Toy Box: Shaving

Title: Toy Box: Shaving
Author: Sean Michael, Winnie Jerome & Lee Benoit
Publisher: Torquere Books
Genre: M/M contemporary romance, M/M/M.
Length: 44 pages
Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

A guest review by Jenre

THE BLURB

Shaving. It isn’t necessarily erotic, but when lovers shave each other as foreplay, it can be very erotic. Just read the stories in this Toy Box to see how sexual shaving can be!

Sean Michael brings back Marcus and Jim in Water and Steel, where a simple shower turns into so much more when the razor is brought out. In Leave Your Worries Behind by Winnie Jerome, Nathan’s annoying life perks up after friends Cory and Zach conspire to drag him into bed. However, the fling is about to draw to an end because vanilla Nathan doesn’t see the appeal of kinky play. Will Nathan take the plunge or will he ignore his new-found feelings for Zach?

And finally, Preston and Paulo are back in Fireflies in the Bathtub. Preston’s hands are getting worse and now Preston’s having trouble just shaving himself. Will he and Paulo be able to navigate this potential minefield without losing the relationship they’ve worked so hard to build?

THE REVIEW

These three shorts all featured elements of one character shaving another. This could have been quite repetitive, with all the stories using erotic shaving scenes. Instead, there was a surprising variety in how the shaving scenes were used in each story.

The first story, Water and Steel by Sean Michael, revisits a couple from Bent, Jim and Marcus, and is basically a sex scene which involves them shaving each other. I’ve not read Bent, and so I found it difficult to engage with this couple beyond the fact that they have a obvious love for each other. The story is in Sean Michael’s usual erotic style and as a short piece of erotica it worked well, but really this is one for the fans of Sean Michael or for those who want to spend some time with loved characters from Bent.

The second story, Leave Your Worries Behind by Winnie Jerome was my favourite in the collection. Nathan is not having a good day. His apartment is infested with cockroaches, his car is about to pack in and to make matters worse, he’s being stalked by an ex-boyfriend. When Nathan’s friend, Corey, offers to let him stay at the place he shares with his older lover, Zach, Nathan jumps at the chance. What Nathan doesn’t realise is that Corey and Zach have got plans for him. I liked the humourous tone of the story, especially with the character of Nathan.  The way that the lighthearted beginning merges into what is a hot mix of shaving and voyeurism towards the end was written quite engagingly.  I like a well written m/m/m story and although this one was only short, I felt there was enough in terms of lead up to the ménage and emotional connection between the characters that the HFN ending worked well.

The final story, Fireflies in the Bathtub by Lee Benoit, was a charming story of older man Preston whose early arthritis makes it difficult for him to shave himself.  As a Dom he finds it slightly humiliating.  His sub, Paulo, has an idea of how to help Preston keep the control he needs whilst also allowing Paulo to serve him.  This is a follow on story from the sip, Epiphany: Shining Through, which I haven’t read, and although there is a little assumed knowledge, I didn’t feel that I needed to have read the previous story before this one. This was less about living a D/s life and more about two men who love each other coming to terms with the fact that one of them is getting on a bit. I really felt the emotional  connection between Preston and Paulo which made parts of this gentle story quite lovely.  This story appealed to the romantic in me, especially the touching scene at the end of the story.

Overall I enjoyed this anthology, and whilst the first story didn’t hold my interest as much as the other two, I can see why it would appeal to those who have read Bent.  This made the collection a good all round set of stories and well worth reading if you fancy something short, hot and romantic.