Clean Slate by Aleksandr Voinov & Barbara Sheridan

Title: Clean Slate
Author: Aleksandr Voinov & Barbara Sheridan
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length:: 121 pages
Buy the book: Publisher

Blurb:
The assassination Chris Gibson and John Soong are sent to carry out doesn’t go quite as planned. They arrive at the location to find their target, Russian mob affiliate Andrei Voronin, has already been shot and is barely clinging to life. Making a judgment call, John contacts his superiors, who agree that Voronin may be more valuable to them alive than dead.

The new plan is for John and Chris to pose as Andrei’s lovers until the amnesiac recovers his memory. Their task takes an unexpected turn when the agents bond with Andrei, clash with one another, and have to outwit the Russian mob who discover that Andrei is still alive.

The assassination Chris Gibson and John Soong are sent to carry out doesn’t go quite as planned. They arrive at the location to find their target, Russian mob affiliate Andrei Voronin, has already been shot and is barely clinging to life. Making a judgment call, John contacts his superiors, who agree that Voronin may be more valuable to them alive than dead.The new plan is for John and Chris to pose as Andrei’s lovers until the amnesiac recovers his memory. Their task takes an unexpected turn when the agents bond with Andrei, clash with one another, and have to outwit the Russian mob who discover that Andrei is still alive.

Review:

From reading the blurb I already figured that I will have to supsend disbelief to a certain extent here. Why assassins who come too late to kill their victim should change their mind and all of a sudden want to save him I didn’t understand.  Also I was slightly annoyed at the way John and Chris were lying to Andrei in the beginning. They told him a half-baked story and Andrei accepted it almost without batting an eyelid. I would imagine someone without any knowledge about himself would – even though he might want to grasp at straws – be a bit suspicious when he was told he was sexually involved with two men carrying guns 24/7. So, yes, the plot was somewhat unrealistic, but once I accepted that, it flowed.

John, Chris and Andrei were three hot guys. I didn’t care too much for Chris, the manslut, but John and especially Andrei were extremely likeable. The way those two found a way to merge their budding relationship with John’s and Chris’ sort of “teammates with benefits” affair and turn it into a working menage was nicely done. Aleksandr Voinov said on Goodreads about “Clean Slate” that he cheated a bit and took away the memory and issues from one of the guys to make this easier and he was right. With Andrei’s memory intact the three men certainly would have never hit it off.

The story ended perfectly, with a redeemed Chris and everybody happy. This was highly entertaining and made me want to read more of those authors.