3.5 stars. ( )

I really enjoyed the third book and the character of Sammie seemed so interesting that I rushed to find book 1. So, I tried book 1 with high expectation.

What I got was the instant "soul mate" trope and lots of sex. There was a plot, although the story was very compressed.

I will say: I flew through this book; the author knows how to build suspense. I even had to shut the book a few times.

Right now I do want to read the second book, but I fear it will be more like the first than the third. But I will probably give it a shot. ( )

My Rating: 3 out of 5Mitch is a nice guy who doesn’t take chances, doesn’t break the rules he’s set for himself, and never does anything to risk his safe, quiet, life. Until he meets Sammi in a gay bar and takes him home. His connection to Sammi is instant and intense and Mitch finds himself breaking every rule he’s ever made and then some.Sammi turns Mitch’s ordered life upside down, but Mitch wouldn’t have it any other way. Despite getting into trouble at work over something related to Sammi (I’m not telling!), Mitch doesn’t make excuses. He accepts responsibility for his actions no matter how uncomfortable things are for him. Mitch learns to take risks and that doing the right thing doesn’t always mean being safe.Sammi is running from Donovan, the powerful man who keeps him as a sex slave. He goes into the bar in order to find a pick-up who’ll take him off the streets for the night. When he realizes he can hear Mitch’s thoughts and sense his emotions, Sammi knows the two of them are meant to be together. The two of them form what Sammi calls a “soul bond”, a paranormal connection that I found delightful, if a little vague.Sammi has been abused by nearly everyone in his young life. It’s hard to believe that he could survive all that he’s been through and still be such a sweet, lovable character. Sammi grows throughout the story; he realizes that he can better himself, that he can change, learn, and be free in ways he’s never hoped for before.I would have rated this story much higher than 3 out of 5 if not for a few issues that brought my overall enjoyment down a notch or two. Some of the plot elements and character reactions didn’t feel very credible to me, namely the police interaction and Mitch’s initial reactions after a near run-in with Donovan’s goons. There was also a clinic scene where Sammi answers a questionnaire that takes up a full two pages. It does give a more in depth look at Sammi’s past, but I would rather have learned about it through exposition.I’d recommend this to anyone who likes sexy paranormal stories with memorable characters. I look forward to reading the next two books in the series.http://iheartpaperbacks.wordpress.com ( )

Sammi is a young sex slave. Abused child at 10 years when he was in a foster house, he became an hustler at 16 and at 20 he was picked up by an older man, Donovan. At first Sammi thought that Donovan wanted him for his own pleasure, but soon he was used as a whore and also taken in captivity. Now Donovan plans to sell him to the highest bidder, and Sammi can't have it. So he runs aways, and after some nights where he trades sex for a shelter, he meets Mitchell.

Mitchell is a simple man with a simple life, an ordinary work, a small but neat apartment. Sammi turns all it over. Since the first time both Sammi than Mitchell know that what they shares is more than a one night stand; Sammi has some psichic powers, he can read the emotions of people, and the voice of Mitchell in his head is strongest than all the other voices... Mitchell is the soul mate he is searching.

But life is not simple if you are a valueable good for a slave trader. Donovan has no intention to let him free, and he starts ruining Mitchell's life to convince Sammi to cooperate. And Sammi, even if deeply in love with Mitchell, will do anything it takes to not damage him any more.

The story is pretty good, the paranormal element not very strong, I would not define this romance as paranormal, it's more an angst romance, the sad past of Sammi is a stronger element than his psichic power. Even if the story is not too short, more than 160 pages, I still feel like all the event were happening in a too fast way: Sammi and Mitchell encounter is good and also their suddenly passion which continues for a bit, so much that they seems always horny, but how Sammi reveals his powers, and how Mitchell accepts them, it's all too fast. After all Mitchell's life is turned upset down from Sammi, and he seems too passive... maybe love is blinded him. And also the resolution of Sammi's problem... all too soon and all too simple, even if, usually I'm not one for prolong the ending too much.

I like the character, even if we have the chance to know better Sammi and not so much Mitchell. Also Mitchell has a past, also a late lover he still misses sometime, and he also seems to have a supporting and loving family, but in all the story we have only little bit of info on him and not a full profile. About Sammi we know something more, and I found really interesting Sammi's visit to a free clinic and his 'coldly' approach to his sex life seen from a medical point of view. It could sound strange, but I probably found it the best scene in the book.

In the end, easy reading, I finished the book in few time, but I see some lost opportunities in it and I'd like if the author considers to write more on these characters.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1596328207/?tag=elimyrevandra-20