This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Genres: BDSM Romance, Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Published by Love Swept
Released on August 5, 2013
Pages: 230
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
Stacey Kennedy is a favorite author around here at Delighted Reader. Her urban fantasy books grab Sophia Rose and leave her ready for the next one after the cliffhanger. Her contemporary BDSM and erotica keep me coming back for more. So when Stacey contacted me about reviewing Claimed, I jumped at it. Yes, please! Then I stayed up to 1 AM because I couldn’t put it down!
Presley Flynn followed her boyfriend to Las Vegas, got engaged and subsequently breaks up with him after she finds out he cheated on her. Moving with her friend, working as a dental assistant, her life is finally coming back together when her roommate sees just how many BDSM books Presley is going through and introduces her to the world of BDSM through Club Sin, an elite BDSM club run by Dmitri Pratt. At once she is turned on, but also so nervous she can’t believe what she is going to do.
The tension between Dmitri and Presley through the initial interview is so thick you could cut it. Dmitri knows he has to get her application processed fast, or she might skip out never to return, something he has never done for anyone else. Dmitri promises her a kiss if she returns and Presley holds him to it. During that time Dmitri decides to take on Presley as his sub in training, but he knows it goes deep than just training and he is ready to explore the possibilities.
Dmitri not only runs Club Sin, he owns it. Below his mansion, the club truly is a dungeon that is only open on Friday and Saturday evenings. So after each weekend, the two must wait a week to see each other again. The time in between gives them both time to long for each other, but after a particular week, the learn so much about each other.
The one part of the book that touched me was how insecure Presley was. Her natural need to please everyone often left her not liking herself. Always on guard she mistakes Dmitri’s laughs for humiliation. There is more to it than this and I felt exactly how Presley feels trying to please people but never feeling you can do anything right. Dmitri sees her. I mean sees deep inside her personality and he loves her caring personality, but he wants to build her confidence in herself.
The BDSM was very real and what I hope a real relationship might be like in that they move slow. They don’t have intercourse in the first or even second scene. BDSM is more than sex and it comes through in the power exchange we see in this book. I like that they take it slow, but one scene was beyond what I think should have been to someone so new. There is spankings, whipping, flogging, sex toys, no anal intercourse but there is anal stimulation, nudity in public and much, much more.
While this wasn’t a long book, it packed a punch with a relationship that grew both in and out of BDSM. I like that the author didn’t rush the ending and let them grow slowly over the 3 or so weeks we go to meet them. This is the first story in the Club Sin series. I can’t wait to see Presley and Dmitri again, but I am also looking forward to all the other Masters and their tattoos find love and the woman who will tame even them.
About Stacey Kennedy
Stacey Kennedy is an urban fantasy lover at heart, but she also enjoys losing herself in dark and sensual worlds. She loves in southwestern Ontario with her husband, who gave her a happily-ever-after. Together, they have two small children who can always make her smile, and who will never be allowed to read Mommy’s books. If she’s not plugging away at a new story, you’ll find her camping, curling up with the latest flick, or obsessing over Sons of Anarchy, Supernatural, True Blood and Lost Girl.
Shari
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