River Rock, Vermont, 2011. This is the story of Claire Ryan and Evan Lang. 35-year-old Claire joins a local book club for romance readers in order to get over the breakdown of her 10-year relationship, there she meets book shop owner Evan, a dominant man who has never recovered from the sudden death of his submissive wife. As their relationship develops and they embark on the path of Claire’s submission, it becomes harder and harder for Evan to keep his emotional distance. Claire is open and responsive and he wants her badly, but refuses to let himself go. As Claire falls deeper in love with Evan, she realizes that he is holding back and decides to end their relationship, forcing Evan to confront his own past and his feelings in order to save his new love.
Series: Chrysalis #1
Release Date: 11/05/2013
Publisher: Xcite Books
Source: Manic Readers
Reviewer: Marie
Rating:
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Reviewer’s Thoughts
What I loved the most about this story, is that while it’s centered around BDSM, it’s unique to it’s predecessors and goes beyond what the general public knows about the lifestyle. It showcases the more passionate and emotional side to what you typically think of while still keeping the subject matter familiar to it’s audience. It did start out slow for me, but after the scene and premise of the book was set, it picked up tremendously and kept me engaged until the very end.
The characters in this novel were so intricately detailed that you could visualize their faces and feel their every emotion. Claire and Evan were both incredibly flawed, exquisite characters that had to overcome so much pain and sorrow to find one another. And once they did, their passionate chemistry was absolutely electric. The glimpses of eroticism we were given into their world of pleasurable pain and love were deeply felt and not soon forgotten.
Elene Sallinger has created a beautiful romance that will stick with me. This is definitely one I’ll read again and again, and hope that others will find themselves doing the same.
