Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Sanyam Desai is a Dom, a master of his craft. He knows exactly how to make a person beg, and he does it for a living, but he has no idea how to be in love.

Sterling Reynard is in desperate need of manners and someone who cares enough to take him in hand, but he knows he’ll never be loved.

When Sterling’s world crumbles around him, he turns to the one person who’s never asked for anything from him but his trust. But their relationship is built on quicksand, and one careless word will bring the whole thing down.

First edition published under the series name Mended Hearts by Dreamspinner Press, July 2018.

Book Review

This is the story of two men who meet and fall in love against all odds, contrary to their expectations, almost against their will, and without having the slightest idea what they are doing. Both are lonely and wish they could find someone to love who will love them back. In line with the first book in this series, ‘Broken Halo’, the characters are unusual, complicated, and took me on quite a journey as they fumble their way through a relationship that falls apart more than once. Sterling thinks nobody could possibly love him, while Sanyam thinks he knows what he is doing, but nothing works the way he expects with Sterling. A true challenge to themselves and each other, I found their journey as exasperating as it was fascinating – with the result that I was unable to put down this book.

Sterling is not a nice guy: he is grumpy, rude, selfish, spoilt, and I wanted to shake him to awareness about what he was doing to himself and others more than once. But then the reasons why he is the way he is began to emerge, and my heart broke for him. To have survived the decades of emotional abuse heaped on him by a cold, moneygrubbing father and a cruel mother, Sterling had to be super strong and extremely resilient. At his core, he is a caring, loving man with a lot of artistic talent, but he has been taught not to show emotions because they make him “weak”. He has internalized the abuse to the point that he does not respect himself, can’t accept who he is, and truly believes he is useless and nobody could possibly ever love him.

Sanyam is a confident, professional Dom who is in control of himself and those he works with. He thinks he knows best (and usually he does), but as much as Sterling needs his direction, Sanyam has a tendency to take things too far – never in the bedroom or during a scene, but his need to control can come across as overbearing in daily life. He falls for Sterling before he knows what hit him, but he has trouble expressing his feelings, and creating the intimacy he craves only pushes Sterling away. It is a good think that he is patient and not one to give up easily!

Sterling and Sanyam need to build trust and doing that in their increasingly hot scenes is not much of an issue. Sterling craves what Sanyam can give him, and he never fears that Sanyam will take it too far. But really opening up while he despises himself is not easy, and the fear that Sanyam will run screaming when he sees the “real” Sterling is stifling. Overcoming these emotional obstacles is a roller coaster of ups and downs and I wasn’t sure they’d make it until the very end.

If you like BDSM stories with an experienced Dom and a novice sub who both have a lot to learn about trust and intimacy, if you are intrigued by two men who are ideal for each other if they could only see it, and if you’re looking for a read that is a rocky journey for both participants, then you will probably like this novel.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 275 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	06-December-2019
Price	$4.99 ebook, $8.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Rules-Beloved-Scars-Book-ebook/dp/B081V4S61V