Random Reads is a segment I created to tackle my TBR list in light of the mandatory quarantines going on due to the Coronavirus. I have created a list of all review requested books I have accumulated (there are A LOT) and, using a random generator, I have it select the book I read and review. Today's Random Read is...
Finding Master Right by Sparrow Beckett
Series: Masters Unleashed #1
Publication date: July 21st, 2015
Publisher: InterMix
Publisher: InterMix
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
Kate's fantasies have always featured sexy, dominant, crop-wielding men, but finding one in real life was easier said than done. She's used to getting what she wants, but the creeps that keep flirting with her aren't her kink.
Enter Banner. His intensity scares her--he's looking for a slave, and Kate doesn't want to be one. But when he offers to help find the perfect Dom for her, she's glad to have a matchmaker and protector.
Banner knows he and Kate aren't sexually compatible, so what better way to get the tasty almost-vanilla girl out of his head than finding her a good Dom? As it becomes clear that Kate has no clue what she wants when it comes to kink, he devises a series of experiments to help her figure things out--a perfect plan, if he could stop himself from training and bedding her. Obsessing about owning a girl who wants to be free isn't healthy. But when Banner finds the right Dom to collar Kate, how will he hand over the leash?
Available at:
Review:
As a woman gets older kinky stuff is reserved for books where we read through the perspective of another woman. So Erotica becomes a busy woman's escape from holiday parties at your child's school and late nights of falling in the bed exhausted with barely a hello to your spouse. I have always been curious about the BDSM lifestyle (not just the slap and tickle sex). I had heard that this series actually had research into the scene done so it was easier to understand for the vanilla folk. My curiosity was piqued.
Kate doesn't know what she wants. She knows that vanilla sex is not as satisfying for her but she doesn't understand much about the BDSM community to know what her predilections are. She needs a Dom to teach her and let her explore her likes and dislikes, but it seems all the Doms she's encountered are Duds. That is until she meets Banner. Banner has the authority in his eyes that speaks volumes for his control and dominance but he can still crack a smile and joke with her about the 'slim pickings' of Dom teachers. Why couldn't Banner be the Dom of her dreams? Because Banner is a Master looking for a Slave. Kate wants a thrilling roll in the hay not a lifestyle of submitting to his ever whim whenever he demands it. Knowing she is not into what he is, Banner offers to show her the ropes and find her a suitable Dom for her tastes. The problem is as the lessons continue both Kate and Banner are finding themselves desiring each other more than they originally thought they would. Will Banner Master her heart or will she be a Slave to her scruples?
This book was one of the best windows into the BDSM world I have ever read. This is also the first book that has ever referenced aftercare which I have come to understand is incredibly important in the scene. Most Doms and Masters are shown as these evil men who want to hurt women more than anything else. Those books turn into a sociopath finding a heart in the love of a good woman. That is not how that works. That is also not how Doms are (from what I understand). Yes, they demand discipline. Yes, they probably enjoy punishing their Subs. But, they are not overtly evil. It is written that way in books because its taboo. But Sparrow Beckett didn't go that route. She opted for legitimacy and not to completely pander to the horny and misinformed.
I had thought a few books recently were my all-time favorites, but this one takes the crown. Banner was sweet, sensitive, but had a switch in him that shifted to a dominant sadist that still managed to keep his heart. I loved that his main goal wasn't just to humiliate a Slave but to form a deeper bond through the Master/Slave relationship. He wasn't a monster in any way. And Kate was so adorably clueless. Poor girl had no idea what was going on or why half the time but still had a healthy dose of sass.
Finding Master Right is my literary Master and I am a humble Slave to it's beauty.
