Review: Headmaster (Lessons from the RACK #2) by Tara Sue Me

Title: Headmaster
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Group Publishing 1/16/18
Length:   197 Pages
Series:  Lessons from the RACK #2

Overview

Lennox MacLure, owner of the RACK Academy, has sworn off the Dominant/submissive lifestyle. Years ago, his submissive, Winnie, died in a car accident following a heated argument for which he blames himself. Guilt-ridden and emotionally closed off, Lennox sees the academy as both his punishment and penance for her death.

Mariela, a dance instructor and a natural submissive, was Winnie’s best friend and longs to help Lennox move past his grief. She’s accepted that he will never see her as anything more than a friend, but she still wants to help him acknowledge what he needs. Mariela comes up with a plan of seduction, guaranteed to unleash the Dominant he’s willfully buried—but the passion they unleash could prove to be stronger than they are ready to handle.

My Thoughts

Well i’ll be honest, it’s been a while since i read the first installment to this series so i wasn’t entirely sure what the plot line from book 1 was, however i quickly rectified that getting into the flow of this story at the mention of Andie and Fulton from book 1.  So in this second installment, we have the story of Lennox, the man who created the RACK Academy and Marie, the woman that he’s hired to run the dance portion of things, and also a woman that he’s got a complicated history with.

Throughout this story, what we get is a mix of emotions with the most robust highs and lows that you can expect.  We know that there’s tension between them, we felt it in book 1 (yes i remembered that finally) but as expected from our amazing author, there’s a huge obstacle in the form of a ghost that keeps them even further than arms length apart.

Lennox’s history is that he was with a woman named Winnie for a few years, she was his love and his world revolved around her.  They didn’t have the easiest relationship of course, but they had a good one for a while.  There was an amazing attraction between them, but the challenge was that Winnie wasn’t part of the lifestyle before him and wasn’t truly interested in it after she met him, but she was so drawn to him that she made herself pretend.

Then there’s Marie – who ironically was like a sister to Winnie.  They knew each other from when they were young, and the painful thing here is that Marie saw Lennox first and she was actually part of the lifestyle and truly belonged there, but that didn’t matter to the couple.  she had to grin and bear it while her friend got the life and man that she wanted.

Of course it came crashing down when Winnie and Lennox had to admit to each other that they weren’t right for each other, resulting in Winnie getting into a fatal car accident.  So that leads us to where we are today in the story – seeing how these two have the same ghost in different context and it keeps them from truly holding on and living with their attraction for one another, and instead they have to live with the pain and the fact that they won’t allow their feelings to come to life.

It’s a sweet story though as you read through it.  Both of these main characters are so strong that we know that they have to have a happy ending, but the forces of nature (literally in one chapter) are pushing the apart and the question becomes what will it take to get them together, and will it be enough to hold them?

True to form with Tara Sue Me, we get angst, we get hot sexy romance and we get another near fatal car crash – and similar to book one where there was a boat situation, it takes catastrophe for people to realize that maybe they need to let their baggage go.  What happens here in this story is that it’s not a happy ending for everyone, not in the classic sense, and that sets up the next installment nicely since we get to see how it’s not one of the main characters from the academy that gets a plotline, but someone from the peripheral. Anyhow – it’s hot, it’s steamy and it’s really a well written story.  so i hope you guys check it out and then wait for book 3 i suppose.  Enjoy!

Review: The Flirtation (The Submissive #10) by Tara Sue Me

Title: The Flirtation
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year: Penguin Group Publishing 8/8/17
Length:   196 Pages
Series:  The Submissive #10

Overview

Lynne has not wanted for anything since she began working as Nathaniel and Abby’s nanny—until the night they invite her to a group BDSM meeting. The abrupt breakup she had with her last Dom made her turn her back on the lifestyle, but now she’s ready to dive back in. When she starts chatting on online BDSM message boards, she’s shocked to discover Simon, her former Dom, is a frequent poster—and even more shocked at herself when she creates a secret identity and strikes up a conversation.

After messaging with a mysterious submissive online, Simon forms an immediate connection.  Lynne and Simon’s D/s relationship grows in intensity, but can their relationship survive after the truth is exposed, and Lynne’s identity is laid bare?

