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Stare Me Down (2013)

by Riley Murphy(Favorite Author)

3.83 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0615846033 (ISBN13: 9780615846033)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Riley Murphy

series

Stare Down

review 1: OMG, the dual narration on this audiobook was super hot...like steaming hot, and very intimate. It took me a while to get used to the intimacy of the dual narration style on this book. It almost felt like intruding on a personal story/conversation. But, with time I got used to it. There were some background noises, at times, but nothing overly disruptive. Some of the sounds such as the gasps, whispering, and moans were a bit over the top, at some parts, but overall the narrators were really good--super sexy for sure! When I read novels with a BDSM-style romance, well it's because of the sexy adventure that is so alluring. But, I notice that I also expect there to be an emotional depth & growth between the leads that compliments their sexual activity. So, even though... more Dr. Jaxx Gavin and Ramsey (Aries) Taylor had sizzling chemistry, I found their relationship to lack some emotional depth throughout the book. When there's a lack of emotional depth it really sucks because it always impacts the love scenes and gives them more of a mechanical quality. That's what some of the love scenes felt like to me....more mechanical, and not emotionally-compelling. Aries always seemed to have an upper hand in the relationship. I wouldn't have minded complete domination in the bedroom, but I thought Aries had unrealistic expectations imposed on Jaxx, as he demanded her complete trust, with no explanations on his part. He didn't bother to explain the presence of certain women in his life, and he didn't even want her to question him about this topic--Ugh, I didn't like that at all. There was definitely an inequitable balance of power in this relationship, as Aries never seemed vulnerable (even when you'd expect he would have). Jaxx and Aries meet as he's assigned to her counseling group, by the court, to address his anger management. However, even though both Jaxx and Aries share hot chemistry, witty banter, Jaxx, as a therapist was not believable. And, it wasn't just that she ALWAYS seemed out of her depth with Aries. When she recounted her schooling as 4 yrs. in junior college and 4 yrs. in regular college----UMMMMM, what the hell does that mean? "Junior college" typically is in reference to community college or trade school, not an undergraduate program...What the???? So, was "regular college" supposed to be a graduate school program? That was just weird. The only time Jaxx was really good, as a therapist, was when she psycho-analyzed Aries. I thought she did well then, otherwise, the way she failed to set boundaries in her personal life with her mother-figure didn't seem like any of her training generalized to her personal life. Anyway...... Jaxx and Aries do get to their HEA, and there is a cute & funny epilogue that brings everything together.
review 2: Stare Me Down by Riley Murphy is not just another BDSM story. It has a great plot with well developed characters. I felt Murphy really explored the feelings and actions of Ramsey and Jaxx and that added a lot of depth to the story. The sex scenes were Hot with a capital H!! I really liked Ramsey's obsession with marking Jaxx. The minor characters were great too and really added to the story. I hope the Viking gets his own story! I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it to anyone. I can't wait to ready more by Riley Murphy.I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. less

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