The author of Finding Master Right returns to the Master Unleashed series with a new erotic romance with an unexpected surprise.When Juliet Callahan's company lands a contract to renovate Catacombs, a mysterious private BDSM club, she's intrigued. The club's owner, William Ellis, is a bossy, dominant man who drives her up the wall. To find out what Catacombs needs, Juliet agrees to visit the club, never guessing she'll end up having a torrid night of submitting to Will's dominance.Will doesn't want a needy submissive he has to treat with kid gloves, but naïve and proper Juliet is too hard to resist. She responds to him beautifully, but after one scorching night, she runs scared. Before he can figure out what makes the interesting girl tick, an unexpected shock shows up on his doorstep.His ex's baby.
Two writers in two countries transform into the super writing duo, Sparrow Beckett, each night after wrangling their housefuls of children and pets. They trade the cape and colorful tights for tattoos and cups of coffee then set out to create a world where readers fall in love with heroes and the women who willingly go to their knees for them. Their books are the products of two kinky minds who don’t take themselves too seriously.
When Juliet Callahan's company gets a contract to renovate Will Ellis's club, she has no idea what she is in for -- since Catacombs is a BDSM lifestyle club. At first, Juliet is clueless, but when she researches BDSM clubs for the renovation, she becomes increasingly intrigued. But can this take-charge woman voluntarily turn over control to someone else? Will is interested in Juliet, until his attention is taken by a different female -- as he's given custody of his ex's daughter. Juliet's never wanted a ready-made family, but will her feelings for Will be enough to get past all her reservations?
I love this book. Juliet is smart, sassy, and extremely competent at what she does. Even with no BDSM experience, she comes up with great design ideas for the club. And after helping to raise her younger siblings, her reluctance to take care of children is understandable. Will is also smart and competent, and unlike other BDSM novels where the lifestyle newbie is the only one out of their comfort zone, the addition of the baby takes Will out of his zone as well, making him face his insecurities too.
*Due to the rather sensitive nature of the topic discussed, this review is not intended for those readers under 18.*
The dynamic duo that is Sparrow Beckett seems to be making quite the splash with this latest offering in the Masters Unleashed series. Making every effort to temper the masterful dominate that is one William Ellis, with not one, but two life altering events in rapid succession. The first of which being his meeting the love of his life. One very vanilla, Julliet Callahan. When she and her brothers are hired to revamp Catacombs. William's very exclusive BDSM playground.
The second, and most life changing event by far, however. His becoming a full time father to the infant daughter of his now deceased ex.
What's a Dom to do? I can't say for sure what one is to do. But based on some very reckless behavior on the part of Will with one very initiated Juliet. I can certainly say what one doesn't. And Will's ill prepared, unprofessional, and very unsafe handling of Juliet's first BDSM experience both with him, and in the whole of life... A definite HELL NO! He was far more interested in how turned on that he was by her submission than her safety, her care, or her well being. Offering her only a cursory explanation of safe wording, no prior knowledge of what was to take place in the scene, and pushing her well past her adrenaline threshold with no aftercare. Not only is this line of play dangerous. It is highly unethical.
It is very difficult for me as a reviewer to chalk this major faux pas on the part of these authors up to a simple case of lack of knowledge. Given the fact that this is the 4th book of a BDSM series. And more importantly. The mistakes that Will makes in this book would never be made by an experienced Master or Mistress.
Moreover. The fact that such ill treatment of a novice is presented in a positive light in this read. Insane.
And therein lies the heart of my problem as a reviewer. The book was well written. The story and characters very engaging. The ending very "happily..."
But can I condone the portrayal of unsafe handling of a "novice". No. Particularly not in the case of said novice also being one's love interest. It is the opinion of this reviewer that this book be marketed as a DARK EROTIC ROMANCE. Rather than the "feel good" romance that it seems to be aiming for.
Readers will note that there is a decided lack of a review for the rather "run of the mill" and baby makes three plot line. This is because Will's interest was elsewhere for the majority of the read. And frankly so was mine.
