Author: Lexi Blake
Series: Masters and Mercenaries #12
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance, BDSM, Erotic Romance
Publisher: DLZ Entertainment LLC
Release Date: October 25th 2016
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
A fallen hero reborn
Theo Taggart lost everything the night he died. His family, his beautiful Erin, and worst of all, he lost himself. A twisted doctor brought him back from the brink of death, but reprogrammed his identity to serve her will. Rescued by his brothers, he must fight to reclaim the man he was and the life, and love, that were stolen from him.
A love worth fighting for
Erin Argent thought she'd lost Theo forever. When he walked back into her life, it was nothing short of a miracle. Months of torture and conditioning at the hands of Dr. Hope McDonald have done damage to Theo that may never be mended. He has no memory of her or the life they shared. Breaking through to him, and helping him rediscover all he lost, will be the toughest mission she's ever faced. Luckily for Theo, Erin loves a good fight.
Their reunion under siege
Unfortunately, Hope is far from done with Theo Taggart. Obsessed with her prize experiment, she will do anything to get him back. If the only way to finally break him of his past life is to kill Erin and his son, then she's only too happy to oblige…
*Disclaimer: I rececived an eARC of this copy from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or opinion of the book in any way.
I absolutely loved this book, guys! I've been scared to read this book, I'll be honest, but I'm here to tell you that there's absolutely nothing to fear.
I loved Erin and Theo. First of all, Erin is badass. She's my heroine. I love how she managed to be both very scary, and very vulnerable at the same time. I love that she's a woman who can take care of herself, and I am so sorry that it took so long for her to accept who she is, mostly due to the fact that most of the men in her life that should have loved her disappointed her, and made her feel like she wasn't enough. I also love how honest she was, at least with herself, regarding how much she had to deal with since she lost Theo, how much she had to change. There's a moment where she has to deal with something that's happening with her baby, and I love how she kind of has a revelation about herself, about how she would have reacted had she not went through the terrible loss of her partner. I'm pretty sure I'll sound crazy, but it kind of made her grow as a person, having to lose Theo. I also love how determined she is, how strong she is. I admire Erin.
Theo, my dear, dear Theo, what can I possibly say about him? This is probably one of the very few times when I've read a book in a series without reading the previous ones (I'm a bit behind in the series, but never fear, you don't get lost!), so I don't actually know how Theo really was before he went missing, other than what we see in the flashbacks. So I can't judge him or expect him to be a certain way. My heart broke for him, though, because you can tell how hard it is for him, knowing that there's something missing. I am happy with how the story ends for him, though.
I love how the book ended. I don't want to spoil anything for you, but just know that I'm super happy with what happened, or what didn't happen, in the end. I know I would have been disappointed had it ended any other way, because I love getting a little salt in my romance books, from time to time. And there's definitely a bit of salt there.
Speaking of salt, I was very impressed with the craziness of Hope McDonald. I found her very scary, but also very deranged, and the fact that she's a genius made her scarier. Some of the things she did kind of change the rules of the game a little bit, so I'm curious, very curious to see what's next, especially since towards the end of the book there were a few shocking stuff that happened because of her.
The pacing of this book is fantastic. The idea of using flashbacks for Erin and Theo's love story is fantastic, and I hope that in the future, we'll see more flashbacks. As I said before, super happy with how the book ended. I'm also very excited for the sneak peak we get into the future book of the series.
Submission Is Not Enough is a great story, a wonderful addition to the series, and I hope Blake will keep exploring the repercussions of what Hope did not only to Theo, but to others as well.
Theo took the stairs as quickly as he could. He knew where he was going, but he wasn’t going to think about it. For the first time since he’d gotten home, he didn’t care about his past or figuring out who he’d been. He wanted. He wanted something right now and that felt good.
She’d been right. There wasn’t a place for guilt here.
He strode up the stairs, her weight comforting in his arms. Yeah, he wasn’t going to think about that either. He was going to enjoy it, not wonder why his body remembered her when his mind would not.
“Hey, is everything okay?”
Damn it. Case was standing at the top of the stairs, obviously having come out of the privacy rooms. His wife was at his side, her face flushed. Mia had sex hair. Good for them. Red was about to have sex hair, too. Lots of filthy sex hair. “Everything’s great. Night.”
Case put a hand on his shoulder. “Whoa. I thought you were going to take this slow, brother.”
“If you don’t get your hand off him right this second, Taggart, I am going to ensure that you never have children,” Red said, her eyes narrowing on his brother. “You won’t be able to cock block anyone because you won’t have a damn cock. Am I clear?”
Case’s hands came up immediately as though he knew that tone and was not going there. “Trying to help.”
“Three is clean and has plenty of condoms. We’re taking a monitor turn up here. I checked all the rooms.” Mia grinned at him. She actually was helpful. “Have fun and we’ll see you at home.”
He didn’t bother to look back. Case could give him a lecture later. He wasn’t waiting anymore. He’d waited forever. Even when he couldn’t remember her face, he’d known she was there. He’d felt her, or rather he’d felt her absence.
Could he truly be with a woman whose name he couldn’t think without hurting her?
It didn’t matter. He wasn’t making those decisions tonight. He was enjoying her. His sub. He was bringing her pleasure and he probably should do a good job of it because his sub was fucking mean.
And fragile. He’d seen the moment she’d thought he was rejecting her. He’d watch her skin flush and her body start to turn in on itself. She was such a mix of strength and need. It was intoxicating. He wanted so badly to be the man who gave her what she needed.
Affection. Pleasure. Comfort.
Love—he wasn’t thinking that word tonight. Nope. Pleasure was way better.
He kicked out lightly at the partially open door number three. It looked like Mia had done her job. The room was perfectly clean, the lighting soft and romantic. The best thing about this room though was the complete lack of any of his friends or family being here.
It was him and her, and that was exactly what he wanted. No Ian. No Li. No Kai asking them hundreds of questions. Him and her and the night.
He tossed her on the bed and stood back, looking down at her. “Tell me why you thought I was rejecting you.”
The instant she hit the bed, she was up on her knees. So graceful. So deadly. What the hell was this woman like out in the field? She moved like a predator, but the look on her face was pure sarcasm. “Uhm, your words. That’s what sealed it for me. ‘I don’t want to do this’ is generally considered a rejection.”
Somehow she managed to put an unsaid “dumbass” on the end of her sentences. Not all of them. She’d been perfectly sweet most of the night, but she could turn it on when she wanted to. “I didn’t mean that. When I said the words, I watched you change. Why? You’re good at slapping people down. I wouldn’t have said that until today.”
“Because I’ve been careful around you,” she admitted.
“Why? You think I’m delicate?”
Her lips curled up. “I don’t think you’re delicate. I think I’m a lot to take, but I also am starting to believe I was wrong. You like me rough.”
“I like you a lot.” More than he could ever tell her.
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog int eh world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
