Pent Up Kindle Edition

I can't tell if I'm being stingy or too generous with three stars. This book was a mostly-entertaining mess.The Good:- Reuben is the kind of lead character you'd expect from Suede: relatable and flawed. He was a character I was happy to spend a book with.- Most everything except the main plot. On a chapter-by-chapter basis, the book is an enjoyable read.The Not-So-Good- Andy never felt real to me, or even clearly-defined enough to actually like. Given that he's the book's romantic interest, that's a huge problem. In related news:- Surprisingly, given that this is from the author of "Hot Head" and "Bad Idea," the romance didn't click. I didn't get that there was enough of a personal connection between the characters for anything approximating love to happen, which makes the instances of the L-word super-awkward.- The bodyguard/suspense elements of the plot came across as muddy and unfinished. Much of the book is set in a building that we learn, at the beginning of the book, is highly-secure. Later events in the book totally ignore the givens of its first chapters. The human elements that surrounded that section of the plot never made a lick of sense.- The problematic power dynamics of the boss/employee relationship get hand-waved at the end of the book. The book almost sorta goes near talking about it, then chickens out. The same applies to the 1%er white/working-class Latinx elements of this pairing.To be clear, I enjoyed most of this book. It's the thriller-lite elements of the book that left me with narrative blueballs. I find myself wondering if, despite the 2015 publication date, if this was written before Suede's other, more assured books. It might be worth picking up if you already like the author's work, but if you do, manage your expectations.

I am really struggling to find words to explain my disappointment in this novel.Dameon's stories are all very different so comparing one with another is like apples and oranges and pears, yet the writing, execution, observations are always top notch. This, it was a brick. Really clunky, half of the dialogue between the two MC I had no idea who was talking and which he, him, his was being referred to as sometimes I felt as if a point of view had changed mid sentence. Hmm, even after backtracking a conversation flow I was still clueless....ok, move on, forget that chat.The why's and wherefore's of the plot eluded me. The wallet scene, what was the purpose, considering the next interaction with Walrus stache .......well that escalated quickly! And the whole way out for Andy, I can't even. I felt like I was reading this through smeared glasses, like if I could just clean them enough then I would see clearly. Apparently not. Or maybe I am just not clever, or the whole scenario was not actually fleshed out enough for a non-investment banker to make even a modicum of sense out of it.Told third person from only Reuben's point of view, we are in his slightly negative mindset the whole time. I didn't mind Reuben, and could understand him and his outlook for the most part. Andy was another matter and did not warm to him as he was smoke and mirrors.Not a recommended read for me, but others obviously enjoyed it,

I have read a few of his other books that were easy, fun, and erotic. They had little problems, but overall they were enjoyable quick reads. This, however, was a HORRIBLE waste of time and money. I bought it because the idea sounded great, but I read about 60% of it painfully then I just skimmed the rest swiftly because I couldn't bring myself to read anymore. It reads like a first rough draft! The dialogue was hard to follow leading you to backtrack to figure out which character was talking, entire sentences didn't make much sense sometimes, and the whole thing was so repetitive that you realize that the book could have been a short story if they had actually edited it. The choices for dialect and speech patterns were bizarre, and these seemingly two very different people used the same ones? Page after page, paragraph after paragraph, the same self-hating themes too. If not that then the 'I'm a full time drunk and need AA' theme. Not that I'm against the use of either theme, but it was every sentence! There was nothing else to the book almost! There was nothing else to the main character. Even the erotic elements were pretty bad. Outside of that the characters had such unclear motivations, and the plot was so ridiculous and vague, I just was so disappointed. (I mean who goes to all these parties as a guest, never talks to a soul, and no one sees that as suspicious?) Disappointed both in the author whom I had liked, and myself for wasting the money. I could go on about the problematic representations or ridiculous sex, but there is no point.

