Review: Pretty Boy (Perfect Boys #1) by K.M. Neuhold
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Content Warnings for book: Alcoholism, low self-esteem, bullying
Kink: Spanking, daddy kink, praise kink, orgasm control
Pretty Boy is a sweet rich/poor age-gap daddy kink romance, with a whirlwind romance, sugar sweet to its core.
Sterling and Barrett were great together. I loved the praise, the cuddling, the protectiveness Barrett had for Sterling. I loved the way Sterling's southern dialect and accent came into play because -- well, it felt real, that is how me and my family speak (though we're from Alabama, so ymmv if it's truly Texan). These two were just so great together, there are so many swoony quotes, and I felt a lot for Sterling and his bad experiences at home.
The friendship between Sterling and his boss (Emery? I am bad with names) was sweet too. I'm glad he got a job he felt good about and how he was engaging with his own independence that way. The kink in this was great as well, the daddying so caretaking and the diamond cock cage? Wow. The epilogue with him reconnecting with his mother was also nice to see.
Now, I do have a criticism that did knock a star for me. There is a point where Barrett withholds sex until Sterling can say something nice about himself. While this is framed as the push Sterling needs to work through some issues and lasts say, maybe an hour, it definitely isn't the best thing to do. It can be a form of manipulation that isn't healthy, but neither is running away with a man you've known for a couple of days to live with him, so. I think Neuhold wanted to show a sugary sweet version of life (romancelandia, if you will) that Sterling's issues with self-esteem could be loved through. Reality of course, he should seek ways to build himself up and maybe pursue therapy or something of that nature.
Other than that, I really loved this emotional sweet book.
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