Review: Knight is consuming! Impossible to put down!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 31, 2014
Knight by Julia Sykes was released in December 2013 and I provided with an ARC copy to read and review.  I was very excited to receive this ARC copy because all the previous books in the Impossible series have been excellent and well written. While I was very excited to receive this book, I was also very leery.  I knew one of the main characters was very complicated and had some very dark undertones to his persona.Due to the busy holiday season I kept putting this book on the back burner.  I had a feeling it was going to be a dark read and that it would require my full concentration.  I wanted to be able to read this book when I could put aside my personal feelings towards the BDSM scene.  I wanted to be able to judge this book on the merits of the story.  Let’s face it, during the joyful Christmas season I wanted books that were light, airy, romantic and overall feel good books.  I didn’t want to leave my comfort zone.I am not a big fan of BDSM books.  I have a hard time understanding the BDSM scene and what motivates people to embrace this lifestyle.  I have read quite a few books with this theme.  Some were very well written with charismatic characters that the reader could understand.  There have been several that I have just downright despised.  I was tired of the tortured billionaire, that suffered from emotional issues and was misunderstood.  Tired of the heroine that was so in control of every aspect of her life with the exception of her sexual life and needs.  Tired of her learning to surrender her control to achieve sexual bliss.  I am a very strong willed person and had a very hard time grasping this idea.  But there are some BDSM books that are so well written, that bring the characters to life, show the beauty that this lifestyle these characters embrace, as well as the dark insights that drive the characters to this lifestyle, and convince me as a reader that this is the perfect life and happily ever after these characters need.  Books that have a strong story outside of their sexual drives and needs.  Knight is one of those books.  The writing and story line are beyond excellent.  It is superb!When I finished Knight I was blown away.  This story tapped into every emotion a person can experience.  It was very frightening but at the same time very uplifting.  This story ventured into a very real and horrifying world.  The action and suspense in this book could make it crossover from erotica to romantic suspense.Smith James is an FBI agent.  He is mysterious and has personal demons he battles daily.  To manage his demons he embraced the BDSM lifestyle and has become a master DOM.  Not only is this his life management, it is his salvation.A raid to BDSM club for drugs by the FBI turns into something much more horrific than the drug scene.  They find a woman strung out on drugs.  This young woman has no clue to who she is, how she ended up there, where she belongs, or any sense of self.  She is a heroin addicted slave.  She is completely broken.  The FBI realizes that they have stumbled onto more than drug dealing by The Latin Kings gang.  They have stumbled into the world of human trafficking.As the story unfolds, Smith takes it upon himself to help this lost soul.  He thinks she has been poorly handled by her former Dom at first.  He soon realizes that she has been truly broken.  That she is a slave.  He is determined to help this woman find herself and bring her monsters to justice.Her kidnapper wants her back and will go to any lengths to get her.  Smith breaks the FBI protocol and takes her home.  She is under his protection.  He is determined to help her find out who she really is and where she belongs.During their time together many things come into play.  They make some discoveries that bring them closer to finding her true identity.  Her name is Lydia.  She is an artist.  But because she is so badly damaged she may not be able to go back to whatever her old life is.Smith understands that this damage has also made her need different things than most people can understand.  He is a master DOM and knows that it is more than sexual release.  It is a release of the inner pain, torment, and darkness that lives within the very soul.  At the same time, Lydia gives Smith what he needs.  She completes him.  She makes his DOM persona more about emotion than control.  She brings out the very best in Smith.  He is her true Master and she is his true sub.  They are perfect together.When her identity is discovered it rocks both of their worlds.  She is married and must go back to Chicago to resume her old life.  She fears her old life.  She is too damaged and is not the same person.  She fears her life without a master.  The one master that has been kind, patient, and knows exactly what she needs.  She survived being a slave but can she survive life without a master.Without giving away any spoilers, let’s just say it will be a very hard road for both.  It will be a road of discovery.  It will be a road of pain.  Eventually this road will lead to their HEA that can only be defined on their terms.  It is their perfection.Knight is the perfect title for this book.This book was consuming.  I could not put it down.  The pure genius in the writing showcases Julia Sykes gift.  She is a MASTER in her craft.  She took a very dark, ugly story and made it into a beautiful, radiant tale that outshines most novels.Although Knight is part of the Impossible series, it can be read as a stand alone book.  The story content stands on it’s own merit.Knight is a dark book.  It contains BDSM, violence, explicit sexual scenes, and subject matter that some may find very uncomfortable reading.  At the same time this book is uplifting, passionate, romantic, and delivers a very positive message.  It is a reading experience that will be unforgettable.I was a fan of this series before I began Knight.  Now I am a total Julia Sykes fan girl.  I hope to meet her at a signing sometime this year.  I want to get Knight signed with a big bold red sharpie.  I want this book on my keeper shelf.