Saturday With Sid: SOLE SURVIVOR

Like Tuesdays with Morrie but with KINK!

Hi ya'll! I invited some friends to join me today on Saturdays with Sid. You all know them… it’s just Tyra and Rebecca, two of the other Indulgent Bloggers. Since they read the book I’m reviewing today, we decided to give you a glimpse into our conversation. And I’m guessing you’ll get a pretty good idea what we thought of the book.

SOLE SURVIVORMark Scrivens
Two men want Adam Huntington. One wants to love him, the other wants to kill him.
Five years ago, Adam survived an attack by one of California’s most horrific serial killers. The experience scarred him, both inside and out. So to create a new life -- one without the world-known moniker, Adam, the Sole Survivor -- he moves to New York City, where he can be just another face in the crowd.
NYPD Detective Jake O'Malley takes the motto of “Serve and Protect” very seriously in all things, especially in matters of the heart. He’s had enough of cheating lovers and believes in monogamy, respect, and romance. His first date with Adam is a disaster. But when their paths cross ten months later, he asks for a second chance. Despite his large and physically imposing frame, Jake hopes Adam will come to trust and eventually love him.
Todd Eldin sees his muscled body as a finely honed tool, perfect for seducing and killing. When the police begin searching for the killer in a series of sexually sadistic murders, Todd successfully operates below the radar, until he spins a web to catch a more prominent prey -- Adam, the one that got away.
Has Adam finally outrun his luck? Can anyone survive the horrors of being caged, beaten and tortured for a second time? Or will Adam be able to use what he learned in California to save himself and his lover? Who will survive this deadliest of love triangles?
GENRE: Contemporary • Erotic Romance • Fiction • Gay • Thriller LENGTH: 77,100 words

Rebecca: First, I have to start by saying HOLY HOT COVER! The sensuality, the vulnerability, and the absolute strength conveyed in the cover were completely compelling.

Tyra: Oh Rebecca, I have to agree. The cover was hot *SWOON* but I also don’t think it could have conveyed the defenselessness and exposure that Adam felt any better.

Sid: I have to agree as well.  *grin* It’s hard to not find an attractive man in that position compelling.

Tyra: It gave you ideas didn’t it, Sid??? *LOL* A hot man on his knees and submissive…

Sid: Hush your mouth!  Of course it gave me ideas even though I'm still not sure what end of that I wanna be on.

Rebecca: *clears throat* That is a topic for a completely different time. How about we talk about why we chose to read the book?

Tyra: Well, I chose this book because of the blurb. I knew it was going to be emotional and suspenseful but I wasn’t expecting to be as invested in the story as I was.

Rebecca: I have to admit to being a bit vain. Since the cover was so compelling to me and I was looking for an emotional read, Sole Survivor was perfect. And it was very much an emotional read - and so much more. It was intense and courageous. Seriously, if it were a movie, there were parts when my head would've been partially covered. What this man went through and recovered from was simply amazing.
Tyra: I have to say I was hooked from the very beginning and I didn’t want to put it down. I think I was so afraid for Adam that I just had to keep reading.

Rebecca: Me too - I had to know he'd be all right. But [Tyra] had to reassure me a few times that I could get through it. The imagery the author conveyed made the story so real, the hero that much stronger and the protagonist that much scarier.  

Sid: I was afraid to put it down as well, girls. I was also attached enough to the characters to fear for them.  I was really afraid the cute ‘lil cowboy and the mutual friend Mark were going to be hurt.  The cowboy is only in the book for a very short time, but his character is strong enough to make you want to fight for him. 

Tyra: OMH - I was scared to death that something was going to happen to Mark and I don’t know that Adam would have been able to come back from that. And I was also running down the street right along with Craig hoping he would get away.

Sid: I was totally running down the street with Craig too! *sigh* I have a soft spot for cowboys and I dang sure know what it feels like to move to a big city and literally not know anyone.  I suppose I identified with him because of that more than anything.

Rebecca: The secondary characters added the perfect mix into the story. But what I think I liked most was how the story is told from three points of view - a bit unusual - but it worked to include the POV of the serial killer.

Tyra: The multiple POV’s made the story that much more engaging – especially the serial killer.

Rebecca: Those twisted and demented thoughts turned my stomach but they also placed me right into the killer's mind. Those passages were well-written, frighteningly so (this is where I was hiding my head under covers!).

Tyra: Yes. Oh my Heck, Rebecca. I was thinking the same thing. And to think that the scenes came from a child’s poem made it even creepier. I will never be able to hear that poem of the spider and the fly again without thinking of this story. It really took it to another level.

Sid: I'll never be able to see that poem again either without thinking about the story. 

Rebecca: I'm not even sure I'll be able to sing the itsy bitsy spider anymore without thinking about some of those scenes. *shivers* Eek!  

Tyra: Did anyone else find it interesting that the killer allowed himself to be topped? It seemed to be a deviation to his controlling character.

Sid: Maybe some. As trippy as it is to admit, the scenes with the killer are both terrifying and sexually exciting to an extent.  *blushes* The book messes with your head because you know that you shouldn't find that sort of sex appealing and it leaves you somewhat disgusted with yourself.  Very few books can harness that kind of emotion.

Rebecca: I think a lot of people have that “being taken” fantasy that this sort-of plays into. 

Tyra: And I think those scenes evoked EXACTLY the emotions that the author wanted them to. They were titillating and you didn’t want them to be. 

Rebecca: On a lighter note... *flutters her eyes* I’m curious... where did the author find so many characters with such large penises? ;) Seriously, that might've been a little much. Everyone likes them big but we didn't have to mention it in every scene.

Tyra: Okay Rebecca, isn’t a well-endowed man what we’re all looking for because let’s be real….size does matter. Plus this is fiction. But there did seem to be a lot of emphasis on the character’s builds – actually made me feel like I needed to work out.

Sid: Everyone loves a big one, right?  Oh damn, that's just in my head... Seriously though, some of the descriptive wording was a little repetitive and that sort of gets on my nerves, but it’s one of my things.  I realize though that when you're writing a novel, you can probably have quite a time not using the same adjective twice.

Rebecca: Enough about size… let’s talk about the romance.

Tyra: I don’t know about you all but I was very pleasantly surprised at the epilogue it was nice that we got to see it didn’t all get tied up in a pretty bow. Life is messy and it made the story much more real. It also made me want to go to the beach.

Rebecca: I agree, Tyra. The epilogue was a good addition - I don't always love them in books but readers needed the comfort of knowing Adam found his HEA.

Tyra: I was also surprised to find that this was the author’s first book. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

Sid: I smell a sequel.  Will we be reading some seriously bangin' sex scenes with Mark and Craig?  Mmm… mmm… I hope so!  I think we can all agree that Sole Survivor gets our 5 chocolate-dipped strawberries rating. Job very well done, Mr. Scrivens!

This book was given to us by JM Books Publishing. Many thanks, ya'll.