My Thoughts

I do love this series – and i really have to say that i’m impressed how our author Tara Sue Me is able to continue to come up with such dynamic stories with all of the characters – giving us things to think about that we never really put in the series before.  We knew of these characters before, and i think that it’s great to see them have their own story now.

So we have Lynne-  the girl who has become part of the West’s family – she’s their nanny – and this job found her at the perfect time since she was trying to figure herself out after a break up and between thoughts of the future.  It’s now when she’s got the chance to take summer classes to become a teacher that her past life and present blend together.

Enter Simon – another of the Dom’s in their circle – and the guy who broke Lynne’s heart.  He’s a sadist – and that’s not for everyone , and because of that, he’s often found himself wanting so much more and never getting it.  When he learns that Lynne is back in town, he starts to feel what he hasn’t in a while.

That’s when things get dicey.  Nathaniel has warned Simon to stay away from Lynne, and Lynne has this sense that she needs to prove to simon that she is a sub and can be what he wants.  When they both venture back to the same online chat group that brought them together in the past – the same chemistry is there – even if Simon doesn’t know that it’s Lynne he’s talking to.

I think that this is an interesting take on the story that we usually get from Tara Sue Me.  I feel like there’s always the underlying sense of trust that keeps the stories complex and exciting, but it’s always trust that was broken for other reasons.  not of their own doing.  In this case – Simon lied to Lynne about why he needed to break up with her, and she’s deceiving him into thinking that she’s someone else, so we all know that it’s going to implode and it’s just a matter of when.

Add to that a sub that now has it out for Simon since he’s not into her like she hopes-  and this same crazy girl is friends with Lynne – well we see that trust is certainly not the only thing keeping them apart.

Aside from that – we get everything that we hope for in this series.  Some incredible scenes between these two when they have a chance to get together.  We get to see the control that Simon has and the way that Lynne’s about to find herself and truly let go.  All that also leads to some incredibly steamy scenes- and the need for a cold shower.

So all in all, a great addition to this series and i can’t wait to see what’s next since we know the female lead and have seen how her story has been woven into the mix over the years.  Enjoy!

Review: Master Professor (Lessons from the Rack Series #1) by Tara Sue Me

Title: Master Professor
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year: Penguin Publishing 4/4/17
Length:   304 Pages
Series:  Lessons from the Rack #1

Overview

Students are begging to be held after class…

Andie Lincoln is madly in love with Terrence Knight—her childhood friend-turned-Hollywood’s newest golden boy. But he’s a Dominant and wants her trained as a submissive before he’ll consider a relationship with her. He enrolls her at the RACK Academy with strict instructions for her teachers: Do whatever you need to, but don’t take her virginity.

Fulton Matthews, the director of incoming students, is enthralled by Andie. Though he questioned her enrollment at first, watching her discover her submissive nature is hotter than his most intense fantasy. Under his control, her sexual awakening brings him to his knees.

Yet they can go only so far. Andie belongs to another, and Fulton is bound by a contract that strictly forbids relationships between teachers and students. But when Terrence comes to collect his prize, Fulton discovers it’s not easy to let Andie go. . .

My Thoughts

I’m a huge fan of the other series that introduced me to our author and of course that means when a new one rolls around, i have to pick it up.  Like the intro to this story says, sometimes it’s both a blessing and a curse to start something new because you have all new characters to write about and intertwine yet you don’t have any of that continuity that sometimes helps a story along.

So in this first installment on a completely new journey, we meet Andie who is in a relationship with a guy who has been her best friend for years and is now something more.  As part of that more, she learns that he’s got a Dom side to him and that’s part of his life that she’s interested in learning about and exploring to see how she fits.  As part of that, she’s been granted entry into the best BDSM academy for the summer to learn about being a sub and if it’s who she is at the core.

It’s always interesting to me to see the dynamics of relationships with D/s characters.  we know for the most part that Doms Do Not share yet in this case, Terrance, Andie’s boyfriend is an actor and is on set filming so he’s ok sending her to the academy.  For me, i knew that it would scream Danger and of course that’s what we get from the moment go.

Enter Fulton – the professor that has been designated the instructor for the summer, and who has to write up the plan for Andie upon her arrival.  There’s animosity there of course and that means that there’s going to be some under lying chemistry to deal with.  So from the minute they meet, you can see that there’s something there – and it’s just a matter of time until we see how that something manifests.

