Pages

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Review: "Desired" by Stacey Kennedy


Readers of Fifty Shades of Grey are sure to love Desired, USA Today bestselling author Stacey Kennedy’s latest seductive, electrifying novel of Club Sin, where fantasy becomes reality. Kyler Morgan, Master at the legendary Club Sin in Las Vegas, knows how to give women what they want—too well. He hasn’t had a real challenge in a long time. Then Ella Snow enters his life. Beautiful, inhibited, and innocent in the ways of submission and domination, Ella is the new blood he’s been lusting after. Soon, the thrill of training her to embrace his world brings forth desires Kyler cannot control. After ending an abusive relationship, Ella makes a promise to herself to start living life to the fullest. It’s one of the reasons she seeks out Club Sin. Here, Kyler’s every touch is a lesson in liberation, stirring passions that have no bounds. But as she falls under Kyler’s command, Ella discovers that some secrets are so dark they must come to light. Submission alone may not be enough to save her, leaving her Master with only one question: How can he help Ella heal while unlocking the deep pleasures she craves? Desired is an erotic romance intended for mature audiences. Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from other Loveswept titles.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book.

So I guess now I can say I've read my first BDSM erotic romance. (Yeah, I kind of missed the Fifty Shades bandwagon - it's on my book shelf, and I do plan to finish it one day, because despite all the bad press, it is quite the phenomenon and I want to see what all the fuss is about!) Anyway, there were things I liked about "Desired", and things I didn't, so whether I'll pick up anything else in this genre remains to be seen.

First of all, Kyler.  I know he's supposed to be this incredibly sexy alpha male "dom" guy, but he kind of creeped me out.  The way he'd turn on his "dom" voice and command Ella to do things, that of course she would run and do like a good little "sub", was just a strange concept to me.  I can understand that kind of relationship in the confines of the club, while acting out a scene or whatever.  But outside, in the real, "public" world?  Creepy.  Especially for a new relationship.  

I found the writing a tad repetitive.  The overuse of the words "dom/dominant" and "sub/submissive" got on my nerves. These words were also used in weird ways, like Ella's features showed submission, or Kyler would look at Ella with dominance in his eyes.  It seemed awkward to me.

What did I like?  Surprisingly, I found the sex scenes to be fairly well done.  This was a strength of the book, in my opinion.  I also liked how the author tried to explain how a woman who had been abused in a previous relationship might want to enter into a BDSM-style relationship.  Not sure I bought it, but still, the effort was there.  

So, like I said, good and not so good.  I'm glad I read "Desired" if only to expand my horizons.  That said, I'll probably steer clear of this particular subgenre of erotica in the future, as I don't think it's really my thing.

My rating: 2.5 stars




No comments:

Post a Comment