Title:  Sweet Surrender
Author:  Maya Banks
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Group (USA)  12/31/11
Length:  320 Pages
Series: Sweet #1

after reading Rush, the first book that i think i’ve come across by Maya Banks, I decided that she was well worth another read if she continued on the contemporary erotica route that she seemed to do so well, and in Sweet Surrender we’re not only met with quite a bit of erotica, but her entrance into the world of BDSM was right up my alley since Cherise Sinclair’s series still owes me a next installment.

so, in this series, we are introduced to Gray (Grayson) who is a cop in Dallas and he’s dealing with the killing of his partner Alex, the department isn’t hot on the trail of any suspects and even thinks that Alex may have been at fault.  His father Mick has asked Gray to get on the trail of someone that he suspects to have been the killer, and that takes Gray’s journey to Houston and introduces him to Malone and Sons – a security business run by Pop, Conner (his son) and Nathan and Micah – 2 other guys.  His adopted daughter Faith also runs the office and he’s the connection to the thought to be killer

Faith’s connection is that her mother (with whom she’s estranged) is currently with Samuels, the guy that they think killed Alex, and Mick’s theory is that if Gray gets close enough to tap the phones and befriends Faith that they’ll be able to lure him out and nab him.

What no one expects is that innocent Faith has these fantasies of the kind of man that she wants, and that Gray is just that kind of man to show her that what she wants is real and can be had.

This story takes us through quite a roller coaster where you know that there’s an underlying ulterior motive, you don’t know where Gray’s mind really lies for most of the book, and Mick is just a loose cannon.  We get to sit by and watch Faith come into her own, realize that she’s able to take control over what she wants, and grows up quite a bit.  a lot of the time i forget that she’s just 23 or so.

compared to other erotica and BDSM type books, what we get here is pretty decent.  While we get a glimpse into the private world of BDSM clubs, we don’t get too deep there – just a glimpse and education of what can be had.  We get to be a part of some raunchy sex though – those scenes were pretty well written although there was the occasional slip into vocabulary that i think dumbed it down a bit.  all in all though it didn’t take away too much.

in any event, in true form of all these types of story, there’s quite a bit of anxiety in the last few chapters, someone dies, someone gets shot, trust is broken, trust is never fully regained among some….and the best past is that I know that there are several more books in this series to keep me going, it’s just a matter of determining who’s story will be next.

1) What’s next for Gray

2) What’s next for Faith

3) I’m in love with Damon – what is his deal? (i know i didn’t mention him at all above, but he’s the owner of The House – the BDSM club that’s in the story)

4) what’s next for Micah because we sure did learn a lot about him