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Review

4 stars!

This one was a surprise! Kinky, yes, but also heartfelt, emotional and beautifully romantic. I loved it a lot more than I thought I would, it’s such a gorgeous romance!

After being rocked by the concept of an alpha sub in the first book of this series, The Deep End, I was wary going into this book. I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but I was intrigued by Evangeline’s story – a Domme who was brutally attacked by her sub during a session at exclusive club, The Honey. Evangeline has completely withdrawn from her friends and from the lifestyle, but with this book we see her friends continuing to reach out to her, and her reawakening after laying eyes on broody but gorgeous Branch Dillinger.

Branch is an ex-military badass who has been through hell in his life. He’s still struggling under the weight of his grief, loss, guilt and trauma, and he has no desire to put down roots or form any lasting connections. But he knows Evangeline, he’s seen her in action, he knows what happened to her, and he wants needs to experience just one night under her dominant hands.

So, with the promise of one night only, the two of them embrace their kink and share an experience which leaves them both changed forever. They know that it will never be enough, and though Branch is still adamant that he’s leaving, Evangeline puts herself out there, not willing to lose their connection so quickly and knowing that they are exactly what each other need.

No way he was going to walk out of that playroom without looking back and vanish from her life.
No way.
She was going to hunt that big boy down and she was going to tear him open.
And then she was going to shatter him.
He liked to be pushed to the edge? She was going to take him there. Shove him right over. And go over with him.
And when they landed, they both were going to explode.
All over the place.
And love every bit of it.

Yes, their relationship is initially based on kink. Evangeline is a Domme, Branch is a sub, and there’s lots of BDSM behaviour, but it’s strictly kept in the bedroom, and Branch’s alphaness is too strong to contain fully. While he gets off on having Evangeline do certain things to him, he also reciprocates, and together they are on absolute fire!

And as they get to know each other and begin opening up, all of that chemistry easily shifts into an intense emotional connection, and they can’t keep their hands off each other in any way. And with Branch in full-on alpha mode there is just as much vanilla sex as there is kink, and it’s all seriously hot!

He’s the badass motherfucker the baddest badass motherfucker wished he was.

But Branch’s demons are dark. He is a tormented man, and his backstory is tragic. It’s going to take all that Evangeline has to offer, and then some, to drag him back into the light, to a place where he can finally find his peace.

OMG, this is such a beautiful love story! I could feel the emotion between Branch and Evangeline, and the intensity of it all just drips off the page. Their attraction to each other is insane, but the love story is actually a slow burn that takes time to develop, and I loved every moment of it! Branch is just the right amount of broody alpha badass, and Evangeline’s strength in standing by her man and not allowing him to push her away is just fantastic! She fights for him, for what she feels and what she knows they can have together and I freaking loved it!

For me, this book has more heart than the previous book in the series, which was a bit more BDSM-heavy. It’s seriously steamy, but for me the BDSM aspect is a bit better balanced with the romance than it was in the first book. This one is more emotional and intimate, and I think that allowed me to connect with the characters and their romance more than I was expecting, and I really appreciated that.

I loved catching up with the characters that we met in the last book, as well as some newbies. And that hint we are given into Stellan and Sixx’s book up next has me intrigued once again, and I’m looking forward to seeing how their story all plays out.

I really enjoyed this one. It’s another long one and I felt that it lagged a tiny bit at the end, but otherwise I thought it was a gorgeous love story, and I loved it.

4 stars.

 

The Honey series

 

 For more great reads, check out our Kristen Ashley Author Spotlight!