I really enjoyed the first book and since then, every book has been subsequently worse. What I was hoping for was a renovation romance with a BDSM twist and that was not what I got.
Here's a list of things I really disliked, just for brevity's sake:
- Professionalism goes right off the bat between the contracted renovator and the client. - Heroine is "vanilla" and has never experienced BDSM. The hero is an experienced Dom, but seems to have NO ISSUE with rushing the heroine into experiencing the lifestyle. No baby steps. No gradual introduction. Bad move. - He also doesn't outline the more finer nuances of BDSM and so the heroine only has her Googled knowledge to go on. - I never felt like the heroine wanted a BDSM sexual relationship and that she felt shoehorned into it for the sake of the hero. - There is a casual mention of the hero being in a sexual relationship with an 18 year old girl when he was 14. Yeah, no. - Lastly, and this is just preference, I don't think secret baby plots aren't for me. I'm sure there are great ones out there, but I have to find one that didn't feel contrived.
Juliet got a job to revamp Catacombs which she thought was a restaurant or something but turns out it’s a kink club and she was ready to refuse when she as Will the owner what’s his thoughts were. Well Juliet is a very vanilla woman and has no interest of doing anything but saving to go to France but she agrees to let William show her what the club is about. Juliet is embarrassed that she let a stranger do those things to her but she really liked it to so she agrees to see Will but then his life gets an upheaval and she isn’t sure about that. Will can’t stand to be away from her so they compromise but they are both getting attached but the chances of a BDSM Master and a very Vanilla woman succeeding in a relationship is nuts. I loved how the story was told it added a lot to the situation. Reviewed on behalf of Once upon an Alpha
Will is just a charmer, “I might be a slob, but you’ve been eye-effing me for half an hour, princess.” I liked seeing a playful Will, “rotten piece of meat, huh?” he said, stifling a laugh. “You’ll be paying for that when we get to my place.” I loved this book, I loved Will and all his moodiness.
Hold the damn phone!!!!! You mean to tell me that this is the 4th installment in a series? WAAAAAAA???? Now I have to go back and read the others. Geez....twist my arm...LOL
Juliet is the main face of the family business. So it's not unusual for her to meet the clients face to face, sell them the remodeling ideas and establish a relationship with them. It IS unusual for her to walk in to a building that's used as a BDSM club and having to come up with ways to remodel and improve upon it, knowing absolutely NOTHING about the lifestyle. Let's add in the fact that one of the owners is extremely good looking. Yep, she's in for a world of hurt.
Will is one of the club owners. The older brother who manages the back end of the business and who's responsible for getting the club remodeled and up and running again. But when a smoking hot vanilla woman walks in to his club, he can't help but push her limits...and his. And although pushing limits is part of the game, an unexpected gift has him second guessing a lot in life. So now what?
Considering this is my first read by these authors and this series, I was extremely impressed. The immediate chemistry between Will and Juliet works pretty well. Knowing that Will is a Master and not just a Dom, makes the urgency in training and behavior more believable. I have to admit that the unexpected gift through me off at first, but when I stuck with it, it turned out to be just the right amount to keep me engaged.
Overall, the scenes were extremely hot and spicy. The chemistry between ALL of the characters was good and even entertaining at times. And the moral of the story was perfect. I need some more brother and Norwegian men though...DAAAAAANG!!!!!
This was the perfect balance of BDSM and fluff with a good dose of hate-to-love at the beginning. Throw in an adopted child trope and I absolutely loved it. A surprise child isn't something I usually enjoy reading but this did it in EXACTLY the way I loved. I've had this series on hold for a while and I'm so glad I jumped back in. I've been in a bit of a slump and this is the first one finished this year so I'm happy. Their dynamic was so cute, their chemistry was soooo good and the smut was amazing. Loved it.
Juliet is really sweet, pretty and completely vanilla. That is until she lands a contract to remodel a BDSM club and meets with Will. Her ideas for changes to the club don't really mesh with Will's so he asks her to come to the club when it's open for business so she can get a feel for the place when people are there and see how it's used. What she isn't expecting is to find her inner submissive too willing to do what Will asks of her once she's there and the sparks between them start to fly.
