Prelude book to Adam, Marc and Damien's own books
Masters at Arms
by Kallypso Masters
Book Blurb:
Masters at Arms begins the journey of three men, each on a quest for honor, acceptance, and to ease his unspoken pain. Their paths cross at one of the darkest points in their lives. As they try to come to terms with the aftermath--forging an unbreakable bond--will they ever truly become masters of their own fates? Or would fate become masters of them? (Book One in the Rescue Me series about the men who own the Masters at Arms BDSM Club.)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is an introduction to the series, but does NOT have the Happily Ever After endings that will come in the next three romance novels in the series. Being the back-story that usually is not told in "real time," there are some intense themes in the book, including death of a spouse, incest, torture, a battle scene, and amputation.
OMG Fabulous. An autobuy to the next books.
I saw Masters at Arms for free on Amazon and I grabbed it. I saw all the fabulous ratings and moved it up on my TBR list. I am so glad I did because it was just fabulous. I didn't understand really what this book was all about so let me explain. Masters at Arms is basically a few small stories that are perfectly set up preludes to each of the male protagonist's own books. What a great marketing tool. As the reader you get the back stories of each US Marine and then you move on to their own books in order. Each of the men served with one another in combat and then remained friends after the war.
That's not to say that Masters at Arms is a short read at all. In fact, it was more lengthier than I had thought it would be. Or maybe it was because it was so damn good and I was provided such top notch stories, it just felt longer. Regardless, it was fabulous. What a deal for $0.00!
My favourite is the first story about Adam.
Adam has lost his wife to cancer so he already had the sympathy card going for him. He really loved his wife and he is overwhelmed with guilt since he was deployed for so much of his marriage. They did have a D/s relationship and the story really touches on how much he just misses and loved her.
He is about to give up on life when a 16 yr old runaway drops on his lap and he can't resist but to protect her.
So, Adam had me for loving his wife so much, missing her desperately and now he can't help himself but step into a hero role. It was adorable seeing Karla (the runaway) hero worship Adam. There is a huge age difference here but as the reader you understand that nothing is going to happen between them for years to come. I am most anticipating their book, Nobody's Hero.
Next story is Damian's book. I did get confused because he is referred to as Damian and then other times he is referred by his last name, Orlando. And to just to further add into the confusion, he apparently looks like Orlando Bloom.
The love interest in this story is so heart wrenching. Savannah is slave to her own father and he prostitutes her out to sadists. Her story is not for the weak of heart.
I am really looking forward to some happily ever after in their book, Nobody's Perfect. The story provided in Masters at Arms did not leave off in a good place for them.
Marc is the other character but I didn't really find him very interesting. I didn't really connect with his story as much as the others and his book, Nobody's Angel is up first. I kind of want to go by it but I am a stickler for reading books in order so I will go there first. I am sure that I will love it because this package deal of Masters at Arms really got to me.
So what else to you want to know? Yes there is sex, and it is good but Masters at Arms is way more than an erotic novel. The intimates scenes are really secondary to me in this story. There was no sex in the first story, just puppy love. There was hard core BDSM in the second story and then just a bit in the third story. Once the men became friends there may have been a scene or two but I don't really recall since it was not central.
Teasers: Prepare to want to purchase the next books, cliff hangers all around, Masters at Arms is a fetish club
Oh, my, Michelle! Thanks so much for posting on my blog and guiding me over here to read your review. I'm so glad you found Masters at Arms--and enjoyed it so much.
ReplyDeleteAnd you will NOT be disappointed in reading Marc's story next. First of all, Marc is probably the most complex man I've ever written about. I'm not sure WHEN I'll have him figured out, because he continues to surprise me. (Just wait till you read about him and Angelina in Nobody's Perfect, due out later this month.)
But if you had skipped it, you also would have missed a LOT more of Adam and Karla. I don't write Harlequins. These are hefty novels (116,000 to 139,000 words for the second and third ones--and that intro WAS longer than some novels, at 58,000 words). They're like mainstream novels, with secondary plots about equally strong characters.
Besides that, the lives of the three owners of the Masters at Arms Club are very intertwined and there is no way to tell the story of one without mentioning what's happening with the others.
I also write my series much like a serial. There will be cliffhangers, happy endings, and, eventually, happily ever afters for each couple as the series continues, but that doesn't mean they won't still have issues to work through in subsequent stories (case in point: Marc and Angelina in Perfect). I've been married 29 years. I know happily ever after is just the beginning--then the real work begins.
I plan eight books in the series at this point through 2013 (and then a spinoff series with Angelina's four brothers in 2014 and 2015). So, please keep reading! There is much more to come!
And I'll keep editing so this book can be released next week, in case you catch up quickly!
Kally
kallypsomasters.com
Yay!!! I absolutely love your series! I am very happy to hear that there will be many more books including a spin-off! Woohoo! :)
DeleteMy pleasure Kallypso! Thank you so much for stopping by. I did get Marc's book and his story is up on deck. I would not want to read the stories out of order or miss any Adam. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat? A free book AND it's awesome? Don't you love it when that happens! I've been looking for more BDSM books to read since the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy reeled me in. Maybe I'll check this one out, thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteAwesome review!! I love this series! I have read all of them and enjoyed each character's story as they are all different but intertwine. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts.