Professional Distance

Thorne and Dash, Book 1

By: Silvia Violet

Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux

Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Thornwell Shipton is wealthy, uptight, closeted, and an incurable workaholic. A tragic love affair left him terrified of relationships, so he tells himself sex is better scheduled and paid for.

Riley Dashwood is young, easy-going, and comfortable in his own skin. He's a passionate baker and an aspiring chef, working as an escort to save up for culinary school.

They're clearly made for each other.

When Thorne hires Dash, it's lust at first sight. After a few scorching nights together, both men start to wonder if what's between them is more than physical, but their age gap and resistance to romance make them afraid to change their professional relationship to a personal one. Dash pushes Thorne to admit he wants things he's denied himself for years. Kinky things. Soft, caring things. Things that force him to open his heart, not just his body. To move forward, one or the other must take a risk and ask for what he really wants.

©2015 Silvia Violet (P)2016 Silvia Violet

SEXY GOODNESS!

This was an awesome audiobook! Greg Boudreaux ( aka Greg Tremblay) was perfect as Dash and Thorne. The sex in this one was sizzling. It was also so sweet and I was in tears near the end. I highly recommend this one if you are in the mood for some steamy, sexy audio goodness!

Much more than I expected

I have just recently discovered Silvia as an author and N very much enjoying her books. The combination of this story and the excellent narrator are fabulous!
I love both characters, but I especially love Thorne. He is an arrogant ass for sure, but it’s very satisfying to take this journey as Dash/ Riley breaks through Thorne’s defenses.
In the end, both men need to be loved and understood. The fact that they have amazing chemistry is a bonus!
Highly recommend this book!!

Great Narration!

***4.5 stars (rounded-up)***

The Story
Who doesn’t love a story that involves a rent boy and wait for it….an age gap! Oh, and did I mention that the younger man ends up being the controlling top? Hot, right?!?! Let me just say it starts off pretty hot and just builds up from there. I am talking toys, food play and some spanking.

The story is a bit angsty. By that I mean that they both have their own thoughts of what the other thinks about them, in regards to being with someone for more than just a fuck, given their age. The plot of the book is pretty much the norm: a closeted man (Thorne) falls for his rent boy (Dash) in which neither one of them thinks that the other could want anything more. Therefore the conflict of the book being little to no communication outside of their “business” arrangement, which honestly I felt something lacking here.

Silvia Violet is not a new author for me. I have read Meteor Strike, and let me just say that this story surpasses it. She did a good job with character development and it was nice to see how Thorne and Dash’s feelings developed toward one another over time.

As for the cliffhanger, it leaves them with a HFN. Which IMO if you wanted to stop after this book you could. That is if you didn’t want to know what is on the horizon for Thorne and Dash and where their relationship might take them.

The Narrator
Greg Boudreaux did an amazing job with the emotion he put into the story. I felt that he did a wonderful job with each character and their voices. However, it would have been nice if his female voices had a bit more variety.

I am one of many reviewers at Gay Book Reviews.

I received an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Good book, but repetitive.

Good book, but repetitive. Does he love me or dosen't he. Sometimes these characters are so dense! The sex sence were done very well. lololololol I would recommend

Fabulous story and narration

I first read this story about a year ago and, as I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and writing, I was eager to listen to the audio version.

In a way, this is your typical May/December businessman and rent boy trope. You know the guys are going to fall in love despite all their protestations at the start that this is purely a physical undertaking in exchange for payment. What I like about this storyline is the way Silvia Violet developed her characters and their relationship gradually over time. Yes, there’s insta-attraction, but the love takes time to bloom. The sizzling chemistry between Thorne and Dash—in and out of the bedroom—makes this story hot as well as compelling. The notion that they have to keep their interaction ‘professional’ and maintain a distance provides conflict for both characters. Each wants more than the physical, but are wary of suggesting anything as such. Thus Thorne feels compelled to pay for Dash’s time, even when they are spending time together as if they are friends. And this results in the inevitable ‘break up’ because Dash misconstrues Thorne’s special offer.

Because of the nature of the story there are many sex scenes, but each one builds on the experience of the previous one and demonstrates their blossoming affection and romance. These scenes are steamy with light BDSM elements and some sexy use of food and toys. Unexpectedly, it is Thorne who demands a more dominant role from Dash and, despite being only twenty-two, he fulfils all of Thorne’s needs delightfully.

Thorne is an intriguing character. He starts off as quite prickly in nature. He is the typical rich businessman who has no time or inclination for a proper relationship. Over time, he softens as he falls in love. I liked how he becomes protective and jealous of Dash and how he wants to spend more than just Friday evenings in his company.

