Review: What's going on in that beautiful mind?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 8, 2014
Dom Wars: Round One is literally exactly as described in that it's a battle between contestants to prove who can be the best Dom. The premise is amusing enough to have me grinning, but the characters' complexity throws the reader off-balance, forcing them to re-evaluate the work to take it seriously as these are not two-dimensional caricatures. Lucian Bane is very much a gentleman who thrives on being a dominant force yet he hates hurting women, takes no pleasure in the pain of others unless he can soothe that pain away immediately after, and blows up at the thought of being owned as much as of owning the enigma that is his female compatriot in the Dom Wars competition.Tara.Tara Reese is quite the fascinating creature. She's not a minx. She's not a seductress. She's certainly no shrinking violet, but she thinks she's cut out to be a Dom while having never taken part in the BDSM world. All her knowledge comes from a Kindle reader. How can she possibly think she's cut out for this competition? She does though and she doesn't give up, doesn't back down, doesn't submit unless she's the one choosing to do it and isn't that, in itself, a type of Dom behavior? She's choosing to submit. She's not doing it because she's being forced or coerced or seduced into it except in the bedroom where Lucian does his fair share of fighting dirty with her to keep the upper-hand.What fascinated me most about the first installment in this series is that no one truly seems to come out on top! There's no time where I think Lucian is obviously the Dom while Tara is obviously the sub. There are times when it's as even as anything else and there are times when one or the other holds the upper-hand for what feels like seconds before it slips through their fingers. I can't quite grasp all of Tara's thinking on anything while I can't figure Lucian out either. They're both too complicated to be worked through to completion in the first installment. I love that I want to know more about them both.Honestly, I was rooting for them in this competition all the way from the moment Tara spilled coins out of her adorable tin bank to the very end when they find out whether or not they advance to the next round.They're a team I'd want to watch. I'd call in. I'd text in. I'd even give in and download a Facebook app game to vote for them.To take what could be an absolutely absurd construct and make it thoughtful, sexy, and romantic is a rare feat. I'm glad to give this one 5 Stars. I'm glad I got to read it.***Read for review for This Redhead LOVES Books Blog though I did purchase my own copy prior to reading it as I loved the premise that much.***