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ntdan's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Overall content: 3/4
Character portrayal: 3/4
Interpersonal chemistry: 3/4
Creative innovation: 3/4
Writing style: 3/4
Personal enjoyment: 4/4
Total: 19, translates to 4.25 stars
Character portrayal: 3/4
Interpersonal chemistry: 3/4
Creative innovation: 3/4
Writing style: 3/4
Personal enjoyment: 4/4
Total: 19, translates to 4.25 stars
raynebair's review against another edition
4.0
Great story. Loved Joel Leslie's narration. I loved seeing some of the guys from Collars and Cuffs make an appearance.
blue_noise's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
librobi's review
3.0
Avrei fatto a meno di certe parti a volte ripetitive e avrei accentuato altre che per me potevano essere interessanti, ma nel totale ho apprezzato molto il libro. Ho iniziato la serie con grandi aspettative avendo letto collars and cuffs. Non mi sta deludendo ma non è al livello della prima.
kumabear's review
5.0
so i apparently have a thing for broken boys. this reminded me of another of my favorite books and this has to be my favorite of all her books
the_novel_approach's review
4.0
This is book two in the Secrets series from KC Wells. The Secrets series is a spinoff from her wildly popular Collars and Cuffs series, and has crossover characters from the original. In this book two, we get cameos from the very first Collars and Cuffs couple, Leo and Alex.
Rob Daniels is a mess, torn between who he is, who he used to be, and who he wants to be. If you read the book An Unlocked Heart (Collars and Cuffs #1), you will remember Rob and how he treated his brother Alex in that book. For some reason, the authors thought that Rob needed redeeming, and that we as readers needed to see more of his character and understand his motivations. I’ll be honest here, didn’t think they could do it … but they did. While this is a standalone in the Secrets series, you may want to read An Unlocked Heart first, just so you know how far Rob has to come to be redeemed. But true to Wells’ and Williams’ storytelling, we get a picture of a Rob that has hidden depths and is a highly complicated, conflicted man—a victim of his upbringing and circumstance, but willing to admit to his sins. This book will go down, undoubtedly, as one of my favorites in this new series because I enjoy a storyline that has characterizations which push the plot forward, and this one has that in spades.
Rob Daniels hates himself. The hate he spews on those around him stems from the level of self-loathing he heaps on himself. He wants, oh, how he wants what his brother found. A home, friends, a family. But he knows he doesn’t deserve those things. Not with the way he has acted, the things he has said, the people he has hung around with. Rob will break your heart. He’s literally hanging onto life with his fingernails. He’s lost. So, he begins looking for what Alex found in one of the places that Alex found it—a BDSM club. He longs to just let it all go: the hate, the recriminations, the internal rebuke. But he has to get over himself first, to allow himself to have it.
Vic Prentiss is a well of patience. He practices it and searches for inner peace regularly. He’s a landscape designer who finds his solace in plants, the earth and the outdoors. Vic has also been a student of human nature; it’s what makes him such a good dom. He likes to know what makes a man tick, what his motivations are for his actions, and why a man will react to stimuli the way he does. Running into Rob at Secrets, literally, he’s concerned about the man and can see the inner turmoil behind Rob’s eyes. Getting to the bottom of what is eating away at Rob takes every bit of patience Vic has, and then some. Vic is the yin to Rob’s yang. Vic almost tends to Rob like he does his plants, letting the man grow and helping him to find his own inner strength. Vic understands that Rob has to love himself first, and for Rob, that could be next to impossible.
I do wish that the story could have moved forward in time just a hair. We don’t get a lot of the BDSM elements in this storyline besides the sensory deprivation that Vic puts Rob under. But we keep hearing from Vic about all the different things he wants to do with Rob in the future, and I wish I could have been a part of that. I also had a niggle about Jarod. Why, when Rob was mentioning making a subs club, did he act like he had never heard of one when he was a part of all those puppy piles at Collars & Cuffs? Hmmm? This series is gearing up to cover some pretty heady topics just like the other series did. The “unlocking” of Rob’s mind, and his journey, is an emotional one. Rob does end up redeemed, and he and Vic find their way to their own HEA.
I loved the cover on this book. Kudos to Reese Dante once again for a spot-on illustration mirroring the content of the novel. The pacing is a little slow on this one, but it worked with the storyline and how much introspection is involved in Rob’s journey.