Throughout this first book, we get to see Andie learn about the basics of being a sub and what the lifestyle includes.  There are some rather steamy scenes where she gets pushed beyond her limits but all in all rather PG 13 since she’s a virgin and has told the school that it will stay that way upon graduation.

What throws me of course is that we often see a lot more playing and kink when we have series that have ‘lessons’ in them – sub training schools and the like.  But in this case, in the style of our author, we get more of the character story and the emotions behind their actions.  It’s a nice change, since it makes this book less about the BDSM life persay and more about the relationships that these characters are building.

The twist of course comes when there’s a proposal, a stolen boat ending up with a hospital visit and a suspension.  All that need to happen in order to get us to a point of closure and discussion towards the end.

The nice thing that Tara Sue Me does for us, is that she sets up the whole sense of the next story in the book.  We know that there’s a dark and painful past for Lennox (the headmaster) and Mariela (another instructor) and we see that there’s something keeping them together while pushing them apart too.  (or vice versa).  personally i’m really desperate to find out what that means for them since it’s so complicated and complicated often means hot and steamy!!! Enjoy!

Review: The Exposure (The Submissive #9) by Tara Sue Me

no-brainer

Title: The Exposure
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Publishing 10/4/16
Length:   432 Pages
Series:  Submissive #9

Overview

She’s ready for her close-up. . . .

Meagan Bishop gave up modeling after an ill-fated tryst with a sexy photographer left her career and heart in shambles. When that same sexy shutterbug makes a titillating offer to do a BDSM spread for his new photography book, she’s determined to refuse—until an anonymous blackmailer entices her to accept. Now her body is again at the whim of the man who broke her heart, and she’s finding his strong direction undeniably intriguing. . . .

Meagan is the muse Luke needs to make his shoot something special, even if it means keeping his hands off her. But each new erotic scene they capture makes it harder to ignore his need to command her in the bedroom as well as in the studio.

As their sexual tension explodes, Meagan’s arrangement with her extortionist becomes more perilous, putting in danger her darkest secrets and the fragile passion between Luke and her. . .

My Thoughts

I do so love being in the world of Abby and Nathaniel and all their friends, and from what little we knew of Meagan before, it’s nice to get more of her story now.  That and the story of Luke.  We knew that there was a past history between them, and it was certain that our author would take us to the edges of understanding exactly what that was.

When we start off this story, it’s Abby who brings Luke back into the picture, literally after finding magazine covers that Meagan had done when she was a model, and the photographer had been Luke.  We learned that she had a steamy weekend romance with him when she did that shoot and it all ended quite abruptly and there was no closure.  So years later when she’s faced with those pictures and the fact that Luke is involved in their circle of people, well you know that there’s going to be something more that comes of it, good or bad.

Luke has been commissioned to help shoot a coffee table book that features erotica models since the man who wants to do the book saw some of his shots and was impressed.  So meagan is drafted to be the model since Luke can’t imagine anyone else doing it, and because of circumstances, Meagan is convinced to do it.

Those circumstances being that she’s being blackmailed and part of the demands are to get information from Luke.  So you can guess by this point that not only are we going to see tensions and chemistry explode once these two are forced back together, but knowing that there’s a bit of dishonesty as to why she’s doing it, and the anxiety that she has for what she’s got to lose if she’s not able to do what the blackmailer wants….It’s going to be hot and intense.

The journey that we go on with these two is seeing whether it was stupid for them to have ended things years ago (well, stupid of Luke since he did it) and if there’s still something there.  We know that there’s amazing chemistry as Luke has some insane abilities with ropes and just the ability to make Meagan do all the naughty things that he wants.  It’s hot and it’s steamy and you can see why they have gravitated back to each other years later.

The question becomes what’s going to happen when the secret comes out since you know that Meagan will put her foot down and stop filling the demands of the blackmailer and what will Luke’s reaction be. there’s also the question of WHO the blackmailer is and what’s at stake.  I think that we almost guess who it is at one point only to realize that we were wrong because Meagan is put in danger.  Will Luke come to save her at this point?

the nice thing about this series is that there are so many women in the group that Meagan is never alone and will have a squad of girls to support her.  Same goes for Luke as there are all the men who come along with the ladies.  Seeing how they rally around each other is really sweet, especially knowing what they’ve all been through in each of their own stories.  I feel like there’s still so much more to learn about them all, especially with the teaser of Kate (cole’s ex slave) coming back into the mix – so i can’t wait to see what’s next.  Have a great week all!

