Review: Once A Brat by Kim Dare

Once A Brat by Kim Dare
Riptide Publishing
Novella: 95pgs
3.25 Pants Off

Blurb:
Experienced dominant Marcus has a stalker. On the plus side, the boy following him around his local leather club is gorgeous and a self-professed submissive. Unfortunately, he’s also inexperienced, bratty, and liable to drive Marcus insane within his incessant chatter and questions.

Bret Daniels fell head over heels with Marcus the moment he first saw him. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to get Marcus’s attention and prove his worth as a submissive. He might not be a traditional sub, but he knows he has a lot to offer a dom who can handle his quirks.

When Marcus gives in and agrees to do a scene with Bret, sparks fly. One scene quickly becomes another, and another. But will it be a case of once a brat, always a brat? Bret intends to prove to Marcus that—expectations and experiences aside—he deserves his master’s collar.

Review:
I've only read Kim Dare once, and it was a short story in her G-A-Y series. I really liked it, so I was really looking forward to reading another story by the author and with it being from Riptide publishing I was all in. Sadly, I didn't like it as much as I wanted.

Marcus has a stalker, and stalker boy is not even trying to be subtle about it. As an experienced Dom, Marcus has no time to be playing around with a wanna be submissive. His stalker does get an A+ for being a persistent little effer, so the only left to do is face his little shadow head on. What Marco realizes is that not only is Bret Daniels a stalker but he's also a little brat. Maybe a little dose of BDSM reality will have him running for the door, but what Marcus soon realizes  is that Bret was born to be his sub, but if only he could do something about that mouth of his.

This was a really cute read and I do like Marcus and Bret, but Once A Brat really didn't pack the punch I had hoped. Bret is a refreshing a character and I liked that he didn't think all Doms was god or something; his focus was to please Marcus. In spite of that he never ended up losing personality, he remained the same bratty character up till the very end. Marcus, I didn't get a full feel of him but that could be because it’s a short story and his overall Domness (this could possibly be a word I just made up) didn't really come off very strong.

The kink scenes are very mild, not meant to shock but to titillate so readers don't really have to worry about hardcore BDSM stuff.  What is most entertaining is the interaction between Marcus and Bret. Bret is so cheeky he be shocking the hell out of other Doms, but it’s that attitude that makes him so fascinating to both Marcus and me. He's earnest but not pushy, green behind the ears when it comes to doing scenes, but his enthusiasm and the fact that he was made for it creates a very nice contrast. It’s one of those insta love kind of stories, but it’s really cute and I liked it.

Should You Read It? Yes, if you want an easy cute read. I like Ms Dare's writing, and I really like her characters, always a little flawed and filled with lots of personality. Though not the hit I was hoping, I still enjoyed reading it.