Resistance (Power Play, #1) in Riptide Publishing

Mar 13, 2012 Darien rated it it was amazing

Shelves: let-the-tears-flow, my-m-m-lovin, 2018-reads, release-2012, tie-me-up-and-use-me, 2012-reads, fave-books-of-2012, piss-off-books-of-2012, pants-off-reviews

09/03/18
Still one of the greatest BDSM books out there. 5++++ 🌟 then, 5+++++ 🌟 now, 5++++ 🌟 forever!! Bran and Jonathan 4 Eva

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Let me begin by saying that this book was just surprises, rises, and falls. Cat and Rachel did something wonderful in this book, and left me in love with Power Play and its characters. Dynamics were switched, emotions put to the test, mistakes were made, and its one of the best BDSM novels I have read. What a pants losing this one caused.

Brand ...more

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Apr 08, 2012 Heather C rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, ebook, m-m, bdsm, cloud

I went way past my comfort zone reading this book!! I knew this level of intense BDSM wouldn't be for me at all, but I wanted to prove to myself that I could read it. And surprisingly I actually liked it...to an extent. I think I couldn't put it down mostly because it was so shockingly horrific for my poor, little, innocent self. I also think it was written well and the pace was quick. So much happened in the short span of time the book covered.

First of all, I don't really understand the nee I went way past my comfort zone reading this book!! I knew this level of intense BDSM wouldn't be for me at all, but I wanted to prove to myself that I could read it. And surprisingly I actually liked it...to an extent. I think I couldn't put it down mostly because it was so shockingly horrific for my poor, little, innocent self. I also think it was written well and the pace was quick. So much happened in the short span of time the book covered.

First of all, I don't really understand the need for this lifestyle. I mean, in no way can this be functionally healthy, right? Anyway, with that being said, I did like the 'power play' between Jonathan and Bran; Bran's repeated 'resistance' to submit and Jonathan's struggle to break him. So, yeah, the title fits perfectly.

Second, I only found like 3 of the sex scenes hot (the ones that didn't involve pain). All the others made me a little squeamish...(view spoiler)

Third, I think that Jonathan failed Bran. He basically gave up and did everything he could to get Bran to leave. I hope he's learned from his mistakes and I see growth and change in him throughout the next book.

Fourth, there really isn't anything emotional between Jonathan and Bran, past the sex. And I really don't feel like I know these characters much at all. Especially Jonathan. What makes him have these sexual kinks? What makes Bran need to be dominated by Jonathan? I hope that that will be further explored in the next book.

Finally, even though this is probably the most horrific thing I've ever read, I couldn't stop reading it and I still want to read the sequel Power Play: Awakening. This book only covers 3 weeks of the 6 month contract between Jonathan and Bran, so I'm curious to see where this will go next. ...more

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Apr 19, 2012 BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme rated it really liked it

Shelves: bdsm, edgeplay, bdsm-book-reviews, m-m

What happens when a strong man with hidden submissive tendencies comes across a powerful man who wants to dominate him? What happens when the experienced dominant forces a vanilla man into submission without a shred of teaching? Resistance is the answer. Brandon is a stubborn construction manager who is picked up at a bar by the self made man, Jonathan. Jonathan and Brandon’s chemistry is like lithium in water, explosive. Jonathan chases Brandon and makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Brandon ne What happens when a strong man with hidden submissive tendencies comes across a powerful man who wants to dominate him? What happens when the experienced dominant forces a vanilla man into submission without a shred of teaching? Resistance is the answer. Brandon is a stubborn construction manager who is picked up at a bar by the self made man, Jonathan. Jonathan and Brandon’s chemistry is like lithium in water, explosive. Jonathan chases Brandon and makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Brandon needs the money and is willing to give six months of his life as a sexual slave to earn the money he needs to buy the construction company he wants.

This story is an intense BDSM story which clearly demonstrates how a BDSM relationship can turn so wrong. It is stated over and over again that Jonathan is a much sought after Dom who trains submissives very well. This may be the case. Here’s the interesting thing. He’s only ever trained willing submissives who are in the BDSM lifestyle and want to submit. This key element is what makes this story so painful to read. Brandon is neither versed in the lifestyle nor is Jonathan teaching him anything other than pain, humiliation and abuse.

Jonathan’s domination style is very hot and a Dom I’d be willing to submit to for six months. This is only because there would be negotiation up front and I would know what I’d be signing up to experience. I would be a willing sub with known hard and soft limits. The negotiation scene in this story is maybe two sentences. There were no discussions of hard or soft limits. All Brandon asked for was no blood. This shocked me since Brandon doesn’t even want to be in the BDSM lifestyle. Jonathan did nothing to prepare Brandon whatsoever.

Jonathan is also a Dom who is tired of playing with one sub after another. He wants a relationship. He wants what his friend has found – a soul mate. He thinks Brandon is the one. He wants Brandon as his 24/7 slave. Never once did Jonathan explain what his expectations are and what he wants Brandon to do. He expected Brandon to figure it out. This is like teaching a blind person to paint a landscape he cannot see. This entire travesty of a story is Jonathan’s fault. At no point is this Brandon’s fault for the terrible abuse at Jonathan’s hands. Yes, it was Brandon’s choice to stay. He is stubborn; perhaps a bit too stubborn for his own good.

The reason why Jonathan couldn’t connect and find a submissive for life, is because he has built no relationship on trust. To have trust, there must be communication. Now, D/s people in the lifestyle have different opinions on what makes a good D/s relationship. My personal perspective is, without open communication and trust, there will be no D/s relationship and there will be no TPE. This story demonstrates my perspective crystal clear. I hurt for Brandon. He is betrayed over and over again by Jonathan. Jonathan is not an evil or bad person. He is an inept Dom for training a vanilla man who isn’t sure about BDSM let alone being kinky.

