Review: I Almost Liked This Book
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 20, 2014
Let me preface this review with this: I am a huge fan of Ms. Jakes, and wait with bated breath for her next book. I've read almost all of them except for the "Men of Honor" series.This is the first book I've read in the series, and I must admit to being a bit disappointed.I suspected the book was BDSM, and it is... sorta. And that's the big disappointment. I have nothing against BDSM, in fact, it's one of my favorite "plays". But this BDSM was a watered-down, "acceptable for voyeurs" and, in my opinion, rather annoying attempt to portray BDSM without offending anyone. It's sort of "vanilla" BDSM. Too much "Shades Of Gray", not enough hot men wrestling for control.There is more self-conscious talking about "domming" than there is actual "domming". Two of the lead characters were "former doms", and they build their relationships through phone sex with "edging" (preventing an orgasm) by "ordering" their lovers not to shoot. There's a little spanking and the obligatory handcuffs. But, at least to my mind, both characters came off as silly "wannabes", not authentically dominant men. It's hard to be a "master" when you call your "sub" "my sweet virgin" and dream of a long-term relationship, married, with a white picket fence. Just didn't ring true for me at all. In fact, it embarrassed me a bit to read it.The other thing that didn't ring true for me is the plot itself. It's really hard to swallow one CIA operative who has been loaned to the DEA (the CIA is prohibited, by law, to operate in the US) and one Navy Seal who interrupts his overseas assignments to work undercover for the FBI - both in the same motorcycle gang. There were attempts at explanation, but, to be honest, they stretched the bounds of credulity. And what I definitely could not swallow was the FBI threatening the Navy Seal with the imprisonment or death of his cousin if the Seal didn't come up with enough actionable intel.Sorry, but I just couldn't buy into this book.And that's a shame because I love the way Ms. Jakes normally writes really masculine characters, some with special powers, others with extraordinary skills, all working on the side of the good guys. I hope she returns to those so I can continue to read her books with the great enjoyment and satisfaction I have the previous ones. For now, I'll just stay away from the "Men of Honor" series.