Review: A promising and naughty start to a new series . . . .
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 25, 2013
Sapphire by Jeffe Kennedy(Facets of Passion #1)My Rating: 4/5 starsSource: Purchase**This title is classified as erotica and is for 18+ readers only**Meet M. Taylor Hamilton, a high-powered, highly successful control freak who lets nothing and no one slip past her cool exterior.  Taylor has cultivated a reputation and a life that allows for little beyond her work, the gym, and her home.  She fully intends to make CEO within eight years (not the standard ten!) which means there is absolutely no time for a relationship - of any kind.  Adam Kirliss is a highly successful business man, top-notch negotiator, and dead sexy individual who has set his sights on none other than the Ice Queen herself, M. Taylor Hamilton.  For months he has worked alongside Taylor in fierce negotiations and now that the work is done, it is time to melt the Ice Queen.The fun begins almost immediately with Taylor and Adam both attending a cocktail party to celebrate the successful conclusion of their business deal.  Lots of dirty deeds can happen in dark corners if one allows themselves to explore such avenues.  Adam stirs feelings - dark and naughty feelings best left to the night - in Taylor and so she allows him his fun and allows herself one seriously erotic and powerful orgasm.  As far as Taylor is concerned, this is a one-time thing, a fling and nothing more; tomorrow morning it is back to business as usual.  Adam however has vastly different plans for the Ice Queen and begins another significantly more erotic set of negotiations.Adam and Taylor's time together is a highly charged night and day full of sensuality, sex, and eroticism.  Adam reveals his kinky side in an effort to thaw the Ice Queen and Taylor experiences a total loss of control that frightens her as much as it excites her.  Adam proves to be a skilled and imaginative lover the likes of which Taylor has never encountered.  Though she thoroughly enjoys her time with Adam, the loss of control and Adam's admission of wanting far, far more than a one-night (and day) stand causes her to panic and run.The Bottom Line: Though I did enjoy this read, I discovered my kink comfort level is not quite as high as what Kennedy offers in Sapphire.  Though there is nothing completely disturbing, I found the straight sex scenes with no toys and/or bindings to be far more enjoyable.  Taylor is initially a very cold and unyielding character whose transition to a more relaxed and sexual being is worth hanging on for.  Adam is initially a bit too domineering for my taste but does reveal that he also has a very caring and kind nature I was glad to see emerge in the end.  For those of you who like your reads to end in a HEA, there is indeed one for Taylor and Adam and I must say, it is quite a delicious ending.One final note:  Sapphire is the first novella in the Facets of Passion series though they can be read out of order as I did.  Honestly, novella two, Platinum is a far more satisfying read if you are a reader like me who enjoys only the smallest bit (or a different kind) of kink in your reads. :)