Review: Domestic violence disguised as romance. Abuser disguised as an "alpha male"
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 02 2, 2014
I'd give this book negative stars if Amazon would let me.There are alpha male characters and there are a-holes. There are dominant characters and there are abusive a-holes. There are well-written tales about dominance/submission or non-con, then there are tales that read like a checklist of an abusive romantic relationship.There are well-written books about consensual BDSM relationships where everything is not all sunshine, roses and orgasms, THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM.Please don't mistake Sinister Kisses for a BDSM Romance. It's not. It's a story that glamorizes domestic violence. Taylor is not aware that she is in any sort of D/s relationship, so she can not give consent. Sebastian beats her with a belt without her knowing why or that it was even a possibility. Sebastian provides her with no aftercare. Basically Sebastian beats on her when he's testy from work. Or angry. Sebastian is a mentally unbalanced lunatic who blames everything on his job. HE IS NOT a "STRONG ALPHA MALE". Alpha males heroes do not beat on or choke out the people they supposedly love. People swooning over Sebastian being a strong alpha male character need to check themselves in for some counseling.Here are some signs you're in an emotionally abusive relationship:(Coincidentally they are all things that happen in Sinister Kisses - surprise!)1) You're afraid to tell your partner about a normal happening - your car needs brakes, your boss made you work overtime - because you're not sure how he will react.2) You make yourself available to your partner no matter what the personal cost - just to avoid a confrontation.3) You no longer want to bring your significant other around your friends or family because you're afraid he will berate you and humiliate you in front of your loved ones. (Actually Sebastian just outright cuts her off from her family and friends)4) You'll go out of your way to please your significant other, no matter how much you have to sacrifice. If that means staying up all night to wash the floor, so be it. It beats the "lecture."5) You're in complete isolation. Your partner doesn't want you around your friends or family and has convinced you that THEY are the ones who are abusive to you - not him.6) You find yourself having to rush to his defense whenever he is brought up in conversation. You make excuses for his behavior regardless of the situation7) You feel helpless, like you're trapped in the relationship.8) Your partner treats you like an object, like property, not like a person with real feelings.9) Your partner keeps a tight control on all things: money, the phone, using the car, who you see and what you do.Please don't convince yourself that any of the above equal "true love" or "passion" they are abuse.Sinister Kisses is awful. I kept waiting for it to get better. It didn't. I kept waiting for Taylor to get a backbone. She doesn't. I kept waiting for Sebastian to have some sort of redeeming quality. He doesn't. Basically, I kept waiting for the punchline.This is domestic violence with some "suspenseful, clandestine military-type" storyline glittered on top of it. None of it is written very well. In fact, except for the (rather dull) sex it reads like bad YA. Taylor giggles about 1500 times throughout the entire book. The writing is awful and immature.I can't even name all the ways this book sucks. I just can't think about it much longer or my head will explode. Garbage like this is what gives self-publishing, BDSM and humans in general a bad name.If you're looking for romantic suspense with an edgy alpha hero, skip this garbage and pick up Anne Stuart's ICE series instead.