Upgraded to 5 stars on my second re-read. A superior explicit M/M Bdsm romance that concludes the story of Brandon and Jonathan. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm thinking 'abuse' but I still derived a wicked pleasure from this book.

"Why me, Jonathan?"
"I saw you sitting in that dingy old bar, and you shone like a beacon, Brandon. So bright and beautiful and fierce. A fighter. Hungry...
And to be honest, I wanted to be the one to tame that beast. Such raw power in you Brandon. So much strengt More...

Cat Grant and Rachel Haimowitz are my Dommes

When I started in their service, it was so hard, you know? It hurt. I mean, Jonathan was such an asshole, and such a bad Dom. Not even a Dom! Just a sadistic wanker! It was difficult, and painful. Prolonged.

But rather than fighting the pain, I let it wash over me. Through me. I found the pleasure inside that pain. And that pain/pleasure was gooooood.

And then it got really challenging, and scary, because I didn't know what was coming. I was worried the More...

I've been so scared to read this book ever since I read Power Play: Resistance.

I kept asking myself:
♦ Will Jonathan find more creative ways to torture Bran?
♦ Would Jonathan learn from his past mistakes?
♦ WillBran ever like Jonathan beating him?
♦ Will the sex be hot this time?
♦ Can Jonathan and Bran have areal lifeHEA?

...and all of my questions were answered to my satisfaction...of course I'm not going to spoiler on ALL the details! Maybe a few.

Some of the reasons why I loved this book:
♦ The wr More...

Wow. Okay. There's really nothing I can add with this review. I don't quite know how to articulately express how conflicted I feel about this book, well, about this couple, really. But here goes. I've always told myself that I much prefer MM romance over hetero stuff because it had the capacity to be truly egalitarian in a way that gender dynamics often don't allow in male-female relationships. This obviously is not always the case, heterosexual relationships and gay relationships can be equal o More...

This book was AMAZING! I LOVED IT. I cried. I laughed. I melted. Oh dear lord, Jonathan is bi. I'll lay down at his feet. Absolutely FABULOUS! This is a must read. I hope my official review will be approved so it can be posted soon.

Okay - to tide people over until my official review comes out...


RACHEL!
You delicious heart ripper, you. Just rip out my heart why don't you? Yes, I'm talking about you.



I was





(That Japanese character is also a Chinese one which means hit.)

At one point I was



then for t More...

Once again, I was riveted, emotionally invested and totally riding the high while reading this book. The hurt, the hardcore scenes, the lust, the shame - all of these finally lead to the acceptance, the connection and the love that I so craved for these characters. I cried, I laughed, I was expectant, I was angry. These authors poured all this to the page and like an addict, I was left still wanting more.

In this book, which picks ups right after the ending of Power Play: Resistance, we get to se More...

As reviewed on Kinky Book Reviews by Riane and Penelope:

Review by Riane:
Rating: 4 of 5 kinks!
I read and reviewed the first book in this series, Power Play: Resistance, for my other site. While I found it a bit disturbing in parts, I loved the book. It pushed a lot of lines but in such a way as I was able to handle it and keep reading. I was SO excited when Power Play: Awakening was being released. I couldn’t wait to read more about Jonathan and Bran.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Jonathan c More...

i honestly think i was expecting something else when reading. it was almost a 180 spin compared to the previous book. i think i expected more torture. call me sick :/
There still was but it was with class, if you can even say that about BDSM. The clothes pin scene was absolutely beautiful. I could feel the bite of the tight pins on my own skin but the words from Jonathon soothed the pain.
There is still a lot of work that both Jonathan and Bran need to work on but they both understand that there More...

Wow. Okay, I read that in record time. I may have saved time by forgetting to breathe.

This was intense. Brandon's transformation was nothing less than spiritual -- or maybe all that talk of offering up sorrows is talking me right back to when I used to hang around the local Catholic Church as an impressionable teenager. Just for that one young priest who wore a Batman t-shirt, a cheeky smile, and spoke Latin. But that's probably not relevant, so I'll start again.

This was intense. I know that s More...

The first book in this series was hard for me to read. It made me uncomfortable and angry on more than one occasion, but the way it was so perfectly written made it impossible for me to stop until I had finished reading.

This book is even better.
Finally Jonathan realizes his mistakes and really makes an effort to learn what can work and not work with Bran.
And finally Brandon is ready to start is journey toward a perfect submission.

The "pain level" in some scenes was a bit too high for me, but the More...

What Emma C said ;D
2nd read 12/15/12....just as brilliant as the first time

Ok, I'm a literary masochist of sorts because every so often I end up reading books about 24/7 TPE relationships, and really, those fuckers really hurt me, even physically. Anyway, I was curious about this story since long ago, even though I knew I wasn't going to enjoy it very much.

So why not? what could be possibly go wrong? And there was book one.

I hated it, I still do, will do forever, maybe; I can't even bring myself to rate it, I wanted to Burn it. One thing is not quite enjoying a book More...

~OMFG! THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!
5+++++

I don’t even have the words to express how awesome this book was, no freaking words. This will be another review where I am unable to express the awesmazingness packed into 292 pages. Cat and Rachel has outdone themselves with PP: A, and after fangirling over book 1, I am stone cold obsessed with Power Play: Awakening. Jonathan and Brandon are a tattoo on my heart and in brain. Impossible to Forget.

Power Play: Awakening picks up right after the first book, whic More...

Love the cover. Gives me goosebumps...