Jonathan’s response to Brandon’s inability to conform to his submissive expectations is to beat Brandon more. The one time Jonathan offers open communication, he immediately punishes Brandon for his open honesty. How is this not a slap in the face and kicking the guy when he is down? How is this not abuse of power and a complete breach of trust? The line Jonathan crossed beyond any realm of acceptable Dom behaviour, is when he beat Brandon to a point that Brandon relived flashbacks of his abused childhood. That Jonathan was unable to apologize for this and felt he was still in the right; this caused me to lose all respect for him. Jonathan at this point is the monster vanilla people think all BDSM Doms to be. The vanilla folks would be right in this case. Jonathan did turn into a terrible monster whose tactics are no different than prison guards for prisoner of wars.

In Resistance, Jonathan’s worst flaws are exposed in high definition while Brandon is the collateral damage. Not only does Brandon have to break the deal due to his starved body and physical damaged, he is now out of a job. He took a leave of absence which meant he was immediately replaced. Jonathan cheated Brandon out of a livelihood in addition to adding to Brandon’s emotional trauma and physical deterioration. Jonathan left Brandon worse off after meeting him. What Jonathan did was reprehensible and completely vile. Jonathan deliberately set up Brandon to fail. One could argue Jonathan did it unconsciously. It does not matter. Jonathan is the experience Dom who wanted a green behind the years sub. It is Jonathan’s responsible to lead and guide. Brandon has no idea what questions to ask and no one to help him understand. The way Jonathan treated Brandon is similar to watching a two hundred pound man kicking a seven pound abandoned puppy with steel toed boots.

Despite my loathing of Jonathan, the BDSM scenes were pretty hot. They are accurate in many senses. It is sad that they were used in a negative way. The tools and lifestyle are not the issue. Jonathan and how he approached it was the issue. This story clearly shows, that not all Doms are perfect and even the ones who are so experienced can really fuck it up. Even after all this abuse, Brandon is the bigger and better man. Jonathan doesn’t deserve him. The ending of this story is a cliffhanger to the follow up book. I am eager to read the next book to see how this train wreck can be salvaged. This book is recommend for hardcore BDSM lovers who enjoy an emotional rollercoaster punctuated by physical trauma which will make even the hardest of hearts weep.
...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Absynthe rated it it was ok

Shelves: m-m, bdsm

I'm not really sure whether this is really hard core BDSM or torture porn. One of the things I keep tripping over is that Jonathon did an extensive background check on Brandon. He had seen Brandon's childhood medical records and was aware that he'd been beaten by his father when he was a child. He'd also had indications, very early on in his contract with Brandon that Brandon still had very serious issues surrounding his abuse at the hands of his father.

And yet, he thought it was a good idea to ...more

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May 20, 2012 Feliz rated it it was ok

Shelves: contemporary, m-m, bdsm

Hard to read and hard to rate.

This book was incredibly intense, it kept me on the edge of my seat for most of the time. At times what Jonathan did to Bran definitely exceeded non-con; it rather read as if Jonathan was brainwashing him, and I could feel all the frustration, the exhaustion both characters went through. I wanted to scream at Jonathan, you idiot! Can't you see you got it all wrong! and at Bran, get outta there fast and fuck the money, this isn't worth it, not even three million dol ...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Book Gremlin Reads rated it really liked it

Shelves: male-male, romance, dark, erotica, bdsm, net-galley, read-and-reviewed-from-author-or-pu

Wow. I have to say that even though I read the description for this book—I had no idea it was going to be so intense.

I didn’t read any reviews before I started the book, though I had saw Power Play around on the web a lot and am familiar with Rachel Haimowitz; add that together with the overall appeal of the book description and I have been waiting to read this one for a while now.

I loved it! Power Play: Resistance is the first book of the Power Play series and this first book is aptly named. Br ...more

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Jun 15, 2012 Debbie rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m

Oh my gosh!!!! No he didn't!! Yes he did but how could Brandon handle that? That was my thoughts thru this entire book. I read this in two sittings because the second time I started reading there was no way I was stopping until I finished. I had to just keep reading to see what was going to happen next to Brandon. At times I was so upset with the way Jonathan was treating Brandon I wanted to throttle him myself. I was literally screaming at my Kindle. At other times I was yelling at Brandon to t ...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Clover rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m, contemporary, bdsm, kinky

I really have mixed feelings about this book. the writing was very good but the story was awful.
I had read a lot of BDSM stories from a lot of different authors. from light BDSM to D/s with almost no sexual encounters and heavy hardcore BDSM. I would like also to remember that BDSM means : Bondage/Discipline - Domination/Submission - Sadism/Masochism, so no, not all about pain and humiliation like in this book.
The only rule you have to remember in BDSM is "safe, sane and consensual".
and in this ...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Wendy❤Ann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sex-bdsm-kink, 5stars, series, app-stanza

It’s wise not to start this book unless you plan to follow through with the sequel immediately. Believe me, you’ll feel more or less wrecked at the end of this one, having seen no romance and very little resolution other than a flicker of hope. The book gets 5 stars from me simply for the power of the writing and the emotions it pulls to the surface. The content is very hard at times to read because you just don’t see the connection, at all, between these guys and the path is very rough. They bo ...more

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May 20, 2012 Tj rated it liked it

Shelves: have, read-2015

I debated on how to rate this book. I'm taking the easy way out and saying pretty middle of the road. The writing was good. (I have to admit to REALLY disliking Jonathan.) I thought the characters well developed and interesting. My problem/reason for the non-five stars is simply put, this IS NOT a true depiction of a BDSM relationship. This isn't at all how those work and if someone reads this and thinks this is how BDSM IS, it isn't right. This isn't anywhere near how even Jonathan explained an ...more

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