Dash is a confident young man with plenty of experience for the role he claims is all part of the service. He’s only doing this job to fund his training to become a chef. He helps Thorne relax and not focus on his work so much. They soon seem to be friends and Thorne is not sure if this is just part of Dash’s job. He secretly hopes it’s leading to more, as does Dash.

Much of the story is set in Thorne’s apartment: his couch, his bedroom, or his kitchen, but they do get to visit restaurants, an art gallery, an aquarium, and lake/island as well as their places of work. We don’t find out too much about their pasts. It’s all about their interaction now, the romance, and how they are going to deal with their feelings. Neither of them feels confident enough to say they want to move beyond the professional and go on a proper date. Thorne feels he has to pay for Dash’s time. And because he’s rich he can afford to do just that.

I thought the ‘break up’ when it came was a little contrived and Dash’s reaction was a out of character. But it made for a few angst-filled weeks while they were apart. The making up was sweet, although I kept wondering why they wanted to take it slow this time around and delay their get together. The ending is HFN and there are two more stories in the series to enjoy.

The narration by Greg (aka Greg Tremblay) is excellent. He brings the storyline and characters to life. His voice and pace kept my attention throughout. Greg makes the love scenes sizzle even more, if that’s possible. The characters’ voices are distinctive and I particularly liked the sexy voice he gave to Thorne. There are quite a few internalized thoughts, but he made it perfectly when it was a character’s inner thoughts rather than spoken words.

Entertaining

Good book. KILL THE FEM VOICE FOR DASH! It’s insulting and it makes no sense for someone with such a gem voice to be so aggressive. He’d be laughed out of the bed

Hot story

I enjoyed this story. Likes the writing and creation of the characters. Nice tone too by the narrator. Plan to get more from this author.

Good May/December romance

What did you love best about Professional Distance?

I loved how though Dash was an escort it didn't make him. He didn't come off as slutty at all.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Professional Distance?

I didn't have one memorable moment. The whole story was interesting.

Have you listened to any of Greg Boudreaux’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. I love Greg Boudreaux's performances. He has the ability to bring a character to life and a book to life as well.

If you could take any character from Professional Distance out to dinner, who would it be and why?

OOH, that's a hard one. I think I would have to choose Dash. I would love to know more about his background and ow life has changed him since he and Thorn got together.

Any additional comments?

Professional Distance is an engaging read from the first page to the last.
The characters are interesting and that story captivating. I will say that I was curious about Marc and it felt like I was missing out on a story there. I also wondered if his story had been another series that this spun off of. Having said that it wasn’t enough to hinder my enjoyment of this story.
I couldn’t decide who I liked better Thorn or Dash. I guess you could say my opinion was like both men a switch. There is a lot of character growth in Thorn and I really liked it a lot. The plot is romantic and extremely hot.
I can’t wait for more on this story. I still can’t say I like that Marc is back in the mix or how I feel about his possible involvement.
If you like stories about rich men, rent boys, older men/younger men, character growth, switches, some domination, and very hot man-sex this is definitely for you

5 big stars

New to me author, listened to on audiobooks. Contemporary m/m story. Loved the main characters, and story. Will definitely follow Thorne and Dash into book 2 and book 3.

Amazing chemistry may/december

We start off with Thornwell “Thorne” Shipton, a wealthy, closeted, control-freak who only sleeps with rent boys meeting Riley “Dash” Dashwood for the first time. Dash sets Thorne off on practically every measure, pushing his limits but ultimately also pushing all his buttons – in a good way.

They are – on paper- terrible for each other. Dash is 20 years younger than Thorne, he’s out and proud and in school and ready to start life. Thorne is bitter and in a rut and set in his ways and not interested in rocking the boat.

But together, they just work. They’ve got amazing chemistry. Dash doesn’t let Thorne push him around and Thorne LOVES it when Dash pushes HIM around. The age thing seems daunting, but to Dash and Thorne it’s just not even a thing.

Thorne’s family is – in the end – barely a hurdle, the main hurdle is the painful one of transitioning from paid escort to partner. But, in what feels fairly organic and as real as this type of “Pretty Woman” scenario can.

I really loved the banter the two share and the fact that Dash pretty much lays everything out on the line, honestly, every time they meet.

There is A LOT of s*x in this. Some of it works as it’s the way they connect and the way Dash breaks through a lot of Thorne’s barriers, but I do wish we’d see them function more as a couple OUTSIDE the bedroom, too.

Highly recommended.
4.5 of 5 stars

Audio

Greg Boudreaux is a gifted narrator, no matter the subject matter and he’s no novice to erotica. He gives this very hot read his very sensual best and does a great job with the few secondary characters involved as well. He’s always a joy to listen to and he absolutely adds to the listener’s immersion in this story. I hope he’s slated for the sequel!

5 of 5 stars

Overall 4.75 of 5 stars