But is also misleading. There's no knife-play at all. I thought (view spoiler)[ Bran was going to get over his aversion to blood and finally let go of his father and his past. But no. (hide spoiler)]

Still an amazing book. I read it right after the first one so I got to see the growth of their relationship. All the pain was worth it in the end ;D

4 Stars

Jonathan and Brandon pick up their story within minutes of the completion of the previous book. Jonathan is determined to not make the same mistakes with Brandon. Consequently, he opens a line of communication. It’s a bit like a third degree, but they are talking. Also, instead of just continual punishments, Brandon’s training is more carrot and stick than before. If carrots were cocks and sticks were canes, of course.

After a somewhat traumatic meeting of Jonathan’s friends, he and Brando More...

This book was also very intense. I think I liked this one better than the first one, partly because the first book seemed more about getting things wrong in the relationship and realizing it, and this one was more about figuring out how to do things right.

Some of the BDSM wasn't to my taste, but it was well written and worked in the story.

I really liked the fact that in this one both characters recognized things about themselves and the needs of each other-mistakes were still made, but this time More...

I read the 2 books in this series back to back. It took me a while process the story emotionally and mentally, after which I simply HAD to this review.
What I came up with is this question - Can an extreme sadist ever achieve his true desires without being evil?

(view spoiler)[ Jonathan is an extreme sadist and derives sexual pleasure, from his partner's suffering. In all other aspects of his life, Jonathan is the epitome of good deeds, from his charitable work to his environmentally conscious lifestyle. My im (hide spoiler)] More...

Slash Readers: "Power Play", was a book that both irritated me and kept me hooked. On one hand I was interested enough in the story and the character to keep reading past the first book and into the second one. But on the other hand I did this mostly because BK one really ends right in the middle of the story. These two books could be combined into one larger volume and it would work just as well.

However, the truth is the idea behind these books aren't really a new one. Man meet's man, one is do More...

When we last we left off with Jonathan and Brandon in Power Play: Resistance, their Dominant/submissive relationship had gone through a bit of a rocky patch. Brandon realized that he wants to be with Jonathan, Jonathan realized that he needs to treat what they have as a relationship just as much as an opportunity to exert his Dominant side, and those two crazy love birds decided to give it another whirl.

But of course it does not come easily to either of them.

Whereas Resistance focused on Jonatha More...

I cannot say after the emotional wreck I was from reading the first in this series that I wasn't ready for a break. I liked this one. You get the same fabulous writing - at least through about 50% in or so. After that it feels a bit different. This is more regular BDSM themed and not so heavy with the torture/abuse like the first one was. I was still absorbed - just not quite so emotionally invested.

Warning: Spoilers likely!

I thought Jonathon calmed down and became more rational here. I didn't More...

This is a little weird for me because I'm on Ch 5 now and just found out that this is actually the second book of a series. I actually read it because I wanted to see how realistically written the Silicon Valley setting would be. I'm still not entirely certain. I think it's because usually I read BDSM-themed books with a sense of...disconnect (but then, that's kind of how I read all books...) so while it seems real, it doesn't quite seem real. I live in the Bay Area, so am rather familiar with S More...

I needed to read this immediately after the previous book, because I wasn't going to sit around and wallow in the sad train where it had left me and I let myself digest everything before I went ahead and gave my thoughts. The fact that I had to take a break before talking about this book makes me feel like it was a very good read indeed.

It picks up from where the previous book leaves off and for about more than half of the book in, I will readily admit that it was more than difficult to see Bran More...

So here I am. Still grinning like a fool although it's been more than half a day that I finished reading this book.

Once again, I was riveted, emotional invested and totally riding the high while reading this book. The hurt, the hardcore scenes, the lust, the shame - all of these finally lead to the acceptance, the connection and the love that I so craved for these characters. I cried, I laughed, I was expectant, I was angry. These authors poured all this to the page and like an addict, I'm was l More...

Review originally posted here: http://thebookpushers.com/2012/07/13/...

First things first, you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, and while this one does leave a lot to be desired, the book more than made up for it!

Two of my favorite genres are BDSM romance and m/m, and yet I’ve always had a hard time finding these two together in a book that worked for me. Either the BDSM is light enough that I don’t consider it a true BDSM book, or the BDSM is so incredibly hard core that I become uncomfort More...

Oh my God, but I loved this book! It was such a transition from Power Play: Resistance, I can't even describe it, I think.
But I'll try anyway.

The Jonathan and Brandon we met in book one, were so crammed with entitlement, assumptions, resentment, anger and hurt. They made it hard for me to sympathise with them. In hindsight, I see myself as having been carried with them, on their journey of self realization and discovery I suppose.

In my review of Power Play: Resistance, I showed little to no sy More...

I LOVED this book!! I just loved that (view spoiler)[ Brandon finally stopped resisting and Jonathan treated Brandon just the way Brandon needed it. I loved reading the progress and especially the peace when they were in Big Sur and how much of a sub Brandon was. Loved reading when Devon and Nicky came over and how Brandon finally had something to compare his relationship with Jonathan. When Brandon saw that Jonathan was a kitten compared to Devon made me appreciate Jonathan more and more even though he's a (hide spoiler)] More...

The four stars are for Brandon alone. I loved the fact that he didn't lose himself or his attitude in spite of his acceptance as a submissive. I loved his vulnerability. I loved his human-ness. I loved how small things made him happy, like working with his hands. He was a redhead, which always makes me happy to see, LOL. Whether it was the eventual payout or pride, Brandon's motivations at least made sense.

Jonathan just left me wanting to kick his ass. He had all these marvelous toys from his m More...

This book was much, much better than the first. Jonathan finally shows us that he can be a good, strong, and understanding Dom. After the fiasco that was book 1, I think both Brandon and Jonathan learned from their nearly insurmountable mistakes. There were definitely parts of this book that were uncomfortable. Jonathan is a true sadist, and enjoys pain for the sake of pain, not just pain in conjunction with pleasure. That's something that's hard for me to understand or wrap my head around becau More...