Kinky Book Reviews

Author: Callie Croix
Genre: Erotic Romance
Publisher: Carina Press
Length: 103 Pages
Buy Links: Preorder via Carina Press (Available May 21,2012)

Rating: 3.5 of 5 Kinks!

Blurb:

On leave for Thanksgiving, the last thing marine lieutenant Talia Barnett expects to find is Liam Brodie waiting for her at the airport. He’s had a starring role in her fantasies for the past two years, and although she’d love to make them a reality, she has a dark secret that prevents her from taking things further.

A former marine, Liam’s specialty is planning tactical operations, and that’s just what he plans to do to win Talia. The woman has kept him at arm’s length for too long, and this time he’s finally going to claim her—body and heart.

What begins as comfort quickly turns hot. When Liam shows Talia a hint of the dominant nature inside him, the submissive part of her flares to life. Though she desires him, she’s going back on deployment and doesn’t want to dump all her drama on him. Will he find a way to break through the protective walls around her heart and convince her they have a future that goes far beyond the bedroom?

Kitten’s Review:

I saw this book offered on Netgalley, and I just had to grab it. I know that Carina has a very small selection of BDSM books, and when I see BDSM I kinda of snatch without really thinking about it. I am going to do my best with this review, I have nothing against this author or the actual book for giving it a 3.5 rating. I think if I went into it expecting something totally different, I would have savored the story a lot more and wouldn’t have been disappointed by the end.

First, this story is a fantastic love story. Callie is a very strong writer with a fantastic voice. She weaves a romantic tale of personal demons, and how one can battle through them to not lose out on something great in your life. My issue more comes from what the story said it was about and how it was labeled genre wise.

I am not sure this book should be in the BDSM section. Yes, it has some very light, and I mean very light D/s elements. The heroine is being told by the hero to put her arms over her head and keep them there, pretty much the beginning stages of a D/s relationship; with the hero having random thoughts of tying up and dominating the heroine. Ok, tease me once, and you have a great tension build. Tease me twice and not deliver still and I start to get annoyed. Tease me a third time with bondage and submission, and I am just going to be irritated; which, ultimately, that is how I finished this book. It was like coming so close to that orgasm, it is there, just resting, waiting for a really good spanking—that never comes. The man comes before you can have your relief and you never find yours. It was like vanilla sex with the promise of something much more, and it never happening. The story is being sold in the BDSM of Carina, and marked that he is a sexual dominant. I got that, but I was never shown that.

At the end of the day it is a very sexual, erotic romance novel with a HEA, and it made me go “Oh, well, that’s not what I grabbed.”

I may sound harsh in my judgments. I know that a lot of readers will LOVE this story. It is sweet, sexy, the sex scenes are hot, the male is very Alpha and he does very much deliver. For me, I was sold something different than what I read. That is my main issue.

That being said, I do recommend this book. Readers of sugar kink with love this taboo little tail. It will leave you guessing till the end and will deliver for all you fans of a HEA!