I really hate to review a book in this series with anything less than four stars, but this one, nearing the end of the series I hope, just didn't cut it.
In the previous books, while the dialogue could be stilted, most times it made sense (lest we forget Rytsar discussing Brie with her doctor, etc), but this time, no just no. She's kidnapped, and I expected her to use her brain to survive Holloway, instead she's rescued out of nowhere.
Then we have Lily, and everyone's refusal to just kill her and get it over with. But wait, if you kill her, the plot of Lily threatening Brie, again, can't go forward. Someone, Mary or Rytsar needs to kill her, but I understand why it won't happen, or at least not soon. Hopefully, that will be the finale of this series, she certainly deserves to be dead.
In the previous books, we saw the characters interact. And in those earlier books, that interaction was closer to family than this one. Sir's speech is predictable, which is a shame, since his words in previous books held weight. Now, I just got the feeling he was phoning it in.
Despite the action in the plot, the book fell flat. It didn't excite me, it didn't have fireworks, it didn't make me hold my breath waiting for the next page. Instead, there appeared to be very little left in this story upon which to build. The book promised a lot and didn't deliver on it. The sex and spice that the previous books had wasn't here in this book. These are no longer Doms the way that they were written in the previous books. Its sort of like Sir had a personality transplant somewhere along the way, and there's no sizzle left to him. In the past, the sex between the two has been satisfying and appropriate. This time, Brie and Sir's interactions surprised me. They were far more mainstream couple than I expected them to be. I started to read this series for the steam, heat, and excitement. But this time, while there was some, it just wasn't enough. Yes, I know - psychologically, Sir is trying to heal Brie. Been there and understand it. But it just didn't seem realistic.
Like others, I will always read this series, but I pray that some of the spice, some of the breathlessness, and some of the excitement will be back in the next book. Thank you to the author for offering it on KU!