I enjoyed these consensual BDSM books about James and Christiana, two very different people in terms of class, ethnicity, background, and expectations who, nonetheless, forge a connection that is enhanced -- rather than overwhelmed -- by kink. This is the third in a trilogy and you absolutely have to read the first two to understand what is going on. Because I've read all three, this review is really for all of them (so I didn't experience the frustration that I see many other readers did).
Our MC first meet when Christiana sneaks into a very exclusive BDSM party and catches the attention of James, who, unbeknownst to him, becomes the first Dom the newbie sub has ever been with. Once he finds out the truth, the rest of the books details their burgeoning BDSM and "vanilla" relationship.
The Orchid Club -- where the two meet and where this series will continue with one of the side characters we see here -- is one of those fantasy BDSM clubs common to this genre. I have to say that Ms. Dubois' description of it outdoes every other fictional BDSM club -- it really does sound like a fairy tale palace. Between that, James' status as quasi-royalty, and Christiana's more down-to-earth lifestyle and job, this does have a slightly Cinderella feel to it (minus the abusive family). While this isn't usually my thing, the author grounds the fantasy (the private jet, the island getaway, the ostentatious jewelry) by giving us two very likeable people who have realistic jobs (James is not, say, Special Ops and I loved that Christiana was an engineer, an unusual profession for this genre). Their conflicts rose out of organic differences rather than anything OTT (so, no, Christiana is not kidnapped by the man who James thought was his best friend, but is actually his illegitimate half-brother out for revenge). The one instance that could have turned melodramatic -- the wannabe dom that Christiana goes home with -- is more a case of someone who is clueless and self-involved, rather than evil.
I appreciated other aspects of the book: the BDSM is consensual and there's talk of safewords and limits; both characters are multi-ethnic in what is still a too-white genre; Christiana retains her sense of self; and James admits when he's wrong. I particularly liked that the ending, while an HEA or HFN, didn't resolve everything and that the couple will have to compromise and negotiate -- just like any couple. Finally, this contained well-described kink scenes and was well-written (though there were some typos), with just enough description without turning into info-dump (who knew knocking down walls could be so compelling to read about?)
I have some quibbles: James is not American, but speaks like one (which Ms. Dubois must realize since her bio indicates that she's lived in a lot of different countries); I felt that the BDSM scenes got a bit much in this book, given Christiana's relative inexperience; James' constant insistence that subs can't ask questions of their doms -- just trust them -- is not true; and the final conflict is something umpteen other books have employed. But none of these affected my overall enjoyment of the book.
4 stars. This is one of the few BDSM books I've read that uses kink as not only the physical manifestation of a couple's connection, but also a metaphorical one. While I agree with others that this didn't necessarily need to be three books, I do recommend the trilogy highly.