[reprint] Foster child. Teenage whore. Now a veterinarian, MacKensie’s turned her life around, but the scars remain. She saves her affection for the animals who never judge or scorn her, but it’s time to get out, move on from her past in Iowa. So, she arranges a vacation exchange to job hunt in Seattle.
Although the house is lovely, one room is locked. Her years in foster care have given her two … given her two ‘gifts’: a neurosis about locked doors and the ability to open them. After she gets into the room, she’s appalled…and intrigued. Chains and manacles, whips and paddles, odd benches with straps…
When Alex returns home days early and finds MacKensie draped over the spanking bench in his locked dungeon, he’s furious. But her wariness arouses his protective nature and curiosity, so he strikes a deal to keep her close—she’ll act as his submissive in exchange for a place to stay and help finding a job.
He’d planned to use the veterinarian to deter an ex-girlfriend, not replace her, but with MacKensie’s compelling mixture of strength and vulnerability, the little sub slides right into his well-defended heart.
more
3.5 stars.
But Ms. Sinclair was still just a baby authorship-wise, when she published this ebook back in 2009. Having read more than ten of her books prior to this one, at least I can say she’s definitely improved her writing style and had, at least, found herself a passable editor to help clean up most of her errors. Yes, there are many very awkwardly worded sentences that brought my reading to a halt as I had to go back and figure what exactly was being said. In some cases, I still couldn’t figure it out which frustrated the hell out of me.
I was quite sympathetic to the Alex and MacKenzie. These two were very complicated yet well-crafted characters, even better than in her subsequent novels and novellas. My only complaint with them would be the frequent switching of POV. I always advise writers to avoid this. There are always ways of imparting additional information, but not at the expense of giving a POV less than a page unless the information is so critical and the style demands it. Like a semi-colon, the less this occurs, the better.
Content-wise, I think the is one of her better books in that there was a balance between action/adventure and a-day-in-the-life. Sex and intimacy. And that’s why I didn’t take off more points because she did manage the intimacy part very well. (Strangely enough, her other books didn’t get to this level as well or as smoothly as this early work of hers. Go figure…)
I felt I was in Seattle and the surrounding region. Having actually been there on many occasions, I was pleased to feel everything was a homey as how I left it, straight down to the weather, the humidity, and the ocean mists/fog.
At the end, I felt very satisfied with the entire book. Do I want to see a sequel? Probably not. But I would have loved a decent epilogue. Would Alex’s mom, Victoria the Matriarch, get real human grandchildren as requested, or will it be rescued kitties and puppies?? We may never know.
Ratings (out of possible 5)
Character building:
World building:
Relationship building:
Romance:
Heat/steam:
Drama:
Action:
Suspense:
Dark:
Triggers: Foster care nightmares, underage sexual abuse/underage prostitution (mentioned only), PTSD moments.
POV: Multiple (2)
Ending: HEA
Length: Approximately 262 pages
Recommend: YES
I say it right now, this is my favourite author and every book she writes is a delightful treat for my soul.
The characters is developed in to different personalities that grabs me and come alive. The secondary characters intrigue me and I always wonder about their stories.
No unnecessary descriptions of surroundings
Great dialogues and not a single boring moment.
I’ve read and reread all of her books and suddenly I discovered I’ve missed one; oh the joy of reading a book for the first time, lovely
5 star for a touching, steamy story.
One word – HOT
This book was not up to the level of earlier pieces of work , as displayed in Club Shadowlands and resulting spin off books. Story line poor, character development poor.