Review: Awesome Read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 2, 2012
4.5 stars!Review:Captain Leah "Princess" Girardi is a female fighter pilot, drives a motorcycle and is competitive as hell. She's is wild, blunt, impatient and direct, she's a control-freak and beneath the bitchy exterior is a caring woman with insecurities and a vulnerability that doesn't take away from her strength or determination. Yet despite her the tough front she upholds, she worries about what other people think of her.In HOLD `EM Leah has definitely cleaned up her act in comparison to the other 2 books as she's trying to make Major but I did miss an explanation for her past self-destructive behavior.Captain Mike "Strap Happy" Templeton is easygoing but with dark edge. He's an adrenaline junkie, competitive and sexually submissive with some interesting jewelry on his body... It seems like sexually Mike has come a long way since the sweet and slow sex he'd shared with Leah during their 3-month relationship 6 years ago. Leah wanted it more kinky and rough...well her wish is his command. I really liked the Mike in the bedroom but the Mike outside the bedroom confused me a little.I found Mike's standpoint on women in combat situations a bit awkward and old-fashioned. And the way he wasn't always able to rein in his sexual feelings but still hated that Leah outranks him during the job also confused me. It didn't stroke with how he presented himself to Leah (and the reader) that first time at his house and explained "the rules" to Leah. However, an explanation for this was given at the end and he redeemed himself splendidly.HOLD `EM (like the other books in this series) doesn't have many secondary characters as it focuses mainly and intensely on the primary couple of the book. The cast of secondary characters consists of Leah's two best friends and their other halves, who are main characters of the previous 2 books and Mike's fellow fighter pilots he hangs out with, who are going to be the heroes of the next two books. I loved seeing Jon, Heather, Ryan and Cass but was also intrigued by the new blood and fodder for the future books in this series. To say they're interesting would be an understatement.I knew INSIDE BET was going to be a tough act to follow and the beginning of HOLD `EM, though thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable, indeed didn't reach that ultimate and immediate click I had with Jon and Heather's story. This being said, there is no question this was another dirty, hot and sexy book. HOLD `EM was another red-hot read that once again broadened my horizon a bit more, despite not being a stranger to the D/s trope in erotic romance. The exchange of power between Leah as the mistress and Mike as the submissive was heady and titillating. And addictive! I couldn't get enough of it.Whereas INSIDE BET was about being in control and intensity, HOLD `EM was naughtiness and relinquishing control. But both were filled with the durty and naughty heat. And in both books trust is a key theme. Giving and receiving trust is a red thread throughout HOLD `EM, be it professionally, sexually or emotionally.What I love about this series is that the authors take kink to that next and refreshingly unique level. Sure, a male submissive and female Dom aren't new in the erotic romance scene but the way Katie Porter incorporates it in the emotional story arc just blows me away exactly like the familiar tropes in the previous 2 books did.I read in reviews of the previous 2 books that there are readers who were a bit disappointed that there wasn't more of the story dedicated to the Air Force/fighter pilot stuff. Well, those readers will not be disappointed with HOLD `EM. There a lot more time spent at Nellis and being a fighter pilot, and everything that comes with it, is explored more than in the other two books.The romance is awesome and much in the vein of the other 2 books it starts focused on the more sexual side and gradually you see it develop towards the emotional side. With subtly placed hints in POVs and dialogue it's as if you're witnessing to people fall in love and they themselves are not aware of it. Like another favorite author of mine in the erotic romance scene, Katie Porters saves the emotional punch for the end so by the time I finished the last chapter before the epilogue I was bawling. I just love how this author team wraps up the emotional conflicts in their books!After a wobbly start for me HOLD `EM kicked into gear and kept me enthralled with hot kinky FemDom sex that was uniquely refreshing, characters that had emotional depth and chemistry that was off the charts. It was a book I enjoyed peeling off layer after layer to get to the amazing characters and emotions tucked beneath the awesome writing and scorching kink. Next please!Memorable Scenes:- Leah & Mike showing off on their bikes on the parking lot in chapter 2 > loved how it broke the sexual tension in Mike- the scene at Mike's house where he shows Leah he's a sub > I was literally holding my breath at the end of chapter 6- Leah & Mike first foray together into the D/s territory > wow that was hot... and the ring, djeezus!- the gang, including Cass and Mike, at Paulie's bantering > loved the banter the guys and Leah dished out- the ladies bathroom at Paulie's scene > so hot it was a miracle my phone (= reading device of choice) didn't melt!- the tacky Mexican restaurant scene > probably my favorite scene of the book, it was a changing point for the relationship between Mike and Leah taking it from sex and work to something deeper and more profound. The rose...I melted at the rose!- Leah and Cass at the sex-shop > what an awesome scene...Cass is a hoot!- the scene with the cane > OMG! That was intense!