Casee‘s review of Sweet Restraint by Beth Kery.
Chicago Special Agent Shane Dominic was in love with Laura Vasquez until the day she left him and married another man. Thirteen years may have passed, but Laura’s never disappeared from his fantasies, or destroyed his desire to learn the truth about why she left him. When Laura’s husband, the criminal mastermind behind an international ring of thieves, is murdered, Shane knows this is his one last desperate chance to learn Laura’s secrets. And he’s not above using their scorching hot passion to do it.
Given how much I loved Daring Time and Wicked Burn, I expected to love this book. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. Sometimes, when my expectations are high, I’m disappointed far more easy. That didn’t happen here. This book just wasn’t my cuppa.
When Shane and Laura reunite after Laura’s husband dies, Shane decides that it’s past time to find out Laura’s secrets. Secrets such as why she married the scumbag she did and how she could possibly degrade herself enough to be his sex toy. Shane believes that Laura is the key to unraveling the corruption in the Chicago Police Department. As the agent in charge of the investigation, Shane considers it his responsibility to get Laura to spill.
I have no problem with D/s storylines. And it wasn’t the D/s part of the book that I didn’t like. It was how Shane justified dominating Laura that bothered me. He told himself that the only way that he would get her to tell him her secrets was if he showed her that she could trust him completely. He was absolutely sure that she was submissive, but it’s murky on why he would think that. He thought he knew her so well, but it was clear that he didn’t.
Laura has loved Shane for years. The hardest thing she ever had to do was leave him and marry Huey Mays. But she had her reasons; reasons that Shane will never get out of her, no matter how much she loves him. When he basically kidnaps her and takes her up to a remote cabin, Laura is afraid that he’ll take everything from her and nothing will be left. She knows he wants her to trust him and she does, but his safety comes first.
I just didn’t connect with the characters or the story like I did it Sweet Restraint and Daring Time. Then the way everything was wrapped up just seemed too unbelievable, especially the way that Laura’s uncle ended up being involved in her situation. This won’t be my last Beth Kery book, but it’s definitely not a favorite.
3 out of 5.
This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I have to agree with your rating, there was so much hype about this book, and although I do enjoy the BDSM books I felt this story was a bit of a yawn to me. I struggled through it!