the state to the same area hospitals. Liam just happens to have worked and now lives near, 9 years later, the same hospital that they bring Aaron too.
Finally, the medical aspect. John is a doctor. When Aaron is shot his actions seem out of character and unrealistic. The lack of action while waiting for help after the sniper incident made little sense (not to mention who the sniper was and why he shot Aaron) and was a little confusing. Finally, the first time John and Aaron have sex (remember, after being apart for four years and multiple partners for both in the interim) they have sex without a condom.
Sadly, the actual story of how the men meet and the path their lives take could have been riveting. Most of the problems should have been detected, questioned and resolved well before publication to strengthen this book into a real well thought out and written novel.
Aaron, a USAF pilot and John, a doctor meet as young men in their early 20's and have an interesting first meeting. They survive a tornado together and find that they have a pretty overwhelming attraction to each other.
The book is told in real time and flashback as John remembers their life together while waiting to find out if Aaron is going to survive a sniper attack that occured while they were having imaginative bdsm sex in the backyard.
On the surface the book sounds great but it falls apart fairly quickly.
First – the bdsm. In this book you get to your subspace basically by being hypnotized before you really ever start. As soon as Aaron is ordered around he basically goes into a trance. Considering he is so highly suggestionable and a USAF pilot this is interesting but unlikely. It’s a unique spin but was unbelievable. They get training from a master bdsm practitioner that includes getting Aaron a little tipsy with brandy to get him to relax and hypnotize into his subspace faster. That is just the surface stuff. Once Aaron is in subspace he literally doesn’t move. He seems to not feel anything he just lies there. It’s really strange.
The military aspect. Aaron starts off as a lieutenant and is promoted to Colonel in 9 years - this is unlikely. He is engaged to his female crew member, Rosalyn. She is a sergeant in the beginning of the book. He explains that they are on again off again, not because she is his subordinate, but because it “gets weird”. That would be a problem actually. The sergeant that he is engaged to turns into a captain and a USAF pilot as well in the end of the book. Not likely. Additionally, although engaged for all those years they are still working on the same team. Finally, Aaron is deployed to Afghanistan for 4 years straight.
Coincidences: After 4 years in Afghanistan Aaron returns to take a two week vacation with John. This is the first time either man has seen the other in all this time (they have been emailing and talking on the phone). While they are driving to their hotel so that Aaron can have his first gay experience (John was already gay when they met, Aaron is gay for John), John’s ex, Liam, calls Aaron on his cell phone to harass him about the day Aaron and John met 4 years earlier. Liam is not only able to get his cell phone number but he also calls on the same day the two hook back up 4 years later? Are you kidding? Finally, Aaron is brought to the same hospital that his attacker and his girlfriend have ties to.
Also, Liam and John apparently take the same track in their education to become doctors. Although they live in Florida they seem to move all over the state to the same area hospitals. Liam just happens to have worked and now lives near, 9 years later, the same hospital that they bring Aaron too.
Finally, the medical aspect. John is a doctor. When Aaron is shot his actions seem out of character and unrealistic. The lack of action while waiting for help after the sniper incident made little sense (not to mention who the sniper was and why he shot Aaron) and was a little confusing. Finally, the first time John and Aaron have sex (remember, after being apart for four years and multiple partners for both in the interim) they have sex without a condom.
Sadly, the actual story of how the men meet and the path their lives take could have been riveting. Most of the problems should have been detected, questioned and resolved well before publication to strengthen this book into a real well thought out and written novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2013
My head is really hurting from this insane book. This was supposed to be a romance/BDSM book about two sexy best friends drawn together over the years. However it was more of a convoluted, wannabe mystery with memories of sex thrown in here and there. I'm not necessarily against books that go back and forth from past to present, but this book changed decades or years every other paragraph. It not only went backwards and forwards, but I think it went sideways at one point. It was so hard to follow I was pissed off the majority of the time. The characters would have been enjoyable if you could have followed them for more than a sentence.
