Review: No Souvenirs

Title: No Souvenirs
Series: Florida Books
Author: K.A. Mitchell
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Publication Date: 9 March 2010
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 158 pages

Rating: 3 out of 5

Blurb:
A vacation fling. No complications. No connections. And no regrets.

Trauma surgeon Jae Sun Kim has just lost the job he wanted more than anything else in his life. Looking for a way to hit the reset button, he takes a scuba vacation. He didn't plan on seasickness, or a dive master who is sex-on-the-beach personified.

Shane McCormack's tendency to drift away from complicated situations has landed him a job as a dive master in Belize, which isn't as glamorous as it sounds. But with the big three-oh looming, asking his parents to bail him out again isn't an option. The job isn't without its perks, though, and as soon as he figures a way to keep that hot but arrogant ass of a doctor from tossing his cookies over the side of the boat, he plans to flirt the control freak out of his brittle shell.

The close quarters on the ship generate more heat than either expects, but a vacation fling is all that's in the plans. An unexpected adventure leaves them changed in ways that make it impossible to go back to their old lives. The risks they'll both have to take could leave them with nothing but more scars, or the best souvenir of all.

Review:

Main Characters:
Kim is prickly and unapproachable, even his closest friends held at a distance. He lives to work--and also in fear that his parents will discover that he's gay. He's an unequivocal top with no real history of relationships and a near inability to express himself. He's also an arrogant asshole. Despite that (or, perhaps, because of that), I adore him. He's uncompromising when it comes to his beliefs, but also isn't above trying to change when he feels it necessary. His evolution throughout the story is interesting to witness, and I think he comes out as quite likable (if you tend toward the prickly sorts).

Shane is far more easy-going. After nine years in college and with difficulties finding a position in his field, he takes a position as Divemaster as a stopgap, not having any idea what exactly he's going to have dropped in his lap. He's got a family that knows he's gay and loves him, although he doesn't really seem to have any other close friends. (At least, I can't recall any being mentioned, even in passing.) I liked him well enough, but he seemed a little more generic than Kim to me.

Chemistry:
Kim and Shane are definitely an attractive couple, which is good as they have a lot of sex. I particularly enjoyed that Kim was the dominant one in the relationship despite the height trope, although I could have lived with a little bit of reversing. I could also have done with a little more conversation, as, aside from one or two revealing talks, they never really seemed to get to know each other all that well.

Secondary Characters:
The supporting cast was thin on the ground; the largest were Joey and Aaron (from Collision Course), and even they barely made an appearance. While it was interesting to see how Joey and Aaron were doing, it also seemed as though they were thrown in for the sake of the cameo, without having any real impact.

Story:
Although there's a lot of sex, there's also a welcome amount of plot to be found here, mostly centering on a mishap during Kim's tour. Things move along well through much of the book, although almost too smoothly; there's not really any confrontation (mishap aside) until quite late. It could easily have been expanded, I think, especially as it's already a fairly short book--over 100 pages shorter than the previous book in the series.

Writing:
The writing flowed nicely, competent if not particularly captivating. It was easy to sink into, with few noticeable errors.

Other Thoughts:
This is so a non-issue, but I had to blink that at one point a condom was flushed down the toilet. Would you believe that threw me out of the story more than anything else? Tsk.

Overall:
An interesting story made for a good vehicle for appealing characters. If not particularly memorable, it's still an enjoyable read that has a place on my shelf.