Member Reviews

I really genuinely enjoyed this book! I always sort of tiptoe through any books that involve a BDSM dynamic (because often times they just get it so wrong), but I found myself so pleased with KYLE and Aiden’s BDSM relationship. I felt as if everything was handled the way it was supposed to be, but also in a way that wasn’t off putting in the slightest. There were boundaries set and followed by both characters and I think that’s really important when defining Dom and Sub characters. It left me wanting to know more! Definitely a slow burn, but I’m so glad this was only the first book. Can’t wait for the rest!

Was this review helpful?

To Seek and To Find by Tamryn Eradani is the first book in the Enchanting Encounters series. I really like this start. It is a tiny bit edge and a whole lot of connection going on.
Now if you are a pure MM reader this is not a book for you. The MF scenes might put you off. For me, I don’t mind that Kyle is bisexual.
This story is told from Kyle’s point of view. While first person POV can be pretty limiting in a story, I did like it for this one. I liked getting to know the inner workings of Kyle.
Aiden is a history professor. I like that he is not super alpha male. He is kinda ordinary. But he has a deep need to dominate his partner during sex. He is good at interacting with others. He is all around a very nice person.
Overall a good series start. I would love to explore more in this series in the future.

Five Shooting Stars

Was this review helpful?

I requested this as I haven;t seen too many M/M D/s stories that were done with full consent. I was ready for one. I was ready for abuse to not be the norm for power play in a romance. This book delivered so hard.

The writing style was odd and a bit off putting, I put up with it to try and get to the content. I needed to know if Eradani would produce what I needed. I had to make it to at least the first scene between the main men. In the mean time I was surprised with a wonderfully deep relationship between Kyle and his lesbian best friend and sometimes Domme. It was such a wonderful and touching little detail. There were so many little details that were just wonderful. Those details gave this book its pretty thin plot. There was a backstory to why Kyle likes to cook just randomly in there. It was something I liked, made the sub more than just a sex object despite what he often made himself to be. There was also a sex scene between Kyle and a female Domme, which was totally unexpected. It was so well done! Finally a bisexual sub that is male.

The Dom was pretty flat. He was a professor, he was caring, he was a Dom. That’s it. There was no real character building with him. There was nothing that made me want to even care about Aiden. He wasn’t anything special. He was little sought after because he was new. That’s it. It was a pretty flimsy “romance” plot. I say “romance” because the real thing is, Kyle wanted a long term Dom that he could have a more domestic role with too. He keeps saying that, but not acting like he wants a relationship. There was more telling than showing with the plot. Though the plot was pretty much just a way to string together the sex scenes, like most eroticas. So within genre, this is pretty normal.

The scenes, and I do mean scenes, were intense. There was a great deal of talk of after care and consent. HUGE buttons for me. Please beat up the sub and make him cry, hurt him all day, but you better let him heal and take care of him after. You better have him saying yes to this. Without consent and without aftercare, this book would have been a tame 1970’s gay erotic. With consent and aftercare, it has become something so far beyond my expectations. This book does not equate rape with a healthy sexuality. This book allows a D/s relationship to have ups and downs, but not rely on breaking consent to be that trigger.

If you can get past the weird tense of the writing style and the multiple typos, then you might be able to enjoy it. I buzzed through it in a few hours, cringing every typo, but I was so thankful for the consent and aftercare that I am still able to give four stars.

Was this review helpful?

Kyle wants Aiden to notice him and he will do anything he can to get the new Dom's attention. After Kyle has gained Aidens attention then he decides he needs to be on his best behavior in order to keep the dom. That isn't what Aiden wants, he wants to see the real Kyle, so an agreement is struck for a two week trial to see if they are compatible. Neither expects real feelings to develop that quickly though.

This was a great start to a series, it will be interesting to see how it develops, both Kyle and Aiden were likeable characters. While there was a couple of miscommunications between them, it was nothing major and handled at a fairly low angst level, which made this a light and easy read.

Was this review helpful?

