| Title | : | Taking Work Home (Lord and Master, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1596327421 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781596327429 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 143 |
| Publication | : | First published August 1, 2008 |
Life's never that simple, of course. Other people have an interest in Steven's welfare and Steven's money, and they're not about to let the pretty little PA half his age take control of either. There's a reason why Steven was still single at the age of forty-four, and some of his family are intent on ensuring that Mark finds out about it the hard way. But Mark already knows—true love is about more than champagne and roses.
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable; anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices.
Taking Work Home (Lord and Master, #2) Reviews
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I liked this continuation of Mark and Steven's story, and as someone with bipolar disorder, I found it really interesting to read about it in such detail in a romance book. The author really nails some things on the head and I thought it was really touching to see bipolar honestly dealt with. I also had to crack up because this is the most british book I've read in a while! Tea tea everywhere! I love it!
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The second volume of Lord and Master series was as good as the first volume. The plot was fresh and made a nice insight in to the development of characters. Mark, young fresh PhD who was PA of the self made millionaire Stephen. Oh yes age difference, social difference is the main motor of the book. It was so charming to read about them making trough the obstacles not only those of society (family and such) but also with dealing with Stephens mood swings and bipolar disorder.
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Ok, starting a series with the second book is probably not a really clever idea. Even if it can be read as a standalone, this is no fun. I would need to know what happened first because like this the story just drags and is really really boring...
However I have no idea how this book ended on my bought shelf, but I am absolutely sure that I will not spend another € 5,- for the first part of this novella, so this will go to my DNF shelf, without a rating... -
Bored out of my wits. Couldn't finish it.
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It isn't often that I can say that a novel, or a short two-book series like this one, completely catches me off-guard in the way it approaches a (rather hoary) trope: that of the hot young apprentice falling head-over-heels for his equally hot, older, far more successful boss or master.
As I mentioned in my review of Lord and Master, the first novel in this series, I figured, based on the cover art and the title, that I was approaching another story that would be using Oy ("Occidental yaoi") as its basis. Steven Frost, the self-made chemical engineering millionaire has hired the two-decades younger PhD-seeking student, Mark Paulson, as his PA. A lot of my initial feelings were verified right off: Steven hired Mark to show his straight CEO buddies that trophy secretaries are not just nubile young women; in addition, the sex was immediate, hot and totally seme/uke. (Guess who's top, and who's bottoming.)
Then about half-way through the first novel, a whole lot changes. For my thoughts about the switch-up, see my review of Lord and Master>.
Lord and Master 2 takes place during the two-year period between the penultimate and final chapters of the first novel.
I alluded to the fact that Steven is not the perfect seme, in that sometimes he not only wants to bottom but, more importantly, he isn't nearly as perfect as he has appeared initially. I don't think I have ever seen mental illness presented so matter-of-factly as it is in this lead-up to the men's moving-in together. Even Ethan, Who Loved Carter dealt in more of a roundabout way with the traumas affecting both its MCs.
This is an absolutely fascinating study of how a mental illness can actually help a man succeed in the business world, while serving, equally, to facilitate the destruction of any love relationship he seeks to enter into.
Telling anything more would only serve to "spoiler" the entire second novel as well as the second half of the first. However, added to the illness problem is the fact that much of Steven's family has presumed that he will never marry, never father children and that, therefore, his money and his power and position at his company are coming, by familial inheritance, directly to the male children of Steven's siblings.
How Mark and Steven deal with their male/male power struggles, as well as their oft-troubled relationship, forms the basis of a fascinating study of how a solid love can be severely tested by external forces that have no business coming between the two men.
There will be many who will find this series to be too real, and unpleasant, to be of interest. For me, however, it was a wonderful exercise in how a very clichéd trope can be routed thoroughly. I was very happily surprised by the unexpected aspects of this novel, and can recommend it highly to anyone who isn't seeking the standard Oy storyline.
Kudos to Jules Jones for addressing not only an unusual aspect of the ongoing male/male struggle for relationship dominance, but for making the success or failure of that relationship quasi-dependent on outside forces having nothing to do with the two men's love for each other.
I liked this series quite a bit. It's not Ethan, Who Loved Carter (that's a totally unique and, possibly, a one-of-a-kind story), but this is a genuinely honest look at an unusual facet of men and their relationship struggles. -
Mark has enjoyed working for Steven and developing a relationship with him outside of work. Steven and Mark now have to face Steven's family and Steven knows that it will be a mess of accusations from his narrow-minded family members. Watching Mark put various members of Steven's family on notice that he wasn't going to deal with their bs was terrific to watch.
Mark and Steven were interesting in the first book, and this one was just as good. We got to see more about Steven running his company and his outlook on the future when it comes to Mark. We also saw a different side of Mark as he stood up for Steven many times throughout the book. -
2015 Re-read:
This one took a little while to get going.
I suppose it shows that these stories after book one are really just… the author’s exploration of the relationship. The actual plot was covered in the book. Now this brings up consequences and ties up some loose ends – which I appreciate – but it doesn’t feel quite as cohesive. Or maybe it’s just that the shine has worn off somewhat by added clarity. Too much explaining, perhaps. Too much verbalizing of those explanations by the characters, I suppose. Not as badly as in the smaller in-between story, but it is definitely there.
And it made me realize that a lot of what I liked about the first book was accidental rather than on purpose and possibly rather the result of a writing fault than a quality. Not that any of this lessens the appeal of book one. It’s just one of those odd things.
In any event, I enjoyed reading this. Especially when it geared up for the glorious ending. Sure, that part was quite openly self-indulgent in presenting to some key figures just how perfect Mark really is (not the slightest bit of subtlety there), but I don’t actually mind that. It did make for a satisfying finale.
All in all this was a wonderful way to end things.
As with the short story after book one, I'll add my review for the final short story right here for lack of a better place:
Flight Of Dreams (4 stars)
Loveliness. This was a completely cute and very short story. Completely in keeping with the characters. :3
I’m not sad that I’m done now with this small series, but it was a wonderful revisiting.
And yes, this last bit is not much of a review, but I still and always recommend to hunt down this small final story to round out the complete tale. <3 -
I loved this even more than the first one! Leonard is a complete git - well meaning or not, because what he does just isn't right. I have a lot of experience with mental illness, and that isn't something that is alright *ever*.
Anyway, Steven and Mark are both firm in their love and they both know what they're doing together, and reading that is a joy and a pleasure. I'm a firm fan! -
Super sequel, lovely gentle story.
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This was a bit better than the first one.. Still overuse of rubbers.. Hehehe...
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4.5