May 7, 2010
You can find my review on my blog:http://demonloversbookreviewsmore.blo...
DL
DL
February 28, 2012
Ridiculously elaborate writing, like that episode of M*A*S*H where Radar learns to write by mail. Story was okay, but I felt really detached from the characters.
January 19, 2018
Forever Bound by Chloe Stowe is the first book that I have read by this author, unfortunately I don't know if I'll be trying anymore of them. This blurb for the story had me intrigued, which is why I requested it, but unfortunately it just didn't work for me.
There were a few things that I really enjoyed about the story, but with all of the grammatical errors (which could've been corrected in the final version of the book), the unbelievable time frames for the military references and the surgeon's reaction to trauma, as well as the strange BDSM aspects, it took away too much from the little that I enjoyed.
I very rarely use the term that a story is "not believable", especially since these are fictional stories. However, it's difficult to understand when part of the story is written to be realistic, but the rest is so unbelievable that it doesn't seem to belong in the same book. That's pretty much how I felt about this one.
I believe that this story held huge potential, could've been a fantastic book, but there were just too many things that were overlooked, and should've been corrected, that it just fell short. There have been several others who have enjoyed this book. I think that this is one of those books that it will be up to the individual as to weather or not this can be something that they can enjoy. If you're interested in this book, please request a sample to see if it's for you.
I'm not going to recommend or not recommend this book, but leave it up to each person weather it could be something that you could enjoy.
I have voluntarily reviewed this complimentary copy providedby the publisher via NetGalley.
There were a few things that I really enjoyed about the story, but with all of the grammatical errors (which could've been corrected in the final version of the book), the unbelievable time frames for the military references and the surgeon's reaction to trauma, as well as the strange BDSM aspects, it took away too much from the little that I enjoyed.
I very rarely use the term that a story is "not believable", especially since these are fictional stories. However, it's difficult to understand when part of the story is written to be realistic, but the rest is so unbelievable that it doesn't seem to belong in the same book. That's pretty much how I felt about this one.
I believe that this story held huge potential, could've been a fantastic book, but there were just too many things that were overlooked, and should've been corrected, that it just fell short. There have been several others who have enjoyed this book. I think that this is one of those books that it will be up to the individual as to weather or not this can be something that they can enjoy. If you're interested in this book, please request a sample to see if it's for you.
I'm not going to recommend or not recommend this book, but leave it up to each person weather it could be something that you could enjoy.
I have voluntarily reviewed this complimentary copy providedby the publisher via NetGalley.
June 27, 2017
This is a hot story, reissued. You need to keep in mind that it was originally published in 2010, before the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, as that is important in the story.
Aaron is an Air Force pilot who is also a submissive man. He hasn’t allowed himself to recognize that he is either bisexual or gay until he gets stimulated watching John and his friend with benefits Liam engaged in oral sex.
John is a surgeon, accustomed to being in charge in the operating room and also in his personal life.
The story bounces around in time and sometimes it requires the reader to take the time and effort to realize which crisis is current and which is in the past. I lost track a few times and had to re-read a bit to get my bearings.
All in all, a good story. A few more breadcrumbs to keep the reader grounded would have been helpful.
Aaron is an Air Force pilot who is also a submissive man. He hasn’t allowed himself to recognize that he is either bisexual or gay until he gets stimulated watching John and his friend with benefits Liam engaged in oral sex.
John is a surgeon, accustomed to being in charge in the operating room and also in his personal life.
The story bounces around in time and sometimes it requires the reader to take the time and effort to realize which crisis is current and which is in the past. I lost track a few times and had to re-read a bit to get my bearings.
All in all, a good story. A few more breadcrumbs to keep the reader grounded would have been helpful.
August 29, 2017
Forever Bound is the first book in the Bound series by author Chloe Stowe. I liked the pacing of this book, I loved the emotional build up too. This book kept me really connected to how the characters were feeling and a part of that love building between them.
