Secrets: Book One Six years ago Ellis walked into his first briefing as the newest member of London’s Specialist Firearms unit. He was partnered with Wayne and they became fast friends. When Wayne begins to notice changes–Ellis’s erratic temper, the effects of sleep deprivation–he knows he has to act before Ellis reaches his breaking point. He invites Ellis to the opening of the new BDSM club, … opening of the new BDSM club, Secrets, where Wayne has a membership. His purpose? He wants Ellis to glimpse the lifestyle before Wayne approaches him with a proposition. He wants to take Ellis in hand, to control his life because he wants his friend back, and he figures this is the only way to do it.
There are a few issues, however. Ellis is straight. Stubborn. And sexy. Wayne knows he has to put his own feelings aside to be what Ellis needs. What surprises the hell out of him is finding out what Ellis actually requires.
more
K.C. Wells and Parker Williams team up again to bring us Before You Break, the first book in their new Secrets series. A spin-off of Collars and Cuffs, you don’t need to have read those stories to appreciate this one, though fans will be as excited as I was to have a few beloved characters popping in.
Aptly named, Before You Break is an intimate and moving story of one man whose world is falling apart and how, using BDSM, his friend intervenes to save him. Partnered for six years in London’s Specialist Firearms unit, Wayne takes note of Ellis’ increasingly erratic behavior, bouts of uncontrolled anger, and dangerous mistakes at work. It takes some time, but Wayne finally gets the story of what’s going on in Ellis’ life. In addition to the stresses of the job, his family obligations are doing him in both physically and mentally.
Wayne presents a D/s relationship as a way to give Ellis some control and provide the support he needs to get his life back on track. Their relationship starts to change as the men navigate the challenges this presents in their friendship and as colleagues. As the attraction between them grows and they incorporate other elements of BDSM into their relationship, the passion between them explodes.
I really enjoy the way this story unfolds and what happens to both men along the way. Clearly a proud and capable man, Ellis has become overwhelmed and reached his breaking point. As he starts to see how having the support Wayne gives as his Dom affects him, other aspects of Ellis’ life begin to change as well.
For Wayne the changes are more subtle, having finally found his ideal submissive his confidence grows and his character softens. He’s tender and patient but also deliciously commanding as he guides Ellis through some very intense events in his life.
K.C. Wells and Parker Williams do a marvelous job with the dynamic between these two men and the changes that happen in their relationship. Done in the third person, we get both Wayne and Ellis’ stories, plus their impressions of what the other is experiencing. It really moved me to see how Ellis embraces his need for submission, and I enjoyed how Wayne responds to the challenges along the way. Wayne has such a sexy way about him, when Ellis gets bratty and tests his limits… so hot.
This is an intimate and emotional story and Joel Leslie emphasizes it nicely with the intensity in his narration. The consistent, dependable strength of Wayne flows throughout, whereas Ellis runs the gamut of emotions. His desperation and fear, his panicky breakdown, and his heartbreaking defeat all come across loud and clear and stay true to Ellis’ character as he navigates this journey.
Joel Leslie does an amazing job shifting between the alternating points of view, he keeps Ellis and Wayne’s voices unique and distinct. Additionally, there are a wide variety of characters in this story: co-workers, club members, family members, and Leslie brings something special to each of them. His skill with accents is on full display in Before You Break and it is a pleasure to listen to from beginning to end.
This was a deeply moving story for me. Watching Ellis discover and embrace his needs, and seeing the joy it gives Wayne to provide it was really lovely. These two unfulfilled men come together and become whole in the process. In Ellis’ words as he kneels at Wayne’s feet, “For the first time in his life he’d found his place.”
The love these guys have for each other is intense and emotional. Great book!
The masters of BDSM are back with this amazing book. I was so happy that K.C. Wells and Parker Williams decided to write a spinoff of the great Collars & Cuffs Series. Before you Break is the first book, and it is everything I was hoping for and more. Their writing is so powerful and captivating I couldn’t stop reading. They had me on the edge of my seat.
This book drew out so many emotions in me. The sex scenes are scorching hot. I had to fan myself. The story is laced with humor, I smiled, grinned, and laughed out loud. And then they threw me for a loop several times with heartbreaking twists and turns. I cried my eyes out.
I fell in love with Wayne and Ellis. They are such great characters, rich in development. Ellis is burdened by his family’s misplaced expectations and responsibilities. Selfless to a fault, even to the point of breaking. Wayne, confident in his own skin and his abilities, but not overbearing. Strong and vulnerable at the same time. I loved the dynamics between the two men. Wayne takes Ellis by the hand to teach him to embrace his sexuality and his submissiveness in a surprisingly gentle way.
