Review: Brush with Catastrophe

Brush with Catastrophe by Tara Lain

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Best friends to lovers is a theme which works so very well for a reason. Who hasn’t had a crush at one time on their best friend? Sammy is a geeky artistic witch who is finishing off his final year in college. While his witchy friends all have cool powers, Sammy can only paint boring prophesies. The pictures are of people doing mundane things. Some of them are just a portrait of his friends.

Several of the characters in this book are crossovers from the first book in this series. Aloysius, the black familiar cat, is a favourite return character. He’s less vocal in this book compared to the previous. One would think after the feat he pulled off in the last book, the same characters in this book would heed his hissing warnings. While it would be nice to understand the background and references made in this book to the first one, it is not required. Brush with Catastrophe can be read as a standalone.

Sammy is not a character that is particularly likeable. Or perhaps it is that he isn’t very admirable. He’s sweet in a needy puppy dog manner. His overriding focus is to get laid and have a boyfriend. For an m/m romance, this character came across a little too much like a female character written to be a male for the sake of m/m. Some of the thoughts running through Sammy’s head didn’t seem to ring true for most males I know. Then again I know only a few gay men. Sammy’s behaviour does seem to more accurately match the clingy neurotic females I’ve met. This is what made Sammy’s character a bit shallow and not my favourite. Still, he’s a sweet if rather bumbling fool. His love interest, Ryder is pretty hot. He is the sexy white knight rushing to save the damsel in distress. In this case, the damsel is Sammy. They are cute couple when they finally come together.

The conflict in this story is easy to follow and easily surmised by the reader. The reader may feel like yelling at Sammy and his Scooby Gang of witches. There are many times, were the reader could anticipate something bad happening yet the characters in the book were completely oblivious. I’m not sure people are generally that unobservant yet I’ve been proven wrong many times. So it is quite possible for all these witches, some of them very smart, to be completely hoodwinked.
The sex was tasty in this story. There was a little bit of dubious con as well as some lovely anal. Surprisingly, there was a little of m/f sex too. It was all enjoyable. Ms. Lain does a great job of smexy scenes. Her one non con scene was more of a teaser and leaves a reader hanging. There is no BDSM in this story and it’s not sold as a BDSM book. It is a bit kinky which is delightful. This book is recommended to m/m paranormal lovers who also enjoy a bit of m/f.

*book provided by BDSM Bookreviews*


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