Aaron has known John for nine years. John is a year older than him. Aaron is runner. They are both in the air force. Gone to private dungeons before BDSM. Aaron loves to submit.
John loves to cycle. Loves to rush, the power of being a master. He loves being Aaron’s master.
I loved everything about this book except for one thing, feels very unfinished. There seems to be more that these characters need to say to finish off this story. But they are meant to be together and that love shines through. Over all pretty good and I would want to know more in the future.
Four Twinkling Stars
Aaron has known John for nine years. John is a year older than him. Aaron is runner. They are both in the air force. Gone to private dungeons before BDSM. Aaron loves to submit.
John loves to cycle. Loves to rush, the power of being a master. He loves being Aaron’s master.
I loved everything about this book except for one thing, feels very unfinished. There seems to be more that these characters need to say to finish off this story. But they are meant to be together and that love shines through. Over all pretty good and I would want to know more in the future.
Four Twinkling Stars
November 28, 2017
I was pretty excited about this book. M/M with a Surgeon and a Solider and some BDSM. The characters were interesting and I did enjoy the heat and some of their interactions. The problem for me is the flow of the writing. I love when we get the POV from everyone in the relationship; I did not enjoy the way the story constantly jumped between the two MCs with little to no indication that I'm in the other person's head for a couple of lines before jumping back. The majority of the story also jumps back and forth from past to present. I honestly found all of the jumps in POV and timeline to make this more difficult to read. I enjoyed this book but not nearly as much as I was expecting to and I am unlikely to return to the story. I would read another of this author's books to see if the writing style was different but if not then it'll be a pass in the future.
June 22, 2017
DNF at 42%. Normally I don't rate books that I dnf, but this book is a re-release which I find offensive in that none of the errors within the story or the details were fixed. There are typos (names incorrect), huge details that are wrong...you cannot go from LT to COL in the Air Force in 9 years, and the method of flashback is confusing, and several other issues that I'm not even going to detail. And honestly, all of those things are easy fixes (because the book has some great possibilities)...if someone would put a day's worth of work into this book. But no, it was re-released at $7 for an ebook...with so many issues? I find that offensive for the readers who may buy it so I rated it as a warning to others.
June 24, 2017
I enjoyed this story about Aaron, an airforce pilot and John, the surgeon. The story was messy and fun and contained that amazing rollercoaster that is known as falling in love. Of course it’s not all smooth sailing (is it ever?). I didn’t find myself rolling my eyes at any point and the story felt real and it was a refreshing change from tales with immature characters and silly scenarios. My only remark would be that the story seemed to jump back and forth in time and I was a little confused at one point. I’m not so keen on the heavy BDSM Sir/Master type relationship and this was a quick and much softer telling which spiced up the story. There wasn’t too much sex in the book I thought, but what scenes there were well written and not too over the top.
October 6, 2017
I liked this book overall. The chemistry between John and Aaron is off the charts. When John is hurting, Aaron knows how to help. Of course, then tragedy strikes and the book then goes into flashbacks of them meeting, their relationship and other partners they had. Liam was not a very likeable character, but he was not evil, just jealous. I have trouble reading books with this kind of back and forth time table (It's the same with tv shows that do this) or I would give it more stars. There were good characters in this book that engaged you and kept you reading. Again, I liked the book and will look for more of this author. I got this book
June 27, 2017
I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. The story of Aaron and John involves Aaron being shot and while John is at his bedside, he keeps going back in time to events that happened in their relationship. The book has a HEA and is fairly well written. I would have preferred an Epilogue for an update. It needs to deal with their relationship in the present after Aaron's recovery s little more. Overall I would recommend the book.
July 19, 2017
Aaron thought the world stopped moving the first time he saw John. He questioned who he was but knew that John would play a prominent role in his life. The book does a wonderful job of exploring how they met and how they ultimately became best friends and making the other feel complete.
