Tara (Cherry) and Logan's book
Belong to Me (Wicked Lovers book 5)
By Shayla Black
Book Blurb:
When FBI analyst Tara Jacobs's fellow agent and best friend goes missing while investigating a sex ring, Tara goes undercover as a submissive in a BDSM club. But no man can top a woman like Tara-until a dangerous Dom takes control of the scene and sets her heart racing. Too bad he's also the man who stole her innocence years ago-and one to whom she'll never submit. But Navy SEAL Logan Edgington knows he alone can protect her-and this time he'll never let her go...
The Wicked Series starts off so, well wicked. Wicked Ties (book 1) remains my favourite but it seems as this series goes on, I seem to either be losing interest or the series is fizzling out for me. In Belong to Me not only does the completely predictable villain reveal itself almost immediately, I was struggling to be interested in Logan and Cherry.
Let me give you a brief synopsis of Logan and share my frustration. He is Navy Seal, Dom man completely pussy whipped since 16 yrs old as we are to believe that the three month encounter in his teens he experienced with Cherry, had him so lost in love that he chose to lead a celibate life, tattoo'd his body with undying love for Cherry while he became a regular DOM paddling and whipping subs into shape at a BDSM club. Yeah right.
Then there is Cherry. She is now an FBI agent and everyone keeps telling her she is submissive. She is still hurt from Logan breaking up with her right after losing her virginity at 16. Her emotional yo yo personality had me dizzy. She's strong, she's weak. She's submissive, she's a leader. She's tough when she ends an engagement abruptly yet she weak hanging onto unreasonable feelings from her teen years. I yi yi yi.
Logan was to be a Dom yet he constantly had to remind Cherry of that fact. My feeling is if a man is Dom, the last thing he needs to do is constantly remind his sub that he is a Dom. Then on the flip side, Cherry keeps being told she is a sub yet she rarely displays a sub personality. She liked the little bit of bondage Logan introduced to her but that is pretty much where I saw her submissive side displayed and end. At most I see Cherry enjoying a little bit of play in relationship but I can't see her living that lifestyle. I just felt like it was a battle of wits on continuous play.
I was so disappointed with the suspense mystery part of the plot. I kept hoping that the hints that Shayla Black obviously placed were to throw the reader off track and we would be blown away at the end. Not so.
I liked the idea of the FBI sex ring plot. I thought it was a really great idea to have FBI agents to go undercover to bust up a brutal slavery ring. The descriptions of what was occurring sent shivers up my spine and I felt the desperation Cherry felt while anxious to get in there and rescue her dear friend and fellow FBI agent. It was a risky task and I did admire her for taking on that challenge.
Once Cherry softened up in Belong to Me, I thought the sex scenes were steamy and hot. Logan was on edge constantly as he was suffering from being so in love (over the top in love) and wanting to train her in preparation for the mission. The erotic aspect of book was really well done.
Teasers: Romeo, dungeon, Xander, toys
The sex scenes were always strong in this series, but I stopped after the third. Actually I never read the first book. So I suppose I should say I read book two and three and wasn't sold to I stopped. Sounds like this one wasn't overly amazing either. :(
ReplyDeleteDear MichelleK,
ReplyDeleteYou are obviously thoroghly confused by the ideas in the Wicked Lovers series. if you have not yet noticed the nature of the male characters in these series, then you have seriously been misunderstanding them. Logan has a depth to him that you are bypassing for the obvious. Love does not need time or has specific guidlines, which is what Shayla Black is trying to show, BDSM being a clue there. While, yes he is repeating that he is a Dom, not because he cannot show it, but because he is training a very unyielding sub, not because she is not submissive, but because she is resisting it - an occuring theme in her books. The yo yo personality is there because of her resistance to her nature and she is still yo yoing by the end because it is showing how BDSM and her normally fiery nature can work together.
And yes, she is enjoying it, but you are looking at this too much at the surface. She is resisting BDSM, because of the hurt she feels from the man, but her reactions shows she is not resisting physically to his actions.
Finally, look at your own hypocracy... "She is strong, she is weak. She's submissive, she's a leader" showing your distaste of her and then "I admire her for taking on that challenge"
Shayla Black is once again amazing here...
Dear Anonymous commenter,
ReplyDeleteMostly I just want to say thank you for being such a passionate fan of Shayla Black. She deserves it. She is one of my favourite writers. I just didn't care for this particular book.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.