Review: Entertains!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 6, 2013
Find this review and more at Lusty Penguin Reviews!Liz Crowe entertains in her contemporary erotic romance Mutual Release. The author tells this coming of age story in four parts.The first part of the story, Evan Adam's youth, is filled with family issues that lead him to a BDSM lifestyle in order to maintain control and have order in his life. Evan, when in Dom mode, is very good at getting a physical reaction from his partners during his playtime, but Evan is not emotionally grounded and does not understand his submissive's emotional needs, which make him angry. The author does a marvelous job of showing how Evan struggles with this issue until he submits to a Domme and learns what it is like on the other side.The second part of the story is Julie Dawson's youth. Julie, whose mom doesn't care for her, is raped repeatedly by her mom's new husband. When Julie finally escapes that nightmare, she goes to college and finds herself in a similar situation with a college professor, leaving her feeling like damaged goods. Crowe does an exemplary job of showing how Julie puts these events behind her and builds a new life for herself.The third and fourth parts of this story are the love story between Evan and Julie. At the beginning of their relationship, Evan seems to have learned from the mistakes he had made in previous relationships. He makes a serious effort to gain Julie's trust, especially after he learns about the violence in her past. Julie is enraptured by the way Evan makes her feel, and she can open up to him in ways she has never been able to with anyone else. The scenes between them are hot as Evan teaches Julie how to be his submissive. True to life, Evan and Julie have issues while building their relationship. But, when Evan goes into angry mode, he stops thinking about Julie's needs and ends up hurting her over and over again, leaving me disappointed because he never really learned from his previous relationships. Julie truly loves Evan; as such, I really felt bad that Evan never learned to man up to his own mistakes.Although, I did enjoy the author's writing style and found the beer business part of the story engrossing, I never really felt connected to this couple. Mutual Release does captivate and leaves the reader wanting the next story in the Stewart Reality series.I received an eBook copy from the publisher for purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.