July 7, 2017
Aaron and John are both great characters and have great chemistry. The story is fast paced with lots of drama and emotion and held my interest throughout. I really liked it.
August 9, 2017
Forever Bound was kind of hard for me to rate. On one hand, I liked both John and Aaron and so desperately wanted to like their story. On the other hand, their story was simply not executed well enough for me to rate it too highly.
Aaron is a pilot in the Air Force during the days of DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) and John is a surgeon. They meet when they're in their early 20s and there's a strong attraction from the very beginning. John is out and proud, currently in a FWB relationship with Liam when he meets the sexy pilot. Aaron, though, has always been straight until he meets John, to whom he's instantly attracted. In fact, he's in a relationship, an on and off kind of relationship, with a fellow Air Force colleague, a woman named Rosalyn. After their first, fortuitous meeting, they become friends, best friends, and their long distance relationship is filled with sexy texts, Skypes, etc. They become casual, non-exclusive, lovers, and stay that way for years. Then one grim day, John loses a patient, and Aaron is there for him in the way only he can - by offering John his submission so that John can take out his pain on Aaron's body. But, someone who hates John is watching, and it's the catalyst for the backbone of this story.
As Aaron fights for his life in the OR, John recalls their long, twisty relationship in a series of flashbacks. And it's here where the story lost me, because the flashbacks are so non-linear and not set apart from the present very clearly, that I got lost more than once trying to figure out exactly where the story was going, and where it was. I prefer flashbacks to be clearly delineated, either with headers with dates, or in italics, or what have you. Something, anything, that clearly lets me know that I'm reading a flashback. Then I won't have to try to figure out what's going on. There are all kinds of things thrown into the flashbacks. There's BDSM, including subspace training with a bearded "master" hypnotist, there's the jockeying back and forth for control between the two, there's the fact that both have relationships with others while at the same time maintaining their casual, but loving sexual relationship with each other, there are exes, including the FWB man John was with when Aaron and John first met (and who turns out to be a serious douchebag), and tons of other things that just muddy up the story line. I felt as if my head were in a fog nearly the whole story and it's because of the flashbacks. Perhaps if about half of the flashbacks were taken out, AND if the ones left in were clearly set apart from the present, I might have been able to connect with what could have been a great story. As it's written, though, I just couldn't reach my way through all the nonsense to get to the good stuff.
So, what could have been a really sexy BDSM story about best friends who happened to be in love, is instead a muddy, semi sexy story with two great characters. They were great enough that they deserved better than what they got in Forever Bound.
I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.
Aaron is a pilot in the Air Force during the days of DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) and John is a surgeon. They meet when they're in their early 20s and there's a strong attraction from the very beginning. John is out and proud, currently in a FWB relationship with Liam when he meets the sexy pilot. Aaron, though, has always been straight until he meets John, to whom he's instantly attracted. In fact, he's in a relationship, an on and off kind of relationship, with a fellow Air Force colleague, a woman named Rosalyn. After their first, fortuitous meeting, they become friends, best friends, and their long distance relationship is filled with sexy texts, Skypes, etc. They become casual, non-exclusive, lovers, and stay that way for years. Then one grim day, John loses a patient, and Aaron is there for him in the way only he can - by offering John his submission so that John can take out his pain on Aaron's body. But, someone who hates John is watching, and it's the catalyst for the backbone of this story.
As Aaron fights for his life in the OR, John recalls their long, twisty relationship in a series of flashbacks. And it's here where the story lost me, because the flashbacks are so non-linear and not set apart from the present very clearly, that I got lost more than once trying to figure out exactly where the story was going, and where it was. I prefer flashbacks to be clearly delineated, either with headers with dates, or in italics, or what have you. Something, anything, that clearly lets me know that I'm reading a flashback. Then I won't have to try to figure out what's going on. There are all kinds of things thrown into the flashbacks. There's BDSM, including subspace training with a bearded "master" hypnotist, there's the jockeying back and forth for control between the two, there's the fact that both have relationships with others while at the same time maintaining their casual, but loving sexual relationship with each other, there are exes, including the FWB man John was with when Aaron and John first met (and who turns out to be a serious douchebag), and tons of other things that just muddy up the story line. I felt as if my head were in a fog nearly the whole story and it's because of the flashbacks. Perhaps if about half of the flashbacks were taken out, AND if the ones left in were clearly set apart from the present, I might have been able to connect with what could have been a great story. As it's written, though, I just couldn't reach my way through all the nonsense to get to the good stuff.
