Release Me by J. Kenner
Bantam
Erotic BDSM
ISBN 978-0345544117
Reviewed by Nannette




Damien Stark can have any woman he wants. He can have anything he wants. And what he wants is Nikki Fairchild. Damien and Nikki might be able to get what they want from each other in bed, but will their secrets keep them from anything more?

Release Me is a sexually charged story with a lot of emotional baggage. Nikki is tough and independent now, but her painful past has left her with physical and emotional scars. Damien makes her face her fears, her needs, and her desires. Nikki’s submission to Damien gives her control. She chooses self-destructive ways to diffuse her emotions because she never learned safe or productive ways to deal with them. Damien’s control is exactly what Nikki (unknowingly at first) needs and craves. Damien is still a bit of enigma by the end of Release Me, but Nikki is more of an open book, and her story is poignant and compelling. In an age where BDSM books are becoming more mainstream, Release Me may take its cues from already successful stories, but it’s an intriguing, well-written, erotic novel that stands on it’s own. It’s an interesting plot with good characterization. Nikki and Damien are two scarred souls whose jagged puzzle pieces fit perfectly together. The final chapter of Release Me marked the end of the book, but Nikki and Damien’s story is far from over. Claim Me can’t come soon enough for this reader.