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lmrivas54's review against another edition
4.0
Another dark and kinky story except this one is way kinkier. In what they call a consensual non-consent, Fort and Juliet embark in a sadist/masochist relation. This is not BDSM, where there are safe words, and the games are geared to the pleasure of both partners. In this new game, the submissive submits to being hurt and submits all control to the dominant, and he is in charge of evaluating and deciding how much she can take. And they take A LOT of pleasure in causing pain, sadists that they are. And this is not for her pleasure, but for his pleasure in giving pain. The orgasms are a side-effect. Jeez.
Fort meets Juliet outside of The Underworld, a popular BDSM club in New York. Fort and his friends are looking at the place with scorn because it's more for posturing than the real thing. They are patrons of The Gallery, a super-secret and exclusive BDSM club where the scene is truly hardcore no-safe-word BDSM, especially for the sadists who engage in vicious play. Since The Gallery only opens on Saturdays, this trio of sadists were looking for masochist candidates in Underworld with no success.
Fort finds Juliet totally wasted, reclining on the outside wall of the Underworld. He's concerned because she's totally vulnerable to attack in her inebriated state. As he says: “I might be a sadistic dominant, but I’m also a decent human being, and she was alone and distressed in a not-so-great area of the city”. He helps her to his apartment and takes care of her.
Juliet is thirty-two years old and has been working as the business manager of Goodluck Boundless, a famous photographer and slightly crazy artist, since her graduation from University ten years ago. She has been partly responsible for his success because he's like a crazy, absent-minded, self-involved boss. I loved Goodluck's dialogues. He sounds like he's on a crack trip but it was hilarious.
I loved Juliet. She was real, kind-hearted, sincere, funny with bad luck in boyfriends. The parts where the author presents Juliet’s thoughts, she is presented as this wise person with a big heart but a penchant for douchey dominants. Fort immediately recognizes her soul and is taken with her but he's wary about relations and prefers to keep an emotionless approach. They start a sadist/masochists relationship, but with the understanding that it will never go anywhere and there will be no emotional involvement. Juliet is already a little involved but goes into the relation because she wants to experiment the lifestyle and wants to get near Fort.
I knew that Juliet falling for Fort was a given. What I enjoyed was seeing how Fort was enchanted with Juliet against his will. He fought like a lion but love was strong and Juliet was irresistible. For those who enjoy the scenes, there are several sado-masochist events, in which Fort really administers some pain but Juliet really likes it. I cringed a little reading these parts, but do recognize that some people do like this, so no judgement. I found it very real that Juliet was conflicted but in the end, she found that she did like the scenes and she did look forward to them. I liked that Fort was in charge, he was careful and when they were in the Gallery, he was possessive and protective. For a sadist, he was a little insecure of love and afraid of being hurt but he really was a good man.
I guess you could say this was a great kinky love story.
I received this ARC for reviewing and willingly do so.
Fort meets Juliet outside of The Underworld, a popular BDSM club in New York. Fort and his friends are looking at the place with scorn because it's more for posturing than the real thing. They are patrons of The Gallery, a super-secret and exclusive BDSM club where the scene is truly hardcore no-safe-word BDSM, especially for the sadists who engage in vicious play. Since The Gallery only opens on Saturdays, this trio of sadists were looking for masochist candidates in Underworld with no success.
Fort finds Juliet totally wasted, reclining on the outside wall of the Underworld. He's concerned because she's totally vulnerable to attack in her inebriated state. As he says: “I might be a sadistic dominant, but I’m also a decent human being, and she was alone and distressed in a not-so-great area of the city”. He helps her to his apartment and takes care of her.
Juliet is thirty-two years old and has been working as the business manager of Goodluck Boundless, a famous photographer and slightly crazy artist, since her graduation from University ten years ago. She has been partly responsible for his success because he's like a crazy, absent-minded, self-involved boss. I loved Goodluck's dialogues. He sounds like he's on a crack trip but it was hilarious.
I loved Juliet. She was real, kind-hearted, sincere, funny with bad luck in boyfriends. The parts where the author presents Juliet’s thoughts, she is presented as this wise person with a big heart but a penchant for douchey dominants. Fort immediately recognizes her soul and is taken with her but he's wary about relations and prefers to keep an emotionless approach. They start a sadist/masochists relationship, but with the understanding that it will never go anywhere and there will be no emotional involvement. Juliet is already a little involved but goes into the relation because she wants to experiment the lifestyle and wants to get near Fort.
