Puppy Love

Puppy Love (Puppy Love #1) by Jeff Erno
Fanny Press
Novel

4 out of 5

4/5 PL Scale

Blurb:
Matt is everything that Petey is not. He is self-confident and brave. Matt is tall and masculine and athletic. He is a natural-born leader. Puppy Love is their love story, their romance. It is both a coming-of-age and coming-out story, but sexual orientation is not the primary focus. Petey struggles with his identity both as a homosexual and as a submissive. What do you do when you love someone who is truly superior to yourself in every meaningful way? How do you feel, and what if these feelings are not what everyone tells you you're supposed to feel? We are taught that every individual is equal, but what if you know, through experience, that this is not the case? What if, in a society in which everyone is supposed to be a leader, you discover that your passion, your destiny, is to submit? In Puppy Love, Petey Drinkell discovers the true nature of power, its role in sexual relationships, and his own role in the power structure. Puppy Love is perhaps the world's first gay BDSM coming-of-age novel. This erotic epic is more than classic erotica; it also challenges the fundamental assumptions we make about human relationships and democracy.

Review:
What can I say that hasn’t been said before, this book will push your boundaries, leave you going “hmm” and the next second have you pissed as hell. I can say this is work of good writing, interesting characters and a storyline unlike any, I have had the privilege to read. I thought I would dislike this book and let me tell you how surprised I was that I actually loved it. The idea behind it I found original and that could be because of my interpretation. It was hilarious, sweet and down right exhausting at times; but you are never bored. A little over 500pages, I devoured it in one day.

Petey is small, Petey is weak and then Petey is bullied, Petey is rescued by someone he idolizes and possibly worships. The idol comes in the form of Matt Porter, he is the epitome of all that is man. He is beautiful, smart, athletic and rich. He is idolized by anyone he comes in contact with, he is awesomeness. With them both; you have the superior and the subordinate and it begins a relationship of a Dom and his submissive.

The plot is pretty much about two nineteen years old boys coming into their roles. They both recognized the roles that they will play in each other lives, and they both figure out how to progress from there. Petey knows he is supposed to be bowing at Matt’s feet, and Matt recognizes that its where Petey belongs. The road ahead isn’t  easy and you recognize the immaturity in both of them. I came the conclusion that the immaturity was written on purpose because it leaves them room to grow, they are so very imperfect and its that’s imperfection that makes them genuine.

The narration is told through Petey’s POV and he is believable as a submissive character, he tends to be a bit on the annoying side at times, but his personality never wavers.  His inner most thoughts are a true reflection of himself; he struggles with insecurities and he constantly questions the love of Matt. He never questions that he is supposed to be owned and I liked that. He knows he is property, accepts it and moves on from there. I felt there was a whole lot he need to be open about, but the author just never ventured down that road. Petey is believable as a character and also as a submissive.

Matt on the other hand is an asshole plain and simple, but you cant help but love him. Him as a Dom is like a big ego trip, he walks the walk of a man who rules and everyone around him takes notice. He rules with a firm hand but its also gentle, he knows exactly who he is and I just love it. He has swagger, he’s got style and he can be down right vicious. Matt owns his role and he is believable. There is the occasional mistake but his age makes up for that. Together they just work, I found myself finding the scenes with them together sexy sweet. A mixture of erotic, romantic and sometimes dirty. They were like two halves of a whole both able to give what the other needs and in then end creating a perfect balance in the relationship. Some of the scenes were a little out there, but I never got the feeling that it was for the purpose of shock value.

Overall a pretty out there read, some might say its sexual slavery or borderline abuse; but if you think that’s slavery obviously you have never taken a history class. For the purpose of abuse, doesn’t even fall in the same category. Petey wants to be owned, he needs to be owned and in the end every humiliation and order could have been stopped if that was what he wanted. I must warn you there is the exchange of the occasional bodily fluids (and I don‘t mean sperm), which I found disgusting the “only” set back for me. There was some spanking that I found hilarious, could be I am having a very perverse month, because this book was freaking funny.

So if you want a D/s story without all the whips, chains and leather then you might enjoy this one. If you dislike human ownership and someone telling another what to do and then calling it love, then you might wanna stay clear of this one. Then again I thought I would hate it, but I ended up loving it so sometimes one judgement can be off. The other characters in the book are pretty great in the background, but they fail to take the spotlight off of Matt and Petey. I am excited to see what Petey and Matt get up to in Puppy Love 2 because these two are purely entertainment.


Reviewed for Three Dollar Bill Reviews!