'For Real' flips the kink romance script and it might just be my favourite Alexis Hall book
The Alexis Hall book that's easy to pitch and even easier to fall for
The third Spires novel pairs a burnt-out 37-year-old submissive with a fearless 19-year-old dominant working out who he is — and it’s every bit as tender as it is hot.
If you only read one Alexis Hall book, make it ‘For Real’.
It’s my favourite in the Spires series, and it has the kind of premise that sells itself: a 37-year-old submissive who thought he was done with the BDSM scene meets a 19-year-old dominant who is only just working out who he is.
Laurie Dalziel is worn down, pushing 40 and six years out from his last relationship, when 19-year-old Toby Finch walks in; fearless, intense, and nowhere near as certain of himself as he looks.
What makes ‘For Real’ so good is the reversal at its centre: the experience sits with the older submissive, while the younger dominant is the one still figuring out what he wants, and who he’s allowed to be.
Toby’s lack of confidence is the most endearing thing about him, and it’s completely at odds with what you expect from a Dom on the page.
I connect with both Laurie and Toby in different ways, which is rare for me in a romance — usually I pick a side.
‘For Real’ also rewards readers who’ve worked through the rest of the Spires series; the connections back to ‘Waiting for the Flood’, and elsewhere in Hall’s Oxford-set world, make it feel less like a stand-alone and more like a payoff.
There’s a Kinky Lemon Meringue Pie that turns up in Toby’s storyline, and it’s firmly on my to-bake list. I’ll need to report back.
Originally published in 2015, ‘For Real’ is the third book in the Spires series, the republish happened in 2024 and it’s the one I hand to friends who say they’ve never read a romance novel in their life.
READ MORE: Catch up on Edwin and Marius' story in 'Waiting for the Flood'