So, what could have been a really sexy BDSM story about best friends who happened to be in love, is instead a muddy, semi sexy story with two great characters. They were great enough that they deserved better than what they got in Forever Bound.
I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.
November 1, 2012
Despite finding the writing style sort of strange, I liked the story
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 7/10
PROS:
- This story provides a fascinating look at submission. Aaron falls into subspace much more quickly than I’ve read about before, and Stowe does a great job of depicting the altered state of mind that results when Aaron falls.
- The plot contains a lot of unusual occurrences; I certainly didn’t get the feeling that I’d read it all before.
- Aaron and John are frank and realistic with each other right from the start. Their relationship is not about romance at first; they start out just sleeping together, and then the romance evolves from that.
- The sex scenes are unusual in that they lack a lot of sweet, “emotional” moments. They’re rough and masculine (just like the characters), with a lot of wrestling and biting and jockeying for position.
CONS:
- The writing struck me as just a little…odd. Many of the sentences are sort of roundabout and abstract in their phrasing rather than simple and direct. Part of the reason I found the writing style so strange is that Stowe uses a lot of personification in her descriptions. Here are some examples: “Long-legged nightmares walked right up to your face and frowned at your wandering eye. Blood-red roses hung in the air crying solitary painted-on tears”; “The snow fell on Chicago with a determined mind to meddle…The roads courted snow plows alone. The sidewalks courted no one at all.”
- Some of the description is a bit flowery for my taste: “the tiny beads of sweat bejeweled the long, smooth stretches of skin. The tip of John’s forefinger ghosted across the tortuously twisting trails of these gems.”
- There are brief POV switches within scenes throughout the book; they’re minor, but frequent. And the Kindle version contains some annoying formatting issues, like paragraphs that aren’t indented, entire sections of text that are ALL indented, phrases like “PAGE BREAK” and “END EXCERPT” written in all caps here and there, etc.
Overall comments: I liked this story, even though I’m having a hard time categorizing it. Overall, I guess I’d call it quirky. Sometimes it’s serious and leans a bit toward pseudo-philosophizing, and sometimes it comes across as a pretty light-hearted romance. The BDSM is an important part of the relationship, but I wouldn’t really call it the focus of the story; it’s simply one element.
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 7/10
PROS:
- This story provides a fascinating look at submission. Aaron falls into subspace much more quickly than I’ve read about before, and Stowe does a great job of depicting the altered state of mind that results when Aaron falls.
- The plot contains a lot of unusual occurrences; I certainly didn’t get the feeling that I’d read it all before.
- Aaron and John are frank and realistic with each other right from the start. Their relationship is not about romance at first; they start out just sleeping together, and then the romance evolves from that.
- The sex scenes are unusual in that they lack a lot of sweet, “emotional” moments. They’re rough and masculine (just like the characters), with a lot of wrestling and biting and jockeying for position.
CONS:
- The writing struck me as just a little…odd. Many of the sentences are sort of roundabout and abstract in their phrasing rather than simple and direct. Part of the reason I found the writing style so strange is that Stowe uses a lot of personification in her descriptions. Here are some examples: “Long-legged nightmares walked right up to your face and frowned at your wandering eye. Blood-red roses hung in the air crying solitary painted-on tears”; “The snow fell on Chicago with a determined mind to meddle…The roads courted snow plows alone. The sidewalks courted no one at all.”
