Mini-Review: Price of a Kiss (Forbidden Men #1) by Linda Kage

Title: Price of a Kiss (Forbidden Men #1
Author: Linda Kage
Publication date: August 15th 2013
My rating: 2 of 5 Stars

SUMMARY (from Goodreads)
I don’t care what my cousin says; I am not the queen of impossible relationships. I mean, just because my last boyfriend tried to kill me and left a bit of a scar on my neck, then forced me to move across the country and legally change my name to Reese Randall to escape him, does not mean—

Oh, who am I kidding? For a freshman in college, I have to have the worst dating track record ever.

It’s no wonder love is the last thing on my mind when Mason Lowe enters my life. But the chemistry between us is like bam! Our connection defies logic. And he’s just so freaking hot. Being around him makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before. I even like bickering with him. He could be my soul mate...except for one teeny tiny glitch.

He's a gigolo.

Boy, do I know how to pick them.

MY THOUGHTS

Rating 2.5 stars.

The main reason I didn’t like this book is the annoying obsession Reese with Mason. He is the only thing on Reese’s mind.

Her thoughts, when she sees Mason for the first time: “His dark, wavy hair called to me – Reese, Reese! Run your fingers through my wild, gorgeous, untamed mane.”

They made eye contact for the first time: “I was electrocuted from the inside out. My fingertips sizzled and toes curled as if an invisible, kinetically charged bolt tethered me to the hunk fifty yards away, who seemed to bind us together with his stare alone”

Mason was going to walk right by Reese on his way to the school: “Nothing but ten feet of dead air was going to separate him from me. Dear Lord in heaven, please deliver me. Could I survive such close proximity? I honestly didn’t know. My chest heaved from the sudden unsteady rhythm of my breathing.”

And it were only first 30 pages, and they didn’t actually meet yet!

On the positive side Reese was funny with sense of humor. Her internal monologs and comments were hilarious.

My second problem with this book was execution of the theme of male prostitution. I’ve read several books with a similar topic and there are two types of stories among them. The first one shows what a struggle is to escape this kind of life for a person. The second one is a glossed up story with a neat ending. Unfortunately “Price of a Kiss” falls in the second category (another example is Just for Now by Abbi Glines). If you want romance which show male prostitution in more real light try Finding Home by Lauren Baker, Bonnie Dee or Fallen from Grace by Laura Leone.