I upped my rating on this one, because this book is so re-readable. I like the balance between the sex, the violence, his dealings with Maggie, Takis and Allen.

Who gives a shit about believability when you have such a satisying read. And I really love the sentiment here as he admits he's happy.:

"He was sorry for his past mistakes, but it wouldn't make them better to be less happy now."

It's not easy showing a strong man's weaknesses, yet I feel Anah has succeeded here. ( )

The tropes around billionaires and their secretaries and underlings (even though this one is male) bore me by now. They are far too prevalent in M/F romance, and just as common lately in M/M. This isn't a BDSM book either, more like two guys playing at it, unfortunately rather unsafely.

This is otherwise well-written prose, quite well-edited, no major plot-holes, though too many cliches.

Now that I have a choice of half stars, this one settles between "okay" and "like it" for me. ( )

From the first page to the last, I was totally enthralled with this book. I'm not a big fan of sadomasochism, but I emphasized with Rase's character so deeply, I cared what happened to him and was fascinated with his need for pain.

If you are a bit uncomfortable with the pain thing in BDSM as I was, give this book a try anyway. Rase and Gabriel may change your mind. ( )

Rase is a man who has been hiding all his life. 5 years after his controlling father dies, he has an odd encounter with a man which changes everything. Rase finds the courage to leave his cold marriage and come out to his son. But now the man he met, Gabriel, has disappeared and Rase wants to find him.

Uneven is a well written story, and so many of these aren't. It's also really physically violent, with lots of whipping and bruising and real pain (he kept tasting blood, and his face was battered the next day) These 2 are not playing nice, and quite a bit of it made me wince. Rase seemed to really get off on the pain, and then the comfort afterwards. But it's passionate and also internally coherent. I liked the characters, Rase and Gabriel, and they made sense, to themselves and to each other. I believed the relationship as it was desribed. I enjoyed it and find Anah Crow a writer to look out for. ( )

Story Setting: Preset Day America

Rase Illion, the story's protagonist, is a forty-something business Mogul. Through a combination of old money (family money) and his own merits, he is perhaps one of the world's most richest men. He is respected, idolized, and even feared in the business world, where he commands attention with his stern demeanor and intelligence. However, while his business life is pretty much squared away with him in a commanding role, his personal life leaves much to be desired. He is into his second marriage, has a son he rarely talks to, and he is pretty much miserable (although he masks it well).
Why is he miserable?
Well, he's not sexually fulfilled with women (ah shucks, he's plain NOT heterosexual) and he needs someone who will willingly dominate him in the bedroom...while drawing enough blood and inflicting much pain. Rase has been unable to meet these needs due to the nagging memory of a past event, combined with his wish to be the kind of son his father expected him to be.
So yes, unlike his business role where he is 100% the Master, he needs an outlet where he can be the exact opposite. Luckily for Rase, there happens to be the perfect candidate working in his huge office building named Gabriel - a lanky younger man with a borderline bad attitude and a heightened preference for kink.
As fate would have it, the two men eventually intertwine, and thus begins a series of immense changes in Rase's life.
**

The first thing to note about "Uneven" is the very rough BDSM. Just as Rase has the need to be hurt, Gabriel has the need to inflict pain..and that he does, in such a way that at times it was too much for me to tolerate. He hits Rase until the older guy bleeds (I think for practically the entire story Rase went with a busted lip that just never had a chance to heal), he slams the poor guy into things very often..and the list does go on. Although I was very aware that Rase needed the pain, it was also clear that he needed some tenderness and affection during those moments of "play". He was very good with withstanding all that Gabriel had to dish out and that was the problem. His tolerance is so high, as high as his need for pain, that even in moments where it would have been too much, he withstood and endured it. In such moments, Gabriel would usually appear to be so wrapped up in doing his own thing, that Rase's predicament went un-noticed, and this did indeed turn me off from Gabriel the younger character.
Although, to be fair, Gabriel would notice after a while, it just took too long.

Also, when it came to these scenes, there were straight pages and pages of it - like 6 pages or so per sex scene. It was just too much when it wasn't necessary, especially when the events of each scene was practically the same as the sex scene before it. This served to make things redundant and boring.
**

Now I'll talk about Rase himself.
Wait, halt...I must first say that his name gave me quite a headache. How does one even pronounce Rase? Is it Rah-see? Rah-se? Race? Raaas? *sigh* I hate stumbling on words, and the fact that the author preferred to use the name soooo often instead of opting for 'he' or other descriptive words when it would have been more appropriate (and smoother), made for a pretty jerky read.

