Lace-Covered Compromise

Violet (the Fitting In series) gives readers a steamy, slightly kinky contemporary romance at the intersection of hate and lust. Self-centered, closeted bisexual Adam Kingston trained himself to become a ruthless businessman in anticipation of inheriting his father’s massive company. But his father’s will gives half the company to protégé Nate, a do-gooder hippie with a penchant for lacy panties. The two men weaponize their mutual disdain with threats about exposing shared secrets after Adam glimpses Nate’s lingerie and Nate notices Adam’s attraction to him. As they spar inflexibly over their hazy plans to save the corporation from financial ruin, they work out frustrations in hate-fueled and increasingly intimate sexual encounters. Adam’s uneven and underdeveloped anxiety attacks cloud their growing attachment, but his picture-perfect ex-girlfriend turned confidante—a literal duchess who serves as his superego—persuades him to allow the smallest of compromises. Violet glides from sex scene to sex scene, allowing the business problems to fade to the background. Fans of fluffy gay erotica will enjoy the sexual exploration, but others will wish for a bit more substance and growth outside the bedroom. (Nov.)