I knew that Juliet falling for Fort was a given. What I enjoyed was seeing how Fort was enchanted with Juliet against his will. He fought like a lion but love was strong and Juliet was irresistible. For those who enjoy the scenes, there are several sado-masochist events, in which Fort really administers some pain but Juliet really likes it. I cringed a little reading these parts, but do recognize that some people do like this, so no judgement. I found it very real that Juliet was conflicted but in the end, she found that she did like the scenes and she did look forward to them. I liked that Fort was in charge, he was careful and when they were in the Gallery, he was possessive and protective. For a sadist, he was a little insecure of love and afraid of being hurt but he really was a good man.
I guess you could say this was a great kinky love story.
I received this ARC for reviewing and willingly do so.
bluebirdsfly's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm interested enough to give the rest of the series a shot but again, I'm starting to feel really slighted when books are this short. It does not give the time for the author to create that unnerving, all encompassing connection between characters that you crave. I wanted to see those two develop even more because as it is, everything went too fast. I'm mostly used to SSS BDSM books because that's what you find the most so I was intrigued by the premises of this one. The sexual bdsm non con aspect of their relationship did not disappoint and I was less weirded out than I thought I was going to be but again, the book fell too short in exploring the subsequent drama that naturally unfolded.
I don't doubt the following books will probably share that same flaw but I guess the unusual exploration of sadism/masochism is enough to keep me going.
I don't doubt the following books will probably share that same flaw but I guess the unusual exploration of sadism/masochism is enough to keep me going.
cnapierkowski's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed feelings about this one. Don't think I'll continue on with the series.
jadeellen's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
thesassybookworm's review
4.0
Pretty good cover on this one. A good representation of the story. Great composition and title work as well. Not a fan of how large the author's name is, but overall a pretty decent cover job.
I enjoyed this one a lot. I am partial to a good sadist, and this one had that in spades. Some of the scenes even had me cringing. This was a somewhat angsty read, and I can't say I warmed up to Fort until right at the end. And Juliet forgave him WAY too quickly considering the stunt he pulled was not only hurtful but extremely dangerous. I also have to add that I LOATHED Devin for most of the book, but boy did he step up to the plate at the end. So now I am crazy excited to read his book as well as Milo's.
So deets...I found this book to be well written and well paced. The plot was interesting. No OW/OM drama. Although there is a bit of light sharing involved and the hero gets a BJ after meeting the heroine but before they are together. The hero does say that they are not exclusive once they get together but it was my interpretation that he wasn't with anyone after he and heroine began a sexual relationship. The consensual non-consent sex scenes were hot. Although I do wish we would have gotten a few less rigid sex scenes. I think a few softer scenes would have helped me feel a deeper connection between these two. Until right near the end I was feeling like this book was more sex and less romance. Which I think hindered me from buying into Fort's about face with his feelings. The secondary characters were intriguing, and as I mentioned above, I am very much looking forward to their books. The ending felt a bit rushed, but since we will see this couple in upcoming books, I wasn't too bothered by that.
Like I said I enjoyed it, so this one gets two thumbs up from yours truly.
peixinhodeprata's review
3.0
Unusual story, coherent, kept me entertained, and most important was a standalone and not one of those new never ending series.
the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good cover on this one. A good representation of the story. Great composition and title work as well. Not a fan of how large the author's name is, but overall a pretty decent cover job. I enjoyed this one a lot. I am partial to a good sadist, and this one had that in spades. Some of the scenes even had me cringing. This was a somewhat angsty read, and I can't say I warmed up to Fort until right at the end. And Juliet forgave him WAY too quickly considering the stunt he pulled was not only hurtful but extremely dangerous. I also have to add that I LOATHED Devin for most of the book, but boy did he step up to the plate at the end. So now I am crazy excited to read his book as well as Milo's. So deets...I found this book to be well written and well paced. The plot was interesting. No OW/OM drama. Although there is a bit of light sharing involved and the hero gets a BJ after meeting the heroine but before they are together. The hero does say that they are not exclusive once they get together but it was my interpretation that he wasn't with anyone after he and heroine began a sexual relationship. The consensual non-consent sex scenes were hot. Although I do wish we would have gotten a few less rigid sex scenes. I think a few softer scenes would have helped me feel a deeper connection between these two. Until right near the end I was feeling like this book was more sex and less romance. Which I think hindered me from buying into Fort's about face with his feelings. The secondary characters were intriguing, and as I mentioned above, I am very much looking forward to their books. The ending felt a bit rushed, but since we will see this couple in upcoming books, I wasn't too bothered by that.
Like I said I enjoyed it, so this one gets two thumbs up from yours truly.
sarah_'s review against another edition
5.0
💗💗💗!!! 4.5 stars, because it wasn't quite as brain-fog-inducing and dreamy as the Rough Love trilogy, but I still loved it. Annabel Joseph's books are complete catnip for me (it's probably the emotionally unavailable men, among other things...) Can't wait for the next one!
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