Will is a busy guy, so when miss prim and proper Juliet shows up to talk about remodeling his club, he knows that she has no idea what kind of club it is or how her ideas just won't work so he asks her to come see the place that night when people are there using it. He's not expecting her to find the activities so arousing or to find her so accepting of what he's wanting to do to her.
Will came on too strong, pushed her too far and scared her even though every time she thinks about what they did she's not sure whether to be embarrassed, humiliated or turned on. After their night together she wants to slow down and keep their relationship a strictly working one but when he doesn't return her phone calls she has no other choice but to drop in on him and find out what the problem is. She's not expecting to find him with a baby at the club but that's exactly what she finds.
After a tragedy he finds himself taking care of a baby and he can use all the help he can get. Juliet doesn't want to be a mother after helping to raise her siblings. She wants to have a childless adult life...that is until she's around Beau and falls for the child. Every time Will talked about giving the baby up for adoption, I cringed. I really wanted him to want to keep the baby but I wasn't sure he would since the baby wasn't his.
I loved these two characters. They were so damn good together even though they were so different. Watching them get to know one another and slowly fall in love was so much fun. I ate this book up in one day. I hardly wanted to put it down long enough to make a cup of tea, it was just that much fun.
This an intense gem of a story going from one extreme set of circumstances to the other. One is the meeting of a BDSM club owner in the process of renovating the premises of his club, and his designer, a straight laced, no-nonsense, vanilla-as-they-come woman. The other is the surprise challenge of raising a child that is dropped, literally, in your lap without warning. Imagine those two things happening at the same time. And imagine a hard-core Dominant finding that underneath his sexy contractors prissy demeanor simmers a sub in the making. It is a pleasure of the most sumptuous kind to delve into the developing D/s relationship, and at the same time follow the growing attachment of a family-phobic bachelor to a tiny baby. The language of this book goes from filthy to baby-talk, and with the turn of a phrase the authors make the corners of your mouth turn up with a chuckle. A very potent mixture of hot and sweet!
I loved the slow, but realistic, development of the relationship between Juliet and Will. The scenes at the club were off the charts, but the development of the friendship was just as incredibly written.
And then we have the addition of the baby. WOW! That added such a unique twist to the story!
This was the first book in this series that I read. I would have loved to read an epilogue set a little into the future, but I'm guessing that was left out because we'll see our couple again in a later book.
Speaking of later books, can we please find out what is going on with Dex and Grant?!?!?!?
The fourth book in this series, but you can read it as a stand alone.
I read this book in one sitting, once I started I couldn’t stop reading.
I wasn’t sure what to think of Will in the first few chapters, he wasn’t very nice to be honest, but he grew on me. Seeing him all confused and flustered, but also determined to take of Beau and make sure she would be well taken care off, that was just the so sweet to see.
I loved the initial reaction of Juliet to the whole scene. Her emotions were all over the place since she was so overwhelmed by what was happening to her. She and Will worked well together. It shows you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover or people in this case.
It's been a little while since the writing team that is Sparrow Beckett has added a book to the Master Unleashed series but Master in Shining Armor was well worth the wait. Juliet and Will are an amazing couple with chemistry that is off the charts. At first I wasn't sure about Will as a caring Dom but he really won me over by both his care of Juliet and Beau. I found the storyline very creative and the characters well developed. I am really hoping that secondary characters Grant and Dex get a story. I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley.
This writing duo is so good. The characters, the messy emotions, the chemistry and oh my gosh, THE CHEMISTRY (worth mentioning again) was simply amazing. I was gripped by this book.
Will was the ultimate guy. He could make you do anything he wanted. Case in point - Juliet.
I received this book for free from NetGalley, Publisher in exchange for an honest review.This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Delight This series seemed to get a little of a reboot during the break between books. It looks like a new set of characters with some remembrances to past characters. Pull up a seat and watch the show that these two new characters are going to give as they wonder into a relationship that isn't a relationship.
Review Jumping right into Master in Shining Armor, I had no idea who was left in this world of Doms to get their own story. Now we have a new slate of characters to fall in love with again!