This is set between a Dom and a Sub who agree to be exclusive for two weeks and boy did I love their interactions. Even the two scenes Kyle got into to get Aidan’s attention were a joy to read because they taught me so much about BDSM in such a healthy way. This book is very fluffy and I recommend it to fans of the BDSM genre who are in the mood for something soft-core and has a lot of great moments not only between the MC & LI but also the MC and the community

Was this review helpful?

My goodness, I did not expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. Although there were some few things that I didn't quite get into during the course of this story, there were just so many genuine moments that were a pleasure to read and I am already looking forward to the rest of this series.

To start with, the third person present tense bugged the hell out of me. It was alienating as hell. I also didn't really love the beginning scene, it didn't draw me in. In my opinion, it should have started at the club, Enchanting Encounters.

Now, that's so much of what I loved about this story. Enchanting Encounters is an amazing idea for a kink club, where people can book rooms for scenes, or do scenes publicly, but with the understanding that they will be given a band if they've played that signifies they can't drink afterwards for the rest of that night.

Another wonderful thing that I loved about this club was the way it showed the Doms who regularly attended looking after the subs they knew. That rang really true to me of my own experience, and was handled with obvious love in this book.

About the only thing I didn't love about this setting was that it wasn't always clearly communicated where exactly they were, which left me as the reader with too much that I had to imagine without assistance.

The character of Kyle could have been me, he was so identifiable to me. Although I also very much liked Aiden, there were times when I would have liked just a bit more of a hint into his head and what he was thinking before or during his actions.

Was this review helpful?

Y'ALL THIS BOOK! The moment I saw it on NineStar Press I wanted to read it. I just saw the cover and that it was written by Tamryn Eradani and I needed this book. I've read (and loved!) the Daniel & Ryan series written by the same author and Eradani has easily become one of my auto-buy authors. So I might have checked NetGalley obsessively until it finally was available for request and y'all it did not disappoint. I loved, loved loved it and am SO excited for the second installment in this series.

What I love about To Seek and to Find -- and also the authors Daniel and Ryan series -- is that she writes about aspects of BDSM you don't often see in books. It's not all whips and canes and floggers in her stories -- which definitely can be fun too -- but it's also nice to focus on other parts of the whole spectrum of BDSM. Though I should add that I don't have any experience with BDSM myself, so I can't say how realistic or true to real life they are. In To Seek and to Find we see a couple of role-play scenes, which I really enjoyed. Eradani easily writes a more rough scene one time and the next is a first date role play -- which was seriously sweet! It was also unusual that the very first scene between both main characters takes place over the phone, though it was no less enjoyable and I found this to work perfectly for Aiden and Kyle.

I love Kyle, period. LOVE him. He's cute, determined and I love his sense of humour. I'd love to hang out with him because he seems really fun to be around. Plus he loves to cook! Kyle is bisexual and a rather sassy sub, very vocal about what he wants and needs and a really active member of Enchanting Encounters. He regularly scenes with a couple of Doms but is yearning for a permanent relationship with a Dom. Enter Aiden, a new to the club Dom, who immediately draws Kyle's attention and becomes Kyle's "object of desire".
What really made me love Kyle though were his moments of insecurity. Those were the ones that I could relate to the most -- and it added another layer to his personality.

Aiden is an art history professor, who, at first glance does not appear like the caricature of a Dom we often see in BDSM-themed books: leather-wearing, ripped, alpha-Dom. On the contrary as a Dom he appears more quiet and unassuming - but he still knows how to handle Kyle. I also really appreciated how Eradani emphasized the importance of negotiations before, communication during and aftercare after a scene. I really loved that in her Daniel and Ryan series and am happy to see it also featured in this series. The dynamic between both Aiden and Kyle was delicious and I liked how their relationship progressed.

To Seek and to Find is told solely from Kyle's perspective. This gave Aiden a bit of a mysterious vibe, because we have no idea what he's thinking. And it makes the beginning of the story extra riveting -- as a reader you're left wondering if Aiden has noticed Kyle yet, whether he is similarly attracted to him and what he thinks.