Okay, so back to Rase's character.
At first, I wasn't sure what to make of him. He seemed rather arrogant and cocky, a man who was perfect at whatever he did, and knew it. But as the story progressed and Rase started to reveal more about his past and thoughts that did NOT include Gabriel, he was rather likable.
He's an emotional man, a loving man, and the fact that once he steps outside of business matters he becomes a rather insecure man, made me like him more.

Unfortunately, when Rase's thoughts switch to his needs and Gabriel, he becomes very intolerable. It was very hard to see such a powerful and proud man creeping around on all fours and licking shoes without even being commanded to do so. Yes, yes, I know he needed to be ordered around, but he didn't even wait for a command. He just bloody feel to his knees at the sight of the man, and started licking those filthy shoes.
Then once it became clear to me that he is perhaps the type of guy who would let sex run and ruin his life, Rase became a bit harder to stomach. Three examples:

* Here we have a man who chides himself for not having safe sex, as safe sex is important to him, yet when it comes down to the moment he still neglects it (even though he's not even 1% sure that Gabriel is safe).
* He has a thing abou safe driving, he has a son and enforces the need to drive safely to him. Yet once again, this all goes out the window with Gabriel's presence. We have a scene with the two of them in Rase's car one night, driving home. It's pouring rain, the roads are slipery and dangerous, the traffic is intense...hence a dangerous time to be driving. But this does not factor into his mind as much as giving oral pleasure to his partner while driving. Then from an example given at the moment, it is clear that those outside can infact see into the car, so just what would that have done to his business relationship if he was identified? He is proud of his accomplishments in business, but I suppose a quickie in the car while driving is more important than any possible negative feedback.
* So consumed are his thoughts with Gabriel satisying his needs, that he can barely make a trip, above land and in a plane, without excusing himself from business matters to jerk off and semi-strangle himself.

Also, the way he would shift from normal conversations to being submissive with Gabriel grated on my nerves. The two could be in a situation that would call for some out-of-bedroom activities, (you know those times when its okay to simply have a conversation and get to know each other - and mind you, if I were to tally such situations I could count on one hand and still have fingers to spare) and BAM! Rase just ruins the moment with his stupid "Yes, Gabriel" crap.
Yes, Gabriel. Yes, Gabriel. Yes, Gabriel.
Ugh, Migraine pill please!

That aside right now, one of the most intriguing things about Rase is the people around him. There is his first wife, his son Taki, and Allen the secretary.
Allen is especially interesting, as not only does he adore his boss but it is very obvious that he holds a rather long-standing crush for the man. His addition to the story made things lighter, as the interaction between both Allen and Rase were at times quite comical.
**

Now for Gabriel.
Even though I'm now finished with the story, my feelings regarding him are conflicted. I'm not very sure that I like him. He just seems to be a young man with a lot..A LOT, of pent up frustrations. When he's not beating, slapping, or re-opening Rase's busted lip, he's either glaring at the man or has some angry expression.
Way towards the story's end it is shown that he has some vulnerabilities, but it's either not enough to excuse his overall attitude towards the more compassionate man, or just not enough time on this side of him was given so as to make a difference.
Truthfully, Gabriel was rather underdeveloped, but for what was shown of him I fully believe him unworthy of someone like Rase, who is a person that will give anything - both material and otherwise - to those who mean a lot to him.
Mmmm...as I write this I guess I can say I have made up my mind and I DO NOT like him at all. However, whether this is the author's fault or just the character's design, I'm not clear.
**

Now for my biggest, most tremendous peeve!!
We have two characters who are aware of the need for safe sex, yet they only seem to think about this need when it comes to sexual intercourse. Since both of them are rather intelligent individuals, I'm amazed of how stupid they are on this subject. They partake in oral sex as freely as anything, with no regards for safety.
HELLO!!!
Pretty much anything that you can contract at the bottom end without protection, you can also contract at the top end.
Usually I don't make a deal of such things in stories, but when you have a character specifically chiding himself for not being safe, and continues to be aware of the need to be safe, it becomes hard to overlook the issue as it is indeed AN ISSUE in the story itself.
(okay, so this is where Byanca the budding scientist comes in)
Once again though, whether this is something with the author or just a part of the characters' design, I don't know, but either way it really irked me.
**

Anyway, the redundant and drawn-out sex scenes, the somewhat shaky editing (oh yes, this was an issue as every single page had an error or 2..3..or more, and I mean errors where it was a bit hard to decipher sentences), the unnecessary repetitive use of the name "Rase" which I just can't pronounce in my head, and the also redundant and repetitive word-for-word thoughts that went through Rase's mind about Gabriel and his sexual needs, made this a pretty bumpy read.
It took me longer to complete reading this story than a piece of its length normally would. My only reason for actually sticking with it until the end rests with my need to complete whatever I start.

I think "Uneven" could have been one heck of a story, had it been nurtured a bit more. ( )