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Puro Placer: (Claiming His Own) (2014)

by Olivia Gates(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0373515898 (ISBN13: 9780373515899)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Harlequin

review 1: Though the story immediately starts off with an incredibly fast-moving, supremely passionate encounter, the pacing for the rest of the piece is quite slow and deliberate – a quality that is due, in large part, to the presence of several lengthy quasi-monologues delivered by multiple characters. The slow and steady unfolding of the story is necessary, as are the aforementioned lengthy pieces of exposition, in order to understand these characters: their mindsets about love and commitment, their traumatic childhoods, the long-term effects abuse can have on the psyche of the victims, the desire to not repeat others’ past mistakes, and how the power of soul-searing love and passion can be all-consuming. Maksim acts in ways throughout the story that may lose some readers�... more� understanding, simply because he causes so much pain (regardless of his intentions). However, we are given ample insight into his reasoning, and this is where one of the more interesting aspects of the story comes into play: Usually, when heroes inflict emotional turmoil on their heroines, they do so for self-serving reasons – i.e., to protect their bachelorhood, because they are wary of falling of love, etc. etc. In this case, Maksim is sincerely convinced that he’s acting in Caliope’s (and adorable baby Leo’s) best interests, and causes even himself a significant amount of pain in the process. For her part, Cali is determined to not follow in her mother’s footsteps by constantly allowing a man to waltz in and out of her life on a whim. When Maksim reenters the picture, she does put up a strong front, though her defenses are precarious. The bottom line is that she does not make it easy for him to rekindle a relationship with her, but happily, she does allow him to be a presence in Leo’s life, which results in an abundance of lovely (and occasionally tear-jerking) scenes. Another interesting tact taken with this story is that their original relationship is the usual based-entirely-on-sex trope, but where it differs from the norm is that each believes that that was the real extent of their connection – any feelings they had for one another they kept strictly to themselves, so much so that Maksim laments at one point that they’d never had a comfortable bond, and that while their chemistry and passion was extraordinary, they hadn’t really known each other. Then – and here’s something that’s all-too-rare in books nowadays – they actually….talk to each other and explain their points of view. As the story progresses, the reader is treated to several scenes of Maksim and Leo being adorable, the chemistry between Maksim and Cali ranging from potent to scorching, and quite a few glimpses into just how deep the love is in this newly-formed family unit. Olivia Gates’ work tends to have some truly special hallmarks, and they are fully present here: her heroes truly love their heroines, and that love and devotion is profound, unwavering, and something in which they revel. That’s always such a treat, given how getting typical heroes to admit their feelings is akin to pulling teeth. Then, too, this author excels at creating combustible chemistry between her characters, as well as true emotional devastation, the likes of which other authors struggle to create yet on which their efforts usually fall short. The only downsides to the latter in this case is that Maksim comes a bit close to losing readers’ empathy near the end of the piece, though again, his actions are born of self-sacrificing motivations. Additionally, the final reconciliation is wrapped up perhaps a mite too quickly, in my view, given how emotionally destroyed Cali was. That said, these characters and their love story – in all of its passionate, heart-wrenching glory – really pulls you in. This is a truly well-written book that I would highly recommend to readers searching for romance with real emotional resonance.(In the interest of full disclosure, a copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.)
review 2: In Olivia Gates latest book Claiming His Own: We find Maksim and Caliope who first meet across a crowded room. And agree to a friend’s with benefits type relationship. Neither one is interested in anything serious, for personal reasons. When Cali accidently becomes pregnant a year into their relationship she has already managed to fall in love with Maksim. When she confesses she is pregnant she is shocked by his reaction, but agrees to his terms. She just was not prepared for him to walk away without a word. Maksim had what he believed to be very good reasons for walking away from Cali. One year later he is back. But this is where the story really takes off. And we learn why Maksim made the choices he did. Maksim is back and he wants to be a father to their son. Just when you believe all will end well between these two, this story takes a very emotional rollercoaster ride. And this reader was holding her breathe and praying for a great outcome. Then Maksim once again breaks Cali’s heart. Olivia does any amazing job of writing characters with deep emotions. She was able to showcase their strengths and weaknesses and the passionate obsession with each other. She also was able to take this reader along on the trip to Russia. Without giving too much away Olivia described a special occasion that took place while in Russia with great detail.Favorite line:“ Ya ocheen skoocha po tebyeh, moya dorogoya.” I missed you so terribly, my darling.5/5 starsI received an ARC of this book from the Author in exchange for an honest review. less

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