At the end of the story there are still some loose ends regarding Kyle's experiences with another Dom and I hope we'll revisit those in the next installment -- which I can't. wait. for! 100% recommended!

Was this review helpful?

3.75 Stars

Kyle is a perfect sub. Not only does he think so, but he has plenty of offers from the Doms at the club. Kyle knows what he likes, and what he currently would like is the attention of Aidan, the newest Dom at the club. So Kyle books a series of public demonstrations to get Aidan to notice him.

This book is a mostly a series of scenes as we get to know Kyle. He really wants a relationship and someone that will call him their own and his current sessions are only biding him time at this point. The first half of the book is Kyle scening with a few different Doms and it lays the groundwork for what Kyle likes. Aidan catches his eye early in the book, but it’s past the halfway point that the two have any real on page time together.

Aidan is new to the club, but not new to the scene. He’s hesitant after his last relationship and is cautious with Kyle. Their trial run is more erotic in nature, but Kyle still longs for everything. I liked Kyle and I liked his voice. This book was not highly relationship focused and I wasn’t so sure how much Kyle was really into Aidan or if he saw him as his next best shop at having a permanent Dom. For the scenes they were exploring it all felt to tentative and hesitant for me and I needed a little more from their story as there is little character development other than what Kyle likes in the bedroom.

This is the beginning of a series that will take Kyle and Aidan further into their relationship. The BDSM scenes are mild and could work if you are looking to explore a growing D/s relationship.

Was this review helpful?

*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*

To Seek and To Find is the first book in the Enchanting Encounters series and also my first book by the author. The blurb intrigued me and I wasn't disappointed.

I liked the fact that we saw all things through Kyle's eyes, the first person narration, also in present tense let us explore the thing with him together - an experience quite hot tbh sometimes but also intriguing. It also gave us as a reader the perfect insight of his daily life, of his chatty, bratty attitude - which I liked a lot - and how he experiences his life as a sub in a BDSM club searching for "his" Dom.

Kyle is trying to catch Aiden's attention the moment he met him in the club. What I like about this was not only the way how Kyle tries to catch his attention - in attending to special demonstration scenes in the club with different doms, male and female - but also that we got into the story in medias res. We were there right from the start, there wasn't unnecessary pre-rambling, but we got enough information to see the characters develop from page one on and how the different cast is interacting with each other, how they relationships are. It gave me the necessary intro and insight of the different dynamics.

Some might be irritated by the on page M/F scenes and that Kyle is bisexual and openly having scenes not only with male but also female Doms. As much as I understand that people aren't super fond of the lenght or explicity of the scenes, it never was mentioned in the blurb that Kyle isn't bisexual (the publisher's website actually mentions it) or that he is switching his partners when it comes to his doms. For me the scenes were perfect and I loved them dearly. They are graphic, yes, they are explicit but the commitment, the agreement on both sides is what I cherish and value. We also get Kyle's preferences and through the scenes we got what he is searching for.
I'd say even if you normally don't read M/F: give it a try, because the book and the scenes, may it Kyle with Renee or Robert or later Aiden are full of emotions, in different ways but all so hot and intriguing and fascinating. I also recommend this book with these scenes for non M/M readers who love BDSM stories in general and wanna try something new, because it's exactly what I'd pick up if I'd wanna get the "best" of both. ;) As I said the commitment and the respect in the other's limits is so capturing.

Within the book we explore the events through and with Kyle. I loved the community, the acceptance and the good natured jokes they make, the friendly mocking. It's like a big family, a community, where the different members share the same tastes, know about limits, no-gos and preferences.

When Kyle and Aiden explore their time together, get to know each other better, the book shifts a bit, but not to a negative aspect, oh no. In fact I loved how different Kyle is with Aiden without totally losing his character. But he is seeing Aiden differently, he starts to like him for him, want to share more with him than just scenes and this tentative, gentle, actually vulnerable side of Kyle is charming and fascinating.

