Struggling art gallery owner, Liz Ashton, is doing everything she can to stay afloat. When wealthy businessman, Damon St. Claire, asks her to become his submissive, she recoils at his offer of an ‘arrangement’ but is curious and, craving more of how he makes her feel, she submits. Liz pushes her boundaries, seeking ultimate pleasure, and becomes stronger as the result of their arrangement. Damon … Damon introduces her to a whole new world, where money is no object and pleasure awaits her… along with pain.
Damon fights against his rising feelings, trying to convince himself that his lifestyle and arrangements are what he desires. When he travels to China for business, then to visit his sister in LA, Liz escapes his firm hold, traveling to South Beach and Havana in search of clients. Damon acknowledges – and then denies – his feelings for Liz.
When they reunite on his isolated island, he vows to regain control.
Publisher’s Note: This steamy contemporary romance contains elements of power exchange.
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This is a cliffhanger ending as it is the first book in a trilogy. This is the first book I’ve read from this author and I enjoyed it. It’s an interesting story about Damon, a wealthy dom who introduces Liz who is struggling for funds for her art gallery to the BDSM lifestyle as his sub. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series to see where the author takes this relationship between the two of them. It’s a very well written book and has some erotic scenes that are also well written.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Zoe Asher is a new author for me. I was intrigued by the teaser and was absolutely pleased with my selection and the acquisition of another author to follow. The storyline itself flows seamlessly with the main characters, Damon and Elizabeth, that I felt made me a part of the story as I could actually feel the growth and change in their personalities the further along they took me. The side characters have just as much personality and insight so it was amazing to get all these separate thoughts in print while I mumbled back, “I know right?” The plot is there and yet I felt a small alteration and shift the deeper the story brought me. What a terrific introduction to what looks like a spectacular series involving BDSM, innocence, friendship, loyalty, and the individual thought process. I’ve put this on my watch list for the next book to the series.
Embracing a lifestyle that merged passion with pain!
by sewsummore
Elizabeth owned a small private art gallery in Soho New York. She was a confident and self motivated woman, secure in her own mind and beliefs. Damon was a wealthy, dominant, self made man who was a patron the the arts and a contributor to many worthy cases. Elizabeth interested him greatly, she was a woman with submissive desires that she did not know she had. He was looking for a new submissive but was not yet sure he wanted to train a new submissive, however he continued to meet with her and even purchased a painting from her gallery. When he approached her, she denied him immediately but admitted to herself that she was curious about the lifestyle. Eventually they came to an agreement and she became his submissive. This was an interesting book describing her introduction to the lifestyle, Damon’s desire to care and protect her and her willingness to embrace a lifestyle that merged both passion and pain. I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to continuing their story in the next book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and have voluntarily read and honestly reviewed this book.
Asset or Distraction
Elizabeth Ashton, a struggling art gallery owner, while Damon ST. Claire is a wealthy businessman. Will he prove to be an asset to her or a huge distraction?
Not sure the two of them will be able to make it if they do there will have to be some changes made. Damon is immature, and they both have a few if any, emotions.
It ends with a cliff hanger which means we have to wait until book two of this trilogy to release at least to find out if they make it.
I received a free copy of this book. This honest review was posted voluntarily.
The Awakening is the story of Liz Ashton, a New York art gallery owner, who embarks on a relationship with the extraordinarily wealthy Damon St Claire. He introduces her to a hitherto unfamiliar world of BDSM which Liz slowly opens herself up to. She discovers a way of life that gives her something that she has never experienced before.
It is impossible to ignore the fact that The Awakening is extraordinarily similar to Fifty Shades of Grey. I read a lot of BDSM romances so I don’t say that lightly.
The parallels between the two books are constant: Rich businessman Dom, Innocent book smart BDSM newbie, a Housekeeper and a Driver as significant supporting characters, Non-Disclosure Agreements and Contracts (Anal Play is in. Canes are out. Much like Ana and Christian’s contract), rules about the going to the gym three times a week with a personal trainer, Damon insisting on Liz attending a private doctor to sort out contraception, a sub spare room that Liz can decorate any way she chooses, a Dom who tracks his sub’s every move and messages her to let her know that he’s keeping tabs on her … Honestly, this list could go on.
