The Surrender Gate by Christopher Rice

Title: The Surrender Gate (A Desire Exchange Novel)
Author: Christopher Rice
Genre: Contemporary Romance Erotica, Fantasy
Published: February 3, 2015
Rating: ♨♨♨ (3 steaming cups) An erotic romance that digs deep into your sexual fantasies at a high price, but its the almost mystery aspect that keeps readers on edge.

Review:

The Surrender Gate is more a mystery suspense novel than it is erotica and romance. Emily Blaine was going to inherit Arthur Benoit's vast fortune upon his death and that would be sooner rather than later since he is apparently terminal.  However, he does have one last request for Emily, that she find his long lost son and give him a letter for him. Because Emily is so very grateful for this man, who gave her dad a second chance and in turn, Emily a more stable childhood she couldn't turn him down.  The inheritance was more of a burden for her and to actually be able to do something for Arthur makes it more worthwhile.  She enlist the help of her bestfriend, Jonathan, who happens to be a male escort.  Jonathan loves Emily and will help her find Ryan, Arthur's son.  Unfortunately, the way she goes about asking for help was literally dropping in on him while he was entertaining one of his clients.  And this is where everything begins.  

The Surrender Gate was surprisingly not what I expected, the plot point screams erotica, what with a title like that.  The thing is, its actually the whole adventure of finding Ryan and being led on to this chase that is very mysterious and magical.  Although everything centers around sexual fantasies, the novel is actually a bit more romantic in approach.  The characters were all good with a strong female person in Emily and a sweet hero in Marcus and a sassy but sexy sidekick in Jonathan.  As an erotica its sensual and lyrical but as a gripping romantic mystery it really is quite good.

About The Surrender Gate:

New York Times bestselling author Christopher Rice's first foray into erotic romance, The Flame, earned accolades from some of the genre's most beloved authors. "Sensual, passionate and intelligent," wrote Lexi Blake, "it's everything an erotic romance should be." J. Kenner called it "absolutely delicious," Cherise Sinclair hailed it as "beautifully lyrical" and Loreli James announced, "I look forward to reading more!" Now, Christopher returns you to the world first introduced in The Flame with an all new novel of The Desire Exchange…

Emily Blaine's life is about to change. Arthur Benoit, the kindly multi-millionaire who has acted as her surrogate father for years, has just told her he's leaving her his entire estate, and he only has a few months to live. Soon Emily will go from being a restaurant manager with a useless English degree to the one of the richest and most powerful women in New Orleans. There's just one price. Arthur has written a letter to his estranged son Ryan he hopes will mend the rift between them, and he wants Emily to deliver the letter before it's too late. But finding Ryan won't be easy. He's been missing for years. He was recently linked to a mysterious organization called The Desire Exchange. But is The Desire Exchange just an urban legend? Or are the rumors true? Is it truly a secret club where the wealthy can live out their most private sexual fantasies?

It's a task Emily can't undertake alone. But there's only one man qualified to help her, her gorgeous and confident best friend, Jonathan Claiborne. She's suspected Jonathan of working as a high-priced escort for months now, and she's willing to bet that while giving pleasure to some of the most powerful men in New Orleans, Jonathan has uncovered some possible leads to The Desire Exchange—and to Ryan Benoit. But Emily's attempt to uncover Jonathan's secret life lands the two of them in hot water. Literally. In order to escape the clutches of one of Jonathan's most powerful and dangerous clients, they're forced to act on long buried desires—for each other.

When Emily's mission turns into an undercover operation, Jonathan insists on going with her. He also insists they continue to explore their impossible, reckless passion for each other. Enter Marcus Dylan, the hard-charging ex-NAVY Seal Arthur has hired to keep Emily safe. But Marcus has been hired for another reason. He, too, has a burning passion for Emily, a passion that might keep Emily from being distracted and confused by a best friend who claims he might be able to go straight just for her. But Marcus is as rough and controlling as Jonathan is sensual and reckless. As Emily searches for a place where the rich turn their fantasies into reality, she will be forced to decide which one of her own long-ignored fantasies should become her reality. But as Emily, Jonathan, and Marcus draw closer to The Desire Exchange itself, they find their destination isn't just shrouded in mystery, but in magic as well