The Keyholder

The Keyholder #1

by Shannon West

Cody McCall woke up in a hospital with no immediate memory of how he got there. He did remember being on vacation in Florida and getting epically drunk, but after that things were pretty much a blur. When he’s realizes on suicide watch and that Jake Rogers, his best friend and his partner on the police force back home, is sitting by his bedside, things become even more confusing. And then it all comes back to him—how he’d had too much to drink and decided to try something he’d seen on the internet involving ropes. A passing maid saved his life, but now he’s strapped to a bed and his best friend is more angry with him than he’s ever been. Jake manages to get Cody sprung from the hospital, but Cody’s not out of the woods, by any means. Jake has something planned for Cody that will not only keep him safe, but also keep him firmly under Jake’s control.AUTHOR’S I wondered what would happen if two people who had been best friends discovered they were in love, but one of them was a Dom. What would that journey look like? Would they be able to make it as a couple? This series chronicles that journey, with both Cody and Jake having to find their way. I decided to serialize their story to show the slow progression of a complicated relationship. This relationship happens to be a D/s coupling, but I think any new love story has potential pitfalls and requires a lot of give and take.

Genres: BDSM, M M Romance, Friends To Lovers, M M Contemporary, Short Stories, Erotica, Smut

23 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2014

Reviews

[Mirjam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of the The Keyholder Series and must be read in order:

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning - I really liked this first book but gave the second book in this series only ONE star because Jake is a really bad Dom. My Review for The Submissive

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars.

It was very short, it ended pretty abruptly and there were a couple of editing issues - however I had an amazon credit that gave me books 1, 2 & 3 in the series for merely £1.50 which works out to only 50p a story so. . . yeah, I think it's an OK price for it - be interesting to see what they charge for the complete series when they've all been released especially if bound in one volume. Otherwise they're 77p each. . . and depending on how long the series goes on, that might p*ss me off a bit because that's almost a £1 for perhaps about a chapter.

Meantimes it was steamy, sexy hotness that required absolutely nothing from me and I enjoyed it.

[Nile Princess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, seriously, what is this new thing authors are doing where they split one book in parts and sell each part individually? This isn't a series, or even a short story; it's clearly just a couple chapters in a book that just ends abruptly (there is a clear difference in the feel). Just sell one book at the regular price! Ugh.

Ok, now about the actual (partial) book, it's interesting so far. I will be continuing. I do think that Jake's approach is a bit unrealistic and heavy handed, and Cody just goes from 'I don't even know what a sub is' to 'I want to learn to please you' in the blink of an eye, but I like the characters enough to continue. 3 stars.

[Lilia Ford · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read it in less than 20 minutes and found it hot enough to read the second part (which was even less satisfying,) but by the end I felt like I'd read a description of a story rather than an actual one. The idea itself had potential and there are some very steamy moments, but altogether this is too short and undeveloped to really work. Cody is okay, but Jake is more brooding presence than person, with no discernible motivation, and the story was missing about eleven of the steps needed to get Cody from the hospital bed to kneeling on the floor calling Jake "Sir."

[~SexyBookWorm~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ya know this book had a great start. .but it didn't quite pan out for me. it felt unfinished to me. I liked the characters and the premise but there just wasn't enough to even call it a short.

[Poppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shannon West has popped on my "recs" for over a year now. I've read all of her work

Her imagination is great and she never fails to deliver. A great little read that honestly left me wanting more

[Missmeanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't wait for the rest of the story!!!

[Annemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this storyline, but there's a lot I didn't like. Jake as a Dom should be having a conversation with Cody about consent and limits before tying him to a bed, putting a cage on him, telling him he is controlling his orgasms and moving in with him. And then it just ends. I see there are more in this series, but from the summaries, this should've just been 1 full size novel and sold as 1 book. Hope that this ends with a true HEA.

[SoCalBookReviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok

For a short book it was okay. it felt like there should have been a little more lead in to the story between Jake and Cody. But.. Big pet peeve.... The two MC names were switched (wrong names used) in like 4 spots which is annoying it Needs better editing especially being a short story...

[Ana Jade Yu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good beginning to a story but doesn’t really work as a stand alone.

[Jeremy Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and enjoyable story with lots of twists and turns.

[Najma · Rating 5 out of 5]

too short

[Wandering Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story started well with MC1, Cody McCall, waking up in the hospital after almost killing himself while experimenting with autoerotic asphyxia. By his side when he awakes is the MC2, Jake Rogers, his "partner on the police force". After Jake checks Cody out of the hospital, Jake shares (decrees?) that not only is he gay but from here on out he and Cody will be in a D/s relationship and as Cody's Dominant will make sure Cody stops the downward spiral that his personal life has become.

This story is a very short *fantasy* BDSM chapter in a series that currently has four installments.

In addition to it's short length, which didn't allow me time to get into the story, there were some glaring errors such as Jake calling Cody "Jake McCall", that also kept me from losing myself in the story.

I do intend to read the next chapter or two to see if this series gets better since the premise is interesting and the chapters are so short I won't feel put out if they don't get better.

[Tessi4M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cody wakes up in the hospital after something of a fuck-up and Jake decides to take over since Cody obviously isn't capable of taking care of himself.

It's a very short but quite promising start to the series. And it is a real series - no point reading just this one as the end of it it is more a beginning than an end.

I did subtract for the editing, though. I counted at least 4 cases of getting the characters mixed up. Which should really not be too hard to avoid - there are only two of them, after all, and it just takes someone reading the book before publishing to catch those. Quite annoying.

[Mae Hanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm going to give these SHORT short-stories a chance by reading the 1st 3. But they are truly no more than what I consider to be a chapter of an actual story. Which is disappointing in that it appears the author broke them down to super shorts in order to gain more income. I get that but I don't necessarily like it.

Cody is a bit too complacent in his acceptance of Jake's sudden proclamation of Cody belonging to Jake. There was never any discussion just this is how it is. And that's not how it works. Had I read this one before the 2nd one (not realizing it was part 2) I would not have continued at all.

[Sue bowdley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love short reads and I really enjoyed Shannon West's Weekend Getaway books...this one was just as good....Ideal for a cup of tea read.....Cody and Jake were great together even for a short scene book....Apart from one tiny slip up with a wrong name a really great read x

[Sandi ♥'s way too many M/M books · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[jules0623 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bullying a friend into a sexual situation does not make a consensual sexual encounter. Nor does explaining it away by telling him you are a Dom and you now hold the key to his dick cage. God!

[Katy Beth Mckee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cody has gone too far and Jake is not going to let this happen again. Work partners who seem to finally find out maybe they should be together.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[❀~Amy~❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read 9/8/15

[Joelle Mendes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific short

Liked this a lot. There are some editing issues but they are easy enough to overlook. Story is good. Can't wait to read what comes next for Jake and Cody.

[Livia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good start to a series. Good plot line and well rounded characters. On the short side but a good read none the less.

Well be seeking more from the author

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

Holy hotness! I enjoyed this book and the characters Cody and Jake. The only drawback was the abrupt ending. Going to check out the next one.

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started really good and then went way to far, way too fast! More bullying than consensual.