Your name, girl.
Tell me. Now.”
Fear flashed across her features.
“F-fucktoy,” she whispered tremulously.”
This book was very different from anything I’ve ever read in the past and I struggled with my rating because of it. I’m a big fan of Dark Romance and BDSM and I’ve read plenty of it, but this was a mix of a few things and yet…not.
Knight starts off with Smith’s POV during the FBI raid of a BDSM club. Being a Dominant himself, it’s not something that’s out of his normal routine, but what Smith finds there manages to test even his carefully mastered control and anger. Because among the the faceless bodies in that place, he sees her. A woman that is clearly a sub, but even more clear a victim…but of what, he doesn’t know yet.
The rest of the book gets told in her POV.
She knows herself only as slave. A woman so broken, she’s shattered, all at the hands of a monster that has put her through hell. Slave has suffered atrocities that are so painful, just the mere memory has the power to bring her to her knees. She doesn’t know the woman that she once was, she doesn’t remember her…nor does she want to. She’s no longer that woman. She’s buried that in the recess of her mind never to be accessed again.
I’ll be honest, the first 30% of so was very slow. It was difficult to read, and not because it was bad. Julia Sykes’ writing is captivating, and I enjoyed the way she painted a very vivid and painfully dark experience that Slave suffered. Slave is as broken as they come. Broken down to a mere shell of who she once was, she was as fragile as glass.
Smith knows that no medicine can help Slave in the state that she’s in. As a Dom, he knows the control and rules that she so desperately needs and clings to in order to maintain her fragile grasp on reality. So he takes it upon himself to give her that.
Julia Sykes did a fantastic job painting a very realistic picture of a woman that is beyond damaged. I understood her almost obsession and utter devotion to Smith.
I also enjoyed the progression that she goes through from Slave to a semblance of the woman she once was.
Although I wouldn’t call this a dark book, the things that Slave goes through were horrendous and not easy to digest. You have to prepare yourself since it’s no light read. However, it’s also not an action packed and high paced one. The progression is slow moving and slow building, which ultimately makes the story, yet also makes it difficult to get into right away.
Although slower paced that what I’d normally read, it managed to constantly keep me on my toes not knowing what would happen next. Julia manages to throw in some BAM moments that kept me guessing and on pins and needles almost afraid to see what would come next.
The overuse of endearments like “sweetheart” and “girl” did grate on me at times, but nothing that diminished my enjoyment. The love story is not an orthodox one, that’s for sure. What begins as as a clingy obsession turns into something much more eventually.
I really loved the way that the author build the heroine back up throughout the book. She goes from slave to her true identity in a very realistic way. This was not something that happened overnight and you feel that emotion and pain right along with her.
I can’t say that this is something I ever see myself going back to, but I did enjoy it. And I will definitely be continuing with the series as I’m invested in the story and very curious to see what the next book brings. Particularly with the “Mentor” still not caught.
Mainly told in Slave’s POV, the prologue and epilogue we do also get Smith.
**ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review**
Changed my mind. I could use some sweet wildcat pussy, and you’re up. I’m calling in my debt.”
So of course I had to read it the second it released. I was expecting a spicy little read, but what I got was so much more. There was a little suspense, action, romance, and some dirty kinky loving that will leave you so hot and bothered you’ll be panting by the time you finish the page.
I have to admit, I was a little concerned when less than 10% into the book Lindsey and deVries were already thrown into bed together. I like to feel that sexual chemistry really burn before the couple comes together. When it happens too quickly, most of the time it pretty much lowers the enjoyment for me. I was afraid that this may be the case here, but deVries did not disappoint. Not long after he fucks up royally and allows his inner asshole to come out. Which of course had only one affect on me
What? I happen to have a soft place in my pervy little heart for the assholes. But I digress…
If you’re a fan of this series, be prepared to fall hard for Zander. Although this is part of a series, this book can easily be read as a standalone.
Any questions?
