Title: Watch Point
Author: Cecilia Tan
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Length: 177 Pages
Category: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
At a Glance: A little kinky and a lot erotic, Watch Point is the perfect escapist read—lots of hot for a chilly afternoon, and I wanted these guys to get their happy ending, so mission accomplished.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: Eric Sakai-Johnson joined the Navy SEALs to protect his country and the people he loves. After discharge, he finds himself relegated to protecting big pharma billionaire Aiden Milford from assassination attempts and kidnapping. Until Aiden reneges on a promise, fires Eric, and lets Eric’s mother die with millions of dollars in medical debt.
Now Eric is the kidnapper. Snatching Aiden’s twenty-two-year-old son, Chase, for a multi-million-dollar ransom is the only way to get justice. It’s time for Aiden to learn what it’s like when someone you love is at the mercy of forces beyond your control. Eric has it all planned out. The one thing he didn’t plan for is the intense erotic spark between him and Chase.
Chase has been chafing under his father’s autocratic control. A gay hookup app has been his only ticket to rebellion—to clandestine moments of freedom, excitement, and danger. Now it’s his ticket to a deep connection and amazing sex with his “captor.” On the rocky island where they’re sequestered, Chase finds Eric to be everything he wants in a man: quiet, strong, capable, and honorable . . . until he finds out he’s been captured for real.
Review: I’m such a huge fan of Cecilia Tan’s Daron’s Guitar Chronicles serial, so I jumped on this book like it was made of chocolate and coffee to get a taste of what the author could do with something far more erotic than Daron and Ziggy ever get into.
Good God…
Watch Point hits on some of my fave tropes, especially when the tables are turned and the hunter becomes the hunted, figuratively speaking. The setup of Chase Milford’s kidnapping and the unveiling of his particular kinks afford the book all of its erotic potential, but it also gives the revenge aspect—the sins of the father, in this case—the leeway to veer into romantic territory in a plausible way. Eric Sakai-Johnson isn’t a villain in either the literary or literal sense of the word, but he has a mission to complete, one that’s personal, and he’s determined not to fail in his objective. Except for the fact that he didn’t count on his heart getting involved and his feelings becoming an obstacle. But even then, Eric is a trained Navy SEAL. He will see this mission through to the end, come hell or nor’easter. Or both.
First off, I adored Chase. I’ve always loved miscalculation as a romantic catalyst, and Eric falls into the trap of underestimating Chase from the start, as well as discounting the impact he’d once made on a much younger Chase. The Milford heir wasn’t the spoiled and pampered little rich boy that Eric had expected, and watching Eric’s respect for Chase grow was the lit match to the short fuse you know damn well is going to blow up before the happy ending. You also know damn well that Chase won’t be alone in the damage from the fallout. The heart: it’s both a weak link and a powerful ally.
The villain in the story is, without question, Chase’s father. He is intentionally written to be exaggerated in his villainy, has one dimension—asshole—and serves one purpose—to be as big an asshole as he can be. He succeeds. I should also mention here that if you have any sort of rape/abuse triggers, Chase’s father is a disgusting asshole, too, so consider yourself forewarned.
A little kinky and a lot erotic, I have to say that Eric’s backstory makes me want a prequel to this book. In a big way. Ending with a sweet and satisfying finish, I really liked getting to know a different side to Tan’s writing. Watch Point is the perfect escapist read, a lot of hot for a chilly afternoon, and I wanted these guys to get their happy ending, so mission accomplished.
You can buy Watch Point here:
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