Note: The books in the Pleasure House world are all stand alones featuring a different couple in each book. They can be read in any order without any trouble. The listed order is the order of publication.Julie wants Gabe Griffin like fish want water, but what she wants is sweet domestic bliss and a white picket fence. What Gabe wants is to put a collar around Julie’s throat and train her in the … her in the finer points of being his slave.
At first too innocent, then too broken, can Julie ever surrender to the man intent on claiming her?
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Just in case you get the wrong impression as you read further through this, I’m going to state now that I loved this story. I continued reading it far too late into the night and picked it up as soon as I awoke the next morning. This was 5 stars all the way, all the way, though you might not guess that from what I’m going to say later in the review.
Julie, the heroine of this tale, totally, utterly and completely made the book a winner for me. Every scene from her pov absolutely captivated me, she drew me into this story and I adored her. She coped bravely, and fiercely with all the slings and arrows life threw her way. She never bent, never broke, but forged her own, quiet path to happiness.
That total and utter enjoyment was in spite of, but confusingly also because of, what a self-centred, narcissistic prick Gabe is. After having read 3 of the interlinked books, I fully expected to adore him and worship at his feet. Instead I frequently wanted to throat punch the selfish, self-pleasing, sack of excrement. A fantasist who liked to paint himself as the knight in shining armour, which he was very much not. The whole implied threat of ‘be my slave or you aren’t safe from Brian’, even after all his promises, proved that to be true.
Oh he generally said all the right things, mainly because he was so convinced by his own pretty lies, but he didn’t really care about the trauma Julie had been through. What he truly cared about was how it would affect his training of her, and her responses to it, or whether she would ever agree to submit. It’s rather funny because he is one of the very few Kitty Thomas heroes to actually use the ‘love’ word, but he was the one I least believed that emotion from. I know the author deliberately avoids that word in general, as her men aren’t good guys, they aren’t men who know normal emotions, except social norms, so I do wonder if this was another of her little mind fucks for the reader to unravel and digest!
But folks, BUT, this in no way ruined my enjoyment, in fact I think it added extra layers and depth. Because I chose to view this not as all Gabe’s desires and dreams coming home to roost, but as Julie’s journey into not only surviving her time at Dmitri’s but in finding a way to live with it and live beyond it. Gabe fulfilled her needs perfectly and because she was happy and content, so I was too. I didn’t even mind that he also got all his wishes granted too. Though I’m still a little mad at him for not recognising how much Julie had needed him after their first proper session in the dungeons.
I loved how Kitty messed with my head, how she made me so angry with Gabe, made me really dislike him but also made me want him to adore and treasure Julie, because SHE deserved it. And he did adore her. And it did scramble my brains into mush. And I still want to knee him in the balls. That is as long as it wouldn’t upset Julie too much.
The story of Gabe and Julie. This book can be read as a standalone but why not read them all.
Julie has gone through so much. I loved how Kitty Thomas showed her emotions and doubts with her relationship with Gabe
Love this series! A little dark, a lot dirty (in the very best way!)
Despite snapping this book up the moment it was released, I was delayed in reading it. I knew I wouldn’t want to stop once started, and that most definitely was the case, so yay me!
I don’t think there is such a thing as a ‘typical’ Kitty book. Her style is the common thread, while her stories cover a range of sub-genres in the scope. This is most definitely in the romance, with the emotions and feelings for each other front and centre, pushing the story along. All the things that Gabe and Julie choose to do, it is their feelings for each other driving that action.
It is a Kitty book, so there are things that they have to do, or are forced to do, but it is less……..angsty? melancholy? There wasn’t that darkness seeping out, but that was okay. It definitely wasn’t light and airy, the darkness hovered, didn’t envelope.
Either way, I still loved the book, the story, and the path Gabe and Julie ended up travelling
Kitty Thomas has you fall in love with her characters. I definitely follow her work.
This story is BDSM book. It’s pretty dark but caring. It is a good book if your into that.
Romantic but also very twisted.
Surrender is book 3 in the Pleasure House Series. You can read this book and the whole series as a series of standalones but I would think if you do that you are missing out on the stories of the other characters that play important roles. This is Gabe Griffin’s and Julie’s story.
I have loved Gabe the best out of the others that we have been introduced to in the previous books. I am not alone in that opinion after reading Surrender. Gabe does have some a-hole moments though. Julie was an innocent and then she was broken. Gabe rescues Julie but to what kind of life was she rescued too. Yes that is vague but I don’t want to give anything away.
