Playing Hard to Master by Sparrow Beckett
Series: Masters Unleashed #2
Publication date: October 20th, 2015
Publisher: Intermix
Pages: 237
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
Abandoned by his submissive years before, Ambrose has avoided long term relationships. He amuses himself by hooking up with his buddy's exes. That is, until he meets Everly--a curvy girl with a big personality, who refuses to be ignored. Just when he thinks he's found a girl he can trust, he finds out she has big opinions about rich men. Telling her he's wealthy will ruin everything, but he can't collar her with this huge lie hanging over them.
Known as a brat in their small kink community, Everly can intimidate even the most experienced Doms, but Ambrose is different. not only does he charm the pants off her, he makes her crave his mastery, too. However, Ambrose's trust issues run deep, and Everly isn't willing to be 'temporary' forever. Ambrose is hiding something from her, and that secret is keeping them apart. Can she get her scaredy-Dom to commit, or is he a lost cause?
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Review:
After reading Finding Master Right I wasn't done with the series. I wasn't done with the world that the author had created and wanted to see whether the rest of the characters found their happily ever after too. Ambrose was one of my favorites from the first book. He struck me as such a charismatic, funny guy who had a past of hurt but who would do anything for his friends. Who wouldn't want to see whether he could find his perfect slave too?
Ambrose was happy taking Banner's hand-me-downs. He was content to hook up with Banner's exes until they recovered from the loss of his friend and moved on. No commitments. No obligations. He didn't have to worry about caring for them and having them ultimately leave him like his ex-slave did without warning. Her absence caused Ambrose to shy away from ever letting another woman own his heart. But when he realized the spunky little minx cutting his hair was a member of the scene he couldn't help but wonder whether their kinks matched up well or not. That same night he watched her waltz into the BDSM club bratting any and all Doms who approached her, he couldn't help himself. He had to have her. Even if it was only for a temporary time. Even if he had to hide who he was to keep her until he could let her go. But can he keep her and his secrets or will he ultimately lose both?
Everly is a little firecracker. The problem is no Dom has been able to control her the way she needs to controlled. She is determined to buck against any sort of control to see how far she can drag her Dom down the rabbithole. Ambrose is more than happy to meet her toe-to-toe with every challenge she issues. The wall of a muscle made her long for more where she had once thought a good time was the end of her desires. But he's hiding something. What that could be is beyond her but she's determined to find out.
I loved Ambrose and Everly as a couple. Ambrose was an even more aggressive Dom than Banner was which surprised me. Banner seemed to be the bad boy of the group and Ambrose the big softy that let women get away with being brats without much punishment. Boy, was I wrong. Granted, Everly made him go as far as he did because she essentially asked for it. It was delightful to see Everly rage against his control while secretly wanting more. Ambrose really changed in my eyes due to the way he could handle Everly. He was tough but he also knew how to be lighthearted and sweet.
In the first book, it was referenced that Banner was a Master among Doms. Banner even called Ambrose a Dom not a Master as he was try to set Kate up with him. The whole problem in the first book was that Kate wanted a Dom not a Master but if Ambrose was a Master all along then why did Banner even consider him for Kate? That was a bit confusing but maybe Ambrose only became a Master due to Everly needs? Not sure but that was the only inconsistency I could find.
Playing Hard to Master was a page-turner that was so hot the ink should have melted off the pages.