Juliet Callahan has been hired to renovate a club named Catacombs. With no idea it is a private BDSM club, she shows up to a meeting very unprepared for the dominant man late to his own meeting. Slowly they walk through the club, Juliet gathering information to design the renovations, while the owner shocks her at every turn. He does it to provoke a reaction, but also to try to get the stick out of her ass.
William Ellis owns a BDSM club that he started in a warehouse with bare bones funding. Now with the help of his brother and a friend, he is renovating the club. He doesn't want a submissive after his last one cheated on him and literally breaking his heart. Guarded friendship builds between his ex and him when he finds out she is pregnant from the one night stand she cheated on him with. Conflicted, he can't seem to bring himself to cut her from his life, but neither does he involve himself much in it either.
Juliet grew up in a house filled with siblings and wants no children of her own, now or ever. Her changing diaper days are over! When William pushes her buttons to get a reaction, she can't stop craving what he can give her while also trying to be the proper daughter in a family business. Will invites her to tour the club and Juliet submits to his dominance.
Just when Will is trying to decide what he wants, he is called to provide care for his ex's daughter, he thinks it's going to be temporary. With Juliet's feelings on kids and his responsibility building, Will has some decisions to make, but so does Juliet.
The story is heartwarming as well as brutally passionate in a very naughty way. Will has been hurt and needs to come to terms with the healing process as he also starts to lose his heart to two different females for two different reasons. He grumbles, he spanks (only Juliet), he cuddles, and he examines his own reasoning for things and what he truly wants. Either choice could cost him either female and its a gamble his heart will have to make weather it wants to or not.
Juliet for her part has to learn that even though she took care of so many of her siblings, taking care of a baby not her own isn't always the same. You see her with her twin nephews and think she would be great, but that is all she wants: to be the doting aunt. Her best friend married her sister, and also works for the same family business. So it all gets a little funny as they start renovating the club while Juliet's sister takes her out to make her realized having kids isn't a bad thing.
The two have a chemistry that makes you sigh. The uptight woman, who needs the release only submission can give her to the laid back, bossy man, who wants to love someone and be loved back (only he doesn't realize it at first). The two evaluate their ultimate goals in life and have to decide truly what they both want. It's a give and take negotiation.
This new world has a younger brother to Will who seems to be hiding something, but also you can tell he has a thing for someone with no idea how to express it. There is also a female friend to Will who is a switch and fun to watch. She's not afraid to tell Will or his brother what she thinks, but then also run off with a band to be their submissive (as a group) for the night. She's no doormat.
I loved also seeing Varushka and Konstantin again as Varushka has had a baby boy and is now pregnant with her second child. Lots of advice is given to Will and it all just brings about why I loved Varuska so much.
I loved getting into this world again and I noticed it was quite some time between book 3 and 4. I hope book 5 doesn't take so long, because I am in love with this world and want to see the brother fall...hard!
Juliet is hired to re-design the Catacombs. She thought it was a restaurant, but when she visited the place, she finds out - to her shock, it's a kink club. As much as she wants to refuse the job, she takes it because of her end goal to travel to France. As William and Juliet disagree on opinions, they find themselves getting attached to one another. The problems are, William is actively into the lifestyle as a dominant, while Juliet has no wishes to explore the kinkier sides of sex. However, with the soft guide of William’s hand, Juliet gets a side of what she’s been missing.
Master in Shining Armor was interesting and certainly had aspects that perked my interest as a reader, however, I also felt there were quite a few plot holes that didn’t give the full extent of William and Juliet ’s relationship during certain parts of the story.
Reviewed on Behalf of Once Upon An Alpha **ARC for an Honest Review**
Sparrow Beckett is probably my favorite writer (well, writing duo) in this genre, but this was my least favorite book of theirs. I’m not a fan of forced parent storylines, so that may be why I couldn’t get into it. There was also a badly dealt with BDSM scene as MC intro to the scene that was a bit concerning, considering how well the authors have written these (safe, sane, consensual) scenes before.