This is another book that I couldn’t put down. I am loving this series and I am glad that these other characters spoke to Kitty Thomas that they needed their stories told too!
The next book is Pretty Lies, book 4 and is Annette Waincott & Anton Volikov’s story.
This Pleasure House tale focused on Gabe and Julie. This couple meets in a bar and Gabe finally asks her on a date only to realize she is too innocent for him. They part ways but then the unspeakable happens to Julie.
When Gabe sees her again he cannot believe what she has been through and takes her to Pleasure House.
I loved Gabe’s patience and kindness with Julie, but he was also demanding enough to stay true to himself, and make sure Julie follows his expectations.
A fabulous story and series!
Sorry I just couldn’t keep reading this book , I got to 30% and gave up. Just to unbelievable.
I’ve got one word for Surrender…YUMMY! I loved Gabe! I’d definitely waive a white flag and surrender to him! You do not have to have read any of the other books in the Pleasure House world to enjoy this one, although I do recommend reading them. I really, really liked Gabe. Now Julie, the young woman he meets and wants to own, ehhh, not liking her so much. But that’s ok. I still liked their story. While Gabe was experienced and older than Julie, she hung onto that naivete-thing she had going in the beginning a tad too long for my liking. I mean, she was forced into a life of prostitution for about 6 months. How naive could she still have been after Gabe rescued her? I just couldn’t get into her head. Now Gabe, I would be all too willing to get into his head, his arms, his bed, etc., hehehe. It was easy to see why all the other women in the house were jealous of Julie and wanted Gabe’s attention. He was just the right combination of sweet and dominant. Like I said, YUMMY! I wished the story would have gone on and on a bit longer than it did. It kind of ended abruptly. However, I still found this to be an enjoyable, fast-paced, action-packed story which kept my interest from start to finish. Another great read from the very talented Kitty Thomas. Don’t miss it!
As per usual Kitty Thomas doesn’t disappoint, I love all of her books so far. Surrender is another great read and addition to the Pleasure House series, I was a little surprised with the way Gabe trained Julie, especially the orgasm denial and arousal cream everyday and night , after her trauma and experience with men, that definitely wouldn’t have worked for me and made me feel cherished and safe at all but it seemed to work for her. I found it interesting the that house psychopath Brian worked to heal Mina’s trauma through orgasms and tender loving care while the one in the house you would have expected to be that way took a month of pleasure for himself before giving any to Julie and only after she begged. I really expected him to be more loving and tender so I was surprised. I was a little disappointed that her first orgasm was given to her with toys and not him, seemed impersonal and cold to me and not what I personally would have needed or expected especially with her history. Although I couldn’t see myself flourishing in that situation, everyone is different and I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. After reading this book I love Brian even more though, crazy as that is, give me the psychopath!!
Although you don’t have I read the previous books in the series, I would suggest that you do. It gives a better background to help you understand the story better.
What a great read. This book took me on a emotional journey to the very end. I loved and
Hated the characters at the same time.
It doesn’t go where you expect it to, but where it goes is amazing. I loved this book and will be reading all the others in the series! Really, really good story. I highly recommend it!
Great book!!
It started out great, but there were a lot of parts that didn’t really make narrative sense to me, and then I feel like it ended abruptly. wasn’t really a satisfying end.
“TURBULENT, BRUTAL, GRUELING…JUST AWESOME!!!”
Wow, what a fantastic book! Loved, Loved it! Emotional, heartbreaking, pull you into the story writing. That is just some of the words that come to mind when trying to write this review. Surrender is achingly beautiful in its intensity but at the same time also very steamy and arousing. If you are on the lookout for a read that provides a great, intense story combined with enticing as well as fierce sex scenes then look no further. You have found it. This book had me so high on my emotions that I had to take a few days to write the review.
In Kitty Thomas’ Surrender, we revisit the world she created in her books Guilty Pleasures and Broken Dolls. You do not need to have read those stories to enjoy this one, but I highly recommend them. Go ahead and pause reading this review and go forth and one-click those books! Ready? Let us begin…
Gabe Griffen…sigh…his name is everything you need to know. “…if you give it a chance, I will awaken something inside you that you never dreamed was possible. I will make your body and soul sing for me. I will wrap you up in the kind of warmth and security you thought only happened in fairy tales…” I have been awaiting my favorite trainer’s story, and Kitty Thomas does not disappoint. Surrender is more of an emotional journey of seduction and training rather than an erotic one. When innocence is destroyed, it will take patience and discipline to mold and train Julie to realize she was born to wear Gabe’s collar.
Highly recommend this book or any of Kitty’s other stories!