Lee Piper's Blog - Posts Tagged "grind"

Grind by Sybil Bartel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Not many people would describe the relationship between a hired gun and an abused submissive as beautiful. Luckily, I'm not most people. But if there is one word which encapsulates the complexity of Dane and Irina's relationship, it is this.

For the record, I love Bartel's commentary on beauty. You see, according to the hero, Dane, Irina is never more beautiful than when he first sees her, and I mean, really sees her. She is on his kitchen floor, broken, hurt and confused. But he looks past this. To him, she is a survivor. The reader soon learns Irina has experienced the depravity of cruel intentions, she has become the product of years of emotional and physical abuse. Yet, she craves more for herself, despite not believing she deserves it. Now that is the definition of beauty.

On the other hand, it can be argued that the heroine finds beauty in truth. The ugly, complex, horrifying truth. Often, she attempts to hide from it, to shut down when faced with it, hoping to protect herself from the pain associated with vulnerability. However, Dane sees past her deflections, he understands what is withheld and their connection therefore becomes a thing of beauty in itself.

Now, of course the sex in this book is molten—Sybil is a master at this. Of course the dialogue is fast paced, the secondary characters are well developed and the action scenes are intense. There is no denying it, this novel is brilliantly crafted. But it is the main characters which really steal the spotlight in Grind. It is their ability to tear you apart before piecing you back together again which will have you glued to your Kindle.

Read it, embrace it. You’ll be glad you did.

Lee Piper is an Evernight Publishing bestselling author. Rock My World, Book #1 in the Mondez series and Rock My Body, Book #2 are available now. You can find all of this information and more on her website: www.leepiperauthor.com




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