Handsome tycoon, a contract, some kink. If you enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey then you'll probably enjoy this book. Then again, you may hate this book because you'll quickly realize that you are reading the same story. Okay, to be fair there are a few slight differences in the two. I found the main character, Mia, a little more likable because she has a bit more of a backbone, and her lover/master doesn't come with quite so much baggage. The story is pretty predictable, but there was one major scene towards the end of the book that took me by surprise and was phone-a-friend worthy.

This book isn't deep. The characters don't try to justify their choices with a lot of internal dialogue. The sex scenes outnumber plot twists. The story seems to wrap up neatly at the end of the book (even though it is the first of a trilogy). This might make a good beach read, but to paraphrase C & C Music Factory, it's a thing that made me go, "Meh..."

Yes, it's a FSOG rip, but this 1st book of the trilogy holds its' own. Each of the three books focuses on a powerful man and his relationship.

Definitely sexy and moves at a good pace (although it gets a little FSOG wordy towards the end). I hurried up on this one because I'm really here for Book 2 - can't wait to start it!

I think that she trusted him wayyyyy too fast after the sexual assault, but maybe I’m expecting too much realism from a sex contract book.

No.

Read this as a book club book and it was something...

I wasn't too sure what to expect from this one, especially since I didn't read the back cover. I knew it was a brother's best friend/age gap romance, and I knew there would be some spice. I liked going in to this book blind so I could take some satisfaction away from the twists and conflicts. It was an easy read, I finished it in a day.

While I found some parts enjoyable, I had a tough time accepting some things. I know this book was published in 2013, so the reference to low-rise sequined jeans didn't phase me (but I did cringe, lemme tell ya). The beginning of the book just feels rush. There was almost no buildup to Mia agreeing to be Gabe's "assistant." And on that note, the contract?! You have someone who is seasoned in this type of relationship and another who is so inexperienced it's a miracle they signed. It was a literal deal with the devil.

I had a huge problem with the main, conflict scene. HUGE problem with it. Without spoiling the details of it, it was nearly enough to make me stop reading. There was no conversation about consent, permission, or comfortability about what happened. It was an unconsented punishment where Gabe abused his power with that terrible contract and Mia didn't voice her concerns with what was happening out of hear of disappointing him. So OF COURSE it goes wrong!!

I think this is just one of those books that simply doesn't age well. But I'll rate it overall and the conversation starters it had for my bookclub.

It was so weird. Gabe was a cunt and was terrible to Mia. I felt like the book was just normalising rape and sexual abuse. So a big NO for me

did not finish. can't get past man wanting to "own and control" the woman. also, just not good writing. Author does not use a variety of descriptors for parts of book, but uses the same wording over and over.

I really enjoyed this book. It's been a while since I've sat down and read a book in one sitting. It just hooked me from page one and the next thing I knew, I was closing on the last 396th page and wishing I'd brought the companion books in this trilogy with me. The story pulled me in and I loved the characters. This is largely a book of emotional growth and the development of character relationships and it was quite amazing to look back at the beginning of the book to the characters then and see how they've changed. Plus, the sexy scenes were quite steamy and I really enjoyed that. There was depth to this story, though, and it wasn't just about the sex. I found myself caring more about the characters and the plot than those steamy scenes which sometimes doesn't happen in romance novels. There were a few things that through me for a loop but overall I really enjoyed this book. I think an important point to make is that it is a story heavy on bdsm elements, so people are going to automatically compare this to Fifty Shades of Grey and I just have one thing to say about that: Fifty Shades of Grey romanticizes abuse and that trash book only wishes it could be as representative of bdsm culture and as well-written as this book. Overall, I just really liked this book and thought that it was so much better than some other kink heavy books I've read in the past.