Breaking Free (Guarded 2) by Cat Grant at Cat Grant Books
| Genre | Gay / Trans* / Contemporary / BDSM / Erotic Romance |
| Reviewed by | Christy Duke on 05-August-2014 |
| Genre | Gay / Trans* / Contemporary / BDSM / Erotic Romance |
| Reviewed by | Christy Duke on 05-August-2014 |
Richard Carr has the kind of life most people would envy. Partner in a major Los Angeles law firm, married to the man of his dreams, Richard seems to have it made – except for the lie he’s been living for the past forty-odd years.
On special nights, in the company of kinky friends, Richard disappears inside Renee, his sexy, dominatrix alter-ego. Strong, sassy and flirtatious in her red and black corset, Renee is who Richard truly is on the inside – and who he longs to be outside of the dungeon.
But starting his – her – transition doesn’t provide the relief Renee had hoped for. Her business partners demand that she go back to dressing as a man at the office, while Robert, her husband and fellow Dominant, can’t conceal his shock as the man he married disappears a little bit more every day.
Their one true point of connection remains in the dungeon – in the person of Jase Hewitt, the submissive they both share. But when a devastating tragedy shatters Jase and sends him running to his Masters for comfort, it quickly becomes apparent that Robert’s love for Jase extends far beyond their Dom/sub roles…
And Renee faces a choice – abandon her journey toward becoming the person she truly is inside, or risk losing the man she loves.
"The way I was dressed now didn't feel like a costume. It felt like me….
For the first time, I saw myself the way I'd always imagined. No more conservative suits, or silk ties that strangled me. No stubbly shadow darkening my cheeks. Nothing to make that voice in my head scream, Impostor!"
I first met Renee and Robert in 'Guarded', and now in 'Breaking Free' I was getting the pleasure of their story and, also, some of the background on Jase who was one of the main characters in 'Guarded'. I'll freely admit that as a psych major, the concept of being born in the body of the wrong gender doesn't strike me as odd, or strange, or unusual. I think it must be a prison for the individual and I can't begin to imagine how it must feel to look in the mirror and hate what you see. So you can imagine that my heart went out to Renee, right from the beginning.
Renee and Robert have been together for ten years, and Robert knows the difficulties Renee has always had as Richard. Robert knows her thoughts and her dreams and, in fact, it was Robert's suggestion that Renee dress in the feminine fetish wear for their sessions as a way to let some of the tension out. Unfortunately, it just reminded Renee that being a woman is who she really is and it's time to let her outside match her inside. Easier said than done, however. Robert tries to be supportive and understanding, but this is difficult for him, also.
Renee's partners at her law firm are less understanding and problems arise there even though Renee is their chief litigator. When the partners insist that Renee must return to wearing Richard's clothes into the office, Renee resigns and takes her clients with her, opening her own firm, out of her house for now. Luckily for Renee, her best friend, Mel, comes with her too as her paralegal, and they snap up another employee for the firm who got fired for being loyal to Renee. Yeah, her partners are transphobic bigots.
Renee's hopes that it'll just take time for Robert to acclimate to the changes begins to fade as their marriage becomes more and more fraught with tension and upset. The final betrayal, in Renee's eyes, is seeing Robert in a scene with Jase and realizing that Robert is in love with Jase. Jase makes it very clear to Robert that he loves him as his Master, his mentor, and his friend, but that's as far as it goes. Renee lets Robert know, in no uncertain terms, that she's going to continue with her transition and he can either get on board or go away. I really loved her! She had such amazing strength, power, and will.
I absolutely loved this book, even more than I thought I would. Both Renee and Robert were amazing characters with so much depth that it was impossible not to root for them and want to see their happy ending. The glimpses of Jace and getting the background on his story with Eric was something I didn't realize I needed, until I got it. This is a beautiful story and one I could only hope every single transgendered person could have. Thank you, Cat, I think you did a wonderful job!
DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.
| Format | ebook |
| Length | Novel, 60000 words |
| Heat Level | |
| Publication Date | 09-July-2014 |
| Price | $4.99 ebook |
| Buy Link | https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breakingfree-1562559-354.html |