In fact there are so many striking similarities that I’m inclined to believe that Zoe Asher’s hasn’t actually read Fifty Shades of Grey herself. If she had, surely she would have avoided writing a book that was almost identical.
Maybe if you start with the premise of a BDSM-themed love story set in the present day between a Billionaire and a BDSM virgin, you could find yourself accidently rewriting Fifty Shades of Grey without realising it.
If you had done it by accident though, you probably wouldn’t have given your hero the name Damon (with its obvious Demon/Omen connotations) because that’s just begging to be contrasted with the name Christian, isn’t it?
That said, I think The Awakening is actually better written than its bestselling counterpart. There’s none of that tedious Inner Goddess gumph for a start. Liz is less annoying than Ana. You get both sides of the story from the get go.
Although, oddly, given that this is a story about a woman taking a leap of faith and diving into a new lifestyle, most of the time Liz’s new life seems rather boring.
The BDSM stuff is all well and good but for the most part the new lifestyle that Damon imposes on her is stifling. You’d think that wealth and privilege would open up the world but his world is so small that it rarely leaves his excellently appointed apartment. Liz is taken away from the vibrancy and fun of life on the New York streets and is immediately ferried around by her drivers, followed by a bodyguard and holed up in Damon’s home expected to account for her every move outside of it. Damon doesn’t even acknowledge her half the time.
The story finishes on a cliff-hanger with Liz arriving at Damon’s private island for what promises to be a BDSM-intensive getaway. The details of which will be presumably be covered in the subsequent book in what is already being billed as a trilogy.
It’s a well-crafted book with plenty of attention to detail. Zoe Asher is clearly a very good writer. I just found the relentless similarities to Fifty Shades of Grey and the stuffiness of the main characters’ arrangement a bit off-putting.
I would happily read more of Zoe Asher’s work but will probably steer clear of the rest of this series. Hopefully next time it will be something a bit more fun which doesn’t read like a re-tread of somebody else’s book.
This is book one in the Choices Trilogy and it is off to a hot and sexy start. Meet Liz, she owns an art gallery but it is struggling. She is a strong and ambitious woman that has captured Damon’s interest. Liz is not familiar with the BDSM lifestyle but is she open to explore it? Damon is a businessman that is not into relationships but loves his ‘arrangements’. These arrangements provide him the opportunity to burn off the energy and stress of his world that he needs to without any repercussions or responsibilities. Perfect! That is until he meets Liz. That woman intrigues him and of course, now challenges him as she has denied him. He realizes that Liz is new to the BDSM lifestyle and he normally cannot be bothered but for Liz he will make an exception. Now he just has to convince her to give it and him a shot. A well written story and great read! Enjoy!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book was slow to start, but once the relationship between Elizabeth and Damon got serious, it was amazing. I will say that Damon is an ass. I understand he is rich, but whoa, he thinks a lot of himself. And I give high marks to Liz, she kept going even though she had misgivings. I think I would have told him what he could do with his high handedness! Anyways, I’m looking forward to the next books in this trilogy.
It ends one way but I wonder about Liz and Damon.
Damon is such a cold dominant and Liz not into the lifestyle but has submissive tendencies. She finally goes along with Damon desire to become her Dom and to show her what the lifestyle is like. The only problem over time Liz wants more and Damon still see this as just learning experience for Liz. After finishing this book you just do not know what will finally happen I know how the book ends but will these two really end up happy. Love a book that makes you think. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Elizabeth is struggling keeping her art gallery profitable and so her focus is always her business. She meets Damon and her whole world shifts and after research she decides to enter in the agreement Damon requests. She falls for him but is he falling for her? I look forward to the next novel in the series. A great read with a lot of twists and turns.
I received a free copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Loved getting to know the characters and can’t wait to see where the story takes us in the next book!
Unlike a lot of ebooks in this genre, this is a full length book, which makes it a good length to really get involved in the story. It follows Damon, an experienced Dom, & Liz, who enters the lifestyle to be with Damon. This is a good read that because of the length allows you time to really get to know the characters. By the end, I’m still thinking of Damon as being incredibly selfish & self-centred with the ‘arrangement’ extremely cold-blooded. The story does end on a nice note that I can only think will be where book 2 starts from. My real concern is that if the next 2 books are just as long as this, is the ultimate story going to be worth it?