Review: The Claiming (The Submissive Series #8.5) by Tara Sue Me

no-brainer

Title: The Claiming
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Publishing 9/20/16
Length:   88 Pages
Series:  The Submissive Series #8.5

Overview

Submitting is just the beginning…
 
Sasha Blake never thought her emotional wounds would heal—that they were a part of her just like her physical scars. But that was before Cole Johnson’s boundless love and overwhelmingly sexy control set her free, unleashing a confident side that she never knew she had. He’s more than just her Master; he’s her world. And she’ll do anything he asks…

Cole’s days of restless wandering are done—he’s found everything he needs in Sasha. Now, it’s time to make it official. When his childhood home in England goes up for sale, he realizes the old estate is the perfect place to claim Sasha as his own, and the ideal opportunity to show her just how much she means to him.

As Sasha, Cole, and their closest friends from their Partners in Play community descend on the British countryside for a titillating adult vacation, the submissives and Dominants alike will test their boundaries—and have an adventure none of them will ever forget…

My Thoughts

We read the full length installment of how Cole and Sasha came together – she was recovering from a brutal scene from months ago and Cole was chosen to see if he could re acclimate her to the lifestyle.  little did anyone expect that they would grow from a D/s mentoring relationship to something more.

What we have in this novella is a continuation of their story.  Sasha and Cole are going to the UK where Cole has just purchased his childhood home.  It of course puts Sasha a bit off balance as she’s concerned that maybe it means that he wants to move to the UK, but it’s something they will work through together if need be.

Cole invites a few other couples, Abby/Nathaniel and Julie/Daniel to go with them and what we get is a fun filled few days of playing in the English countryside. While we all enjoy fun and games, and some great BDSM scening, there’s always a crimp in things and this time it comes in the form of Mary Catherine, a girl who Cole kissed when he was 13, and a girl who has jealousy issues.

It’s rather entertaining to see how that all plays out since there’s no lack of trust or security between Sasha and Cole.  Abby takes it upon herself to lay it all out for MC and it’s really quite the scene there.

I think that the overall culmination of this trip is so sweet and heartfelt that it makes you want to read more in the coming installments to this series since i feel like it’s never going to end.  We’ve met Fritz, the man who taught Cole all that he knows and i think there’s a good story there.  There’s also the constant reminder of kate which makes me think that there’s going to be more as well.  The teaser for the next book due out in a month gives us a new character still but i think that it’s going to be just as steamy, passionate and complex as all the others.  Enjoy!

Review: The Master (Submissive #8) by Tara Sue Me

No-Brainer

Title:  The Master
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Publishing 2/2/16
Length:   223 pages
Series:  Submissive #8

Overview

She’s ready to try again. . . .

Sasha Blake is scarred from a BDSM session gone wrong, but she can’t deny how much a strong Master turns her on. Determined to overcome her fears and rejoin the Partners in Play community, she asks Abby and Nathaniel West to set her up with a Dom who can help her feel safe again as a sub. They know the very experienced Cole is exactly the kind of man who can push all of Sasha’s buttons—and she soon wants to go much faster than she had planned. . . .

Cole knows that Sasha is not the kind of submissive he needs. He wants someone who will serve him 24-7, not a part-time partner. Still, the further they go into their play, the more Cole begins to wish he could make Sasha his all the time. . . .

When forbidden desires turn into scorching action, Sasha and Cole come face-to-face with their demons—and realize their scorching relationship might be too dangerous to last. . . .

My Thoughts

I love this series, and i think that as we’ve grown to know more and more of the doms in the group – it’s nice to see how each gets their own story.  I think that one of the great things that Tara Sue Me does when she writes this series is that she’s able to continue to pull through the characters and couples that we love while also making sure that we get a true continuation of the bigger story.  She’s also really good at setting up story lines for the upcoming installments.

