Scan barcode
A review by shadowmaster13
Hold 'Em by Katie Porter
3.0
I'm writing this review for a reason. Hold 'Em is different in a big way to the erotica I have read before.
The Vegas Top Guns is a series set around the Air Force base outside Las Vegas. Specifically the 64th Aggressor Squadron, who train to fly like enemy combatant to teach other pilots from around the world how to fly better. The couple all have a different kind of kink. [b:Double Down|13553273|Double Down (Vegas Top Guns, #1)|Katie Porter|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332212154s/13553273.jpg|19122190], has Cassie and Ryan who like to role-play, [b:Inside Bet|13553278|Inside Bet (Vegas Top Guns, #2)|Katie Porter|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1333394682s/13553278.jpg|19122196], has Heather and Jon, who are just into the kink - there's nothing specific and the kink part of it is mostly about Heather realising that her desires are okay.
Which brings me to Hold 'Em. The kink between Mike and Leah in Hold 'Em is BDSM. Now I'm sure you're thinking that I exaggerated when I said this way different, I wasn't. I've read enough BDSM books to know that the lighter stuff is kind of hot, but this is something different, the dominant in Hold 'Em is Leah. The only time I've gotten close to this has been books where the heroine acts like a domme, but really just needs the alphaness of the hero to help her realise she needs to submit and, [b:Taming the Fire|4953254|Taming the Fire (ACRO, #4)|Sydney Croft|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320498725s/4953254.jpg|5019000] which has Ulrika actually being the dominant. But while I love the ACRO series, Taming the Fire included it's not a BDSM book and that's just how Ulrika deals with her beast (she's a werewolf) need for inflicting pain.
Mike is alpha. He's all alpha and he's completely at ease with his need to submit to a dominant woman. The sex is hot and I got the connection between them as well as just the excitement of finding a like-minded person. Leah is totally conscious of the responsibility of being the dom and during their "scenes" how much trust Mike is putting in her hands. Mike is in no way belittled outside the bedroom and he is still absolutely a hard-ass. With an eight-pack since Leah and Mike broke up.
We see the resolution of Leah's partying self-destruction, aided but not caused by Mike which I liked, I hate when characters change because someone else wants them too and not because they realised they needed to. Mike comes to grips in a nice way with his issues to do with gender roles and his parents marriage, aided by the view of his brother's happy marriage, where his sister-in-law works and they both do house work when they get home.
Seriously this is a good book and the aspect of Leah being the dom and Mike the submissive has only one issue for me, that is Leah is totally inexperienced with being a dom and Mike trusts her to spank him and use toys almost straight of the bat, it doesn't seem very safety conscious. Also they don't really seem to have a line because Leah uses her dom-ness to boss Mike around outside of sexual situations in a way that makes me want Mike to say no not here and would absolutely annoy the crap out of me in a male dom/female sub BDSM book. The other thing is that there's absolutely no issues between them due to their past relationship, no baggage brought into the relationship and that doesn't feel realistic.
The next book Hard Way, will be out sometime next April according to the author's website, about Dash and Sunny, who are married. I'll be reading it.
The Vegas Top Guns is a series set around the Air Force base outside Las Vegas. Specifically the 64th Aggressor Squadron, who train to fly like enemy combatant to teach other pilots from around the world how to fly better. The couple all have a different kind of kink. [b:Double Down|13553273|Double Down (Vegas Top Guns, #1)|Katie Porter|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332212154s/13553273.jpg|19122190], has Cassie and Ryan who like to role-play, [b:Inside Bet|13553278|Inside Bet (Vegas Top Guns, #2)|Katie Porter|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1333394682s/13553278.jpg|19122196], has Heather and Jon, who are just into the kink - there's nothing specific and the kink part of it is mostly about Heather realising that her desires are okay.
Which brings me to Hold 'Em. The kink between Mike and Leah in Hold 'Em is BDSM. Now I'm sure you're thinking that I exaggerated when I said this way different, I wasn't. I've read enough BDSM books to know that the lighter stuff is kind of hot, but this is something different, the dominant in Hold 'Em is Leah. The only time I've gotten close to this has been books where the heroine acts like a domme, but really just needs the alphaness of the hero to help her realise she needs to submit and, [b:Taming the Fire|4953254|Taming the Fire (ACRO, #4)|Sydney Croft|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320498725s/4953254.jpg|5019000] which has Ulrika actually being the dominant. But while I love the ACRO series, Taming the Fire included it's not a BDSM book and that's just how Ulrika deals with her beast (she's a werewolf) need for inflicting pain.
Mike is alpha. He's all alpha and he's completely at ease with his need to submit to a dominant woman. The sex is hot and I got the connection between them as well as just the excitement of finding a like-minded person. Leah is totally conscious of the responsibility of being the dom and during their "scenes" how much trust Mike is putting in her hands. Mike is in no way belittled outside the bedroom and he is still absolutely a hard-ass. With an eight-pack since Leah and Mike broke up.
We see the resolution of Leah's partying self-destruction, aided but not caused by Mike which I liked, I hate when characters change because someone else wants them too and not because they realised they needed to. Mike comes to grips in a nice way with his issues to do with gender roles and his parents marriage, aided by the view of his brother's happy marriage, where his sister-in-law works and they both do house work when they get home.
Seriously this is a good book and the aspect of Leah being the dom and Mike the submissive has only one issue for me, that is Leah is totally inexperienced with being a dom and Mike trusts her to spank him and use toys almost straight of the bat, it doesn't seem very safety conscious. Also they don't really seem to have a line because Leah uses her dom-ness to boss Mike around outside of sexual situations in a way that makes me want Mike to say no not here and would absolutely annoy the crap out of me in a male dom/female sub BDSM book. The other thing is that there's absolutely no issues between them due to their past relationship, no baggage brought into the relationship and that doesn't feel realistic.
The next book Hard Way, will be out sometime next April according to the author's website, about Dash and Sunny, who are married. I'll be reading it.