I wanted the pacing more like their other books and maybe better prioritizing/ solutions to make things work better sooner- but I guess then it’d be a short story, lol.
If you like the genre and don’t mind surprise/sudden parenthood stories, give it a look.
This book was...fine. Juliet and Will (are the names a nod to Shakespeare?) are fine. The story was fine. I wanted to read a BDSM romance, and that's what I got. The twist with the baby, as mentioned in the summaries, was an interesting addition to the story, (especially the additional grief angle, which didn't get addressed very much) although really all it seemed to accomplish was to provide a challenge to their relationship that resulted in a lot of "I want to do X, but I want Y too, and I can't have both. Whatever will I do?" dithering. Juliet and to some extent Will thought in repetitive circles about this throughout the book, and it got tiresome. Also, for being a huge tough sadistic dominant, Will really seemed to let Juliet run the show a lot of the time. Sparrow Beckett's books seem to specialize in newbie subs who are brats to the point of topping from the bottom, and this was not much different. The subplot with Dex and Grant had potential but was pretty heavy handed. I'd already bought their story, but I think I'll wait awhile to read it. Because Grant was seriously a jerk about not getting his way, to the point of feeling uncomfortably like harassment, and it pissed me off. Then again, Juliet sleeping with her customer also felt kinda sketchy. the power dynamic is a bit tricky when there's a lot of money on the line. I don't blame her brothers for being concerned about the appropriateness of her choices. There wasn't a lot of racial diversity in this story, if any. Everyone is "gorgeous" red-headed and blonde white people. I did appreciate the character's fluid sexuality, though--Dex is a bisexual switch, and Will is unashamed about having been with men and experimenting with submission in the past. Progress in romance novels! Now just to add some racial and cultural diversity.... I will also offer the caveat that there is an unusually high amount of various forms of anal action in this story. NBD for me, but you've been forewarned if it's not your thing. Because Will really likes a$$. But here's the thing--I read this on vacation. It was fine for making a long bus ride go by, and mindless relaxing in the evenings at the hotel. It wasn't amazing, and I won't read it again, but it was fine for what is is. If you enjoyed the first three Masters Unleashed books, you will enjoy this one too. If you enjoy lightweight BDSM erotic romances with lots of cute babies and white people, you'll probably enjoy this. And if you do, there's one more book in the series.
This is one of the most sensuously titillating books I have ever read!!!
Juliet is hired to do a complete renovation at Catacombs, a BDSM club. Being Vanilla, she has absolutely no previous information on what BDSM is or how it works, until she meets Will, owner and entrepreneur. Their attraction was at first combative, challenging and ultimately electrifying! This author drew her characters so well; they came to life for me. Their fights were amusing and sexy and oh so erotic. Even Juliet’s safeword was unique and humorous and integral to the story. Once started, I could not put this book down.
How a talented author can take words, just normal (and, maybe, some not quite so normal) words, and use them to paint a picture that had my heart thumping, my breathing erratic and my stomach filled with butterflies, absolutely fills me with awe. During the hottest, dirtiest, most sensual, rough, erotic, stimulating play her words could also entertain me. I cannot believe I could be entranced, amused, and sensuously aroused by a story all at the same time.
Although this was my first foray into the writing of Sparrow Beckett, OMG! I love her writing and will definitely read more.
I am giving this book 4 stars. I go back and forth between the score because of two reasons. I want to give it five stars because the chemistry and hot BDSM sex is freaking hot between Will and Juliet. You cannot help but root for them to stay together. They both have amazing personalities and fit together so perfectly.
On the other hand, I was confused by how quickly Juliet let's go of her dreams and what she always wanted. That was disappointing to me. I get that people come into our lives and change the paths we plan on taking but she seemed to throw them away pretty quickly. We are not just talking about giving up Paris, which was pretty big, but to take on the responsibility of another human being after being adamant about never having children is a huge change of mind.