I really loved that with Aiden we had a non-alpha-like dom, someone who's not running like a mindless caveman. He is a history professor, knows how to interact with a lot of people and how to present himself properly. He has a certain dicipline and the way he acts in the scenes, how he dominates Kyle is hot and well-displayed as well as balanced. There is strength behind his actions, his words and orders but he never forces Kyle to anything. His caring nature is clear right from the start, and the scenes are way to let loose but still to remain control, never to overwhelm.
Both agree to a two-weeks trial and I loved how this developed and the end made it very promising what we can expect. For now I'd call the end a HFN - because there's so much potential - and I'm really looking forward what we see in book two, I hope for more about the two, of course but would love to read about other pairings too. :) I have to wait and see.

I can totally recommend this book and enjoyed it dearly, it was in all departments well developed, showed commitment and agreement in the right places, was full of hot, thrilling scenes but had also the gentle touch. The cover - I've to stress it out at this place - is the perfect conclusion of it: rough, but gentle, strength against (commited) surrender and submisson. 5 out of 5 stars for it. It won't be definitely the last book I pick up by the author. :)

Review originally posted on my blog with added content Mikku-chan / A world full of words

Was this review helpful?

All the five stars !!
I can be short about this ...
Yesss this author is still master in the bdsm scene and building up scenes, the anticipation is killing.

Kyle is looking for something permanent.
When he sees the New Guy he knows what he wants... hmmm...easier said than done.
He has a plan... so he will be noticed as a good sub.

This is the story about Kyle, submissive, witty and longing for a long time relationship... sometimes self-confident sometimes without... he wants so much...and doesn't want to seem desperate for it.

When Kyle and Aidan are together it's pure temptation and seduction and highly erotic.

All the scenes are just breathtaking put down. All the pre and aftercare wonderful!
We get a amazing look inside the bdsm scene, only from a different pov.
Kyle and Aidan personalities are wonderful developed... and still there is plenty to learn about them. I specially loved the parts where only Kyle and Aidan are involved in.
Well-conceived and extremely entertaining. The writing is sublime.
I'm desperate for the next installment...

Was this review helpful?

First thing this book was in third person present tense and the amount of time the characters name is written drove me nuts. second of all i felt kind of let down. the blurb sounded so good. I did not personally connect with any of the characters. i did however check the ending and it was a happy one so that is good

Was this review helpful?

This was a let down for me. I feel the blurb didn't accurately portray what the book was mostly about. The sex was a let down and Kyle's attitude was annoying. I skimmed a lot. It had a happy ending.

Was this review helpful?

5 stars all around!

This is such a fantastic book I almost cried when it was over because I need the rest of their journey now.

So normally I am not a fan of third person present tense but this book really worked for me. And by worked I mean sucked down and didnt let me go.

Our mc Kyle is an experienced sub and enjoys playing with anyone. But he is tired and wants to find that one dom. That sounds like a bad pun leading to a trashy kink book but it doesnt. He scenes with two dommes in this book at the beginning once in a nonsexual rope bondage scene and another more sexual. I both deeply appreciated these scenes and overall enjoyed all the female characters in this book.

Aiden our Dom is not a stereotypical I must control everything about you dom either which was truly refreshing.

They are both respectful of each other and their boundaries as they agree to explore a two week trail. The scenes in this book are both really hot and really simple. From phone sex and orgasm play to "meeting a stranger in the alley wall sex" and frist date role play. They are all so simple but so powerful. Not over the top but for our characters they are really emotional as they get to know each other. Also cuddling lots of cuddling. Which I need more of in books.

There is a lot of emotional negotiation as Kyle tries to not come across as to needy because it doesn't want to scare Aiden away. Which is completely legit and Aiden helps him work through since he isnt there well after the scene ends. All of the aftercare is realistic as to what would happe in real life even over the phone.

How they both approach deciding on a three month contract is very fair with them laying out their issues from past scenes gone wrong with other partners.

Overall I am really excited to read the next installment with this couple and the rest of this authors books

Was this review helpful?