TEMPTATION'S EDGE

TITLE: TEMPTATION’S EDGE

AUTHOR: EVE BERLIN

Pages: 326

Date: 06/06/2013

Grade: 5-

Details: no. 3 The Edge Trilogy

              Received from Black Lace

              Through Nudge

Own

Connor Galloway and Mischa Kennon: two strong and independent individuals. Two people with issues in their past that have left them convinced that they are not relationship material. Two people who are about to discover that assumptions, even those you make about yourself, can be very wrong.

When Connor and Mischa meet, the attraction between them is instant and neither of them is inclined to ignore it. After all, there is absolutely no reason why they shouldn’t enjoy each other. Mischa is only going to be in Seattle for a short while so the chances of their one night stand or fling or whatever you want to call it, becoming complicated are slim. As Mischa tells herself after their first night together:

“She was being ridiculous. They’d just met. And she was not that kind of girl. She’d just have to keep telling herself that until this terrible, strange yearning went away.”

But there is more to the link between Connor and Mischa than the instant attraction. Connor, like his friends Alec and Dante, is a Dominant with a bit of a sadistic streak, and although she may not be fully aware of it, Mischa is a natural submissive. Mischa has played with men in the past, she enjoys a bit of pain but until Connor she had never understood, felt, what BDSM was really about:

“She felt submissive, for the first time. Felt that melting sense of yielding, her mind emptying out.”

With every journey into sub-space Mischa’s emotions come closer to the surface. She will never tell Connor, but she can’t lie to herself any longer – she has feelings for this man, feelings much deeper and stronger than she has ever felt before, feelings she had promised herself she would never feel.

And it is much the same experience for Connor. He may not be the one submitting, but:

“It’s a power exchange. It works both ways. Except that I will be the one in command.”

Except that his command outside of the bedroom is slipping. The control he so desperately needs in his life is just not there when it comes to Mischa; he can’t get her out of his mind, his heart.

But can two individuals with so many issues find their way to each other or will those horrible memories from their youths hold them back and tear them apart?

This is the third title in The Edge trilogy and I’ve loved all three of them. I mean, what’s not to love; two strong and interesting characters, instant attraction, lots of hot sex with a nice kinky twist and a happily ever after. The only thing leaving me a bit disappointed is that the crisis scenes in all three books were very similar. Fortunately they’re not drawn out for too long, but still it would have been nice if that part of the story had been different in at least one of these three books.  Other than that though I really can’t find fault with this book or the trilogy. The story is well written and very easy to read. The characters are interesting and develop nicely - if a bit predictably - throughout the story. And these books are hot.

It was nice that the characters from the previous two books made an appearance in this one, lovely to see those pairings truly commit to each other; a wedding for Dylan and Alec (Pleasure's Edge) and an engagement for Kara and Dante (Desire's Edge).

These are wonderful books to read outside in the sun or anytime you want to escape into another, sensual and sexy world. They won’t qualify as literary master-pieces but they do bring you that wonderful happy feeling that comes with every well written feel-good story.

DESIRE'S EDGE

TITLE: DESIRE’S EDGE

AUTHOR: EVE BERLIN

Pages: 278

Date: 05/05/2013

Grade: 4+

Details: no. 2 The Edge Trilogy

            Received from Black Lace / Ebury Publishing

            Through Nudge

Own

Kara Crawford has lots of experience when it comes to not being good enough. She could never be exactly what her parents expected her to be, although she gave up her dream of being an artist for them. And her last boyfriend left her as soon as she shared her kinky fantasies with him. By this stage in her life she has accepted that she will never live up to whatever expectations others may have of her. And if that means giving up on the dream of love and security, so be it. Not chancing her heart has to be better than having it broken. So when she meets Dante De Matteo, years after she last saw him in high school, she is happy to admit to the heat between them, delighted to give into the pull of that attraction and ecstatic when it turns out that his sexual desires mirror hers exactly. With him she can live out her dark fantasies without risking her heart. Or so she tells herself.

Dante De Matteo has his own reasons for never allowing his heart into the relationships he has. He needs to be in total control of everything and everybody in his life. This makes him the perfect Dom when it comes to casual relationships and playing out scenes with willing subs in his local BDSM club, The Pleasure Dome. But he doesn’t do love, doesn’t believe in commitment and all the risks that carries with it. And casual pleasure is enough; he doesn’t need anything more. Or so he tells himself.

When Kara and Dante meet by coincidence during a housewarming party it doesn’t take long for the heat between them to ignite. Neither does it take them long to discover that they are erotically made for each other. Dante loves to give what Kara aches to receive. And so they find themselves drawn to each other; incapable of denying the pleasures they bring each other, even if it does mean conducting a more or less secret affair.

But while their bodies and their heads are more than willing, their hearts are unable to play ball. While neither of them is looking for love and both of them are convinced that they are unable of truly committing to another, neither of them can stop their feelings from growing stronger. These feelings however could tear them apart just as easily as they might bring them together. What happens when the fear of love and commitment is as strong as the need to be together?

This was a charming and very erotic romance. Kara and Dante are interesting and strong characters. Both of them have plausible reasons for being afraid of love and commitment, and for the most part the way their relationship develops - or fails to develop depending on how you want to look at it - makes perfect sense. I liked the fact that for most of the story these two characters managed to find a way to communicate with each other, despite their fears. Maybe they weren’t completely honest with themselves or each other but that fitted perfectly into the story and didn’t upset me.

“Don’t think about it. Just enjoy it. Enjoy him.”