This was an enjoyable read & set in New York, a city with its own personality, which told the tale of two older (late 30s & early 40s, so hardly old!!) characters who had only ever really been in straight relationships before. Ruben was, despite his own self-loathing, likeable & you understood him. Andy was more difficult to get, but that's because you only ever saw Ruben's point of view. You felt the tension & heat building between them, but was it one-sided? Clearly not, or there'd not be a tale, but it would have been good to have Andy's thoughts.As for the crime or mystery element of the tale, that kinda left me a bit nonplussed. Many a time I had to go back & re-read something to check it made sense, plus a lack of understanding of financial workings led to a few scratched head moments. That said, having walked up & down Park Avenue & around the Upper East Side, the people referred to could be envisioned.What I liked was the older characters exploring new feelings. That worked. What disappointed was the ending.

Hhmmm……one of those books I’m kinda split with really. The tale revolves around Ruben Oso, a recovering alcoholic who has just moved from Miami to NYC to work for his brother Charles at his security firm, and Andy Bauer, an uber-wealthy and very enigmatic financial wiz. Ruben is basically hired as Andy’s muscle, as he insists someone is watching him and has even been in his very swanky penthouse apartment, and therefore requires Ruben to accompany him to events etc. and pretend to be an old friend (and not the hired help) to help scare this unknown intruder off.The tale is written from Ruben’s POV, and I’ve gotta admit it took me a while to warm to him. I found his constant internal monologue of sizing everyone and everything up around him off-puting, not to mention his preoccupation with his skin colour and what he imagined everyone else’s reaction to this might be. And TBH he came across as a little money and label obsessed really – how on earth someone who claimed never having wealth knew the value of every item and who designed them was dumbfounding! BUT – as I read on, I did begin to understand him more and actually really like him. Andy was definitely way harder to understand and enjoy as a character, main reason being, he’s pretty much a mystery for most of the book, and we therefore never really get to see the real him until his secrets are unravelled.For me the very slow and sensual build-up to this romance was the real hook. It took a while for things to heat up between the guys, but I personally feel the wait only makes it that much more delicious. Loved that they slowly became friends first, which in itself was pretty huge, as they both had such trust issues, and this developed into a real physical desire for each other that they both could deny no longer. Also gotta say that the sex IMO appeared very realistic, considering it was between two previously straight men. I thought the way Ruben and Andy navigated their way around things, very honestly and clumsily even at times, was just so genuine, and hot! It’s a real peeve of mine when an author has their straight male character(s) venturing into gay sex for the first time, and just happens to be perfect at it with no questions asked??Alas, where this story fell flat for me was the end just seemed to go nowhere really. The mystery of who and what Andy was and the reveal of the villain, just left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied, as did the scene at the golf club, to which if I’m honest, I felt was too long and I also didn’t entirely understand a lot of the conversation between Ruben, Andy and his stepfather. But the real let-down was the lack of a confirmed commitment between our leads. Yeah I know they confessed their love, but the tale left things a little up in the air I thought as far as moving in or a confirmed future together. I understand that Ruben’s sobriety is a major factor in his life, but still, I wanted more for these two gorgeous men, who I really did come to care for. Overall, this was a brilliantly written and edited book with enjoyable characters, let down only by some prolonged scenes, and also our protagonists having no real HEA or even much of a HFN to speak of.

I read Hot Head and loved it so much. Sexy, authentic, moving. I was keen to read more by this author, but really struggled with Pent Up. I finished it, but it was hard. I liked the characters and I like how Suede does dialogue, how he doesn’t spell out every emotion or scenario, trusting the reader to infer, but in this book, I was a bit lost. The story line was a bit too vague and the evolving emotions rather hard to follow. I actually really like the 2 mc’s, I think he did a good job giving them depth, but I don’t like feeling so lost through the whole story. It seemed evident that the author knew what was going on but as the reader I felt like I was stumbling along the rough edges of a dark road. I’ll still look for more books by him, I was impressed with both books I’ve read so far, he comes across as a mature, experienced author. I love when the writing isn’t overly simplistic/juvenile.

The mysterious Setup at the beginning and all the secretness...I was really surprised after revealing the truth about everything... And how Ruben dealt with everything

I'm not even sure how to review ... Damon just can't go wrong in my eyes ... I love his style kinda balls out this is what's what take it or leave it ... I loved loved loved this book I won't spoil but it's worth a read