Review: The Enlightenment of Daniel by Eli Easton

Reviewed by Fehu
The Enlightenment of Daniel (Sex in Seattle #2) by Eli Easton
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 212pgs
4.25 Pants Off

Blurb:
Business tycoon Daniel Derenzo lives for his work until his dying father reminds him life is short. When Daniel starts to reevaluate his world he experiences a startling revelation—he’s attracted to his business partner and best friend, Nick, even though Daniel always believed himself to be straight. In typical type-A fashion, Daniel dissects his newfound desires with the help of the experts at the Expanded Horizons sex clinic. He goes after Nick with the fierce determination that’s won him many a business deal.

Nick Ross was in love with Daniel years ago, when they were roommates in college. But Daniel was straight and Nick patched his broken heart by marrying Marcia. Two kids and fourteen years later, they go through the motions of their marriage like ships passing in the night. But Nick’s kids mean the world to him, and he’s afraid he’ll never get joint custody if they divorced. If he can trust his heart to an awakening Daniel, they all might find their way to a happily ever after.

Review
Just as good as the first book and it made me laugh, just like the first one! Eli Easton was a great discovery and I was looking forward to this new book of hers and I was not disappointed! She warned beforehand about cheating and well I don't mind that at least it depends how it was done. If the guy wanted a divorce and the wife actually blackmailed him with his children to staying with her, let's say I think he might have a reason to be unhappy and he tried to do it the right way!

Nick is bi, he told that to his wife and she agreed that it was ok and that she didn't have a problem with that. Years later she is no longer having sex with him for years now. After not respecting his privacy she discovered that he looked at well male pictures as well, she threatened that he would lose custody for his children.

Daniel thought he was straight, but he discovered he was wrong after his father was diagnosed his cancer and forced him to rethink his life. Surprisingly he discovered his interest in his long-time friend and business partner Nick.

I liked some parts of this and didn't like some characters as much as I wanted to. Let me say first that there is quite a bit of drama, a bit of a soap opera kind of drama, but it is very well worth it. It's a book I've read in one go and had to let rest to be able to write an honest review. So what worked? The writing style, it was nice paced and well written, some really good dialogs and some pretty funny lines. Daniel's discovery of his sexuality and his reaction, well some of them were pretty funny or at least his attitude was. I liked Daniel and he was portrayed as a bit of a selfish prick, but he made up for it! Like in the previous works, the humor was there and there and while there were some serious topics mentioned, the story never felt truly heavy or truly sad, I liked that very much!


What I had my problems with:
I had my problems with Nick and his wife. Nick is one of the main characters, but he just always seemed to go along and be frankly a bit of a wimp. He cannot stand up to his wife, his mother in law or his best friend. So he couldn't stand up for himself, but he didn't even have the guts to stand up for his kids! His daughter was pretty unhappy about her clothes and the pressure her mother put on her, I'm amazed she didn't have an eating disorder by that point! Nick didn't notice and when Daniel found out the problem, what did Nick do? He gave in to his wife demands! Seriously I spent quite a lot of time annoyed at him, I wouldn't have minded if Daniel had found another guy. Not like Nick did anything to particularly charm Daniel, he again went with what Daniel wanted. Most of the book I was thinking Nick should just grow a pair.

Nick's wife war firstly portrayed a bit like the villain and I thought at the end she made a bit too drastic a change to be believable. At least I found it hard to believe that she would change her opinion and all her attitude so fast. But I liked that there was at least an attempt made to not portray all the women as the evil witches, I hate when that happens.

All in all this turned out to be a pretty good read and we meet the characters from the previous book! Tony's services are engaged and his partner helps Daniel as well. I liked that while this one could be read as a standalone, the previous book and some of the characters and settings were part of this one again. I can honestly say that it is a book that won’t leave you emotionally uninvolved, since it is quite a turbulent read, but it is worth all the drama!

Review: Book #1 The Trouble with Tony