Review: Finding your way home and into his arms. But what happens when he isn't sure that's where you should be?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 15, 2011
Third in "Nights in Bliss, Colorado" series. Preceded byTwo to Love(Callie) andThree to Ride(Max and Ryan).Plot:6 months ago, 23 year-old Jen ran from 32 year old Stefan and her home in Bliss to Dallas and a new life. Stef had made it very clear he didn't want Jen and so, with nothing left for her, she decided to make a go of her Art in the Big City. But Stefan never really let her go, and when she lands in jail Stefan sweeps in to save her. But is a White Knight really what Jen needs Stefan to be? Or does she just want his love and HEA?  They'll have to juggle some sexy bedroom scenes with deep and meaningfuls, a father looking for forgiveness and Russian mobsters with Big Guns and Sharp Knives. HEA never seems to come easy in Bliss.Comments:- 6331 kindle locations, 89,390 words- Finn and Julian fromSiren Enslavedmake an appearance.- 6 months after the climax of "Two to Love". (Jen ran off the day after Stef had locked her in jail "for her own good").- m/f, bdsm. The bdsm is relatively mild, a few toys, some D/s behaviour, spanking. While Stefan is a Dom, Jen isn't a true sub, and they spark off each other as they try to find their sexual roles. Given the length of the book, not a lot of time is spent on bedroom scenes. But they are emotional, they drive the plot and are integral to the character development.Opinion:First off let me say I have enjoyed this series.  Oak has developed a complex, interesting town in Bliss, with characters that appeal and have an interesting depth. Once again, Oak plays with our emotions, lots of light and shade. Plenty of humour and joy, as well as angst and action. But in the end I didn't enjoy "One to Keep" as much as the others. It was a little difficult to read - you know Stefan is making serious mistakes and there just isn't anything you can do (like watching a train wreck). You can see the pain he is causing Jen, as well as himself, and you just want to slap him! There's a lot I liked about this book but Stefan spent a lot of time annoying me. I didn't like it as much as the first two Bliss books BUT I would definitely buy other books by this author, and hope she revisits Bliss sometime soon.***SPOILERS***Re: Sub-characters. Oak has spent time developing the sub-characters in Bliss so they play a strong and interesting role in the story arc. We still see Mel and Stella, Logan and the Moms. A part of me wonders if, this time, they took a little away from Stefan and Jen's story, a little too much comic relief, and focus on secondary characters. Really, the previous books had just the one love story each with some action and Bad Guys and World Development around them. Oak quite cleverly implied the development of other relationships, foretelling future books and storylines without letting their interests butt into the main story arc (eg Jen & Stef in "Two to Love"). This time we get multiple developing relationships (even Mel gets one!) and somehow it detracts from Jen and Stef. I get the Dad one, and how looking at the choices Dad made tells us how Stefan's choices came into being. I even understand the necessity for Alexei's story. But IMO it detracts.Re: The bdsm. Oak takes a different route with bdsm in "One to Keep". In my experience, erotic/romantic  bdsm books tend to have a male Dom who finds himself falling for a "natural" sub. We explore how liberating giving up control can be for the sub and how loving and protective a Dom can be. Oak takes us down a different road. In previous Bliss books, Stefan has been portrayed as a classic Rich Boy Dom, always impeccably dressed, complete control over the subs in his life, and controls others around him without ever getting emotionally entangled. OTOH Jen isn't a natural sub. She's chaotic, relishes emotion and independence. But she's willing to "play" at his games (what Jen calls Stefan's "perversions"). She enjoys the games but it certainly isn't something she'll accept 24-7. But she understands Stefan's needs and will give it to him. It makes the bdsm scenes interesting. For example, the first encounter has Stef, as Dom, running on adrenaline. Jen doesn't want to be there, she's angry, Stef's reached the end of his rope. Hands are tied, bottom is spanked. But the Dom is out of control. Not to hurting her, but one of the main bdsm erotica rules is "the Dom is always in control and is always doing it out of a place of love". Oak plays with this rule, pushing Stef, having Jen top him from the bottom, playing with control and love. In the end we are exploring what it means to be a Dom, why Stefan took it on in the first place, and whether the control he has accepted/wanted has allowed him to hide himself.Re: further books? Okay, this certainly feels like a three book series (the titles should be a giveaway). But there are a number of people who need their own stories, and it feels like Oak is leaving the way open for them. For example, Lana the sub, Brooke the 19 year old little sister, Laura Niles the ex FBI profiler, Caleb, Alexei and Holly and Deputy Logan. I suspect this isn't the last time we'll visit Bliss, Colorado.