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tlea's review
4.0
Unlike the other 'Dom' books by this author, this seems to be a completely standalone duet in the one book. The first half is focused on Dane and Annie as they try and sort out their failing marriage, while the second half is about Dax and Angela. Each can be read individually and are fairly self-contained, making the book more like 2 short stories published together. Each read provides an easily read story that's very light on anything spanking/DD. I've quite enjoyed other books by this author but I found this book just didn't engage me like the others did. Maybe each story needed that bit of extra depth that would have come from being a longer, standalone read.
emmelnie's review
2.0
The Daring Doms comes across like two separate novellas in one book, as each half focuses on one Daring brother (really, that’s their last name). And I found I liked one story more than the other.
The first is a marriage-in-trouble plot, as Annie and Dane find themselves fighting far too much for either’s taste. They married relatively soon after Annie broke up with a long-term boyfriend, and many of Dane’s friends and family have wondered if this was a rebound relationship rather than one that could stand on its own terms. Dane reaches his breaking point, moves out, and decides to reset their romance by going back to a dating phase, where each can learn who the other is at this stage in their lives.
On surface, this sounds like a really interesting story. But in practice, I thought Dane passed judgement way too fast on Annie, and Annie made way too many assumptions about Dane. Add to this that Annie’s old boyfriend turns up at multiple convenient points for the plot, to the point that I couldn’t buy into it. The domestic discipline element seemed more like fix-all solution instead of one element of Annie and Dane addressing who they are now in their marriage. Overall, I couldn’t invest in this couple.
The second part of The Daring Doms was far more satisfying to me, as we have a longtime playboy in Dax, and the story centers around his gradual realization that Angela, Annie’s best friend, has come to mean more to him than anyone else. Angela, knowing his past from her friendship with Annie, doesn’t buy into Dax’s interest. So the journey concerns Dax convincing both himself and Angela that his is a real and lasting love.
What helped in this story was that Dax and Angela were well integrated into Dax’s family, and they played a strong role both in reaction to Dax’s actions and as counsel to Angela. I loved Angela’s forthrightness and Dax’s growing maturity, and how for them domestic discipline was an element to their relationship, not the entirety of it.
So The Daring Doms is a mixed bag. Unfortunately, as the one part I liked less came first, I hope readers who enjoy exploring the domestic discipline subgenre in romance will persevere through to the second.
The first is a marriage-in-trouble plot, as Annie and Dane find themselves fighting far too much for either’s taste. They married relatively soon after Annie broke up with a long-term boyfriend, and many of Dane’s friends and family have wondered if this was a rebound relationship rather than one that could stand on its own terms. Dane reaches his breaking point, moves out, and decides to reset their romance by going back to a dating phase, where each can learn who the other is at this stage in their lives.
On surface, this sounds like a really interesting story. But in practice, I thought Dane passed judgement way too fast on Annie, and Annie made way too many assumptions about Dane. Add to this that Annie’s old boyfriend turns up at multiple convenient points for the plot, to the point that I couldn’t buy into it. The domestic discipline element seemed more like fix-all solution instead of one element of Annie and Dane addressing who they are now in their marriage. Overall, I couldn’t invest in this couple.
The second part of The Daring Doms was far more satisfying to me, as we have a longtime playboy in Dax, and the story centers around his gradual realization that Angela, Annie’s best friend, has come to mean more to him than anyone else. Angela, knowing his past from her friendship with Annie, doesn’t buy into Dax’s interest. So the journey concerns Dax convincing both himself and Angela that his is a real and lasting love.
What helped in this story was that Dax and Angela were well integrated into Dax’s family, and they played a strong role both in reaction to Dax’s actions and as counsel to Angela. I loved Angela’s forthrightness and Dax’s growing maturity, and how for them domestic discipline was an element to their relationship, not the entirety of it.
So The Daring Doms is a mixed bag. Unfortunately, as the one part I liked less came first, I hope readers who enjoy exploring the domestic discipline subgenre in romance will persevere through to the second.
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