Blacky *Romance Addict*'s Reviews > Release Me

"He’s like an iceberg, Texas. The deep parts are well hidden and what you do see is hard and a little bit cold."

What to say about this book... Read this quote, you'll know enough :D

His mouth is at my ear, his voice so carnal, so full of lust, it makes my clit throb. “I’m going to f*ck you, Nikki. Pleasure? We’re going to blow the roof off pleasure. I’m going to make you beg for it. I’m going to claim you. I’m going to tease you. I’m going to torment you. And you’re going to come for me like you’ve never come in your life.”

Well enough to say that I really liked the book :D I see these comparisons with 50 Shades, but I guess I'm lucky because I haven't read those books and have nothing like them to compare this to.

Here are just my jumbled thoughts on the book...



THE STORY is pretty simple, not much of it, this book is mostly about the characters. So, Nikki is at a party, something like an art exibition, with a goal of finding a business partner for her new boss. Of course, the most desirable man for that position is Damien Stark, a gazillionaire, ex-tennis player and a successful businessman. The moment they see each other sparks fly all around, there is an attraction that Nikki wants to avoid, but Damien doesn't :D
Aaaaaaaand here comes the real story: Damien wants to have a painting done for his house, and he wants Nikki to be the model. He offers her one million dollars for one week while the painting is being done, and in that time he will completely own her. Sexually. I'm OK with that, as long as it doesn't spread to her personal life, dictating who she sees and what she does :D So anyway, she accepts even though she'd never done a kinky thing in her life, and doesn't date anymore, but I guess Damien's attraction is enormous :D Or maybe it's something else that's enormous... Hmm :D






MY THOUGHTS ON THE STORY - well there is a thing that really bothered me. She doesn't date very much (bad experiences), isn't into kink, but jumps right into the ownership without knowing Damian at all. I think it was the second or third day that they agreed on this. I mean... Seriously? I don't know if I'd accept a deal like that, but damn, I'd sure have to know the guy VERY much if I'd accept to be his sex slave for a week, and of course I'd educate myself a bit on what that would entail, which she basically knows nothing about. Ugh.
That done, I have one more thing that I really REALLY didn't like and found it freaky as all hell!!!
Don't read this if you plan to read the book, it's a big spoiler
(view spoiler)[Damien sponsored a pagent way back when Nikki was only 18 I think, and they met for like a minute or two, but after that he basically stalked her life and decided he wants her the minute he saw her on the party. (hide spoiler)] Don't like that fact at all.






BDSM IN THE BOOK AND ALL THINGS KINKY - Damien really doesn't seem like a Dom to me. At all. There are some hot sexy scenes here and I could tell he likes to dominate and order around, but the overall feeling is that they just did some kinky things cause they liked it. I didn't get the feeling that Nikki was a sub, nope. She liked being tied up, I get that, and Damien is basically a God in bed, so yeah. She likes the kinky :D And some spanking :D But BDSM? Nope. Not here. At least I just didn't get that feeling at all. But it's fine by me, I like reading about kinky sex, and it was pretty hot here :D






THE WRITING - I am not a big fan of present tense writing (at all), but it didn't bother me much here. The style of writing was very good, even though... I hate to say it but some things were just over the top for me. Some of the descriptions... especially of Damien :D I don't know. I get that he's supposed to be the hottest and the most amazing man ever to live on the face of the Earth, but still...






DAMIEN STARK - I wouldn't like this book half as much if I didn't have Tony Stark from Iron Man in my head. I just love him. Totally. And utterly. And it's like the hero in this book really was written based on Tony. Except for the beard :D But he had a beard in my head so it's OK :DDD
Anyway, here's something you need to know about Damien. He's a billionaire. Barely thirty and an ex-tennis champion. He had a dark history that isn't really revealed in this book, but I sense it's pretty bad. He acts like he's forty instead of thirty, but hey, even the heroine noticed that he acts more mature for his age. So OK well done here, even though I like my heroes a bit older :D
He doesn't talk like a tennis player. I don't know how tennis players really talk, but I'd say they talk like normal people. He's a billionaire business man now, but he wasn't until a few years ago. I get that he has to be good with his words, but I think the author should have invented something else in his past instead of tennis. Just my opinion :D
Moving on... The man likes to dominate in the bedroom. He likes to have kinky sex, and he's damn hot! So yeah, I loved him even with all the inconsistencies :D





NIKKI FAIRCHILD - She's had a horrible childhood, much like Damien, and they're something like kindred souls. They both have masks and don't let anyone see them vulnerable.
So, something you need to know about Nikki... She used to hurt herself. Cut herself to be precise. She's had a lot of traumas back then and it was a way for her to cope. I get that. I thought maybe she was into pain, you know, if it makes her focused on reality or something, but no. So like I said, she isn't into BDSM nor did I see that she's submissive. She likes the kinky sex she has with Damien, and I understand her, poor woman, of course she would :D
She's not very understanding as a character and in almost every tricky situation she manages to form a totally wrong conclusion and fight with whoever she thinks did something wrong. Mostly Damien :D Poor guy :D
One more thing, and I couldn't stop laughing at this one :DDD
Don't read it if you plan to read the book, it's a big spoiler!
(view spoiler)[She figures out Damien is into control (like, at the end of their week when she was basically his sex slave :D *big facepalm here*), and the most logical conclusion for her, after figuring out that he likes control in bed, is that he MUST have been molested as a child. !!!!!! Really? Does that mean all Doms were victims of child abuse? Please. People have certain things that turn them on, whether it be control or the lack of it. This was just too stupid, but I think her brilliant conclusion must be a right one, unfortunately. (hide spoiler)]
Another thing to show that's she's more on the stupid side, is the fact that she accepted to be owned sexually by a guy she met two days ago. No comment on that one.





MY OVERALL FEELINGS ABOUT THE BOOK - 3.5 stars but I'll round it to 4.
Even with all these things I mentioned, I really enjoyed the book :D I didn't get on my nerves, but I just had to say the stuff I noticed about it, so they aren't really THAT bad because the book is really good. Stark is yummy, love the guy, Nikki is OK even though I can't say I connected to her at all. I read somewhere that this book has a cliffhanger. It doesn't. Just so you know, don't feel apprehensive if that's what worries you. Everything isn't settled because there will be two more books, but it's a really nice happy end :) Hope you'll give it a shot :)






*ARC courtesy of Bantam via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*