A review by lifeinthebooklane
Punished by Aria Adams

4.0

I really, really enjoyed this story. It's not terribly deep and meaningful read but it IS hugely entertaining, well written, steamy and twisty. It has touches of darkness, though is more in the lighter grey range.

The story mainly follows Kirie and Arundel Lafayette, who are a strange pairing but who somehow fit beautifully together. There is also a side story of Harrow, who definitely gets her just deserts but ALSO gets the perfect male for her brand of cold in the Alaxian Rahul.

I highly recommend this great read, the writing flowed smoothly, the plot was engaging and the pace held my attention. Some of the punishments are quite extreme but they aren't painful, as such, and Harrow actually seems to appreciate, if not enjoy, them. Whilst Kirie has been treated awfully, we don't experience much of that 'first hand', so the story didn't feel overly dark.

It nicely ties up the Human/Alaxian conflict, though there is still opportunity for further books in the series. It can be read as a stand alone, I have read book #1 of the series but not book #2 and easily followed it. I did enjoy this more than the first book, my only complaint is that it ended! I could have happily read more about these couples!