I definitely recommend this installment in the new Secrets series, and can’t wait for the next one. I’m enjoying seeing old friends and experiencing how they intertwine with new ones!
Reviewed by Carrie for The Novel Approach
Rob Daniels is a mess, torn between who he is, who he used to be, and who he wants to be. If you read the book An Unlocked Heart (Collars and Cuffs #1), you will remember Rob and how he treated his brother Alex in that book. For some reason, the authors thought that Rob needed redeeming, and that we as readers needed to see more of his character and understand his motivations. I’ll be honest here, didn’t think they could do it … but they did. While this is a standalone in the Secrets series, you may want to read An Unlocked Heart first, just so you know how far Rob has to come to be redeemed. But true to Wells’ and Williams’ storytelling, we get a picture of a Rob that has hidden depths and is a highly complicated, conflicted man—a victim of his upbringing and circumstance, but willing to admit to his sins. This book will go down, undoubtedly, as one of my favorites in this new series because I enjoy a storyline that has characterizations which push the plot forward, and this one has that in spades.
Rob Daniels hates himself. The hate he spews on those around him stems from the level of self-loathing he heaps on himself. He wants, oh, how he wants what his brother found. A home, friends, a family. But he knows he doesn’t deserve those things. Not with the way he has acted, the things he has said, the people he has hung around with. Rob will break your heart. He’s literally hanging onto life with his fingernails. He’s lost. So, he begins looking for what Alex found in one of the places that Alex found it—a BDSM club. He longs to just let it all go: the hate, the recriminations, the internal rebuke. But he has to get over himself first, to allow himself to have it.
Vic Prentiss is a well of patience. He practices it and searches for inner peace regularly. He’s a landscape designer who finds his solace in plants, the earth and the outdoors. Vic has also been a student of human nature; it’s what makes him such a good dom. He likes to know what makes a man tick, what his motivations are for his actions, and why a man will react to stimuli the way he does. Running into Rob at Secrets, literally, he’s concerned about the man and can see the inner turmoil behind Rob’s eyes. Getting to the bottom of what is eating away at Rob takes every bit of patience Vic has, and then some. Vic is the yin to Rob’s yang. Vic almost tends to Rob like he does his plants, letting the man grow and helping him to find his own inner strength. Vic understands that Rob has to love himself first, and for Rob, that could be next to impossible.
I do wish that the story could have moved forward in time just a hair. We don’t get a lot of the BDSM elements in this storyline besides the sensory deprivation that Vic puts Rob under. But we keep hearing from Vic about all the different things he wants to do with Rob in the future, and I wish I could have been a part of that. I also had a niggle about Jarod. Why, when Rob was mentioning making a subs club, did he act like he had never heard of one when he was a part of all those puppy piles at Collars & Cuffs? Hmmm? This series is gearing up to cover some pretty heady topics just like the other series did. The “unlocking” of Rob’s mind, and his journey, is an emotional one. Rob does end up redeemed, and he and Vic find their way to their own HEA.
I loved the cover on this book. Kudos to Reese Dante once again for a spot-on illustration mirroring the content of the novel. The pacing is a little slow on this one, but it worked with the storyline and how much introspection is involved in Rob’s journey.
There was that frisson of fear again, but this time interlaced with overwhelming sadness. “You… I just… I’m sorry, okay? You don’t have to be nice to me. After what I did, I don’t deserve it.”
Vic didn’t loosen his grip. He tugged Rob closer, then said softly, “Sometimes those who feel they don’t deserve something are the ones who need it the most.”
I definitely recommend this installment in the new Secrets series, and can’t wait for the next one. I’m enjoying seeing old friends and experiencing how they intertwine with new ones!
Reviewed by Carrie for The Novel Approach
karentje's review
5.0
The Secrets series soars to new heights with this one and to me it really stands out from the other books in the Collars and Cuffs & Secrets universe. I enjoyed reading all the books in these two series, but a couple of them resonated with me more than others and An Unlocked Mind is absolutely joining Dom of Ages at the top of my list.
Rob makes for a very unlikely sub with his cocky attitude, which he never loses, and that’s definitely part of why I adore him so much. The vulnerability he hides behind his bravado and the guilt he struggles with for how he treated his brother tugged at my heartstrings so much. I love the way Rob grows throughout this story, trying so hard to redeem himself, though sometimes stumbling along the way. I’m a sucker for redemption stories, especially of characters who messed up for MC’s from previous books in a series, so Rob was an unexpected treat for me!
