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A review by stang_gt3
Saving Alexander by Susan Mac Nicol
3.0
This book is a hard one for me to rate. While I liked the main characters a lot, I had a few issues with some of the plot choices. I'm a bit picky about my BDSM and this pushes into the realm of not healthy. I don't qualify this as safe/sane/consensual. Psychologically I can understand why Alex felt he needed things to be the way there were, but Eric's character really bothered me.
There are a lot of unbelievable romantic suspense elements to this one, and the trope has been done before. Author's story is becoming film/tv, things from the book start happening in real life, oh no! The basic plotline wasn't that complicated, the writing style is a little simplistic, but overall not bad. I just kept getting hung up on the use of BDSM in this story.
Look Alexander's past is horrific, and the strength he has to try to become whole again is incredible. I don't even mind the need he had for BDSM as a therapy tool, if that was really all it was and if he had some interest in it as a person. But instead it gets twisted as yet another way to hurt Alexander and the results of what happened with Erik bothered me immensely. From the first he seemed like an out of control Dom and his obsessive nature doesn't work as someone who is supposed to be a hired Dom. This is his job and not some level of emotional detachment is to be expected or the place of business would lose their reputation. I also didn't like that as much as Alex's therapist was supportive of what the therapy did for Alex she didn't understand it. Melanie had no background in BDSM to help Alex deal with his feelings or to know that it wasn't really something he wanted. He was forced into that type of relationship after his abduction into the cult and didn't know how to process without it. That's something Melanie should have been working with him on dealing with.
I just found so many of the elements of this story to be unbelievable. But I did like the bond between Alexander and Sage. Sage is a little perfect, but his moods gave a little bit of balance back to someone being so understanding of the incomprehensible situation his boyfriend was dealing with. I'll let the film elements go as first it's in another country and I don't know British film the way I do American, and second nothing here got too detailed so I could let the little irksome things go.
All in all this falls into the middle of the road for me. I liked elements, but didn't like some big ones too.
There are a lot of unbelievable romantic suspense elements to this one, and the trope has been done before. Author's story is becoming film/tv, things from the book start happening in real life, oh no! The basic plotline wasn't that complicated, the writing style is a little simplistic, but overall not bad. I just kept getting hung up on the use of BDSM in this story.
Look Alexander's past is horrific, and the strength he has to try to become whole again is incredible. I don't even mind the need he had for BDSM as a therapy tool, if that was really all it was and if he had some interest in it as a person. But instead it gets twisted as yet another way to hurt Alexander and the results of what happened with Erik bothered me immensely. From the first he seemed like an out of control Dom
Spoiler
that kind of blood play made no sense especially with out careful Alex was with condoms and being carefulI just found so many of the elements of this story to be unbelievable. But I did like the bond between Alexander and Sage. Sage is a little perfect, but his moods gave a little bit of balance back to someone being so understanding of the incomprehensible situation his boyfriend was dealing with. I'll let the film elements go as first it's in another country and I don't know British film the way I do American, and second nothing here got too detailed so I could let the little irksome things go.
All in all this falls into the middle of the road for me. I liked elements, but didn't like some big ones too.