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I liked this a lot more than the first book in the series!! I'm not saying the first one was bad per se, but this one had a lot more going on. Seeing Gavin and Ben recover together was very intruiging and I could easily grasp the frustrations on both sides, Ben wanting to be careful and Gavin being worried that Ben doesn't want him as a sub anymore. Their road to get better and get to know each other again was beautiful!
Big BIG improvement with the detective/crime plot! While you kind of "know" who the culprit is in the middle of the story, I was on the edge of my seat especially towards the end. I wanted to know what was going on, what everything meant and how this would get resolved. While I'm not perfectly happy with some of the revelations, this was still miles better than the mystery of the first book.
The book still had its lengths at times, that's why it's not a 5*, but I still really enjoyed this! I think I'll take a break from the series for now, but will definitely return to this!
Big BIG improvement with the detective/crime plot! While you kind of "know" who the culprit is in the middle of the story, I was on the edge of my seat especially towards the end. I wanted to know what was going on, what everything meant and how this would get resolved. While I'm not perfectly happy with some of the revelations, this was still miles better than the mystery of the first book.
The book still had its lengths at times, that's why it's not a 5*, but I still really enjoyed this! I think I'll take a break from the series for now, but will definitely return to this!
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I didnt enjoy this book nearly as much as book one. It was almost entirely about the case and we rarely saw Gavin and Ben together. I even forgot I was reading a BDSM romance most of the time and felt like I was reading just a solid murder mystery. The case was better than in book one if you care about the mystery in these stories, but thats not what I was reading for. I am still excited to read book 3 but I hope its more like book 1. I do love this cover tho.
This book starts when Gavin goes back to work after being abused by a serial killer at the end of Power Exchange. I felt that his book did a great job of handling PTSD and handling it within the BDSM lifestyle. If you didn't love Ben before, you will now. Two boys who were abducted are found one after years of being held which gives Gavin hope. He struggles with being touched by anyone other than Ben. He also has not fully submitted to Ben since they were held. His partner, Myah, really helps him. She is dating Gavin's brother, Cole. Now, there are cops being killed. The method similar to the Breath Play Killer. The killer is leaving things for Gavin. This book was difficult to read in parts because of the crimes and because of Gavin and Ben's struggle. The book wrapped up the crime and moved Gavin and Ben forward in their relationship. I really love this series.
After having some time to mull Safeword over I have come to the conclusion that Gavin and Ben are probably one of my favorite couples that I have read about this year. These two went to hell and back in book 1. Now in book 2, they are on the path right back to hell again. The devotion and dedication that Ben and Gavin had to have to survive what they did at the end of Power Exchange and still manage to function both individually and as a couple is amazing. Now in Safeword all of their hard work and progress is being challenged.
Gavin continues to face his fears, inhibitions, and hesitations both professionally and personally. While Ben exhibits his patience, strength, and fortitude when dealing with Gavin's insecurities as well as his need and desires. Ben displays all of the positive qualities that I have come to attribute to my idea of what at good Dom should be. Despite dealing with his own trauma Ben is able to put Gavin's needs first even when it's at the expense of his own comfort.
I initially thought that I would give this one a 3 star rating, but with everything that was ultimately delivered in this story it is definitely a 4 star read. I was swept away so thoroughly by book 1 that I was thinking of Gavin and Ben a week later and needed to read this one just to make the story leave me alone. I hope that there will be more books in the Power Exchange series.I suspect that there will be since there were definite changes about to take place at the end that has left me yearning for more.
You can find more at Monlatable Book Reviews
http://www.monlatablereviews.com/
Gavin continues to face his fears, inhibitions, and hesitations both professionally and personally. While Ben exhibits his patience, strength, and fortitude when dealing with Gavin's insecurities as well as his need and desires. Ben displays all of the positive qualities that I have come to attribute to my idea of what at good Dom should be. Despite dealing with his own trauma Ben is able to put Gavin's needs first even when it's at the expense of his own comfort.
I initially thought that I would give this one a 3 star rating, but with everything that was ultimately delivered in this story it is definitely a 4 star read. I was swept away so thoroughly by book 1 that I was thinking of Gavin and Ben a week later and needed to read this one just to make the story leave me alone. I hope that there will be more books in the Power Exchange series.I suspect that there will be since there were definite changes about to take place at the end that has left me yearning for more.