- Some of the description is a bit flowery for my taste: “the tiny beads of sweat bejeweled the long, smooth stretches of skin. The tip of John’s forefinger ghosted across the tortuously twisting trails of these gems.”
- There are brief POV switches within scenes throughout the book; they’re minor, but frequent. And the Kindle version contains some annoying formatting issues, like paragraphs that aren’t indented, entire sections of text that are ALL indented, phrases like “PAGE BREAK” and “END EXCERPT” written in all caps here and there, etc.
Overall comments: I liked this story, even though I’m having a hard time categorizing it. Overall, I guess I’d call it quirky. Sometimes it’s serious and leans a bit toward pseudo-philosophizing, and sometimes it comes across as a pretty light-hearted romance. The BDSM is an important part of the relationship, but I wouldn’t really call it the focus of the story; it’s simply one element.
August 26, 2017
To say the least this is a quirky story about best friends and their gradual path towards love and partnership with a soupçon of BDSM thrown in.
The writing is unique, it moves from a jaunty buddy story to flowery and poetic prose and several fairly intense dramas, with a hint of additional mystery woven in.
The story is told in flashback form moving between past and present. Aaron is critically injured and John recalls their friendship and the highlights of their time together from early twenties to middle age as he waits to discover whether his best friend and lover will survive and give them a future together.
The storytelling left me scratching my head, because coincidence abounds and the portrayal of their BDSM relationship seems to me entirely unrealistic since Aaron falls into subspace at the merest suggestion and virtually first grope.
What I was expecting was a potentially sexy story about best friends falling in love. Instead I got a rather confused and whimsical tale that is brief on detail, and more like a series of vignettes.
The characters are engaging. John and Aaron are both strong and independent, one a surgeon and the latter a pilot. They meet in their early twenties and their relationship grows from initial attraction to life long partners via a series of unusual events.
Perhaps this is like real life, in that you are never quite sure what is coming next. I found the story interesting if unlikely. Certainly, I was engaged sufficiently to read to the end to discover what happens next.
This is part of a series, but I think it is unlikely that I would choose to read any further. I have given this three stars but I suspect I am being generous
** My thanks to the publisher who provided a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review **
The writing is unique, it moves from a jaunty buddy story to flowery and poetic prose and several fairly intense dramas, with a hint of additional mystery woven in.
The story is told in flashback form moving between past and present. Aaron is critically injured and John recalls their friendship and the highlights of their time together from early twenties to middle age as he waits to discover whether his best friend and lover will survive and give them a future together.
The storytelling left me scratching my head, because coincidence abounds and the portrayal of their BDSM relationship seems to me entirely unrealistic since Aaron falls into subspace at the merest suggestion and virtually first grope.
What I was expecting was a potentially sexy story about best friends falling in love. Instead I got a rather confused and whimsical tale that is brief on detail, and more like a series of vignettes.
The characters are engaging. John and Aaron are both strong and independent, one a surgeon and the latter a pilot. They meet in their early twenties and their relationship grows from initial attraction to life long partners via a series of unusual events.
Perhaps this is like real life, in that you are never quite sure what is coming next. I found the story interesting if unlikely. Certainly, I was engaged sufficiently to read to the end to discover what happens next.
This is part of a series, but I think it is unlikely that I would choose to read any further. I have given this three stars but I suspect I am being generous
** My thanks to the publisher who provided a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review **
June 30, 2017
I struggled with my rating for this one. We have all the components for a really good story and it was an ok read but there is a lot of jumping backwards and forwards in time and a big gap in between their first meet and the first time they get together. There is no filler in these time jumps, just jumping from one time period to another and we are simply told what has been happening during the time they've been apart.
I thought the mystery was quite good and the resolution was unexpected but IMHO although this book has already been revised and reissued, it could do with another edit.
*Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I thought the mystery was quite good and the resolution was unexpected but IMHO although this book has already been revised and reissued, it could do with another edit.
*Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
June 15, 2010
I loved the chemistry between both main couple Aaron and John.
Both are really complex and interesting to fallow. Even Laim was originally drawn and negative/positive which is also realistical shown.
The story is fresh and original, tuthfully written really well. If you are pulled into the story you wont really mind the present/past/present/past... writting style because every memory gives you a clue about the present and it's really interesting.
Both are really complex and interesting to fallow. Even Laim was originally drawn and negative/positive which is also realistical shown.
The story is fresh and original, tuthfully written really well. If you are pulled into the story you wont really mind the present/past/present/past... writting style because every memory gives you a clue about the present and it's really interesting.
June 26, 2012
One flashback for back-story is fine but this sucker popped back and forth repeatedly and was nothing but frustrating. What made me so angry was I really liked the MC's and their kink was different and I wanted to understand it and them more. I'd take this to an editor and rework it. Stowe had a five star on her hands and she let us down.
March 26, 2020
All time best
I miss Me Stowe's stories! This is one of the best. I love the air and dialog between Aaron and John. You are really brought into their world and their fictional lives. It's a must read. I promise you won't put this book down!!!
I miss Me Stowe's stories! This is one of the best. I love the air and dialog between Aaron and John. You are really brought into their world and their fictional lives. It's a must read. I promise you won't put this book down!!!
March 3, 2013
One of the best books I've read in a long time. Grabbed my attention from the very first chapter and I just could not put it down. Definetly going in my favorites!
dnf-not-4-me
October 11, 2014The flashback premise sounds terrible. Too bad. The story sounds great!
June 5, 2013
3 Stars
This is a collection of short erotic tales about bondage. They cover the gambit between first times, lots of experience and even transgender.
This is a collection of short erotic tales about bondage. They cover the gambit between first times, lots of experience and even transgender.
Read
December 10, 2014There is a short Christmas story follow-up about these MC's in the collection "Well Hung By The Chimney"
December 26, 2010
Wonderful storytelling with outsanding style.
Read
January 17, 2018Forever Bound by Chloe Stowe was a decent read. I’d rate it at 3.5*, only reason I’m not giving it 4 is because although the story was good, it didn’t flow well.
Dr. John Castle and Captain Aaron Chambers were the best of friends...and it all started with a football game. Aaron found John sitting around a cooler drinking beer waiting for his partner to return with the ‘hard stuff’. Aaron joined John for a drink and the connection between the two was instantaneous.
I loved the Characters and their story, the heated M/M scenes with a little BDSM and the concept that you were getting everyone’s POV.
I however found the book difficult to read as the flow just wasn’t there...one minute you are reading the present time - then your in the past and then your somewhere in the middle between past and present. I think it would’ve been easier if each new section started with a date or something to indicate you were jumping to a different time period.
I did enjoy the story and would be interested to read book two, Forever Bound with Tinsel just to see if the writing style is the same (and also fInd out what happens next to Doc and Fly Boy). I’d like to read more of Chloe Stowe to compare and see if this was just a one time writing style or if this is how all her books are written.
**ARC received by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
Dr. John Castle and Captain Aaron Chambers were the best of friends...and it all started with a football game. Aaron found John sitting around a cooler drinking beer waiting for his partner to return with the ‘hard stuff’. Aaron joined John for a drink and the connection between the two was instantaneous.
I loved the Characters and their story, the heated M/M scenes with a little BDSM and the concept that you were getting everyone’s POV.
I however found the book difficult to read as the flow just wasn’t there...one minute you are reading the present time - then your in the past and then your somewhere in the middle between past and present. I think it would’ve been easier if each new section started with a date or something to indicate you were jumping to a different time period.
I did enjoy the story and would be interested to read book two, Forever Bound with Tinsel just to see if the writing style is the same (and also fInd out what happens next to Doc and Fly Boy). I’d like to read more of Chloe Stowe to compare and see if this was just a one time writing style or if this is how all her books are written.
**ARC received by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
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