spends a bit of time on the previous couples of Ricki and Axel along with Gwen and Mal but the focus is really on one of the employees of the exclusive private sex club that the Hamilton sisters run, Madison, and the drummer from The Rough, Chino.Madison and Chino are a bit older than the previous characters and their internal dialogues as well as their actions show more maturity. They are still young by my standards, just approaching 30. Both of them have something that bothers them about their past and those pasts are something that many readers will be able to relate to. Chino's is a patriarchal conservative stepfather whom he is estranged from because of the stepfather's abusive attitude and behavior. Sadly that is something that many people in all roles of kink can relate to personally.
Cecilia Tan uses Chino's past to deal with some real life problems that aren't about kink at all: domestic abuse. Her afterword confirms that the information she has Madison give out to Chino's mother and sister are real, they can be used if you, the reader, or someone you know needs help. While that subject is a sizable part of the second half of the book it flows pretty naturally as Madison and Chino's relationship develops.
Madison's issue seem to be more about the negative feedback she's gotten in past relationships where she's bottomed or subbed.This can happen because too many folks can't separate fantasy from reality, the ideal from a real person. Couple that with her secret need to be approved of and the terms they decide to use in their relationship make sense but I'm not going to spoil the book by telling you what those are.
Without spoiling the plot I do want to make you all aware of some kinks that happen in this books because they might turn you on or off. The SM parts of the book are middle of the road, between what we got in Taking the Lead (Secrets of a Rock Star)
and in Taking the Lead (Secrets of a Rock Star). There is more exhibition in this book but it primarily confined to a private party setting. Lots of sex toys because Madison takes a job reviewing them. Gay and lesbian couples just not our main characters who become monogamous. This book also deals with a lot more kink relationships styles than the first two books did including pet/owner, child/parent, slave/owner, and competitive switches. Of course the sex is explicit and hot.Even though the books can be read solo, the order does continue an overarching plot. The Hamiltons have inherited a secret sex club but as with many secret, eventually they come out particularly when power and wealth a factor. Madison tips off the Hamilton sisters and they address a threat to their club in smart and calculated ways emphasizing that even if each woman in this series feels best on her knees before a hot man, she is still a powerful force to be reckoned with. The trio of bandmates also come together during this novel to help out the sisters but also Chino as he struggles to be supportive of his abused mother and sister while not striping them of their power to determine their own lives.
The emotional complexity of all of the relationships and situations in this novel feel real, feel engaging. I was pulled far more into Chino and Madison life than I was with the main characters of the other two books of this series. I think Cecilia Tan saved the best for last in the series.
No comments:
Post a Comment