Going Down

I will admit that I have been guilty of skimming books. That wasn't the case with Going Down, where I hung on every word. Typically I write the review as I go, again not the case, because it's that hard to put down. And the morsels that are dropped are just enough to whet your appetite to ensure you keep devouring! Tino has a job he hates, what with undeserving co-workers getting promoted over him. Right off the bat, it sounds like my life.
What never did happen to me, though, was getting stuck in an elevator with a hot CEO named Richard Mason. And so the whirlwind begins. Tino gets promoted to Mason's PA, and that's when it gets addicting. The relationship and the story deepens. There is no damsel in distress here, because both men can hold their own. It's intricate, clever, and mesmerizing.

A gripping M/M erotica with great characters and a solid plot.

Surprising, suspenseful, highly entertaining and damn hot!

When Tino Santini ends up trapped for a full night in an elevator with his wealthy and scary as f*ck CEO, Richard Mason, the last thing he expects is for that night to turn into one of wild hot sex. It's just one night with no strings attached and no consequences whatsoever. That's what both of them tell themselves. Except that Tino can't take his mind of that hot sex, as well as the vulnerability he had glimpsed in his tough CEO's eyes. And Richard can't take his mind of of Tino.

'That man was cute as hell, a genuinely nice person who loved his family.
Who was single.'

And exactly what Richard may be needing. Because Tino seemed to have the integrity and strength to keep him in line, not just professionally but personally. And Richard badly needed someone 'to shake up his life and make him see he was on the road to self-destruct, then help him take a different path.'
The fact that he also had one talented mouth was just a welcome addition.

That's how Tino Santini ends up in the role of personal assistant to Richard Mason. And his new boss wants more of Tino's talented mouth as well as his organisational skills.
It's all supposed to be just a professional relationship with a few extra private arrangements. Just business and nothing more than that.

Tino is properly warned on the first day of his new job. He needs to have the ability to not take shit from anyone, especially his new boss and he shouldn't cross the line from business into love.
As Richard himself puts it...

'Don't make the mistake of falling for me Valentino. ... I break balls, rip hearts to shreds and f*ck like a demon, but I don't do love. Respect, yes, if it's earned, but not love. Never forget that.'

And Tino is ok with that. Until he isn't. The relationship between the two deepens and that line between business and feeling keeps getting more frail each day. But nothing is ever as it seems and a former female lover, a New York gangster and a murky past threaten to destroy the small chance of happiness Tino and Richard seem to glimpse.

Sex, murder and possibly love. This is what Tino unwittingly signs up for when becoming Richard's PA. I don't want to spoil and tell you how it will all end, but make sure to expect a gripping, steamy hot, solid tale.
The characters are both nicely drawn with just the right amount of depth. Their dynamic is intense and captivating and they practically develop before the readers' eyes. I loved to see Tino toughening up and standing up to Richard, just as I loved seeing Richard's transformation from 'blue-chip asshole' to a good guy.

I openly disliked Richard at the beginning of the tale. For his dumb-ass arrogant attitude and his disrespect for Tino. But slowly, along the way, I started warming up to him and even rooting for the guy. Mercurial, intense, demanding, impulsive, evil-tempered at times, and yet, not such a bad guy at all in the end.

All in all, Going Down is an entertaining contemporary M/M erotic romance, with great characters and a solid plot and I highly recommend it to all fans of the genre.

Wow, and holy hellfire! I already had it bad for Richard Mason in the Closer than Blood series. This book only added to it. I can say I haven't read many M/M romances, but Lockwood nailed every scene, whether it was intimacy, arguing as lovers do, or professing love for one another. I laughed so hard so many times at Richard's hard-ass antics and loved him for always being himself. The elevator scene had me laughing in tears, and it was absolute perfection. I've never read anything quite like this series, and it is easily five stars across the board from me. I'll be picking up anything else this author has written because I already know it will be brilliant. Maybe even nearly as hot and powerful as Richard bloody Mason.