Short Review of Nothing But Trouble by Jenna Byrnes

Jenna Byrnes
Nothing but Trouble
Phaze Books, July 2009 (revised edition)

Genre & Keywords: Gay, M/M, Age Difference

Rating: êêê½
Heat level: ¹¹

The Back Blurb:
Adrian Scott doesn't expect to fall in love with his employer after spending one night with him. Graham Elliott is handsome and exciting, a very wealthy man, not in Adrian 's league. But their night together was intoxicating, and Adrian can’t shake the thought of making a life with this older man. As per their arrangement, they have two more nights together. Will that be enough time to convince his boss they belong together, or will the deal prove to be nothing but trouble?

NB: I won my copy of this book at Jenna Byrnes’ blog. She didn’t ask me to write a review or pay me to say something positive about it ;)

Nothing but Trouble is a short, hot read about a sexy young gay man and his older -still very much in the closet- wealthy boss. The opening of the story is strong and spiked my interest immediately.

“I want you to spend the night with me. I’ll pay you ten thousand dollars.”
Adrian Scott blinked, wondering if his employer was serious. He’d never heard of such an offer, except in the movies. “Excuse me?”

The movies indeed, you could say that this story is a M/M variant of Pretty Woman. My first thought was “What kind of man asks something like that?” but I was willing to give Graham the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was secretly in love with Adrian for ages and this was his way of making contact. But that didn’t turn out to be the case: the offer was meant to be a one night stand and had to be kept a secret.
After Adrian does a counteroffer to make it three nights and the guys have the best sex of their lives, Graham doesn’t change his mind: it was intended to be temporarily and it should stay that way. I admit that this attitude made it very hard for me to like Graham. A man of his age and wealth should have been able to admit that he is gay a long time ago. But I also have to say, this type of starting point provides a great way to bring a couple together for some hot sex very quickly, which is a good thing in a short story like this. And at the end Graham turns out to be a very nice guy when more of his human side is shown in his contact with Adrian’s mother.

Adrian on the other hand is a doll from the beginning. He’s really easy to love and the way he behaves, like a lovesick puppy at times, is totally sweet and endearing. I can easily forgive him that he seems to be mistaking lust for love when he declares his love to Graham very early in their relationship. But this behavior seems to suit him, being the open and warm guy that he is.

As a couple I completely fell for Graham and Adrian. Ms. Byrnes does a great job in describing them and explaining their attraction and emotions. They feel real and it’s not only physical between the two men but the emotional storyline is also well developed. Together they are very, very hot. I was treated to a nice amount of sexy and scorching love scenes that left me panting a little and reaching for Mr. ErotRomReader a few times. Nothing but Trouble was meeting my needs and coming up to my expectations completely when it comes to the erotic aspect of the story.

The romance part however felt a little bit rushed, but that seems inevitable with this short length of stories (ca. 40 pages). Not only came Adrian’s declaration of love very quickly and way too early in the relationship, Graham’s switch in feelings towards the end could have drawn out and explained just a little bit more as well. But then it wouldn’t have been a short story anymore. And nevertheless, it’s a rounded story because Ms Byrnes knows how to tell a well plotted, fast paced story! And part of the attraction of Nothing but Trouble is that it’s a fast, hot read that you can devour in less than an hour. Sexy enjoyment guaranteed!

And for those who can’t get enough of Graham and Adrian there’s also Valentine’s Trouble, a very short free story (5 pages) in which we get another glimpse of the sweet couple after they’ve been together for a while. I liked this quickie as well because it’s nice to know how the guys were doing and to be treated to another hot steamy scene!