Letting Go (Surrender Trilogy (Maya Banks), #1) (Surrender, #1)

by Maya Banks

THE FIRST BOOK OF THE SURRENDER TRILOGY

In her sensational Breathless Trilogy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks tested the boundaries of desire. In her new trilogy, there’s only one thing left to do: cross them. And never have the consequences of erotic exploration been so irresistibly inviting, so shockingly intimate, and so totally unexpected…

LETTING GO

Josslyn found perfection once, and she knows she’ll never find it again. Now widowed, she seeks the one thing her beloved husband couldn’t give her: dominance. Lonely, searching for an outlet for her grief and wanting only a brief taste of the perfection she once enjoyed, she seeks what she’s looking for at an exclusive club that caters to people indulging in their most hedonistic fantasies. She never imagined that what she’d find would be the one man who’s long been a source of comfort—and secret longing. Her husband’s best friend.

Dash has lived in an untenable position for years: in love with his best friend’s wife but unwilling to act on that attraction. He’d never betray his best friend. And so he’s waited in the wings, offering Joss unconditional support and comfort as she works past her grief, hoping for the day when he can offer her more.

When he finds her in a club devoted to the darker edges of desire, he’s furious because he thinks she has no idea what she’s getting herself into. Until she explains in detail what it is she wants. What she needs. As realization sets in, he is gripped by fierce, unwavering determination. If she wants dominance, he is the only man who will introduce her to that world. He is the only man who will touch her, cherish her…love her. And the only man she’ll ever submit to.

• ISBN10: 042527294X
• ISBN13: 9780425272947
• Publish Date: 4 February 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425272947

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

Josslyn is a strong character who knows what she wants, and was able to suppress this side of her out of love for her husband but now she is ready to fulfill her desires and I respected that. Dash was definitely swoon-worthy, and their chemistry was good. The friends to lovers’ trope is always a good one and when you add in dominance and submission it can get downright heated. Banks made me feel their emotions but at times I felt like I was swimming in it. They came off as too needy..that whole don’t ever leave me; I love you and without you, I would die is often a turn off for me. Banks did an excellent job of exploring their sexual desires, and I liked the balance she gave us between tender love making and heated edgier exploration. The steamy was well done, and the world of Dominance thoroughly explored. We meet a cast of secondary characters that were interesting, but sadly the interaction between them felt forced and awkward.

Letting Go was a novel that I devoured and yet struggled with. Interaction between Josslyn and Dash allowed me to submerse myself in their romance, and passion. The romance progressed quickly with a few twists towards our HEA. The secondary characters while unique weren’t developed enough for me to connect with despite my interest. The tale had a nice flow to it, but there were moments when the couple interacted with secondary characters and those conversations pulled me out of the tale. They felt awkward and stiff which was in sharp contrast to the couple’s communication. Despite these issues, I never struggled to continue and was invested enough to discover the outcome. The world of Domination is an interesting one, and Banks gave me a greater understanding of the emotional side of it. The sex scenes are not vanilla and were quite detailed but subdued. Maybe my perception is wrong, but at times I felt Dash was too sensitive to be a true Dominant. I did, however, feel Josslyn wanted and needed to be a submissive.

Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Cocktails and Books]

Generally when I find out Maya Banks has a new book coming out, I rush to get my hands on a copy. It was no different when I heard about Letting Go. The premise of the story was intriguing and I was eager to see how the story of a widow and her husband's best friend entering a D/s relationship was going to work. The storyline was good and moved along well, but what I missed in this one was an emotional connection with the characters.

Joss Breckenridge, after three years, has decided it's time to move on. Time to let go of the grief of losing her husband and figuring out what she needs to be happy. So once she's said goodbye to Carson, she sets her sights on The House, a local D/s club in the area, where she can explore that part of her sexuality. Joss, while totally in love with her husband, was never able to ask him for the one things she truly wanted in bed. Having been an abuse survivor, Carson would never bring himself to "hurt" Joss, even if she asked for it. Now was her opportunity to discover if being a submissive is really what she wants and needs. Enter Dash. Dash was Carson's best friend and business partner. He also happens to be in love with Joss and has been for a long time. . He's been trying to figure out when the right time would be to make his move and declare himself to her. His plans go slightly awry when he walks into The House one night and finds Joss on the arm of another member. When Dash discovers why Joss is there and what she wants to explore, he demands that he be the only Dom that shows her what it's like to be a true submissive.

As I said above, I didn't feel an emotional connection to these characters. And considering who they were and the history that had between them, I felt like I should have. Part of the problem was the spent so much damn time talking to themselves. Wondering if they were doing the right. What did he/she feel? Was it the same as what they felt? Blah, blah, blah. I know part of the issue was getting passed the big elephant (or ghost) in their relationship, but talk to each other and not just yourself. It works wonders! And when I finally did start to get some semblance of emotions from the characters, it was Chapter 28 and the book was almost over.

Overall, it's not a bad book, but it was not what I thought I was going to get in a D/s book. I wanted more of that dominate male, pushing his submissive to the brink. Teaching her how the relationship was going to work. It was a good love story, but not what I was anticipating going in.

[EBookObsessed]

I am a fan of Maya Banks, but I have to admit that I did not like this story at all, and I have to tell you that I only read about three quarters of it. To be fair, I am only so-so on the erotica books. I would prefer a YA book with a sweet, romantic kiss to the tie me up and spank me erotica. Although I don't get the hit me with a paddle until it becomes bliss, I can roll with it as part of the story if the overall story is good.

I did not like the character of Dash at all and I was only running warm with Joss. It started out good. Joss wants to move on with her life and she discusses her decision with her friends to give The House a try. She also frees Dash as her crutch because she has been leaning on her in lieu of a husband whenever she needed something, and it time to let him move on with his life as well. She realizes she didn't even know if Dash could possibly have a girlfriend if he was always running to her when she called him.

Dash wasn't happy with "being pushed aside" by Joss since he has been waiting for his turn. Now, I had originally interpreted Dash's actions as being in love with Joss all these years, but it seemed that he just lusted after her. It seemed to me that Joss was discussing investigating dominance. Maybe she just wanted to be told what to do or wanted a little spanking to see if she had any interest. Dash moves her into his house where he tells her she will be naked at all times (unless they have company, of course) and whenever he came home, she would be on her knees waiting. At this point, I'm already turned off by his demands. He then declares he will be having sex with her each morning to wake her up. I don't know about you, but I don't even want to talk to anyone until I have at least one cup of coffee so you can imagine how I would feel to wake up to someone having sex with me while I slept. I am really not liking Dash by this point.

When he finally takes her back to The House, he doesn't take her to a private room for a little kink. Dash takes her into the main room, ties her down to a bench in front of an audience, has her give him oral sex, whips her and has sex with her with audience participation, and then she is to go thank said helper for helping her get off when it's over.

What, what, WHAT?? I think it is a huge jump between a woman who wanted to investigate dominance to being tonight's entertainment. Joss went from being a pampered and adored housewife to being treated like a sex slave, told to get on her knees and when to bend over and take it. Obviously, the story is written so that Joss enjoys everything that they do, but I would have liked to see her be introduced more slowly into it instead of being thrown right into the deep end.

Yuck! I just couldn't read any more. These characters were a turn off to me. I am more interested in reading the second book which involves Carson's sister, Kylie and Dash's new business partner. Kylie was against Joss going to The House. She, like her brother, feared the line between dominance and abuse. I am interested in how Jensen will be able to introduce Kylie to BDSM and keep it from feeling abusive to her. Hopefully, Jensen takes it slower than Dash did.

Personally, this one just didn't do it for me.

Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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