Review: Amazing prequel to Beyond Eden!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 3, 2012
Paul, Danny and Eve have been best friends and inseparable since grade school. When high school arrived, both men had fallen in love with Eve, but Danny stepped back in order for Paul to date Eve. Paul and Eve became exclusive high school sweethearts, until Eve left for college to pursue her art career in New York City. Paul was devastated by loosing his first love, but remained in their hometown to attend college on a football scholarship.Paul has been programmed all his life to be obedient by his physically abusive father. As a coping mechanism he turned that abuse into a game of tolerance. Considered the "golden boy," he has never been rebellious and now as an adult, his greatest concealed desire is to be a slave/professional submissive. Further, as a result of his childhood abuse, Paul now has a disturbingly strong fetish for hard core pain. This extreme fetish, while teetering on the verge of deadly, is what pushes Paul to the highest state of sexual arousal and euphoria.Danny has had his share of abuse as well. His escape from reality and a drunken father was reading books. A rebel against rules and school, he still had a passion for literature and a hidden desire for unconditional love. Beneath his abrasive demeanor and outward cockiness, Danny holds a secret. He has loved Paul for years. His love is why he gave up pursuing Eve and why he has never said no to Paul or to anything Paul wants - until now. Once Danny discovers Paul's fetish, he is shocked to his core. And when he finds that Paul is attracted to him, his guard comes down and desire takes over for them both.As this new dynamic in their relationship unfolds, we see Danny's unwavering control and raw emotion highlight his natural Dominant side which Paul immediately recognizes and desires. He begs Danny to provide the sensory stimulation and sexual release he gets from being physically and emotionally controlled. What is gut-wrenching is when Paul admits that he gets off on the humiliation of being with Danny, due to Danny being male and the sterotype of that being wrong. And because Danny is in love with Paul, this revelation causes Danny's greatest agony which breeds feelings of anger and resentment and ultimately results in him pushing Paul away."He could be the man Paul wanted, could hurt him and probably get off on it and that was what he was hiding from. He didn't want to be this person. He certainly didn't want to turn into one willing to damage something so ethereally gorgeous just to hold Paul close."Their damaged relationship leads Paul to seek solace in his fetish. The session goes terribly wrong and results in a brutal and almost fatal cane beating. Danny is called to the scene and is mortified at what has happened to Paul. His instant reaction is to try to save Paul's life, but he is quickly confronted with feelings of guilt, pain, and remorse for pushing Paul away. Danny reluctantly faces the harsh truth that Paul's desires are as natural to him as breathing. And unless Danny wants to continue to rescue Paul from untrustworthy Doms, he must become the Master/Dom Paul needs.First off let me say that this series can very well test a person's comfort zone. It's dark, graphic and could be disturbing to readers that are not comfortable with hardcore BDSM. In Finding Eden, we begin to see how the highly dysfunctional childhood of both Paul and Danny played a part in them being darkly emotional and painfully intense men. I feel like the best way to describe the story is a beautifully tragic train wreck. I enjoy stories like Finding Eden that push the boundaries and take me out of my comfort zone to the point of wanting to understand the mindset of these characters and how they are driven to these unorthodox and extreme sexual practices. The raw desire and desperation Kele Moon pours into her characters is mind blowing and as the reader I am obsessed with discovering what makes them tick. At times you feel like they both are teetering on the edge of insanity. You witness two men, who are obsessing over vices they feel will only quell the damage that was done to their souls during their childhood. And then you start to question your own sanity because, like a voyeur, you are witnessing a raw, dark, compulsive ecstasy with your breath held, eyes bugging out, and wanting more. Finally, your heart is aching for both characters to just be able to love in a semi-normal fashion. As crazy as it seems, Ms. Moon has a gift for creating one of the darkest erotic stories with extremely flawed characters whose love and dedication for each other will resonate with you long after you have finished their story.Favorite Quote:"Danny pressed against him, careless of Paul's back and injured ass, just enjoying being close to his best friend. This pushed Danny more than the high, the discovery that pain killed the demons of Paul's past long enough for Danny to be able to really love him."