You can find more at Monlatable Book Reviews
http://www.monlatablereviews.com/
Rating: 4.5* of five
Wow, what a ride. What an amazing adrenaline rush of an ending. What can Rose do to top this one? I'll be finding out soon.
So, after I found out about [b:Consent|22676832|Consent (Power Exchange, #3)|A.J. Rose|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1407589959s/22676832.jpg|42186561], let me revisit this book and explain why it is my personal favorite of the three books in the series to date.
The end of [b:Power Exchange|15982578|Power Exchange (Power Exchange, #1)|A.J. Rose|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1346620114s/15982578.jpg|21735831] was, to put it mildly, horrific. The awfulness of the events that Ben and Gavin endured can't be overstated. The impact of the extreme publicity surrounding the events can't be overstated. These two men were traumatized physically, psychologically, and publicly. In Consent, their violated beings are shown in the process of healing. Their family relationships are shown in all their realistic upheaval and flux. The source of their identity as a couple, Gavin's submission to Ben's Domination of his body and his spirit, is fractured and despite their mutual and deep desire to recover that connection, they aren't able to...but they are not either one vaguely in the mood to give up trying.
Ben loves Gavin, Gavin loves Ben. This is the given point from which this story operates. Nothing that has happened has changed them so much that the facts aren't true. But then there is the other stuff lying between them in huge mounds of rubble and vast slicks of toxic waste. The trust issues that follow in the wake of being raped. The fears of inadequacy in the face of your beloved partner's pain, which you can't fix. The awful moment when your own broken inner self seems to be too much for your partner to handle, so you feel you *should* release them from your further fulfilling your needs.
And then the sense of the thing reasserts itself: NO. NOT A DAMN CHANCE. Ben and Gavin each reach this awful precipice and look into the abyss of aloneness after each man finally discovers himself, his best self, in the other man's eyes. They say no, they grab hold of each other and they move together as far away as they can from that horrible annihilating aloneness.
And they do so while solving a horrible crime and rescuing innocent young men from vile servitude. They don't come out of this case unscathed but they come out changed for the better, is also a great deal sadder.
Far and away the best of the series to date.
Wow, what a ride. What an amazing adrenaline rush of an ending. What can Rose do to top this one? I'll be finding out soon.
So, after I found out about [b:Consent|22676832|Consent (Power Exchange, #3)|A.J. Rose|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1407589959s/22676832.jpg|42186561], let me revisit this book and explain why it is my personal favorite of the three books in the series to date.
The end of [b:Power Exchange|15982578|Power Exchange (Power Exchange, #1)|A.J. Rose|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1346620114s/15982578.jpg|21735831] was, to put it mildly, horrific. The awfulness of the events that Ben and Gavin endured can't be overstated. The impact of the extreme publicity surrounding the events can't be overstated. These two men were traumatized physically, psychologically, and publicly. In Consent, their violated beings are shown in the process of healing. Their family relationships are shown in all their realistic upheaval and flux. The source of their identity as a couple, Gavin's submission to Ben's Domination of his body and his spirit, is fractured and despite their mutual and deep desire to recover that connection, they aren't able to...but they are not either one vaguely in the mood to give up trying.
Ben loves Gavin, Gavin loves Ben. This is the given point from which this story operates. Nothing that has happened has changed them so much that the facts aren't true. But then there is the other stuff lying between them in huge mounds of rubble and vast slicks of toxic waste. The trust issues that follow in the wake of being raped. The fears of inadequacy in the face of your beloved partner's pain, which you can't fix. The awful moment when your own broken inner self seems to be too much for your partner to handle, so you feel you *should* release them from your further fulfilling your needs.
And then the sense of the thing reasserts itself: NO. NOT A DAMN CHANCE. Ben and Gavin each reach this awful precipice and look into the abyss of aloneness after each man finally discovers himself, his best self, in the other man's eyes. They say no, they grab hold of each other and they move together as far away as they can from that horrible annihilating aloneness.
And they do so while solving a horrible crime and rescuing innocent young men from vile servitude. They don't come out of this case unscathed but they come out changed for the better, is also a great deal sadder.
Far and away the best of the series to date.