His Boy Next Door: Season One

4.5 Hating Jack starsokay ... deep breaths ... it's been a few days and I'm calm, however .... Is it possible to love a book while hating one of the MCs? On the strength of this read I'd have to say YES, but let's rewind a bit.If you've read some of my previous BDSM reviews (and why should you?) let me tell you that my relationship with Doms is ... complicated. They always start off in the negative column for me, and have to, validly, earn the trust and surrender of their subs. Sadist Doms and I will NEVER order from the same side of the menu, because I can't help but think of them as glorified, small-pricked, bullies who need masochist subs to feel big. Anyway, I'm pretty sure you know where I'm going with this: I HATE Jack. He's your garden variety Silicon Valley tech dude (think Jack Dorsey), master of all his domain. I hate him with the force of a thousand suns. I can't say my opinion of him changed by the end of this installment, and yet ... I loved the series. I'm insane. I know. I'm okay with that. Also [a:R.J. Moray 14368949 R.J. Moray https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is to blame for creating Channon. I love him and feel a protective streak for him that's a mile wide.As usual, I went into this series with a vague idea of what it was about. Frankly with the cover and title I figured it was just some PWP, and I was happy with that. To my surprise I found Channon. I don't think I've come across such an endearing and authentic feeling character in a long while. He's like a baby lamb, all elbows, and clumsiness. Undefined. And you just want to hold him tight. Let him hold on to his innocence for a bit longer. Sadly that's not to be. He meets Jack. Yeah, I know that the premise of this is a boy (he's definitely not a man) discovering his kink via an experienced older man (in this case Jack doubles Channon's 18) and I have no problem with that. I'm all up for older/younger relationships, I love someone discovering the kink(s) that makes them tick, I even love Daddy kink. My problem is that, the way Channon is written, he's a gift, a pearl, a garden about to bloom. He is unpolished but also untarnished, and he just lands on Jack's lap. Jack does jack shit to deserve him. He doesn't even have to woo him! Ugh. I know some will say how ‘nice' Jack is to Channon, but really? It's like treating a pet kindly or taking care of your favorite toy. You do it because it's yours, you enjoy it, and want to keep it in good shape. Does he know and respect Channon the person? I dunno. I didn't really see it. I don't even think Jack knows who that is. How could he? Channon doesn't know who he is. Not really. The gist of the story is that Channon enters his neighbor's yard to retrieve a basketball and meets Jack. I won't go so far as calling Jack a predator, but he does toe the line. Jack is sexually Dominant, and to my view something of a Sadist. And he immediately recognizes Channon's interest. That's fine. I was/am on-board with that. My problem(s) was how Jack went about bringing Channon into ‘the life'. When they meet Channon is an 18 y.o., apathetically trudging through the last few months of high school. Polite and eager to please those around him. Though he has a girlfriend, he's still a virgin, and due to a lack of self-confidence, mostly fostered by parents who have zero expectations from him (neglect as a form of abuse), has no work or college plans. He's like a leaf floating directionless in the wind. So sad. Perhaps Jack describes him best: “A big, shy, handsome boy, clean and wholesome and fresh.” And in sweeps Jack and takes him under his wing. True, Jack is a ‘good' Dom, and I very much like the fact that this series doesn't get bogged down in traditional BDSM protocol, but to my mind, Channon did need, at least, a primer or foundation about this world before diving into the deep end of the pool. Jack is doing ‘scenes' with him pretty much off the bat under the assumption that Channon knows what Jack wants and wants it too. Maybe. Except, that beyond doing internet research, after the fact, Channon has no sexual experience, vanilla, straight or gay. To add to my list of grievances against Jack, he has Channon jumping into all sorts of kink spanking, exhibitionism, sharing etc. within the space of 2 or 3 months. Can you say dangerous? Perhaps not physically, but emotionally? He doesn't know what Channon's limits or wants are, doesn't know if Channon wants to be ‘out'; Channon doesn't know himself! Ultimately the power imbalance between Channon & Jack is a crater the size of the Grand Canyon and we'll have to wait and see if the next season(s) even it out, even if just a bit. It would greatly soothe my seething heart. Fine. I'll stop because (see my rating) I still clearly loved this, and will do the next season; but somehow I feel that part of my reading is like a bearing witness to Channon's journey, which in my mind equates with keeping him safe. I'm losing my marbles. I know. This thought from Channon sort of sums up my feelings about Jack and his relationship to Channon: “Sometimes he wondered what, exactly, Jack was getting out of this. Someone to torture, someone eager and desperate, someone who'd do anything he wanted. But why Channon? He'd said some things - Channon blushed when he thought about it - about Channon being shy and polite. Obedient. And he liked Channon's body, that much he'd made clear, standing him in front of the mirror and caressing him all over. Maybe he just liked the convenience. Channon lived right next door, how much more convenient could it get?” Yep. I agree completely.