When Brian Harrison first met Jackie Vasquez at a Hawaiian wedding, Jackie was sixteen and troubled. Six years later they meet again; Brian’s career at Scotland Yard is budding with promise, while Jackie’s student days at the University of Nebraska are rolling toward a strong finish. Magnetic mutual attraction pulls them insistently toward one another, but the ocean separating their lives makes … makes for a simmering romance.
When the waiting ends and they get together for a weekend in Denver, Dom Brian and sub Jackie both know they’ve tapped into something scalding hot, and much deeper than sharing an artful session. Shibari, lust, and love are all on the agenda — but for Brian, so is his police career, and a strange series of crimes seems poised to threaten their romance — and maybe their lives.
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A Shot of J&B is the first book in the Vasquez Inc by Lou Sylvre.
This book isn’t a mystery but an introduction, or rather re-introduction, to the main characters. These men, Brain Harrison and Jackie Vasquez met when both were much younger and there was an immediate connection. For reasons, only one of which was the fact he was only sixteen, Jackie was in no position to enter into a relationship. Brian recognizes this and puts his feelings for Jackie on his mental backburner, realizing when and if the right time ever came, their patience would pay off. Fate smiles on Brian and brings he and Jackie together again enough years later they’re both adults.
Throughout the story Brian and Jackie rediscover each other. At first, it’s mainly through correspondence but eventually Brian arranges a weekend getaway for the two of them. Both of these young men are multilayered and complicated people. They’re cautious when it comes opening up to other people and that makes for a very interesting dynamic between them. They have common kinky desires and begin their exploration, falling in love along the way. The Dom/sub element of their lives falls into place naturally, but not too quickly, which is nice. The reader gets to savor their journey without being rushed along.
There is a set up for the mystery to come in the next book in the series and we’re introduced to a truly diabolical villain.
A Shot of J&B is a quick, hot, emotionally charged story that will draw the reader into the world of Vasquez Inc.
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for a fair and honest review.
Book one in the series and off to a good start! I really liked the characters and the intrigue in the plot. The light d/s aspects bring additional spice to the heat, making up a very enjoyable read! Onto book 2 right away I go!
When Lou Sylvre originally offered a ARC of this book for her fans in her Facebook group Sylvre Linings I wasn’t going to take her up on it because I had read the original release of “A Shot of J&B”. (Which I loved) FORTUNATELY I had sense enough to ask if she had changed anything, or added new content to this version! To which she replied that this version was a greatly expanded version of ONLY the first half of the original, (which was written in 2 parts, you can see this in the blurb of the original found here in Goodreads) And that there will be a expanded version of the second part in a follow up book. So of course I opted to throw my name into the hat for the ARC at that point. (The original Kindle edition was a total of 224 pages for the entire book. THIS edition, only covering part one of the original is 158 Kindle pages long! Do you think Lou will fit the next book, covering part 2 in the remaining 66 pages? NO! This shows how much more information she has added to this part of the story!)
That being said… I think I need to do a 2 part review here. I review for those readers who, like me, HAVE read the original, and a separate review for those who HAVEN’T. (*note: You do not need to read the original book in order to enjoy this one. However if you want to know more about Jackie and Brians background stories which are alluded to in this book, I do recommend reading the 3 book omnibus “Vasquez and James, vol.1” prior to this.)
For myself I would give this book a 5 star rating, but because it may draw readers new to the stories, who may find it a bit confusing, I am only giving it the 4 star rating.
For those readers who HAVEN’T read the original:
This is a beautiful love story between 2 men who reconnect after nearly 6 years since their original very brief meetings. (this book includes the first meeting, and mentions the events of the second meeting, which is told in the Omnibus story Finding Jackie).
In this story Brian is a well defined Dom, (more into Shibari bondage than inflicting pain), with enough experience to make him well able to perceive the needs of each individual sub he encounters, and the care and ability to be able to fulfill those needs.
On the other hand Jackie knows he’s a sub at heart, but doesn’t have much experience, (has no knowledge of Shibari) and so hasn’t defined his needs for himself yet. He really wants to explore this with Brian, as well as getting to know Brian better, who he’s been crushing on since their first meeting. (Brian also hasn’t been able to get Jackie out of his mind since then either.)
The biggest problem is Brian lives in London, working for Scotland Yard, while Jackie is finishing up as a college student in Nebraska. So their interlude here will eventually end, and they will have to continue their romance long distance, via email and text messages. However since the true focus of this book is about both Brian and Jackie learning about each other as men, as well as setting the stage for the events which will follow in the next book, it works. But because of this, this book DOESN’T end with “happily ever after”. Instead it ends with “to be continued”.
And this is something the reader really needs to understand. All the content herein regarding the Gaslighter case Brian is working on for Scotland Yard, Jackies hobby of geocaching, and the excerpts about the Professor in England are all building up to the events that will be in the next book. They won’t seem to tie in here, but truly are important in giving insight into the next book.
For those who, like me HAVE read the original:
OMG I absolutely LOVE how Lou fleshed out the story here! This is, as I mentioned, only part 1 of the original. So if you’re expecting all the exciting action and suspense, kidnappings and chases of the entire original book, DON’T! That all comes along in the second half of the original! (check the blurb for the original and you will understand that!) This book instead basically fleshes out the initial romance between Brian and Jackie, and gives us more information and thus insight into the Gaslighter case, and the antagonist we all know and hate in the second part of the original book! (That part here is both eerie and chilling!) As I said in the above, this book sets us up for the one to follow. I can’t wait to see how much more exciting the NEXT book will turn out to be, with all the fleshing out she’s going to do there as well! (And dang it Lou, how long will we have to wait?!!) Like I said, for me, this book warrants 5 stars!