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The Education Of Nicholas (2013)

by Shannon West(Favorite Author)

3.67 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Shannon West

review 1: This book was raw, gritty, and highly emotional.One of the MCs is Nick who has considered himself to be a Dom for 10 years but has never quite found the satisfaction from the lifestyle as the rest of his friends; there was something always missing for him. Nick is an imperfect and realistic character with a traumatic past of child abuse and cutting. He has a tendency to feel guilt for events that were out of his control, and this often leads him to relapse into cutting. He is so tired of trying to keep a lid on his emotions and staying in complete control but is afraid to give up that control to someone. This is where Connor comes in. He is a well-known Dom and detective. From the first time he sees Nick, he recognizes that Nick has submissive tendencies and needs to l... moreet someone else take control of the reins every once in a while. He also realizes that Nick will not give up control easily, no matter how much he wants to and that he will have to engage in "judicious bullying" to get him to accept his submissive side. This book is an emotional rollercoaster with a constant tug of war between the characters because it is so hard for Nick to accept his submissive self since it makes him feel weak and less of a man. He realizes that giving up control to Connor helps soothe his emotional pain and makes him feel more whole, but he fights Connor constantly. This both gave the book depth and was bit of a pet peeve for me. We take this journey with Nick on his path from being an exclusive Dom to being a submissive and the struggles that he faces with accepting his new role; it is truly an emotional ride. The pet peeve comes in that Nick constantly kept referring to submissives as weak. Ugh! You would think that someone who claims to be in the lifestyle for 10 years would understand that it takes a lot of courage to submit to somebody else and trust them enough to take complete control. But I am going to blame this on a character flaw of Nick's and not an oversight of the authors' (because I really don't think it is since Nick can be quite a stubborn ass when he sets his mind to it!) so I am not going to dock stars for this. Some reviewers said that Connor is not really a Dom but actually a bully who calls himself a Dominant. I do not think this is a fair assessment of the character. From the get-go, Connor recognizes what Nick need and tries to give it to him. You can't change someone's whole mindset without being a little forceful. Yes, Connor pushes Nick to do some things that he does not like (such as grounding him) and Nick may protest, but Connor always respects safewords, and Nick never actually uses his. In fact, during some scenes, Nick wants to go further, but Connor stops him because he does not want to push him too far. I think Connor uses the right amount of force to get Nick to accept his submissive side but he is never a bully in the truest sense of word and abusive. He can read Nick so well and just know what he needs.Just one more thing that I have to point out in this book has to do with the way the authors portray cutting. Often in the media, cutters are portrayed as nothing more than attention-seekers. The authors utterly throttle this myth and explain what compels people to actually cut. I just have to praise the authors for dealing with a sensitive issue so wonderfully.
review 2: I found this book to be borderline offensive. If safe, sane and consensual is the foundation of BDSM, this book's theme was Insane, unsafe and questionable consent. I have read other books by Shannon West and found them good light entertainment. This book covered issues of mental illness and bdsm in a really dangerous, ridiculous and offensive way. Disgusting and repulsive, and probably triggering for people who have mental health issues or who love someone facing these struggles. A shame because this author can be entertaining, and is hope this was just a misstep for her. less

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