Review and Giveaway: Dangerously Bound

Dangerously Bound (Dangerous - Book 1) by Eden Bradley

Publication Date: 04/01/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Books
Genre: Erotic Contemporary
Pages: 320
ISBN-10: 0425269620
ISBN-13: 978-0425269626

(Received for an honest review from Berkley Books)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Indiebound

Eden Bradley on the WEB: website, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Excerpt from, Dangerously Bound, courtesy of Amazon's Look Inside feature.

Synopsis:

She can whip up something sweet…
 
Allie LeClair has finally returned to the sultry city of New Orleans. After ten years of studying and working as a pastry chef in San Francisco and all over Europe—and feeding her submissive side at BDSM clubs—Allie is home, and she has something to prove to the man who once fueled her desires. She’s not a child anymore.
 
But with two in the kitchen…
 
When security specialist Mick Reid hears that Allie is back in town, he knows he won’t be able to stay away for long. Ever since he discovered his darker side, Mick has tried to protect Allie from the aggressive beast within him—but that power and wildness is exactly what she wants.
 
Can they take the heat?
 
Allie has made the first move, but now it’s up to Mick. The game has begun, and playing has never been so rough.

Thoughts:

Eden Bradley brings readers the first book in her new Dangerous series, Dangerously Bound. The New Orleans setting and a BDSM club provide the background for the series. The first book focuses on a second chance love story between a couple with some serious history. He has a hard time curbing his more dominate sexual needs and she isn't the fragile girl she once was. Mick and Allie have a sizzling chemistry together and their play includes ropes and teeth, yep... teeth. Interesting new book, from a respected name in the genre.

What I liked:

Eden Bradley isn't new to erotic romance, but this new series is something new for readers. I loved the New Orleans setting. It's a very vibrant city with a lot of history and I was happy to see that Bradley took the time to make it come alive to readers. Often in erotic romance, the emphasis is on the sexual exploits of the characters, not the scenery. But I like a book with atmosphere and this one really had that. As a reader I felt like I was a part of the city and even the club. Bradley does a fantastic job with giving this book a tone that is hard to describe.

Readers are introduced to two characters who have a past together. Allie was a young girl when Mick broke her heart and left her alone after a night of unprecedented passion. Mick had always treated Allie like a delicate flower until that fateful night, when his emotions got away from him and his dark inner passions took over. Now years later, she isn't a little girl anymore. Allie was an interesting character. She has traveled the world as a pastry chef and as a submissive. She got a taste of the lifestyle with Mick that night, and it changed her. I liked the fact that she didn't give up on what she wanted. She went to clubs, she explored and she became a woman, who understood her own desires. That made her a great heroine for this book. Bradley did a great job with her.

Now Allie has returned to New Orleans for good and for Mick. But a lot has happened in the interim and Mick has some serious demons of his own to face. He is an experienced Dom now, knowing and understanding his own needs, but he has never forgotten the passion he shared with Allie. His dreams have literally gone up in smoke, and he hasn't become the man he wanted to be. He can't follow in the footsteps of his family and motorcycle accident has left him with scars Allie can see and some she can't. I had a little bit of a hard time, seeing Mick as a tortured hero. I understood his desperation at not being the man he wanted to be, but eventually the strong move on. And I felt like he would have been a much more believable hero had he left that in the past. Yes, he was still going to be reminded of it, but it didn't have to rule his life.

These two together were a very hot ticket. Mick has penchant for rope play and for using his teeth. He's a biter not a nipper and some people like to straddle that fine line between pleasure and pain. To some this might seem a bit harsh, but those who like a little sting in their play will find this right up their ally. I loved the ropes and the way that Bradley used them in this book. She's either done her homework or is a fan of this kind of kink because she knew what she was talking about in the way Mick used those ropes and how Allie responded to them. But Mick was more than a one trick pony and I would have liked to see a little more than just rope play. It was good, but got a little repetitive. 

What I didn't like:

I felt like the hero could have been so much more. He had the potential but he kind of fell flat in some ways. The chemistry was definitely there between him and the heroine, but he needed to get over himself a little bit and sink or swim. There was a bit too much push and pull, but still an overall good read.

Bottom Line:

This one was good, but could have been a whole lot better. I wanted a hero with more strength and fortitude. He had some demons in his past, but he needed to prove that he could get past them and it took him a little too long to do it. Still a good book!

Dangerously Bound is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author Eden Bradley writes dark, edgy erotica and erotic romance for Bantam/Delta, Harlequin Spice and HQN, Berkley Heat (as both Eden Bradley and Eve Berlin), and Samhain Publishing. Two of her books have been Romantic Times Top Picks, and her novel FORBIDDEN FRUIT was profiled in Cosmopolitan Magazine's Red Hot Reads column in 2008. More recently her BDSM book THE DARK GARDEN hit the top paperback fiction charts in the UK.

As someone who has been involved in BDSM practice for much of her adult life, she relates in particular to her BDSM and kink stories, infusing them with her own truth about kink practice from her life experiences.

Eden has appeared regularly on Playboy Radio's 'Night Calls' and the Hollywood In the Flesh readings. She loves art, shoes, tattoos, reading smutty books, chocolate and sex, of course, not necessarily in that order.

You can visit her websites: www.EdenBradley.com or her group blog www.Smutketeers.com .

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Dangerously Bound by Eden Bradley.

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, May 14th.

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