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Blurb

A woman unable to connect, struggling to hide another part of her. A man burning to learn her truth, and make her whole. Through explosive passion and deep exploration, they are about to take the greatest risk of all. But will they be able to take that leap, and come out on the other side together?

In this next passionate novel in the Honey series, New York Times best-selling author Kristen Ashley delivers a stunningly romantic and intensely sexy novel that will stay with you long after the final minutes.

 

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Review

3.5 stars

This series is on the extreme end of the KA spectrum. It’s definitely not for everyone, and though I thought I would be finished with it after reading the first book, I couldn’t not read the rest of the series, so here I am having finished the third book and I’m feeling all sorts of conflicted. At it’s heart is a beautiful love story with great characters and a wonderful romance like only KA can write. But there’s just so much other unnecessary stuff that dragged that story out and brought it down a bit for me. So please excuse me and my excessive quoting while I purse my thoughts and feelings.

This book is the story of Stellan and Sixx. There has been a bit of a build-up for this one, in that we’ve seen Stellan in all of his confident, stand-off-ish Dom glory, and we’ve seen Sixx as a hot-in-demand Domme who seems goes through the motions but seems completely switched off to what she is doing. The King and Queen of the Honey (the exclusive sex club where they, and their friends, play), they know each other but haven’t had a whole lot to do with each other, but in the last book we learned that Stellan had feelings for Sixx, and I was really curious how their relationship was going to play out seeing as they are both so similar.

Two Doms finding their way together in life when sexually they didn’t quite fit would be one hell of a challenge.

Sixx has had a hard life. She’s been through traumatic times, has had to do the unthinkable to survive, and she has developed coping mechanisms to deal with it all. One of those was renaming herself Sixx – as if Sixx is a persona that she puts on to protect her inner, vulnerable self. Sixx is definitely still a part of who she is, but she’s the hard part, the brave part. The part that she shows to the outside world, while she keeps her softer side softly locked inside as Simone.

Sixx needed control just as much as she needed chaos. She couldn’t have one without the other because she was addicted to both, and her elaborate efforts to maintain a perfect balance kept the mess that was her from flying apart.

Stellan knows about Sixx’s past, and he knows how she copes with it. But that hasn’t turned him away. In fact, it only makes him want her more. He wants to crack Sixx’s shell, he wants to know her darkest secrets, he wants to heal her, to find a way to let Simone out, and he wants to make her his.

“He’ll go all in for you.” Aryas throwing that out there got her attention again, and she twisted toward him. He kept at her. “Stellan finds the one that’s worth it, he’ll break his back, sell his soul, work his fingers to the bone to win her and keep her.”

It’s a wonderful set up, with a great dynamic, and I loved watching it all play out.

“We’ll talk more Saturday evening,” he replied.
“And should I tell you to go fuck yourself, get up and walk out of here, and there is no Saturday evening?” she inquired.
“You have no intention of telling me to go fuck myself, sweetheart.”

“You trust me, Simone,” he urged gently. “And if you do, I swear to fuck I’ll make you happy that you did.”

Stellan reminds me so much of Connor Cobalt from the Addicted series by Krista & Becca Ritchie. Rich, entitled, cocky, confident and arrogant – but charmingly so. He is a true gentleman when he wants to be, but he’s also a filthy, kinky bastard, and it’s a delicious combination. He may appear cold on the outside, but in reality he is nothing but heat, with a huge heart (and he even calls her “darling”!). And there is something about him that is utterly irresistible.

“I don’t want to be your friend, Simone … But he wasn’t done.
“I want to be your lover. I want to be your Master. I want to know all your secrets. I want to unravel the mystery that’s you and then help you keep it safe. I want you, and the way I want you is beside me, in bed, in play and in life.”

And in the way of all KA alphas, he is a man who will let nothing stand in the way of getting what he wants, and his claiming of Sixx is fantastic! He’s strong and determined, but also sweet and soft when he needs to be. He is wonderful in the way he works to bring Sixx out of her shell, and I loved seeing it all happen.

“Sweet pussy is worth any hassle. But to earn the attention of a queen…” He curled his hand around her jaw and used it to force her to look at him. the touch was dominant, but gentle, and achingly sweet, and when he caught her eyes, he concluded, speaking every word in a way each was laced with steel, “I. Will. Do. Anything.”
“You have my attention,” she whispered.
“I have your utter devotion.”

And Sixx is a fascinating character. This blend of who she is as Sixx and who she is as Simone is really well written, and her progression from one becoming the other, and finding that balance of the real her was really beautifully done. I loved her strength, and I loved her vulnerability, and I loved the way she fought to find her true self – with Stellan by her side the whole way.

“Be strong for the world, darling, if that’s what you need to be. But here, with me, you can be whatever you care to be.”

The love story is so beautiful. Stellan and Sixx had an intriguing, passionate and intense relationship, and I loved seeing them find their way forward together.

We’re not two halves that make a whole. We’re two souls who share a vital understanding.

But then there is everything else. KA’s books are long, and we always expect that going in, but I usually happily lose myself in her stories, loving every moment of it. But this one felt long, and I found myself getting bored and skimming, especially because there was so much story that wasn’t a part of the story – a bit of a crime/mystery storyline that wasn’t needed (though I did appreciate the Creed and Sylvie cameo), but most of it kinky sex that didn’t even involve the hero or heroine.

The kink is seriously heavy, and the sexy time is extreme and descriptive, and while I enjoy reading smut as much as the next romance reader, I did find it a bit OTT in this one. I really liked the scenes with Stellan and Sixx – they were important to their relationship, their identities and who they were as a couple. There was so much emotion involved in each scene, and of course they were as hot as f*ck. But then there is all the other stuff – scenes of extreme kink – Dom and sub stuff and explicit m/m scenes full of dirty talk that did not involve either Stellan or Sixx (just one or both of them watching), and that had no bearing on the overall story and seemed to go on and on and on, all in filthy detail. I don’t mind a book being heavy on the smut, but it needs to progress the relationship and feel like a natural part of the story, and that just wasn’t there, so I just found it all a bit too much and ended up skimming parts of it which was a bit disappointing.

I think this book would have been a lot stronger without so much other dragging it down. Stellan and Sixx’s story is beautiful and passionate and emotional and intense, and there didn’t need to be that other stuff. For me, all it did was slow down the pacing, and I found it boring, and just too much.

So a bit of a mixed bag for me, but the love story was strong enough to pull it through, and I did enjoy it.

3.5 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

The Honey series