Torrid by Morgan Hawke is a shounen-ai, or for the uninitiated, m/m romance. The first main character, Trey, is your typical blond haired, blue-eyed handsome stud. He was asked by his boss to strip dance at a bachelorette party (did I mention he is a dance instructor and cute!!!!) where the going rate was $500.00 and which he reluctantly accepted! When he went to pick up his COSTUME, which consisted of a “g-string”, he met Kenshin (a dark haired, Oriental and studly man). He was immediately enamored by him, to his dismay!! The two were inexplicably pulled towards each other, despite all of Trey's resistance. He unconsciously spends much of his time teasing Kenshin, (even though he doesn’t even realize that he is doing it) thus earning the nickname “cock tease” from Kenshin. Trey spends much of the time taking one step forward and four steps backwards making Kenshin encourage, (or even) push Trey in the direction he needed him to go.

Even with all the conflict, there is an underlying love that continues and grows throughout the book. This author paints a beautiful picture of the growing relationship between Trey and Kenshin. The reader can almost see how Trey’s cluelessness about his feelings for Kenshin is driving Kenshin absolutely crazy! Even with all the tension the budding relationship is almost sweet to behold. This book is a must read for anyone that loves anime. If you have never seen any, this is a great place to start. You will fall in love with these two as much as I have. I hope the author writes more books of this kind.

Reviewed by: Teresa