Reviewer: Cindi at On Top Down Under Reviews
Publisher: Comet Press
Pages: 65
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Blurb - Matt Jaxx is a sexy stripper who
develops a fast following, but one of them turns scary stalker. Along the way
he way he meets Justin and it’s lust at first sight, both doing things they’d
only fantasized about. Right when he seems to have it all, his stalker
reappears, revealing his twisted agenda. It’s a fast, fun, sexy, scary ride.
Review - Our main character is a male stripper
who goes by the name Matt Jaxx. It doesn’t take long after his first
performance for him to develop a quick following and to become very popular
with the men who came to watch him strip for tips. He starts stripping
part-time but it quickly turns into his full-time gig when he discovers how
much money he can make. He’s having fun, the money is good, and who’d have
thought he – a formally not-so-hot guy from Ohio – would be getting paid to
dance for a bunch of men? The not-so-hot guy from Ohio – who once had acne and
other things that took away from his appearance – is now every gay guy’s dream.
And he uses that. Oh, how he uses it. He doesn’t get paid for sex, as that’s
not his thing, but everything else? Yeah, he’s totally down with that as long
as the men are paying.
Matt has been doing his thing for awhile when he
meets Justin in the apartment building they both live in. It takes a little
while for them to hook-up, but when they do it’s pretty hot. Justin is
perfectly fine with what Matt does for a living and they gradually grow closer
as a couple as time goes by. While performing one night, Matt notices an odd
man in the audience. The man looks unkempt and not very interested in what’s
going on on stage. The dude is creepy, but seems harmless, so Matt thinks
nothing of it… until later. Later is when things get strange and a bit violent
with Mr. Creepy. Saying more than that would be giving the story away and it’s
only 60-something pages so I won’t spoil it in this review.
The story was interesting. I have a kink for male
stripper and/or rent boy stories (though Matt makes it clear he’s not getting
paid for sex) so that was a big plus for me. The romance between Matt and
Justin was pretty sweet, and at times sexy. The creepy stalker guy was written
well, though I wish more details would’ve been added in regards to a few things
with him. This is billed as horror, though I didn’t feel that creeped out. Then
again, I’m a huge horror reader so I may be jaded in that regard and others may
see more of a creep factor than I did.
Overall, a good story. I found Matt to be more than a
little full of himself, but I guess that was to be expected after the way his
teenage years were described. I adored Justin and liked him more every time he
was on page. Behind the Velvet Curtain isn’t very realistic, so don’t go
into it expecting it to be. It is, however, a nice quickie read that
entertains.
