Name: Bender
ISBN: 9781634768849

Gene Gant

College freshman Mace works as a male prostitute and binge drinks as penance. Can RA Dex help him before it’s too late?

Bender

As seen on Caity Reads.

Trigger warnings for physical abuse, rape, and alcohol abuse. If this triggers you in any way, I do not recommend picking this book up. Please beware and take care of yourselves. ❤

Bender was a very dark story. I was very intrigued by the synopsis when I saw it on NetGalley, which is what drew me in to read it. A young male escort dealing with a fair amount of guilt who deals with it by specializing in submission as an escort. Along with the fact that Mace is asexual.

I had not, until this novella, read about an asexual main character. And although I am not asexual, it felt like a fairly good representation of asexuality. Or at least, my understanding of it.

I enjoyed the characters, for the most part. I think they fit their roles well and each had their own purposes. I appreciate Mace’s character for the struggles that he deals with. I liked the fact that Dex wanted to help Mace and be there for him. Troy is lovable and has unwavering integrity, which is always a great attribute to have.

I think the way that Mace decides to deal with his guilt is interesting, but I’m not entirely convinced that it made a lot of sense. I also wasn’t extremely attached to the romance, but I feel like that had more to do with the size of the novella than anything else. There really wasn’t much time to get attached to it.

For the first little bit of this novella, the line between consensual BDSM and sexual violence seemed fairly clear. However, as the story progresses and more events take place, that line became more blurred. I was not a huge fan of the murkiness there, but I suppose it made sense for the direction that the plot took.

Overall, this was a good, quick read. There’s a lot of hurt/comfort throughout this novella, so if you’re a fan of that I would definitely recommend giving it a read.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to both NetGalley and Harmony Ink Press for the opportunity to read and review this.*

Jolie

Before I start my review, I would like to thank Harmony Ink Press and NetGalley for allowing me to review Bender by Gene Gant.

**All opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone. I received Bender from Harmony Ink Press through NetGalley for free for my honest review.”

Now onto my review:

This book made me cry, several times, while I was reading it. I wanted to reach through my Kindle and hug Mace, tightly, and tell him that it was going to be alright and that everything was going to be OK.

Mace is an escort who specializes in BDSM as a submissive (or a bottom). He lets men and women abuse his body because he feels this is the only way he can atone for his brother’s death….which he believes that he caused. The hurt in those paragraphs came off the pages in waves and hurt my heart.

This is the first book where the main character is asexual. Asexual means that they do not have sexual feelings (and it was better explained in the book). Some asexuals will have sex to please their partners and to feel close to them, but they themselves don’t have the feelings (better explained in the book). I had heard of asexuals before but have never read a story featuring one. So it was fascinating to me.

The relationship between Dex and Mace was perfect and it was the first stepping block to getting Mace better. I loved Dex’s character. He was everything a boyfriend should be and then some!!

How many stars will I give Bender? 5

Why? This was a beautifully written book about loss and sexuality. The author packed a lot in the 86 pages and I did want more.

Will I reread? Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes

Age Range: Adult

Why? BDSM sex, regular sex, violence, rape (and yes, I say what happened to Mace is rape) and suicidal thoughts.

Bender

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