So, I finished this a while ago. Several weeks ago. I couldn't figure out where to start the review.

IN THE PREFACE:

So far, so good. Book 1, "The Companion," tackled the underlying dynamics of a BDSM relationship. Book 2, "The Reluctant Leader, " took on the censorship and legal issues and introduced the dominant side of the D/s dynamic. Now, book 3 takes you through another aspect of BDSM relationships that never crosses many people's minds.

It seems that whenever people talking about the subject of BDSM relationships, they somehow forget that the little woed, "relationship," is part of the sentence.

In the first book we were introduced to Mark and Susan (later known also as simply "L," the name given to her by her master). Mark had a scarred past and Susan needed someone to help guide her towards building a life where she would grow as a person she was com for table being. Together they entered in a BDSM relationship. The first book was focused on their budding love aND partnership . This book we get their "happily ever after," a look at what happens when their relationship buds into more than bargained for when they began their lives together.

I did not foresee any of the events in this book happening to Mark and L. I did enjoy the ride though. I never once thought of what it would be like for a couple who had a BDSM relationship to juggle the same curveballs that traditional couples experience. 

After reading this I see so many similarities between what people consider to be normal relationships and that of a couple practising a BDSM lifestyle. When it comes to the topic of BDSM people's minds automatically think of violent, leather dressed men beating their females until they experience earth moving painful orgasms. That's not what you get with this book. What you get is a couple being a bit more honest with themselves about where they stand I their relationship and embracing their roles.

What was all his dominance actually worth in a sphere where he didn't have any authority? How could he control anything when it wasn't his hands on the steering wheel?

I completely understand why erotic BDSM literature is popular. In people's minds it is an adventure on the wildside. Those books give people wrong impressions though, and sometimes bad ideas and stereotypes. I like that the author of this, Michelle Knight, wrote a realistic story. I have found this entire series to be very eye opening on the subject. This is very well written and obviously well researched and told from personal life experiences. Compared to the first two books this feels to be written with more emotion included in the story. Knight skills as a writer have really grown. This is not erotic fiction but is definitely intended for adults.

This is one of the best memoirs I've read of this type -- regular person (not a writer) goes through something traumatic, interest is generated in her story, she writes a book with the aid of a ghostwriter to satisfy people's curiosity/voyeuristic tendencies/etc.

This book felt less "ghost-written" than most of the others I've read, and Knight's memory for detail is very strong. I think this is partly because she actually wrote about her experience in journals, poetry, etc., as it was happening. I felt like I got a much more vivid picture of the personal hell she lived through than in a lot of these types of memoirs -- I could see the room and house where she was imprisoned, got a sense of the personalities of the other girls and of her kidnapper. This all amounts to an incredibly harrowing story.

Knight's story is also unique because she was not snatched out of a perfect or idyllic life, nor does she romanticize her life pre-captivity. By the time she was kidnapped, she had already run away from home, dealt with neglect, poverty, and sexual abuse in her home, and experienced teenage pregnancy and an ensuing custody battle. The outcome of that particular thread of her story is one of the most heartbreaking of all.

Ariel Castro was truly an evil man, and I am amazed by Knight's ability to survive him.

Lots going on with Mark and L... lots. Mark feels as if his head may explode, I can completely understand why he feels that way.

I'd forgotten how dystopian this was, partly because dystopia's freak me out which is why I don't often read them. 

It's also kicking my anxiety into high gear, and I was blindsided by how anxious I was.  I normally try to fend off sleep for another hour, but I'm gonna give myself some extra time to sleep it off and try to make myself feel better.  I'll know I'm anxious tomorrow and I'll do more to keep active and try to keep the anxiety at bay.  I'll make time to color because that calms me down like crazy. 

I'll get to this book if I can; if not, I'll probably read comics to relax myself until I can get back into this.   Which is a shame: if not for the anxiety getting in the way two fold, both with the dystopia aspect and making it harder for me to focus on anything, I'd want to tear right through this.  I'm enjoying it very much the second time around, too. 

Thanks for the thanks, Michelle.   And showed my sister and father, and they were both like, 'nice.'   

And I didn't even have to write a book!   I say having written novel length things and knowing what a pain in the ass it can be!   (I haven't published, though, and have no intentions to publish.)