Title: Buried Secrets
Series: Buried Secrets #1
Self Published
Publication Date: January 13, 2019
Length: 290 pages
Reviewed by Sammy
Synopsis
Alek Belanov never forgot the way his family was brutally when he was a child, nor did he forgot his promise to find those who are responsible for their crime. Although his Russian mobster uncle raised him as his own and he believed in the man at the time…now? He is no longer believes in the man’s explanation. It was time he sought his own answers.
After Alek spent two years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, his uncle sends him away to the Gay Protection Society.
Rafe’s group of ten encounters security breaches and threats requiring them to move frequently. If a gay client breaks security rules, their protector disciplines them.
Secrets and deceptions try to destroy Rafe and Alek’s relationship.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This book contains mild BDSM elements including restraints, blindfolds, and spanking. While Buried Secrets is a stand-alone with no cliffhanger, the story will continue with Emilio and Kaden.
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Review
Losing the boy he loved, framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and
used mercilessly while in prison, Alex Belanov returns home only to find out
the uncle who has cared for him since his family was brutally murdered many
years before has decided to enter him into a gay protection service that
appears to be little more than a new form of sexual saver. In the most of
humiliating ways, Alec is dropped off at the pace where one man will step up to
be his protector—a man he will be expected to sexually satisfy while in his
care. Nothing makes sense to the young man—why does his uncle think the family
of his dead lover mean to kill him? Why does his cousin hate him? And most
importantly how can he ever be enough for the man who has chosen to protect
him?
Rafe Escobar runs
a tight ship—he has to since most, if not all, of the men he has under his
protection are in danger. Along with four other alpha males who he trusts and
their charges, Rafe takes on Alek and sets out to bond with him. But Alex is
angry, confused and prone to breaking rules—something that cannot happen or all
their lives will be in peril. Still there is something about the younger man
that Rafe finds compelling and hard to resist.
I sat on this
review for a few days after reading the novel primarily because I wasn’t sure
how to approach a book that did not resonate whatsoever with me. Author Brina
Brady has begun a new series with the release of Buried Secrets and while there
is a definite germ of a potentially fascinating story deep inside this first
novel it’s a fairly rough start nonetheless. First the idea of a group of alpha
males, most previously Doms, who opt to take on guys whose lives are in danger
for one reason or another is most assuredly an interesting idea. Also I think there
is going to be varying levels of BDSM in these novels since the more
established couples who will eventually get their own books are bound to be
into some kinkier stuff than Rafe and Alek are.
Given the way
this novel began I completely understood the author making Rafe both confused,
angry and a bit frightened about how his life was going to play out. Since he
was essentially at the mercy of Rafe and his sex toy to play with, one can
understand why Alek behaved as he did—sometimes pretty bratty, if I’m to be
honest. I got why Alek often ran hot then cold—one minute wanting sex with Rafe
and needing his closeness and other times fearing that if he didn’t measure up
in the bedroom he might be cut loose by Rafe and sent back to the place to be
chosen by another. Because Alek was kept in the dark about how Rafe was always
going to be his protector regardless of how well they bonded, it was easy to
buy into his behavior and fears.
Rafe, on the
other hand, really just left me confused, irritated and disinterested in
alternating degrees. I got that this guy had the safety of the group on his
shoulders but he was like a Jekyll and Hyde emotionally. One moment he was
sensitive to Alek’s worries and kind to him and the next he was telling him to
spread his legs and be quick about it. Rafe was just too on edge —all the time.
I also didn’t really understand how he came to be shielding his brother Mateo
or exactly why that was needed when his brother seemed rather blasé about his
own safety. Honestly this whole group just didn’t compute for me—perhaps it was
because we met all five of them and their protectees and had multiple plot
lines going concerning each of them so to set up future installments in the
series. Whatever the reason it felt like a mishmash of story lines that never
really went anywhere and didn’t exactly pique my curiosity to make me hanker
for their individual stories. The dialogue was so stilted—there was little to
no chemistry between these partners and the entire story felt forced. For instance,
I really didn’t get why these guys had to provide unlimited sexual access to
the men sworn to protect them in exchange for being kept safe. That honestly
felt like dubious consent at best initially—I mean what right did the guys have
to say no? They didn’t—particularly since they were stripped naked and tested
out by anyone who cared to get a blowjob before they were claimed.
Speaking of the
sexual content of the novel, I really didn’t care for how Rafe introduced Alek
to the Dom/sub components by using their very first encounter to blindfold and
bind Alek with belts and then administer an inordinately huge number of hits
with the paddle—an excessive amount. What made it seem even more implausible
was the fact that Alek was seemingly able to sit and move easily the next day
with no pain? No, I had to draw the line there. I have read my fair share of
good BDSM and this just crossed too many lines—it was just simply too
unrealistic even for fiction.
I really could go
on and on but fear I may have already given too much of the story away. Buried
Secrets had real potential with what first appeared as a fresh story arc that
could have been the start of a great series. Instead we got a disjointed story
that introduced way too many characters and gave tidbits about each that served
to frustrate more than titillate. I have mulled over this novel for several
days and I have to admit that I honestly can’t rate this novel. Perhaps it’s just me—perhaps others will find
this novel compelling and exciting. I, unfortunately, simply found the book to be tedious and too
unrealistic.
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