In this series, we already knew a bit of what to expect with Sasha – we learned about her horrible experience in past books – about how she was whipped too severely by a dom who wasn’t allowing her the ability to safeword out, and it’s through this next installment that we see healing begin to happen for her.

We also had met Cole, a Brit who we learned was quite the demanding dom – one who actually has a penchant for the more severe Dom/Slave relationships – and it’s both interesting that he was selected to retrain and welcome Sasha back into the group and expected because i think that it’s those that push us the most sometimes that make the most impact.

So throughout this next installment, we see how Cole is able to heal Sasha – make her feel safe and secure while finding what she needs and craves out of the lifestyle.  It’s also Sasha who’s able to help ‘heal’ cole as he’s come out of an eight year relationship recently and needs to find what works for him too.

True to our author’s form, we get some of the steamiest scenes that you can imagine, with several of them not involving actual sex, but just the foreplay bits of the BDSM lifestyle.  We also get to see how the relationships here in the BDSM world are much more than just physical.  there’s a lot of depth, and substance between all of these couples, especially with Sasha and cole – and that’s what i love.

The questions that i have through most of this story is what it will take for each of them to realize that they are more than a re-training exercise – that they matter to each other.  It’s not something that any of them are ready to admit, and i think that there’s a lot of paths that this story could take to get to the point where they realize that maybe there’s more.  I think that we get to a few different points in the story that you feel like they will come to the conclusion that they are right for each other, but of course – that’s too easy.  So our author keeps us guessing and wondering all the time.

Last but not least, the teaser that we get for the next book seems like it’ll be a good one.  In one of the past books, we learned quite a bit about Abby’s boss Meagan and it looks like we’re finally getting to the bottom of why meagan and Luke (another dom in the network) have so much tension.  So on that note – have a great saturday everyone!

Review: The Exhibitionist (Submissive #6) by Tara Sue Me

No-Brainer

Title:  The Exhibitionist
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Group Publishing 11/3/15
Length:  304 pages
Series:  Submissive #6

Overview

How far can a true submissive romance go?  Abby and Nathaniel push their limits as the New York Times bestselling Submissive Series continues.…

She’s ready for even more.…

When Abby West discovered her submissive desires, she felt like she was born anew. But lately, her Dominant husband hasn’t been the demanding Master who once fulfilled her every passion. Abby begins to crave something else—and to wonder if Nathaniel can still push her past her boundaries to the places she craves.

Nathaniel knows that Abby belongs to him completely, but even he can’t ignore the pleasure on her face as they get to know their new BDSM group. They’ve invited Nathaniel to guide their group to a new level, and he’s promised to show them the way, even as he recommits to fulfilling his beautiful submissive wife’s every desire. Only this time, uncovering her sexual limits may also expose their relationship to more conflict than it can withstand.…

My Thoughts

I love this series and i love that even though there’s the spin-off, we still get to stick with this couple that’s so amazing and in it for the long haul.  What’s really nice about what our author does with them, is that she makes them REAL.  Totally completely real.  there are struggles with them that are normal, there’s concerns of things getting stagnant and expected – there are everyday struggles that we can relate to and that’s something that you don’t always see in writing.

Throughout this 6th installment to the series, we’re seeing that Abby has this ‘need’ of sorts that is coming out more and more.  She’s fully consumed with the BDSM lifestyle, but there are facets that intrigue her more.  Being watched, doing things in public really seem to turn her on, and Nathaniel is afraid that it means that HE’s not enough.  It’s one of the few times that we see him really doubting himself and it’s nice.  He’s all powerful and authoritative in all else that he does so this is nice.

The other bits of this story is that we’re seeing further growth and development between the other couples in the Partners in Play group and that’s nice.  We’ve already gotten to see 2 full stories of those couples and it’s nice to see the lead in to yet another with Cole and Sasha.  I feel like there is so much to be seen about how each dom has their own style that it’s going to make for great reading.

Back to Abby and Nathaniel though, it’s nice to see how they are growing, 10 years in, and how their lifestyle is still really important to who they are.  There are challenges – other people in the mix, Charlene specifically in relation to how Abby feels w/ Nathantiel’s employee, and that all shakes out in an interesting way.

