Melanie
Written on Dec 20, 2014
This story starts out with Mina being thrown out by her abusive Dom/boyfriend. He has forced her to move in with her and quit her job, so she has no where to go and no money. You can see the desperation that she is in. The story then jumps to several months later when she is talking with her therapist, Lindsay Smith. Mina made it a point to find a therapist who was into the world of kink and BDSM so that they would understand where her needs came from. Mina was very surprised when Lindsay turns out to be a man and not a woman. Lindsay has a solution for Mina, but will it make things better or worse?
Brian is a sadistic sociopath. He works with several others training women to be sold as sex slaves. The women come willingly, if not through a little coercion. Once they are in the program, there is no leaving. Brian is the one who does all the dirty work. Not only is he the one who takes on the task of punishing the subs who are out of control and need more punishment than the other men are willing to do the women. He also takes care of any other issues when someone knows more than they should. He has killed more than once to protect himself, his partners and the business. Everyone is scared of him, the subs and his partners.
Both of these characters are broken. Both for different reasons. They each have their own way of dealing with their issues. When I met Brian in Guilty Pleasures, I was really surprised when I heard that Kitty was writing him his own story. I knew she liked to play with readers minds, but Brian gives new meaning to crazy. I should've had more faith, Kitty knew exactly what she was doing. The way that Brian was able to deal with Mina and her exact issues was perfect. Don't get me wrong, Brian is still not a nice guy, but I do have more of an appreciation for his ability to not be a dick all the time. I actually liked him much more than Mina who whines a lot. I know she has had it tough, but she is wishy-washy in that she wants to leave and then isn't happy when she is allowed it. She won't make up her mind what she wants.
While this book is a "sequel" to Guilty Pleasures, this book is truly a stand alone. It is set in the same world with some of the same characters. It does take place after Guilty Pleasures chronologically, but you can truly read this book without having ever read a book by Kitty Thomas.
If you've never read a Kitty Thomas book, there are a few things you should know. Her stories are dark. There is a bunch of mindfuck that goes on in them. While they are listed as erotica, there isn't sex scene after sex scene after sex scene like some erotica books. She messes with your mind much more than she writes gratuitous sex scenes. I think that is one reason I love her work so much. The depth in the stories and the characters is truly amazing. She will push limits and a lot of what is done isn't consensual. If you like your stories dark and provocative, then Kitty Thomas is the author for you.