Review: Welcome to eXclave
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 24, 2013
This bundle contains two novellas, both are about a marriage that is in trouble. The first story Claiming Lauren is about a couple who married for business reasons, Lauren acts as her husbands hostess at social functions and business dinners. Otherwise she's alone. They live apart. But Lauren yearns to submit, to be dominated. The master is the man who gives her these things. Lauren never sees master, it's all anonymous and supposedly safe.I liked this story not as much as the second one. This was rather more predictable.The second Dominating Amy, is much more realistic. Mac and Amy are just an ordinary couple inasmuch that they are not wealthy, Amy who has been modelling for some time, has found her assignments drying up. To make ends meet Mac has taken a second job.That in itself is not whats causing the trouble. Amy needs something from Mac that he feels he can't give her. So they dance around the subject, each pretending they don't have a clue about what the other needs. When the truth is that they do. But denial can only last for so long before something or someone has to give.I liked this story the most out of the two. Mac and Amy's portrayal was more focused and gripping than Lauren and Jacob in the other story, they just seemed to drift into things. If I have a complaint I felt both stories suffered from being too short. Perhaps if the author had expanded them they might not have felt so rushed.Both stories are connected by a common theme club eXclave, a private members club for patrons with certains tastes, BDSM. Elizabeth owns eXclave, Jacob from the first story is a founding member. And Amy is Elizabeth's cousin.I believe a further book is to be published in this series.ARC courtesy of Emily Ryan Davis and NetGalley