The Protege

by Brianna Hale

[Eve1972]

 
 
~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~
So wow...this book turned out to be significantly better and had way more depth than I thought it would. I've never read anything by this author before, and honestly, the blurb made me think this was going to be one of those insta love, daddy kink type of books (nothing wrong with those). What I actually got was a bloody fantastic, beautifully written, and complex love story. I can't think of a single negative thing to say about it. As I said, the writing was amazing. The pace was perfect. The plot was engaging. Angsty. Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Sexy. The classical music angle was just so well done. Last, it was all wrapped up in a very sweet, and perfect way.


~HERO~
LASZLO...Laszlo was a great hero. He was complex. He was frustrating at times. He was sweet. He was sexy. He was domineering. He was kind. He was stubborn. The author did a fantastic job creating a complex character that as a reader you couldn't help but fall in love with.


~HEROINE~
ISABEAU...I enjoyed Isabeau's character just as much as I did Laszlo's. Again the author did a great job of creating a multi-layered character in Isabeau. My heart broke for her on several occasions. You could figuratively feel her pain rising from the pages. Her love for Laszlo. Her pain at being rejected. But she was also a very strong character. She was sweet. Wise beyond her years. She knew what she wanted and needed. I loved her.


 

~SECONDARY CHARACTERS~
This book was pretty light on secondary characters. We see Isabeau's father a tiny bit. He BFF makes a couple brief appearances, along with some members of the orchestra. Mainly the book focuses the majority of its time on the two main characters.


~HEAT LEVEL~
LOW...for the first 70%. MEDIUM TO HIGH for the last 30%. This turned out to be (surprisingly to me) a slow burn type of romance. I was expecting for us to dive head first in the kink very early on. That isn't what happens though. This couple dances around each other for 70% of the book. But when they finally get to doing the deed, we get some deliciously kinky sex scenes. Isabeau and Laszlo were smokin' hot together and had amazing on page chemistry. Obviously (if you read the blurb) there is "daddy kink" and BDSM elements. Spanking. Belting. Choking. I guess if I HAD to think of something I would have liked different about the book, I would have loved to have seen more sex scenes between those two. 


~ANGST LEVEL - SEXUAL HISTORIES~
HIGH...this one was fairly angsty, but the angst came from the two main characters and their feelings for each other, and not outside sources. There was no OW drama or OM drama. Isabeau wasn't a virgin, but she had only had sex once (and it wasn't good --- personally I would have loved if she had more than one experience, and/or it had at least been decent). But again, it didn't overly bother me. Laszlo didn't appear to be a manwhore nor was he a saint. His sexual history is just briefly mentioned.


~IN THE END~
-- I loved it!
-- Was it perfect? Pretty much.
-- Will I read this author again? For sure!
-- Would I recommend it? Completely!