A very large part of the story in this book is told through the sexual encounters between Kara and Dante. Their relationship builds through their kinky encounters, their characters develop as a result of the discoveries they make while they’re engaged in steamy scenes and the story is pushed forward by Kara’s introduction into the world of power-play and Dante’s discovery that maybe there is more to intimacy than just that. I’m in awe that Eve Berlin managed to write a predominantly sex-based story that delivered so much more than just tantalising scenes. Because it’s not always about the sexy descriptions; sometimes the beauty of a story is in simple sentences like:

“He was so comfortable with her.”

It was the small things I loved; the way Dante, in all his Dominance, just wants to please Kara, make her experience all the sensations she had only been dreaming about until then. I adored the way they both opened up to each other almost despite their better judgments. Neither of them thinks they are ready for or want a relationship beyond wonderful sex. Both of them think they have perfect reasons for avoiding a relationship. And yet, they find themselves establishing one without acknowledging it, to each other or to themselves.

“And he was so full of shit. Because for the first time in his life, something was happening that he didn’t entirely have control over. And that something was Kara Crawford.”

Because this story is told from both Kara’s and Dante’s perspective the reader has a wonderful opportunity to see how both of them change and grow into the relationship neither of them thought they wanted. I find that when a story is told in this way it is easier to get caught up in the story, easier to connect with the characters in question and understand what is happening.

Overall I enjoyed this steamy and romantic book tremendously. My one, minor, objection to this book? There is one point in the development of the relationship that is just too similar to what happened in Pleasure’sEdge. It seemed to me that the reaction of both characters and the way they felt and behaved afterwards was almost a carbon copy of what I had read before. Mind you, this won’t stop me from reading the third book, Temptation’s Edge, in the very near future. I do hope though that I won’t come across that particular development again.

BEYOND CONTROL

TITLE: BEYOND CONTROL

AUTHOR: KIT ROCHA

Pages: 400

Date: 24/03/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: No. 2 Beyond

Own/Kindle

The official blurb:

She refuses to be owned.

Alexa Parrino escaped a life of servitude and survived danger on the streets to become one of the most trusted, influential people in Sector Four, where the O’Kanes rule with a hedonistic but iron fist. Lex has been at the top for years, and there’s almost nothing she wouldn’t do for the gang…and for its leader. Lie, steal, kill—but she bows to no one, not even Dallas O’Kane.

He’ll settle for nothing less.

Dallas fought long and hard to carve a slice of order out of the chaos of the sectors. Dangers both large and small threaten his people, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. His liquor business is flourishing, and new opportunities fuel his ambition. Lex could help him expand his empire, something he wants almost as much as he wants her. And no one says no to the king of Sector Four.

Falling into bed is easy, but their sexual games are anything but casual. Attraction quickly turns to obsession, and their careful dance of heady dominance and sweet submission uncovers a need so deep, so strong, it could crush them both.”

In my review for “Beyond Shame” I expressed my desire to find out more about the other characters mentioned in that book and especially about Dallas O’Kane and Lex. This book proves that sometimes wishes do come true because this is the story of Dallas, the King of Sector Four and Lex the fiercely independent girl who is drawn to him but refuses to submit to another person ever again. Having fled Sector Two and her destiny as a paid submissive to rich men, Lex has gone through too much to even consider anything less than honesty and equality in a relationship. Dallas, on the other hand, wants nothing less than Lex’s complete submission to him; he wants her to be the queen ruling next to him but on his terms. Terms that may just demand too much from Lex, no matter how attracted she is to the leader of the O’Kane’s.

And so commences a game of push and pull. And a very intense and sexy game it is. This is life in the Sectors, where sex is a way of life as well as a form of currency and both Lex, with her extensive training, and Dallas know exactly which buttons to push to get the desired reaction.

A lasting relationship requires more than mind blowing sex though, but finding the middle ground between that which each of them wants and that which they are willing and able to give may just prove to be one step too far for both of them. Failure however could have devastating effects for Lex and Dallas as well as Sector Four as a whole.

Once again Kit Rocha managed to pleasantly surprise me with her book. As much as I liked Beyond Shame, I loved this book more. Dallas and Lex are fully fleshed and credible characters. It is very easy to understand where each of them is coming from and the problems and heartbreak they face as a result of that. This is not the sort of book where one character appears to constantly undermine the relationship while the other just keeps on giving. These two characters are equals in every aspect of the story and that makes the story all the more captivating.

Sex plays a major part in this book because it is the way of life in the world this story is set in. And while nothing is left to the reader’s imagination and some may find the descriptions too graphic or violent, the authors are very careful to ensure that the scenes described are consensual. In fact they go out of their way to spell out that while women may submit to the men in these stories, they are never abused or taken advantage of. And as much as the book seems to be all about sex, there are some very touching romantic moments as well:

“I’ve always loved you. (…) I’ve always wanted you. They don’t have a word for how much I need you. Everything good I am, everything good I’ve ever done…it’s all you.”

More sector politics and other relationships are starting to take (further) shape in this book. It is clear that more books will be required to resolve the organisation of the Sectors as well as to bring the various other couples together. I’m especially glad that the authors give us brief glimpses of other characters while concentrating on the two main ones. In some series of books it seems as if the various couples take turns; one story doesn’t start until a previous one is concluded. Of course in real life these things happen simultaneously and it is nice that these books reflect that. My curiosity has been stimulated by glimpses of what is to come as well as satisfied by a further look at the relationship between Noelle and Jasper. On the other hand, this also means that now I can’t wait to see what will happen next to Six and Bren or Ace and Rachel. But with the next book expected to come out in autumn I guess I can wait…just about.

I also want to point out that the authors have made a bonus story “Beyond Denial” about Ace available on their website. Ideally this story should be read after reading the first two books but for those who would like a taste of Kit Rocha’s writing it provides a perfect sample.

This is a very sexy, captivating and satisfying dystopian series; a well plotted and superbly written story that will have you frantically turning the pages and thinking about the characters long after you turn the last page.