Review - Learning the Ropes by H Birchwood, Key Dyson & Raymond Roach

On his day off, Rich decides to drop in on his friend Liam. Upon arriving at the converted super yacht that serves as Liam's laboratory, Rich finds his friend tied up and apparently being tortured by someone he doesn't know. If there's one thing that can overcome Rich's extreme aversion to violence, it's seeing one of his friends being hurt. Fortunately, Liam manages to calm Rich down before he can do any real damage to Jordan, another friend of Liam's that knows the young scientist likes it rough. The pair invite Rich to join the scene and learn more about Liam's kinky desires.

This short novella takes place in the same post-climate change future introduced in After the Storm. You need to have read that first book to understand Rich's complex emotional background and why he reacts the way he does.

The entire book is really just one long BDSM scene, or maybe two with a short intermission, depending on how you look at it. Jordan and Rich together try to satisfy Liam's insatiable sexual needs, as well as their own.

If you have read the other books of the Stories From the Michigan Fleet series, then you already know Rich and Liam. Their friends-with-benefits relationship was already the subject of The Art of Boytoy Maintenance. Jordan is a new character, and he isn't what he seems, but he definitely knows what to do with both Rich and Liam.

“Learning the Ropes” is available from Smashwords.