Black Dog is book one in Cat Grant’s Bannon’s Gym series, and based on this, I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of the books. This is gay erotic romance with some serious testosterone – and I’m not just talking about in the bedroom.
This book tells the story of Danny Bannon and Eddie Roscoe – two guys with an on-off relationship, a whole lot of baggage and plenty of stubbornness.
Their apparent stalemate is shaken up by the arrival of Tom Delaney, a teenager that Eddie finds living on the streets. Eddie, unwilling to let the kid carry on living that way, takes him in, gives him a job and a chance at a better life.
Tom gravitates towards Danny’s gym and shows himself to be a more than competent fighter, both boxing and martial arts. It seems to be an outlet for his anger, his resentment at his past, and Danny and Eddie seem to bond over looking after the neglected teenager, becoming stand in big brothers.
However, Tom’s past suddenly comes rushing back to him, and he doesn’t deal with it too well – can Danny and Eddie present a united front to help prevent Tom from crashing and burning?
This is an intriguing story and an easy read, despite some of the more heart-rending elements of the storyline. I found Grant’s writing style to be engaging, the plotting unique and very real, with some surprises, and the ending satisfying. I’ll definitely be checking out more of Grant’s work, starting with the next books in this series. I’d recommend this to gay romance fans – the heat level isn’t high, but the focus of this book is the storyline, not the sex.
Available from:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
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Samhain Publishing