A review by mamabookwyrm
Maddox by Alta Hensley, Maggie Ryan

3.0

There are two things I love: alpha males and “white knight” tropes. And Maddox feeds into both of those things. If you’d look up the definition of alpha male in the dictionary it wouldn’t surprise me if it said See: Maddox Steele. The man walks talks and breathes alpha maleness. Add in the family business? I was all but melting before I got through the first two chapters. So I was prepared to gush over this book. But there were few things that just keep me away from that 4 or 5 star rating.

First, Adira was a bit of a contradiction for me. She was a Ph.D who came off both extremely naïve and illogical. Then she would become a sexpot at the drop of the dime. Granted I know some of that could be explained by her circumstances and country of birth but it was jarring for me. This kept me from connecting to her as a character. Secondly, there was a spanking scene that just felt off to me.

Spoiler

I don’t mind spanking between two consensual adults but at the time of the spanking on the airplane they were practically strangers. It was for chastisement and not within a D/s relationship and just seemed out of place.

However, the book is full of suspense and intrigue tempered by the heat and chemistry of Adira and Maddox’s relationship. There is some definite tension between the two of them that leaps off the pages. Plus there’s Jennie. She kept me giggling. I’ll definitely read the rest of the books just to see what else she gets up to to drive the Steele men nuts.

If you’re a fan of extremely dominant men, this may just be up your alley and you should definitely check it out.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.
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