True to form, we get some AMAZING scening with these couples.  It’s not even about how elaborate the scene is really – it’s about how clear the connection is that’s written between them all that i can’t get enough of.  It’s hot, there’s chemistry leaping off the pages and it’s something that i feel i’ll never get enough of.  On that note – i can’t wait until the next installment which i believe is coming in a few weeks.  Happy friday all!

Review: Obscured by Tara Sue Me

No-Brainer

Title:  Obscured
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year: Tara Sue Me 10/12/15
Length:  142 pages

Overview

here’s the truth you know…. 

At age 16, Athena Hamilton traded her body for survival when a powerful Vegas hotelier and pimp lured her into his world. Ten years of turning tricks has taught her to trust no one and feel nothing. Yet a chance meeting with a childhood crush sparks hope for something more.

The truth you believe… 

There’s no way Isaiah Martin could want her. He’s a pastor. Too good. Too pure. But when she learns her days are numbered, she runs into the safety of his arms and trusts his promise of protection.

And the truth you never imagined… 

The aftermath of a tragic accident and a bitter betrayal leaves her destitute and alone. The one man she shouldn’t trust offers her a chance to escape. But when good and evil collide, what do you do when the truth is Obscured?

My Thoughts

I love Tara Sue Me – and i think that this is yet another great story that we get from her – mixed with not just some amazing scening and heat, but we get to also see a lot of tension and anxiety from a well developed story line.

We meet our leading lady – Athena while she’s rushing to work.  Mind you it’s not a usual job as the summary tells us – she’s a hooker of sorts – and that’s something that she wishes that she wasn’t – but unfortunately she’s ‘owned’ by a man named Mike who calls all the shots in her life.  She would do anything to get out of his control but of course since he owns her in a sense, she’s got nothing without him.

It’s that night where she finds herself in front of Isaiah  – a man from her past in a good way but someone who would never understand or tolerate what she’s become.  Ironically he’s there to meet with Mike and that just makes things too coincidental and horrible for her.

The other man that we meet is Harris – he spends much of the book as a supporting character – we see him when he’s working for Mike, but as the story progresses, we see that he’s so much better than all that and there’s a lot from his past that makes him into the kind of guy that we want to have in Athena’s life.

The great thing about this story is that i don’t know that anyone could imagine what was going to happen in this ending.  there are so many twists between the characters – who’s on what side, who’s going to disappear, who’s going to threaten to kill someone and who will succeed.

While this story isn’t billed as being the beginning of a series, the way that this one ended, you know that there has to be more.  There’s a teaser of what’s to come when you think that nothing else could go wrong so personally i can’t wait.

In addition to that – our author brings us some great passion and heat but in a really nice way – there’s the dirty bits while Athena’s working along with the flashbacks from her time with Mike, and then there’s romance with others in the story.  A great balance.  Anyhow, happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone!

Review: The Collar (Submissive #5) by Tara Sue Me

No-Brainer

Title:  The Collar
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year: Penguin Publishing 7/7/15
Length: 336 pages
Series:  Submissive #5

Overview

Nathaniel and Abby are struggling to navigate the challenging waters of their own relationship, when they get a surprising phone call from their partners in play, Dena and Jeff, who are in need of a helping hand…

Seven years ago, blonde, beautiful lawyer Dena Jenkins was tired of her carefully controlled life. Desperate for something exhilarating to help her escape the pressures of her demanding job and her senator father, she joined a steamy, local BDSM club as a submissive. There she met brooding Dominant, Jeff. The attraction between them was undeniable, and, despite Dena’s doubts, they couldn’t stay away from each other.

Except, as the years have passed, their blazing connection has proven difficult to maintain. Dena and Jeff have a history they’d rather forget, but Dena can’t let go of the past, and Jeff is ready to move across the country to give her space. Now, to save their passion, they’ll have to rediscover what it means to trust each other—and give themselves to each other completely…

My Thoughts

To be honest, the first little paragraph here isn’t necessarily true.  Nathaniel and Abby aren’t really brought in to help Dena and Jeff – they are just there when their help is found to be useful.  Regardless, i think that from what we know of that first couple, and the series that we’ve enjoyed with them so far, we’ll have a great read with any additional supporting characters.

