The relationship is almost entirely power-exchange and sex based rather than something more developed. And the mystery is kind of an afterthought just to string some plot points together.

I also think the author's grasp of D/s is shockingly faulty. When the Domme asks her sub something along the lines of ’what should she do with him’ he says ‘whatever his mistress desires’ so she punishes him for his insolence. Wait, that was a totally legitimate answer from a sub to their Dominant! (They did that in the first book as well). Or, when this highly experienced sub refuses to ever accept a safe word ‘because if he used one he wouldn’t deserve her attentions in the first place’ or some such BS, like safe words or boundaries are for wimpy chumps and not absolutely mandatory in any regulated BDSM space.

But, there was enough creativity and variety in the steam that I’m willing to try the next book since I have access to the audio for free anyway. I'm really hoping these will improve though!

(Ended up DNFing the following book, which is very rare for me. I think the author somehow lacks both a basic understanding of BDSM, and psychology both. It was absolutely bananas.) ( )

Finished Reading October 20, 2013

3.75 Stars

I don't know how I ended up reading this out of order. This is #2 of the series and I didn't read #1. But Hot Damn I loved it. So much so that I started collecting every book I could that is written by this author.
It's PNR Erotica with Suspense/Mystery and Crime.
I actually have to say, I highly recommend it to those who love those elements in their books.
Oh, it's Definitely BDSM and the only one I've read where the male is the submissive that I thoroughly enjoyed. Most times when the male is the submissive it just doesn't Feel Real. This one did NOT have that problem.

Prch Amz October 9, 2013 ( )

Submissive, alpha male cop and dainty female Domme makes things interesting. I did not want to put this down. I loved the attention to the details and the time the author took to explain items that could have disrupted but actually kept me further engaged.
( )

Homicide cop MacKenzie Nighthorse goes undercover in a BDSM club to try to suss out a Mistress who is gaining male subs' trust and then killing them off-site. As serial killer premises go, that's pretty terrifying, but for the most part it's just there to set the romance plot in motion, provide the impetus behind some scenes with Mac's colleagues (Mac is part of the BDSM scene before he goes undercover, but they don't know that), and sets up a danger!climax. All that is fine--it's a romance, not a murder mystery--but the book did feel a bit uneven, with a lot of police-y stuff in the beginning, a loooong interlude in which Mac seems to pretty much forget that he is a cop with a case, and then a return to the Plotty McPlotplot of the serial killer in the end. The resolution of the murder plot is also almost entirely a function of the murderer overplaying her hand rather than of any real detective work, but, again, not a mystery novel. (This, aside from the fact I tend not to like violence in my romance novels, is another reason I, personally, don't usually care for romantic suspense. I do like mystery novels, so these "and then a miracle happens" resolutions to mystery plots annoy me.)

All that being said, the stuff that happens between characters *because* they get thrown together by that plot is pretty awesome. Mac and Violet, the heroine (and a Mistress at the club who becomes kind of his contact within it--among other things), are both interesting characters and their relationship is fun to watch. Mac's interactions with his sergeant, Darla, are also some of the best scenes in the book. Doesn't quite pack the emotional punch as the other Joey W. Hill I recently read (Holding the Cards) (nor did I love it as much), but still a good read. ( )

Even after hearing lots of great things about this author, I wasn't sure I would enjoy this author/genre, so this free ebook was a welcome surprise.
I haven't read much books in this genre, but still the male alpha sub surprised me. I guess it's very hard to write a male sub without him coming across as a wimp. The sub in this book definitely is both sub and alpha. Kudos to the author.
Also, the romance is very believable and it has some suspense. All in all, very well done and from now on I won't hesitate reading this author. ( )