Finding Master Right is my first Sparrow Beckett novel. I’m not sure how this writing duo eluded me until now because they are an amazing team with the kind of literary voice I love. Their writing is so solid, succinct, and entertaining I never felt the urge to skim, as I tend to do quite often. I have zero, zip, no patience whatsoever for incessant whining and waffling from characters. Of course, it’s necessary to a degree. Otherwise we’d have no delicious angst over which to wring our hands, right? However, there’s a fine line between just enough and too much. Thank you, Sparrow Beckett for not going over that line. This writing team is also quite good at dangling a carrot, and I chased that carrot until the very end. As a matter of fact, I powered through this book.

The story opens with up-to-now vanilla Kate Lambert in search of a Dom. She’s been envious of her best friend ever since Janine spilled the beans that she and hubby Chris have a D/s relationship. The more Janine divulged and explained about the dynamic the more Kate longed to find that for herself.

She’d seen the blissful look on Janine’s face when she knelt at Chris’s feet. She’d daydreamed about someone making her feel that way too. To have that deep connection to and synchronicity with another person seemed almost impossible, but somewhere, deep inside herself, she thought she was capable of that.

Kate’s job as a drug abuse counselor is not only stressful, it’s heartbreaking at times. Giving her all to a client, leading them down the road to recovery, only to see them return doesn’t sit well with Kate the perfectionist. She’s become a workaholic with absolutely no social life. No matter what she does she just can’t get out of her head, forget about work and the real world, and let herself enjoy life. Maybe finding a Dom she can submit to is the answer.

The idea of someone inflicting pain—small amounts—was one of her biggest fantasies. And admittedly, some of the photos she’d seen—women on leashes, kneeling at men’s feet, heads bowed—were pretty damn hot. She’d like to try spanking, at least once. Maybe bondage, but she needed full control. Forget a safeword; she wanted to direct every moment. That didn’t bode well for being a submissive. She knew that much.

I’ll admit, I tend to prefer the more hard core BDSM novels. This is not one of those. Nevertheless I loved this book because it is totally believable and true-to-life. Kate could be any number of women craving to experience their submissive nature. Craving to relinquish themselves and all control to a man they trust implicitly, yet at the same time fighting against it. Entering into a D/s relationship goes against everything girls are taught these days. The vanilla world looks down on women who give up their power to a man. And this is exactly what Kate’s inner battle is all about.

When she meets Banner Jennings at Janine’s Halloween/matchmaking/find Kate a Dom party, her inner sub falls to her knees. Not only is he gorgeous and commanding, he’s unassuming. He also makes it clear she’s not his type. He’s a Master looking for a 24/7 slave. Kate is a newbie who has no idea what she wants and Banner isn’t interested in a sub. But there’s something about her he can’t resist, and he doesn’t want to see her taken advantage of. Yeah, that’s it. Against his better judgement he proposes to train her, then help her find a Dom. Mmhmm.

What I love most about this book is the amazing chemistry between these two. It’s intense and delicious, and it kept me turning the pages. Watching Banner deal with Kate’s bratty side and snarky comments is adorable. If she were his slave he’d…but she’s not his and as training progresses he has a hard time remembering that. He also has a hard time remembering he’s a Master who doesn’t put up with that shit. He’s so smitten and attracted to Kate it’s driving him crazy! As far as Kate’s concerned Banner may be frustrating as hell but he’s exactly what she wants in a Dom. Too bad he keeps insisting he’s a Master and will accept nothing less than a slave. He brings out every submissive bone in her body even though she fights it. Her body says Dominate me, please Sir! Her mind says You want me to do what?

As Kate’s training progresses, so do Banner’s feelings for her. Convinced he can’t be what she needs he reluctantly hands her over to another Dom. His best friend, Ambrose. Because he’s certainly not going to let her go to some stranger. Watching her with Ambrose just about kills him, but Banner believes it’s for the best.

“If the two of you fall in love, maybe this mess in my head will mellow out. Maybe I’ll get over her if I see your collar on her neck.”
 
“But I don’t get it! Why is my collar on her neck okay and yours isn’t? ‘Slave’ is just a word. Why don’t you call it something else and keep her?”

Exactly, Banner! Why do men have to be so damn stubborn? Poor Kate. I could feel her confusion and rejection even though she’s attracted to Ambrose, and they have a great time together. Bottom line…he’s not the Master she wants. Yes, she wants Banner as her Master. As happens when people fall in love, Kate would do anything for Banner. And Banner would do anything for Kate. Thank goodness Ambrose sees through the mess these two are in.

This is not only a heart poundingly sexy story, it’s lots of fun, the dialogue is witty, and the writing is fantastic. I loved every minute!

Masters Unleashed Series:

Playing Hard To Master, Book #2

♥ All Romance eBooks ♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon AU ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon DE ♥ Amazon ES ♥ Amazon FR ♥ Amazon IT ♥ Amazon UK ♥ Barnes & Noble ♥ Kobo US ♥ Kobo CA ♥ Kobo UK ♥

Playing Hard To Master, Book #2

♥ All Romance eBooks ♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon AU ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon DE ♥ Amazon ES ♥ Amazon FR ♥ Amazon IT ♥ Amazon UK ♥ Barnes & Noble ♥ Kobo US ♥ Kobo CA ♥ Kobo UK ♥

To Have And To Master, Book #3

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon AU ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon DE ♥ Amazon ES ♥ Amazon FR ♥ Amazon IT ♥ Amazon UK ♥ Barnes & Noble ♥ Kobo US ♥ Kobo CA ♥ Kobo UK ♥