Ellis gives Wayne his trust, love and his all to lead him to be a better man at peace with himself.
With this book K.C. Wells and Parker Williams show once again that they are masterful storytellers. You can never go wrong with these two authors.
Wow!!
What a great way to start off the spin off series. I am so glad that we got more Jarod and Eli. Plus we got cameos of the old gang while meeting new people. I can’t wait to read the next one.
Another great book from fantastic K.C. Wells and Parker Williams!
And a great start to the new series with some cameo from Collars and Cuffs what I really loved.
A strong guy who is at the end of his rope and is drowning under the pressure. A great friend who wants to be more and take care of him. And a lot of heat and sexy scenes in between 😉
The narration by Joel Leslie just gave another dimension to the book and made it even better!
Although it was well written, this book wasn’t for me. I would have rated it two stars for my personal enjoyment of the book, but it seemed a little unfair to the author. I mean, it’s a novel featuring a gay couple who are in a dominant/submissive relationship – it seems unfair to reduce my rating because I didn’t enjoy the dom/sub aspect of it. But I didn’t. And I was unable to give it more than three stars.
For me, a relationship has to be equal. These two were equals at work, equals in strength, etc. They were not equals in their relationship. To me, it seemed that Wayne didn’t see Ellis as an equal. Instead, Wayne felt superior, smarter, more of an ‘adult’, and he patronised Ellis. I felt like it was more like a parent/child relationship than one of equals. This was emphasised by the way Wayne addressed Ellis as ‘boy’ and made Ellis call him ‘Sir’.
I also felt like the last third of the book was an extended epilogue. The book just kept going and going and going… I was so over it by the time I finally finished.
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted the AUDIO file of this book.
Six years ago, Ellis joined the Specialist Firearms Unit. Wayne was his partner, but Wayne wanted more, much more. Ellis is straight though. When Ellis begins a spiral downwards, and Wayne can no longer keep covering for him, he knows what he needs to do. Question is, will Ellis let Wayne help the way he wants to, the way Ellis NEEDS him to?
Book one of the Secrets series, which is a spin off from the Collars and Cuffs series. I’ve no read ANY of those, so this is brand new to me.
I really REALLY loved this one!
Ellis is, by his own admission, struggling to come to terms with his responsibilities forced on him at an early age, an age when he should have been learning how to be a boy, not a man. Wayne keeps covering for his silly mistakes but it’s getting more and more difficult. After a particularly difficult op, Wayne decides enough is enough and knows what Ellis needs. But Ellis has always portrayed himself as straight, and vanilla and Wayne is neither. Wayne knows Ellis needs to be “taken in hand” to get to the bottom of what’s bothering him, and Wayne is just the man to do it: the ONLY man to do it.
Not all of Ellis’ problems are immediately clear, and it takes time for the full picture to develop and I loved that. You don’t get a massive info dump. Ellis is. . . .difficult . . .when Wayne introduces him to the lifestyle and it is, in some places, rather amusing the conversations Ellis has with himself about what Wayne is doing, WHY he is doing it.
Wayne has loved Ellis since first meeting him 6 years ago, and to have carried that flame for so long was hard on him, but finally getting his hands (quite literally!) on Ellis is a balm to his soul. Ellis is his other half and he needs Ellis to see that.
The story unfolds at a steady pace, with Wayne kinda plodding along with Ellis till ELLIS decides he wants more, and I really did like that. Sometimes, things need to speed along but not so much here and it made for a great listen.
Joel Leslie narrates.
Leslie is, in my humble opinion, a MASTER at accents. These two guys are Londoners, and the accents were spot on. Jarod and Eli pop up, they are the new owners of Secrets and their accents are very different but again, spot on. Leslie does get all the emotions that both Ellis and Wayne are going through, and I cried in some places. I ooohhh-ed and aaahhh-ed and YAY-ed and NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-ed in places, out loud. I don’t do that when I’m reading but when I’m listening I seem to be more vocal with my reactions and I can only assume that’s the skill of the narrator coming across.
I had to giggle a bit though. Mr Leslie is, I think, American, and the man CANNOT say leisurely like we do in the UK. Every other word was spot on, but that one? Nope, not right. But I won’t hold it against him, cos I LOVED this narration!
I already have book 2 lined up, and I hope that Wayne, Ellis, Eli and Jarod pop up along the way. Be great to catch up with them.
5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration
5 stars overall
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Wow they did it again. Ellis and Wayne are two characters you can completely relate to. I loved the interactions, the chemistry and the storyline. Glad to see Eli and Jarod here too. Loved it.
Wonderful characters. Great storyline
I loved the developing Dom/sub relationship and how it portrayed the effects of such a relationship.