Vic is the perfect match for Rob and at times almost too amazing and insightful. I loved seeing such a strong and outwardly tough looking guy be so caring and gentle, oh the magic of a Dom written exactly right. He’s there for Rob even when they barely know each other (or even like each other yet), no strings attached. I also adored him for not being too hung up on “the way things are usually done” and being open to it when Robs steps up to steer their relationship forward. The only thing that could have made this better for me was if Vic had also had a bit more of a growth arc himself. Apart from his love for Rob, he’s pretty much the same guy at the end as he was at the beginning of the book.
I loved seeing Jarod and Eli again, and I especially liked the burgeoning friendship between Jarod and Rob, which gets off to a rocky start because of the awful way Rob treated his brother Alex, who’s one of Jarod’s closest friends. We get the start of a new group of friends here and I hope their circle will continue to grow. Because I need the stories!
Narration: Joel Leslie did a truly wonderful job and I hope he’ll get to do the entire series. I very much enjoyed his performance, as I always do. He takes such care with the accents and has a great take on all the characters, main and secondary. I also love the consistency he can bring to the voices throughout the series. I cannot imagine Jarod or Eli sounding different all of the sudden from how they were in Dom of Ages, for example. That would not be a good thing. At all.
Rob makes for a very unlikely sub with his cocky attitude, which he never loses, and that’s definitely part of why I adore him so much. The vulnerability he hides behind his bravado and the guilt he struggles with for how he treated his brother tugged at my heartstrings so much. I love the way Rob grows throughout this story, trying so hard to redeem himself, though sometimes stumbling along the way. I’m a sucker for redemption stories, especially of characters who messed up for MC’s from previous books in a series, so Rob was an unexpected treat for me!
Vic is the perfect match for Rob and at times almost too amazing and insightful. I loved seeing such a strong and outwardly tough looking guy be so caring and gentle, oh the magic of a Dom written exactly right. He’s there for Rob even when they barely know each other (or even like each other yet), no strings attached. I also adored him for not being too hung up on “the way things are usually done” and being open to it when Robs steps up to steer their relationship forward. The only thing that could have made this better for me was if Vic had also had a bit more of a growth arc himself. Apart from his love for Rob, he’s pretty much the same guy at the end as he was at the beginning of the book.
I loved seeing Jarod and Eli again, and I especially liked the burgeoning friendship between Jarod and Rob, which gets off to a rocky start because of the awful way Rob treated his brother Alex, who’s one of Jarod’s closest friends. We get the start of a new group of friends here and I hope their circle will continue to grow. Because I need the stories!
Narration: Joel Leslie did a truly wonderful job and I hope he’ll get to do the entire series. I very much enjoyed his performance, as I always do. He takes such care with the accents and has a great take on all the characters, main and secondary. I also love the consistency he can bring to the voices throughout the series. I cannot imagine Jarod or Eli sounding different all of the sudden from how they were in Dom of Ages, for example. That would not be a good thing. At all.
atheresa's review
1.0
DNF @ 67%. I found the first half of the book quite slow and almost boring because of all of the telling. The story picked up, but by that time, I wasn't sure about Rob's character. There wasn't much background explanation of why he was so angry at the world. His family dynamics were depicted in [b:An Unlocked Heart|18076442|An Unlocked Heart (Collars and Cuffs, #1)|K.C. Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1371328887s/18076442.jpg|25381494]. In this book, I got a picturesque view of his current work and lonely living situation, I got details on his friendship with Jamie, lots of information about his guilt over snitching on Alex, and a tad of information about his bisexuality (which wasn't convincing). Not only was Rob emotionally immature, he was lacking in common sense and basic life skills too. But I didn't get any reasons for his core person BEFORE he left home - why he was so self centered and emotionally distant and, most importantly, why he harassed and blackmailed his brother Alex.
I found it highly unlikely that Rob could ever become compassionate and more selfless. I still didn't find enough to like about him. I didn't think that he could redeemed himself. And looking at the other half of the relationship, I wasn't impressed with Vic that he would be attracted to and want to "fix" such a selfish hateful man.
I found it highly unlikely that Rob could ever become compassionate and more selfless. I still didn't find enough to like about him. I didn't think that he could redeemed himself. And looking at the other half of the relationship, I wasn't impressed with Vic that he would be attracted to and want to "fix" such a selfish hateful man.
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