In the end, this story kept my interest and had some really intense sex so I would definitely recommend it. Also, I started reading this book first so you do not have to read the whole series to jump into this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Juliet Callahan has no idea what she's gotten herself in to when her family's company sends her on their latest design project. She may look like money and carry herself in an uptight, professional manner but being the oldest of 9 kids means she's raised enough children in her lifetime and she has to be in control all the time. Cue Catacombs club owner/operator/Dom Will. Both he and his brother, Grant have been shunned by their rich family and now he shuns anyone who looks like they could look down their noses at him. Juliet is not what he wants at all but something about her calls to him. After a crazy night, he's got a taste for her and she's got the hots for him and the lifestyle but then a twist of fate is placed in Will's life. His ex's baby daughter, Beau, the baby that should have been his but was another man's, is now his responsibility. Now he's got to save Beau, himself and keep the love of his life.
Cute story, nice sub-plots/intrigue and interesting characters. It was a quick read with twists and turns to draw you in and make you keep turning the pages.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review from NetGalley.
Juliet got a job to revamp Catacombs which she thought was a restaurant or something but turns out it’s a kink club and she was ready to refuse when she as Will the owner what’s his thoughts were. Well Juliet is a very vanilla woman and has no interest of doing anything but saving to go to France but she agrees to let William show her what the club is about. Juliet is embarrassed that she let a stranger do those things to her but she really liked it to so she agrees to see Will but then his life gets an upheaval and she isn’t sure about that. Will can’t stand to be away from her so they compromise but they are both getting attached but the chances of a BDSM Master and a very Vanilla woman succeeding in a relationship is nuts. I loved how the story was told it added a lot to the situation.
There are just not enough words to describe how much I love this series, the men and women in it. At first I went back and forth with Will, Juliet and baby Beau. For me I don't like when a baby gets thrown into a story and has not mother or father and the main characters go through a the baby needs us but are we ready for that? So when the book started I was not into that but as I keep reading I fell in love.
Sparrow Beckett make a great team and so far I love all four of the books in this series. With how amazing these books and characters are they could give each one five book each.
In charge , independant and always with the wrong type Juliet need to renovate a bdsm club and gets a hands on demo very quickly . Can getting out of your head long enough to enjoy is possible when your always in control ? Will is a born again rich owner of a bdsm club and never takes on newbies because ... he does not have the patience for it or does he ?
Good book did not like the last 2 chapters and felt like 2 more were needed .
There is nothing sexier than a man who's a great father. Will Ellis is definitely one gorgeous guy but when he has his dad hat on? Phew! Juliet Harris was as vanilla as they come when she first met Will. He manages to turn her into a real kinkster. He breaks down the barriers she's built and makes her question several of her 'I am never going to..." beliefs. Their relationship is a sexy, steamy and sometimes contentious rollercoaster ride.
This book was ok. I think I may have preferred reading it rather than the audio. The narrator was great, but I’m not a fan of one narrator doing both POVs and it took me out of the story trying to figure out who was talking. Otherwise, this wasn’t a bad book. Juliet annoyed me. Her sudden change of heart regarding the baby annoyed me. We should have been shown her starting to bond or at least interact with her. Will was ok.
It’s been a couple of years between books in this series but it was so worth the wait. Will and Juliet’s chemistry is off the chart and I love their back and forth banter. There has to be a book 5 for Grant and Dex, cuz you know that is going to happen. ARC provided by Netgalley and publisher for a honest review.
I didn't know that there was going to be another book in this series and it was a very welcome surprise to find it randomly while browsing overdrive. I really loved the story, especially how Juliet doesn't just toss aside all that she has focused on for so long, she really takes some time to actually think about what she wants and what's worth giving up a little bit.
I can't even with the dirty, sexy, smutty hotness. Chemistry for days and days between the characters. Once again Beckett nails the balance between kink and genuine emotion. Not all authors can do it, but Beckett has found the sweet spot giving the reader all the delicious dirty along with all the heart and feels. A must read series for sure!
I really liked it. It was sexy and cute and heartwarming. I wondered how is it going to go from Juliet not wanting kids to her wanting kids, and it went pretty smoothly. Though I would have liked a book of happily ever after for a woman who doesn't want kids and doesn't need to compromise on it.