Review: Really good twist on the D/s theme
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 25, 2014
I've powered through the first 3 books of the Vegas Top Guns series in the last 2 days, and I have to say, I am enjoying them immensely. These books are really well written, giving great insight into the POV's of both the male and female lead. I like the exploration of non-traditional sexual themes without the overload of BDSMisms that are so prevalent right now. Hold 'Em has more BDSM-centricites than the first two books in the series, but it's still private to Michael and Leah. There is no obligatory club scene, blah, blah, blah...Don't get me wrong. I am on the BDSM band wagon as much as the next girl, but so many of the current titles seem very derivative. The Vegas Top Guns series is a fresh take on fetishes and consensual kink.Mike is the newest member of the 62nd Aggressor Unit at Nellis Air Force Base. Leah is assigned to show him around. Turns out Leah and Mike dated 6 years ago, but nothing ever came of it. They go out for a night on the town, and one thing leads to another... seems Mike has discovered he is a sub in the years since he dated Leah. Watching her, Mike is pretty sure Leah would make one heck of a femdom. He takes a chance by showing her his toys. Leah is curious, then intrigued, and soon is all in on the smexy fun and games. What she isn't all in for is anything resembling a real relationship. She gets kind of wigged out when they go to a car show, wondering if it is a "date", date.What worked for me - I wasn't sure how the authors were going to be able to portray Mike as an Alpha in real life, and as a sub in the bedroom. I shouldn't have worried - they pull it off so well. Mike is Zen-like, and completely comfortable in his own skin. While he prefers to keep his private life just that, he is not at all conflicted about his sexual desires. That, in and of itself, is very sexy. He uses his knowledge to guide Leah, but he never tries to take control from her. He cares about her, in and out of their playtime.I really didn't like Leah's character in the first 2 books. She was loud and a drunk, which is never attractive. She abused her friendship with Ryan and Jon by expecting them to get her home after her drunken rampages. I just didn't have a lot of respect for her. From the beginning of Hold 'Em, Leah seems to be in a better place. She has stopped drinking, and generally straightened up. When she and Michael hook up, and she feels the rightness of being a femdom, it kind of settles her even more. (I read another book recently with a male character who was out of control -fighting, miserable, etc. until he discovered the wonderful world of Domness. It makes sense, really. If you are subjugating so primal a need, it is going to show up somewhere.) Anyway, I liked this Leah much better. She works so hard to be what Michael needs her to be, and in doing so, really discovers herself.Leah's comment about how non-kinky Ryan and Cass were caused me to snort my drink out of my nose! Ha!What didn't work as well - Mike's chauvinistic attitude in the beginning of the book. How backward! But he did some growing of his own, which was good.Leah being afraid that in committing to Michael, she would lose what she has worked so hard for. Although, given his approach to female fighter pilots, maybe she had a point. Anyway, just nitpicky little things that worked themselves out.Bottom line - Time and money extremely well spent. I so enjoyed this book, as well as the first two books in the series. These characters seem so real. I love the message of whatever legal things consenting adults choose to do is okay, and should be approached without shame or guilt. Highly recommend this series if you are into the BDSM craze, or well written, very sexy books.