TOUCH by Clare London

thePublisher: Dreamspinner Press
Date published: May 5th, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-61581-456-5
M/M fantasy Novella
E-book
Reviewed by Dawn
Obtained by Publisher


CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE! Chariz has used fear and loathing controlling the people around him but when a slave is thrown at his feet, he finds that the man he sees is so much more than he appears. Chariz doesn’t believe that Oriel has any power until he feels the connection between them and then things start happening around the house that has others wanting Oriel. Chariz finds himself falling for the young man and finds himself at a crossroads-does he let them take Oriel away from him or step in and announce how much this young man has come to mean to him? When others crave the touch of Oriel, will Chariz have to sacrifice it all to have the one thing that means more to him-Oriel?

I have to admit, I normally enjoy Ms.London’s wonderful books and always find something that has me coming back to read the story again. With TOUCH, it was hard to fall for the characters or the story itself. It wasn’t that the characters were not interesting, they were but it was hard to connect with them. You get a little of what happened to the main characters-Chariz and Oriel-in the story and that was it. The story itself was well written and detailed, populated with some intriguing secondary characters that I would have loved to get to know better in the book.

TOUCH introduces the reader to a world where the pampered are in control, magicians are the norm and where one man will change someone’s life but will it be for the better is the question that begs to be answered. Chariz is a young, pampered man who uses cruelty and arrogance to control the people around him though he longs for something much different. When Oriel is thrown at his feet, he is quick to decide it isn’t worth his time until he looks into a pair of eyes so unusual and a connection forms between them that has him confused and longing for more. Chariz was extremely unlikable to me in the beginning. A man that doled out cruelty and pain with the flick of his wrist, he grew on me as a reader when you got to see his cherished treatment of Oriel in the comfort of his bedroom. The sex scenes were not graphic at all and did not take over the storyline itself. Overall, the characters were enjoyable if a little flat at times within the story.

TOUCH isn’t one of my favorite books of this author but one I found enjoyable to read this afternoon. I would have loved to read it in a longer version with an in-depth look at the world and society Ms. London has created here in TOUCH. Ms. London is a masterful storyteller and usually delivers stories that leave you breathless for more. I found TOUCH to be not one of them. If you enjoy a quick read, then TOUCH might be it for you.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.