Review: Not a hearts and flowers romance, but I couldn't put it down
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 28, 2014
When a book has to come with a disclaimer that is not a conventional romance or a typical love story, I should have been warned. But since I sometimes like my books to be a little on the darker side, I thought I’d give it a try.All I can say is that Ella Dominguez was not kidding when she said it was not a hearts and flowers romance.Elsa and Victor (aka Mr. Black) meet, and Victor knows immediately that Elsa is perfect to be his next project in a series. His next chapter. His Chapter 8. A criminal profiler with the FBI, Victor is exposed to an outside world of darkness and cruelty, but it is nothing compared to what lurks within him. Using his Chapters as a way to study people and, in his own way, feel that he is helping break them of their destructive qualities, he engages in his brand of therapy using pain, humiliation, longing, desire and sexual pleasure.What Victor did not expect was Elsa to turn the tables on Mr. Black and try to figure out what makes the game-maker tick, and whether the sensual Victor or the cruel and unforgiving Mr. Black is the real man behind the mask.First let me say that this book was one I could not put down. I love the other works by Ella. Dominguez, and this one was no exception. It pulled me in and would not let me go until the book was finished. I also liked Elsa. She was flawed and human. She had been hurt in the past and was afraid of letting it happen again. But why she put up with everything that Mr. Black doled out, I could not for the life of me figure out. It was twisted and humiliating, and once she understood the full picture of Mr. Black’s depravity, it was surprising to me that she didn’t walk away. As the hero, I did not like Mr. Black. He was somewhat more sympathetic as Victor, but his actions still tended to be creepy rather possessive, and frankly Elsa didn’t need another rendezvous with the man. What she needed was a restraining order.Mr. Black was so much of a villain that I had a hard time understanding Elsa’s actions. But I had a harder time putting the book down because I perversely needed to see what was going to happen next! This book ends in a cliffhanger, so I am now forced to wait to find out a little more of Victor’s background to understand what turned him into Mr. Black. I may not like the hero, but there are some pretty hot sparks between him and Elsa, so I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next.Review copy provided for an honest review.