Shattered Bonds by Lynda Aicher

20738814
Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Wicked Play #7
Published: 9/1514
Reviewed by Kate

Noah is one of the owners of the Den, a BDSM club, but he’s been out of the scene for 4 years now, since the tragic death of his last sub.  But when he meets Liv, the sister of one of the other owners, he starts to feel tempted to give in to desires he separated himself from years ago.  When an accident happens, the Den finds itself shaken to its core.  Noah and Liv grow closer while trying to hold the club together.

This is really a telling of 2 tales.  The first being the story of Noah and Liv.  The second being the culmination of the last 6 books.  Lynda Aicher does a fabulous job of weaving the two stories together.  Giving us enough of our favorite characters without cheating us of Noah and Liv’s relationship.  Because the characters from the other 6 books play such a huge part in this one, I think you would have a hard time reading this one as a stand alone.

The characters is this one, *insert happy, contented sigh here* blew me away.  Noah is so conflicted and hurting.  At times his pain almost made me cry.  Liv is such a caring and giving person, yet she realizes that she can’t “fix” Noah.  I loved that they supported each other, rather than fixing each other.

A note for fans of the BDSM in the first books of this series:  This one is extremely low on the kink scale for this series, comparatively.  If you’re looking for whips and chains and crosses and pain, you won’t find it in this one.  Just some very mild restraints (hands only) during sex and oral. But the lack of kink doesn’t detract from the story one bit.

If you liked the first books in this series, this is a must read.  If you haven’t given this series a try, you need to start at the beginning.  It’s well worth the time and investment if you like BDSM.  The Wicked Play series is one of my favorite series and Lynda Aicher has become one of my favorite BDSM authors.

Lynda Aicher managed to write the last book in the series with a much lower kink level.  Have you run across any other series that have successfully done this?  Can you enjoy a tamer book after reading hotter books earlier in the series?

Bound to be Taken by Becca Jameson

19852370
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Contemporary, BDSM, menage, m/m/f
Series: Emergence #1
Published: 4/8/14
Reviewed by Kate
272 pages

Stephanie overhears her bosses saying that if she was more personable, they would give her the promotion she’s been after.  So she decides she needs to bring a date to the upcoming office party.  But who to bring?  Aiden and Dane live in the same apartment building as Stephanie, and they’re looking for a date themselves.  They have an upcoming dungeon party but they need a submissive.  In exchange for a date to her company party, Stephanie agrees to act as their submissive at their party.  But it quickly turns into more than an act for Stephanie.

After finishing the second book in this series, Bound to be Tamed (Review here:  https://dirtygirlsgoodbooks.com/2014/08/20/bound-to-be-tamed-by-becca-jameson/ , I knew I had to come back and read the first book.  I had to see how Steph, Aiden, and Dane got their start.  And what a start it was.  The chemistry between the 3 of them is almost overwhelming at times.

My one complaint is that Dane and Aiden are supposedly new to the whole being a Dom thing.  They’ve only been studying it for 6 months and have never had their own sub.  They’ve been taking turns being subs for each other (did I mention that Dane and Aiden have a well established sexual relationship?) and have decided they’d like to add a third partner to their relationship.  For being such newbie Doms, they really seemed to just instinctually know way too much.  They recognize the fact that Steph is more than a part-time sub, she’s a full-time one before Steph has even admitted to herself that she’s a submissive.  They were just way too able to read her and I kept thinking “there’s no way they could recognize/know that if they’re so new to this whole Dom thing.”  Of course maybe they’re Dom prodigies.  Other than that…

If you enjoy your menagés with m/m action and a heavy dose of BDSM this one is for you.  It will keep you turning pages and fanning yourself until you reach the last page.  Then you’ll be reaching for the second book.

I really enjoyed the m/m aspect of this menagé.  Do you have any other menagé books to recommend that have the male characters involved with each other as well?

Whipped by Sabrina York

22838382
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Part of the anthology Brought to his Knees
Published: 8/19/14
Reviewed by Kate
50 pages

Dane is at his best friend’s lame bachelor party.  No strippers or hookers allowed because his best friend is *gulp* getting married.  His best friend is completely whipped.  Dane leaves early and runs across a woman he assumes is the hooker that was planned for his buddy’s party.  It’s not until the next day that he realizes the “hooker” he took to bed was no in fact a hooker, but his best friend’s baby sister, all grown up.  Tina has had a crush on Dane her whole life.  So when he propositions her, she gives him a false name and jumps at the chance to finally realize one of her dreams-sleeping with Dane.

This one was a short, sexy read.  One of the hottest sex-in-a-closet scenes I’ve ever read.  This one had me laughing, sighing, and fanning myself.  But what it did the most was leave me wanting more!  I’d recommend this one for anyone who enjoys spicy, low conflict short stories.