In this next installment, we have a lot of back and forth in jumps in time so that we can see how the relationship between Jeff and Dena was established and ultimately broken.  I think that their issues were certainly valid – but what we know from this genre, coming from vastly different backgrounds is never enough to keep a couple apart.  Once they manage to overcome that, (Dena being wealthy, a senator’s daughter and very very intelligent, and Jeff being a high school drop out), well we see that one hurdle is never enough.  There’s so much more that happens here, that i’m surprised there’s even a chance to rekindle, and throughout this story- i don’t know that they will.  That’s the big question.

Opposed to the great scening that we typically get from Tara Sue Me, in this installment, it’s a lot of ‘delayed gratification’ – meaning that we see that Jeff doesn’t allow himself to invest his soul and emotions back into anything with Dena, and as a result, we see a lot of basic BDSM but nothing that’s typical of this series.  You get to learn a lot – for sure – but it’s not the same rough deep passion that we’ve come to expect.  Don’t get me wrong, it certainly helps the case of this story – and it’s actually something that works well – letting us see that things are never going to just fall into place as you want.

The other bit of this story – is that while they are trying to figure out how to not hate each other, we know that Dena’s being threatened by someone, yet we don’t know motive and the person.  While i’m typically able to figure out twists quickly, this one threw me for most of the story.  I didn’t know who ti could be and surprisingly, the person that i thought it was going to be turned out to NOT be that person.  The question though is how close will this person get to hurting Dena and will Jeff, Nathaniel or Daniel be close enough to be able to help.

I’m happy to say that this series will be continuing.  I wasn’t sure where the next phase of things could go since we know that Nathaniel and Abby are in a pretty good place, but where our author is taking things next is sure to be hot and steam.  with a name like Exhibitionist, i think that we’re going to see a lot of hot activity in the playroom and that’s something that i love from Ms. Me.  I hope that we get to see more than just that happy couple participate since i think that something she’s great at writing is the interactions between couples when it’s not just emotion but the physicality of being in a D/s relationship.  It’ll be hot i’m sure – where this installment was a bit more sweet – and i’m sure we won’t be disappointed.  On that note – Happy Monday all and have a great week!

Review: The Enticement (Submissive #4) by Tara Sue Me

9780399167836_p0_v2_s260x420

Title:  The Enticement
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year: Penguin Publishing 4/7/15
Length: 304 pages
Series: Submissive #4

Overview

Limits were made to be pushed.

Abby West has everything she wanted: a family, a skyrocketing new career, and a sexy, Dominant husband who fulfills her every need. Only, as her life outside the bedroom becomes hectic, her Master’s sexual requirements inside become more extreme. Abby doesn’t understand Nathaniel’s increased need for control, but she can’t deny the delicious way her body reacts to his tantalizing demands…

Between Abby’s reluctance and Nathaniel’s unyielding commands, the delicate balance of power between the Dominant and his submissive threatens to shift. And as the underlying tension and desire between them heats up, so does the struggle to keep everything they value from falling apart …

My Thoughts

I had forgotten that there would be a continuation of the story with these folks and i’m so glad that i got the reminder that there was a new installment out this week.  Even better since i was on vacation and needed something to read while laying out by the pool.  (i know – tough life right?)

so we’re back in the life of Abby and Nathaniel, and while married life seems to be something great for them, although it seems to have made things a bit stagnant for the couple and i think that it’s a bad road for them to be going down.  To add to that, we see that Abby’s been offered an amazing opportunity that coincides with Nathaniel’s desire to take things to the next level in their relationship and it’s a wonder of what they will decide and what it will mean to their future.

There are a few interesting twists that i think were great teases into what’s next for the series.  We know that Nathaniel wants to have someone take over part of his non-profit and the woman that comes along to do it rubs Abby the wrong way that you know it’s going to be a problem in this and future installments.  There’s also Megan, Abby’s maybe new boss and well, we learn that she’s a Switch and not a good one (in the sense of watching out for Abby) which leads us to meeting Jeff who’s going to be a great addition to the crew i think.

I’ve always wondered in this series how invested Abby was in being a sub or if it was Nathaniel given the circumstances on how they met.  I think that one of the great things that our author does here is take us into her mind a bit – into the process for what she’s doing and it’s via a Q&A that she does it which makes you process it even more.  I hope that we get to see more of where this is all going, and i’m happy to assume that it’s not the end of the Submissive series.