*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Nathan Burke is an Overseer on Slave World. A combat veteran with years of experience in making people toe the line means he’s an ideal candidate for running the lives of the sexual slaves in his keeping. However, he hates Slave World, hates his job and most especially hates his brother-in-law who runs the place. But he has his reasons for staying.

Margo Winters was one of the best pilots in the Fleet, but those years are long behind her. With a bounty on her head she’s barely scraping out a living running illegal cargo. When a cargo run goes bad she loses everything including her freedom and ends up on Slave World where her path crosses Nathan’s once again.

This book is one crazy well-written ride. I have to say I never really thought to combine Sci-Fi with BDSM, but this story really works well. The characters are so lifelike I feel as if they should walk up and knock on my door so I can invite them in and hand them a cold beer. Margo is flawed, but gutsy. She’s a survivor and now she’s learning something new about herself that makes her life on Slave World more tolerable. Nathan is…ahhhhh, Nathan. *sighs dreamily* I’m half in love with him. Hard as nails, tough yet fair and a moral code as deep as the far reaches of space. Plus, he’s a Marine. How could you not love him? He’s not perfect either which makes him even more likeable as a main character. He does the best he can in a shitty situation and when Margo comes along he has even more motivation to do something about his circumstances.

I read Stone’s Steam & Spurs and enjoyed it, but the writing was just a tad rough. In Slave World the rough edges are smoothed out and his writing really shines. The plot is great and the BDSM isn’t too extreme except for the body modifications and even those aren’t as bad as I thought they would be. Maybe because I’m in the mindset that this is Sci-Fi. Of course, without it being Sci-Fi I don’t see how the many of the modifications would work. Anyway…in other words, while I enjoy BDSM and consider myself Dominant, I’m not much of a sadist and don’t particularly enjoy the really dark BDSM stories with what I consider extreme torture, pain and body modifications. This story is not too much nor too little, but just right. Well, at least for me. Some may not like any of it, but I know I’m really looking forward to reading Slave World 2: The Ties That Bind.

*Really* liking this one. If real life would quit getting in my way I could finish it.

3.5

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Gerald encounters Reyna at a Halloween party thrown by his relatively new boss. Gerald is a shy outsider looking in and he goes to the party in the hopes he’ll make friends with coworkers and maybe start to fit in. However, while there he sees Reyna and becomes obsessed with her beauty and terrific body. He’s disgusted with himself for not growing a set of balls and just going over to say hello, so he decides to leave. But before he manages to slink away Reyna corners him in the laundry room and proceeds to blow…his mind. Discovering a submissive and masochist side he never knew he had he agrees to follow Reyna and be her slave. He’s willing to serve, but will he survive?

Wow. This is a hard book for me to rate. It’s very well-written with an exceptionally inventive story. It’s so descriptive I had no problem picturing it in my mind. And thus my problem appears. I love to read BDSM and I even love sadistic stories, but only up to a certain point. The torture in this story is brutal. If Reyna hadn’t been a demon supplementing Gerald’s life with potions and magic he would have died from the many abuses she rained down upon him. I cringed repeatedly throughout the book. And yet, it is a great story. See my problem?

So, while it is an excellently written story and Gerald is a great character (it’s told from his POV, so I got to know him really well) the brutality just wasn’t for me. It won’t stop me from reading more by Lance Edwards though. I look forward to exploring more of his work.

3.5

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Pink Flamingo for providing a review copy in exchange for providing an honest review.

Sonya is a Guardian Angel and Nimbus is a Fallen and an incubus. When they were both angels Sonya considered Nimbus her best friend. When he joined Lucifer she was devastated. Thousands of years have gone by since his fall and still she loves him even though he’s a demon and has done evil. When Nimbus arranges her fall, she fights against him even though she craves to give into him. It’s easy to fight an enemy. Not so easy to fight yourself or the one you love.

This is a wonderfully written paranormal erotica story. The emotional roller coaster that Sonya rides is fascinating to watch and while Nimbus is a demon filled to the brim with evil he has a soft spot for Sonya the size of the Universe. The BDSM scenes are varied and at times brutal for those who prefer lighter erotica yet they are still wonderfully written.

The reason that I gave this only 3.5 is because I’m coming to realize that submissive stories told from the sub’s POV aren’t really my favorite. I am not a submissive in any way. I much prefer reading from the Dominant’s POV and though this story does switch between Sonya and Nimbus, the majority is told from Sonya’s POV. Plus, Sonya’s constant vacillating between submitting and running away started to get on my nerves. I am curious as to where this series is headed since the ending took me by surprise. What is Sonya going to do next and how will she fare in her new role?