Title: Wild Licks
Author: Cecilia Tan
Publisher/Year: Grand Central Publishing 8/2/16
Length:   352 Pages
Series:  Secrets of a Rock Star #2

Overview

Pleasure knows no bounds . . .

Gwen Hamilton is always looking for a thrill. Not even running a secret BDSM club can fulfill her true desires. It’s only when she’s backstage at a rock concert and attracts the eye—and experienced hands—of guitarist Mal Kennealy that she finds that perfect combination of danger and excitement she’s been craving. Calling herself “Excrucia,” she revels in his uncompromising dominance each night. And yet by day, he knows her only as Gwen, his new escort for public appearances.

Excrucia blows Mal’s mind with her enthusiastic submission to his harshest commands. Even though he has a reputation for never seeing the same woman twice, he can’t help being tempted by the woman willing to fulfill his every fantasy. And when Mal discovers that Gwen—the sweet arm candy designed to soften his surly public image—is really Excrucia, he never wants to let her go. Finally he can indulge his absolute power. But dancing too recklessly on the razor’s edge could cut deeper than he bargained for . . .

My Thoughts

So we met Ricki and Axel and went through their story in the first book of the series and we knew that Ricki’s sister Gwen was the one that was really more involved in the BDSM lifestyle so it’s nice that we get to see her get her own story next.

Gwen as you will remember is just a few years younger than Ricki and she’s trying to make her way in Hollywood where she really wants to break into acting.  As all struggling actors in the world, she’s having a tough time getting her big break, and it’s at the suggestion of Axel’s management that she gets more visibility as being on the arm of Mal, one of the members of his band.  Being seen with Mal will get her face out there which is good for Gwen, and will also keep the Rough (their band) relevant since Axel is out in public with Ricki a lot and Mal will now have someone attractive on his arm.

The story from there though takes a very dark and naughty turn.  We know that Gwen’s not really that new to the BDSM world, but she’s never been in a full D/s relationship because the one that she was in years ago wasn’t really anything more than a guy using her for his pleasure.  So the irony of things here is that Mal is very heavily into the lifestyle and when they come together, it’s explosive.

Mal on the other hand has some very dark and twisted tastes even for some of those who are really into kinky things.  He’s a pain fiend and he also exerts such control and dominance over his partner that you have to be fully obedient and open to be with him.  When Gwen gets selected to be an after concert groupie for Mal to use as he wants, we see that things get heated fast.  There’s a chemistry between them that makes Mal question his rules from the very beginning since he’s so intrigued by her.

Where we go from there is kind of frustrating, yet really exciting nonetheless.  We see that Gwen really feels something for Mal and wants to have a reality relationship with him, yet Mal isn’t willing to go down that path since he’s been burned in the past by many women.  The thing is though that there’s something about Gwen that makes him take pause and wonder if it’s possible to be happy and when he’s stressed and horrible to be around (especially how his band feels while they are recording their new album), Gwen is the only one who’s able to give him piece and make him come back down to earth.

The lesson that we learn in this book though is that sometimes it’s just not enough – and that sometimes no matter how hard you want something, you won’t get to see it come to fruition.  That seems to be the case here with these 2 since there’s just too much against them, and even with the help of Axel and Ricki, it’s just not something that seems like it’s likely to happen.

All in all though, a great second installment to the series.  We’re starting to get some of the exciting bits that Ms Tan is known for, so taking this a step up from where i was with the first book.  There are still a lot of aspects of the BDSM relationship that i’m a bit off on since i feel like her style is a bit off from what i’ve read by other authors but that could just be style and nuance.  In any event, i have to wait a bit for the next book since it’s not out yet but at least then we’ll get to see how Madison and Chino get along since we saw them meet in this book and i think there’s something to be said for their interesting chemistry.  Have a great day!