Without Restraint by Angela Knight

Without Restraint (Southern Shields, #1)

by Angela Knight

The first novel in the explosive new Southern Shield series from New York Times bestselling author Angela Knight explores the intoxicating games between a female cop and a Navy SEAL—and the killer instincts of a secret enemy watching every move they make.

Atlanta deputy Alexis Rogers and Navy SEAL Frank Murphy know all about power and restraint, necessary force, and pushing their limits. When they meet in the darkness of a BDSM club, their skills are put to use. With each successive night comes a new adrenaline rush, and while they’re falling into something perilously close to love, their games are still too private, too extreme, and too daring ever to be exposed.

But their intimate lives are upended when a fellow deputy of Alex’s is killed. It’s not a tragic hazard of the job. It’s cold-blooded murder. And he’s not the last to be taken out. Now Alex and Frank have found themselves more vulnerable than ever—and exposed to a killer with a twisted vendetta who turns desire into the most dangerous sensation of all.

Reviewed by Cocktails and Books on

3 of 5 stars

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This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books

I have not been this torn about a book for a long time. Parts of it I absolutely loved and other parts I really disliked and found hard to get past.

Here is a story about Alex and Frank; Alex a cop and Frank an ex-NavySEAL who just retired and moved home and is about to join the sheriff’s office where Alex is a deputy. This is not where they first meet however – the first time they meet is at a BDSM party the night before where they have been set up by the party coordinator. Frank is a dom and Alex ends up being his submissive but they aren’t your typical BDSM pair – not that we should expect them to be considering Alex is a cop one who can bring down men twice the size as her. She has not responded to vanilla sex in the past so she believes that the only way she can enjoy it is in a BDSM relationship.

What I loved – this is the first time I have read Angela Knights books and she does a great job with disposition – I could see the places and the people clearly with her descriptions. There is a great mystery that Alex and Frank have to solve that again I thought was a great part of the story. The author does tell the reader early on who the villain is but I was ok with that – the suspense leading up to the capture was fantastic. I loved the relationships as we meet the additional characters and the relationship between Frank and Alex. They both have baggage that has impacted them in the past but how truly open and honest they were with each other was refreshing.

What I didn’t love about the story was the BDSM; under normal circumstances I have no issues with the dom/sub dynamic. Its not my first go to but I am ok with it. In this case though Frank and Alex to me are not a dom/sub nor are they in that type of relationship. Frank is a true alpha male but Alex can dish it out and be just as dominating and strong has Frank and she does so throughout the book. Their sex life is unconventional and kinky but that was part of the fun, what I started to have issues with was throughout the book especially towards the end where they kept referring to each other as dom/subbie when it was just 2 people protecting each other both taking each role as needed. The constant reference to the BDSM was unnecessary and distracting from the main part of the story which to me was the mystery and the two of them falling for each other.

I am going to recommend the book based on why I loved it – I think the dynamic of all the characters and the love story between Frank and Alex is worth the time.

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  • 12 July, 2015: Reviewed