Review: Bones (Blue Boy Studio #2) by Garrett Leigh

Cam is a veteran porn star at Blue Boy Studios. Known as Mr. Nice Guy, he’s the top every newbie bottom wants to be paired with.

But in recent months his beloved hardcore scenes have dried up. Instead, he finds himself stuck with a string of monotonous foreplay scenes. He takes his frustration to his boss, and warped kind of lover, Jon Kellar, but Jon won’t bend. Cam is a commodity and will do as he’s told…in every way.

Cam’s frustration builds, but a chance meeting with a hot BMXer distracts him. Sasha Tate is gorgeous, warm and wonderful; everything Cam has ever wanted. They bond over shared interests and a sizzling mutual attraction. Cam is exhilarated and thrilled, until his chosen profession gets in the way.

Sasha pulls back, and before Cam can fix it, life comes at him from all fronts. A crisis threatens much more than his relationship with Sasha, and as his world implodes he begins to realize that life will never be the same again.


Back again for Garrett Leigh porn stars!


Though this could technically be read as a standalone, I wouldn't suggest it just because you get follow up and a major question from Bullet (book #1) answered.

The novella Bones stars nice guy Cam. He's a little spacey the resident ginger of Blue Boy Studio and a porn veteran at 25 years old. For some reason, I though this story was going to be light. And it was deceptively so in the beginning. Cam continues to have a fuck buddy relationship with the studio owner, Jon. I didn't get creeptastic vibes in Bullet (#1). But based in the blurb something fishy would be afoot.

And holy shit was it.

Cam has a kinky relationship where he bottoms for Jon, lets him tie him up and use him however Jon sees fit. And Cam is unsettled. He doesn't like feeling this way but he sorta fell into this rut while getting over his mother leaving his family and divorcing his dad. Coming from a close knit family, he shakes Cam to his core. And he is struggling and drifting.

See that story? This beginning set up? I'd read it for days.

But what Bones does is take a lot of plot points, make it work. But something was missing. Or I should say, it too condensed for me to fully enjoy the premise.

My biggest gripe with this story? It's too condensed for the length.

We get real life issues: the big "C", having to adult, broken homes, possessive fuck buddies and non con. Some heavy stuff, am I right? Leigh does a good job of tackling the issues. I enjoy her style and technically it works for Bones... but I wanted more.

Cam has this weird relationship with his boss which he has to keep a secret from everyone and he just wants someone to call his own. Enter cute BMX-er and shop owner, Sasha. They meet at Cam's day job under cute circumstances and keep the cute going with their skateboard biking non-dates. They become friends but the attraction is there. And for Cam who likes to give hugs through his penis, it kills him that Sasha wants to be friends.

A plus of this story is that it doesn't use porn models jobs as something to be ashamed of and everything seems to be sex positive so far. The bits we get of Sasha is adorable and strong. The relationship between Cam and Sasha takes a backseat at times to follow up with Levi and Sonny, the previous couple. I'm very happy about it since I like those boys. And then the Jon angle came in to through a wrench in the flow.

Let's chat about the Jon angle, shall we?

The Jon angle - in the first third, he was amped up to be the bad guy in a way. He was the fuck buddy who turned possessive and weird. But then he went away and then came back with a crazy twist that gave me the case of the ick. Then he just disappears? I wanted an epic blowout, something. I'm left hanging and I want justice.

Couple that feeling with the fact Cam and Sasha don't really get together until the last 10% of the book (we do get an impromptu menage!) and I was happy with the progress. But I wanted more filler, more exploration of relationship development, more page time from Sasha.

Most of the main questions are answered, I'm hoping for more follow up with now Sasha and Cam as well as the first couple in the next book as Blue Boy goes a major change and I'm curious how it all turns out. The writing is good, the characters have enough depth to keep the story going.

If you're in the mood for an easy read about porn stars that gives a case of the reals, I'd recommend.

But you're warned about the ending, I wanted ore. And I think the author has the chops to take it there.

If Bones is ever really re-worked and lengthened into a novel, I'd read it. Because the premise and ideas are solid but I ended it with feeling I barely scratched the surface.



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