Series: Club Zodiac #1
Audience: +18
Genre: Erotica, BDSM, Erotic Romance
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: January 23rd 2018
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):
His friend’s little sister...*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
Sasha Easton has had her eye on Lincoln Walsh—the owner of Club Zodiac—for five years. Unfortunately, he does nothing but scowl at her and reject her every shy advance.
She’s not right for him...
Lincoln doesn’t have a choice but to discourage Sasha because the truth is that he’s a sadist. And Sasha is no masochist. No matter how much he might want her in his bed, he can’t change the type of Dom he is.
She’s not as innocent as he thinks...
Determined to get Lincoln to see her as more than his business partner’s little sister, Sasha delivers an ultimatum—let her join Club Zodiac or she’ll explore her submission elsewhere.
Can he train her and let her go?
Watching the only woman he’s ever wanted play with another Dom is more than Lincoln can bear, so he finds himself agreeing to train her himself. After all, he’s confident if he pushes her hard enough, he can protect her from the lifestyle and himself from admitting the truth about his feelings.
**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.
This book has an interesting take on BDSM and I quite enjoyed it. I was intrigued ever since I first read the blurb. I was convinced that this book was going to explore some new aspect of BDSM, and in a way I was right. Sasha and Lincoln have a really interesting relationship, an explosive one, but one that doesn't start on the right foot.
When Sasha and Lincoln meet, Sasha is underage. Upon finding that out, Lincoln runs for the hills and does everything he can to make Sasha ignore him. I will admit that I had a little bit of a hard time with the way the book started. There was nothing overtly sexual, there was just a sexual awakening that young Sasha experienced at seeing this new sex god, Lincoln, and slight flirting from Lincoln's side until he finds out Sasha is underage and then skedaddles. My issue was more with the surprise of having that beginning to an erotic novel.
Thankfully, we quickly jump forward 5 year or so and we get to see Sasha being utterly in love with Lincoln and trying everything to get his attention. Since he proves to be more than a little stubborn, Sasha decides to find herself a Dom that will introduce her to the lifestyle, which spells trouble all around. This is when things get interesting, and Lincoln agrees to train Sasha, but without having sex with her. I was really intrigued by the idea of BDSM explored without the added sex element, and I would have wanted to see more of that aspect be developed, even though I understood the reasons behind not exploring it as much.
It was interesting to see how Lincoln uses this experience as a way to "punish" Sasha; he's more interested in trying to push her away and to convince her that she doesn't actually want to be in the lifestyle, than trying to know her and explore whatever it is they have. I can't say I fully agreed with this quest of his, so I was really happy seeing Sasha giving him hell. At the same time, Sasha is willing to do anything in her power to get him to want her and accept her, even become someone that she's not and accepting his really harsh rules. It was an interesting experience seeing them try to have a BDSM relationship without being fully honest with each other, but having really honest reactions to one another. I liked that aspect of their relationship.
All in all, I enjoyed this book, even though I did felt the need for more honesty between the two main characters. The ending teases at another pair that will find their way towards each other and I'm curious to see how will that go, so I'm definitely planning to read the next book in the series.
