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A Dom Is Forever (2012)

by Lexi Blake(Favorite Author)

4.41 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1937608107 (ISBN13: 9781937608101)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

DLZ Entertainment, LLC

series

Masters and Mercenaries

review 1: Lexi Blake is quickly becoming one of my favorite erotic writers. This is book three in the Masters and Mercenaries series. The boys are at it again but this time in London as they track down the infamous Mr. Black. Liam is back in the United Kingdom the locale he fled with barely his life. He's forced to recall the fateful night his brother died and he nearly perished while on an op. Here he meets Avery, a survivor on many levels, with a heart of gold. Like most of the undercover operations run by the McKay-Taggart team, someone had to be the stud, and Liam drew the straw.I was a little concerned with this story at first because Avery's physical description (minus one major thing), personality, and mannerisms were exactly the same as Grace from the first book. Even... more Liam's reactions were a mirror image to Sean's from book one. Oh, oh! How could you lose creativity so early in a series! But Lexi pulled it out of the fire about 3/4 of the way through. The secondary storyline had the unexpected twist that really pulled the main storyline together. Very nice!Loved it. Highly recommend it.
review 2: There are two reasons I enjoyed this story. The first reason is really just a matter of taste. My interest in dangerous heroes tends to generate a ton of Romantic BDSM title recommendations on my Goodreads profile but I seem to have a love/hate relationship with that genre. I love the hot, sexy heroes and the smokin' hot sex but that love comes with a few things I hate. One of my biggest hates with the Dom/sub stories is when the Dom does not allow the sub to speak, and will many times punish his sub for speaking without permission. Grrrr.... But Lexi Blake does not do this with this D/s pair and that is my first reason for enjoying this book. Liam and Avery seem to enjoy a bit of verbal play while sweating up the sheets. This is a brilliant move on Blake's part because it so beautifully shows how the cynical, hardened Liam is learning to embrace joy and tenderness with Avery. During their dirty, silly talk in bed (and in the shower) Liam's internal reflections show a man somewhat surprised to find he actually has a playful side to him. And by allowing Avery to make her silly, snarky, "bratty" comments readers see Avery's confidence grow.The second reason I enjoyed this story is a bit more, hmm, educational, I guess you could say. It is the difference between a lazy writer only 'telling' a story vs a creative writer 'showing' the story as it evolves. This difference in writing talent is apparent when Blake succeeds in FINALLY helping me through one of those hates I mentioned about this genre, specifically, my inability to really grasp the motivation behind a sub's desire/need to submit so much of herself to her Dom. Many authors will TELL their readers very routine reasons why their characters choose a D/s lifestyle. Needs to control, needs to please, etc... But Lexi Blake actually SHOWS us her characters' motivations. We are with Liam on his voyage from the half-assed Dom to the fully realized Dom. We are with Avery as her confidence grows. This is the first BDSM book I've read that the author succeeds in showing me just how much the Dom cherishes his sub's gift of herself to him and how a cherished sub will find herself feeling just as powerful as her devoted Dom. Many authors do an okay job explaining what the Doms/subs each get out of the arrangement but this is the first book I have read that makes it crystal clear to me: With Avery's submission Liam gets the control his Dom needs. Finally, after years of meaningless D/s hook-ups, Liam understands what motivates the softer side of a Dom, the side of the Dom that makes him want to protect his sub, the side that makes him need to cherish his sub. Liam's feelings for Avery are powerful and the author does not mess around with having her hero fight his feelings. Love 'em and leave 'em Liam embraces his feelings for Avery and acknowledges to himself that while he may be the Dom, Avery is the one in complete control of him and he wouldn't have it any other way. Liam:"Oh, they were both in trouble because he was pretty sure he was about to become one of those pussy Doms who let his sub lead him around by his dick, and there wasn't a damn thing he wanted to do about it."The flip side of this is how the author shows us what Avery gets out of this arrangement. While most authors tell us the subs get endless orgasms and Doms who take care of them, Lexi Blake goes one step further. She shows us the moment when plain, plump, self-conscious Avery realizes her hot, sexy boyfriend has his own insecurities. It's not just SUBMISSION her man craves; it is also acceptance, not just acceptance of his kink, but acceptance of him as a man worthy of her love. Her cautious but enthusiastic acceptance of the Dom/sub aspect of Liam is exactly what he needs. She understands the power she has over him but she does not take advantage of that power, just as Liam does not take advantage of his power over Avery as her Dom. This couple exemplifies the Dom/sub idea of exchange of power. This isn't a story of the autocratic Dom finding a natural-born submissive just waiting to submit to her Sir. This is a story about a man who thought he was too hard to ever be tender and a soft, caring woman who refused to allow tragedy to harden her. Exchange of power or exchange of love? As Alex would say, "tomato, tomahto." less

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