From what I understand, this is Mari Carr's first published piece and frankly, it kind of reads that way. I liked the two main characters and enjoyed their connection, plus there were some places with decent chemistry and sizzle. Overall though, it all felt very inconsistent. At some points Ross seems very alpha, at others we're told he's alpha but really see no evidence of that.The beginning of their sexual relationship felt a little awkward, with them running hot and cold and bouncing around back and forth on what they understand their relationship to be. The whole thing felt choppy, the love scenes short, jumping from one to another, then skipping a few days, etc. There were only a few lines in each scene that started to make me feel hot and bothered, and then it would sizzle away. It sometimes seemed like the ingredients were there, but for some reason they didn't come together as they should and it ended up feeling ... flat.One *HUGE* complaint I have: They start off almost at the beginning with role-playing - and role-playing in which Julia is a captive or sex slave, i.e. she's supposed to be somewhat resisting. While resistance is not a big part of the role-playing, it's still present, so I found it extremely disturbing that there was no safe word and they didn't lay down any rules or understandings beforehand.As I said before, I liked Julia and Ross and really enjoyed their friendship and the dialogue back-and-forth between them. I think the story could have turned out far better if that part had been more heavily explored and the sexual component of their relationship slowly integrated in. A really fantastic example of this that I read recently was Claire Matthews'Intimate Friends. That novella is even shorter, so the length constraint is greater and they start sleeping together pretty early on, however it felt much smoother and worked far better than in this case.ROMANCE NOVELLA RECOMMENDATIONS:*Intimate Friendsby Claire Matthews (4.5 stars)*Hearts In Darknessby Laura Kaye (4.5 stars)*Willing Victimby Cara McKenna (4 stars)
books reviews