Review: 4  stars.  I enjoyed the characters, story, & sex.  He dominates and restrains her.  She struggles, hits, and has a safe word.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 8, 2011
WILLING VICTIM  by  Cara McKenna.REVIEWER'S OPINION:I really enjoyed the characters and story.  I liked the way she went after him and asked him out.  I enjoyed their relationship development.  I enjoyed watching her grow to like him, but she was nervous wondering how he felt about her.  The happy ending qualifies this as romance.  What would it take to give it 5 stars?  Probably make it longer.  This is about half the length of a regular novel.  I wanted more time with both characters.I enjoyed the sex scenes because they were different.  A lot of books with BDSM talk about the Dom going through training.  Submissives want pain and go into subspace.  They have collars, toys, tools, and whips.  This story was not like that, but it was similar because Flynn overpowered her, held her arms still, and called her some names.  There was one scene where Flynn tied her with rope and spanked her.  When Laurel asked Flynn if he was part of the BDSM scene he said "I can't stand that s***.  They make everything so f***ing complicated.  You might as well be one of those Civil-f***ing-War...Reenactors."  In this story if anyone caused pain it was the woman biting, struggling, and hitting Flynn.  In one scene Laurel asked him if he wanted her to struggle.  But in all these scenes Laurel was turned on, satisfied, and wanted to see him again.In the beginning of the book, the author states  "Although all of the sexual acts in this story are 100% consensual, I strongly urge readers who are sensitive about rape - even in a simulated capacity - not to read this book."As I read this story, the "thought of rape" never entered my mind.  I just saw it as a different type of BDSM.  Laurel had a "safe word."  When she used it, he immediately stopped whatever was happening.  One time she used the safe word because she wanted to go to the bathroom, which he accommodated.STORY BRIEF:Laurel saw a man abusing his girlfriend on the street.  Flynn was walking by and stopped the guy by intimidating him.  Laurel ran after Flynn and asked if she could buy him lunch.  As she expressed interest in him, he told her she may not like what she learns, but she's welcome to come watch him box.  He boxes in informal fights every Friday and Saturday night.  Laurel shows up for the fights.DATA:Ebook story length: about 2   hours.  Kindle count story length: 2876 (268 KB).  Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words.  Sexual language: strong/erotic.  Number of sex scenes: 7.  Setting: current day Boston, Massachusetts.  Copyright: 2010.  Genre: erotic contemporary romance, boxing.