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Choosing Rena
Once abandoned by a man who collared her for a younger sub, Rena MacAllister wants nothing to do with another Dom. After moving to Chicago to escape her past all she wants is to start and possibly find a man who has never even heard of BDSM scene. When she joins the team at Larson Securities she isn’t prepared for the temptation her new boss, Jackson Levough – a known Dom in the Chicago scene. So after six months of fighting the need to submit to him, she's quits.
Jackson Levough is a desperate man. He may be known has the Playboy Dom but after sampling Rena’s submission during a business trip, he wants more. Especially when he knows he can satisfy every submissive desire the luscious Rena has. But when he returns from a nasty illness, he’s shocked to find her resignation and no forwarding address.
With his skills and determination she doesn’t stay hidden for long. But shortly after he finds her - his entire world blows up around him. Someone is targeting Larson Securities. When the person responsible gives him a choice, either Rena or his business, he's torn. There has to be a way to keep both Rena and his business - he just has to find it.
Jackson Levough is a desperate man. He may be known has the Playboy Dom but after sampling Rena’s submission during a business trip, he wants more. Especially when he knows he can satisfy every submissive desire the luscious Rena has. But when he returns from a nasty illness, he’s shocked to find her resignation and no forwarding address.
With his skills and determination she doesn’t stay hidden for long. But shortly after he finds her - his entire world blows up around him. Someone is targeting Larson Securities. When the person responsible gives him a choice, either Rena or his business, he's torn. There has to be a way to keep both Rena and his business - he just has to find it.
145 pages, ebook
Published August 31, 2012
About the author
Dakota Trace
121 books246 followersHello, and welcome to my site. I'm Dakota, an author of erotic romance (think 50 Shades of Gray - but better) and paranormal erotica. And what exactly does that mean? Well, since I've always marched to the beat of different drum: it means that I get to take my unique life experiences - like putting around in the garage with my dad, or driving a train when I was ten, to create worlds where the heroines aren't necessarily June Clever, but are strong independent women who may stand on their own two feet, but long to submit to the right man. Whether it's two friends who realize there is more than friendship between them or the sexy alien who captures his unwilling slave's heart, sparks fly between them. My imagination has no bounds or at least none I've found yet!
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 18, 2012
Choosing Rena had some great sex scenes and sexual tension between Rena and Jackson. The impact play was hot (though pretty rare). This is in spite of the fact I had a hard time relating to Rena. First she moved without even telling her family, thinking the head of a security company could not find her. Huh? That's a little extreme IMHO regardless of past hurts. Jackson was o.k. She kept calling him "white boy" which just was weird. I know a lot of interracial couples and just couldn't relate to this (maybe I just have never experienced it). Rena's sister was over the top. The ex boyfriend/Dom was suitably creepy (props for that!) and made a great foil.
Up front: I'm not fond of two things. First the name calling ("you want it slut" etc etc etc) which this degenerated to towards the end. And the biggest thing though in dialogue and language - to me - is the whole "this slave" third person language. It made no sense here AT ALL. Rena is a strong woman, they do not have anything near 24/7 - in fact Rena is decidedly dominant outside the bedroom, and still they were engaging in the "this slave" type of language by the end. I just didn't buy it and it was completely opposite of her personality. She spend like 80% of the book telling him she didn't want to be controlled outside the bedroom, wanted to control her life, was confident in who she was and her skills - smart, intelligent, etc. This form of language, IMHO, works best ONLY in cases where it is a 24/7 type relationship with Master/Slave or where the personality of the sub/slave "fits" with this language. It's like believing that Judge Judy would say it. *snort* I don't think so. As a result I was completely pulled out of the story. I will say honestly though that I dislike that language and the objectification implied - to me it makes the submissive appear to be personality-less. If I know a book has that type of language I don't read it. Nothing about the blurb on this one would indicate this - so I didn't see this trigger coming.
The other component - the mystery and how Rena and Jackson go about solving it- was slightly off and not as believable as it could have been - because it appeared the things that the cops/CSI missed Rena found were almost contrived. However, I was surprised at the end by the villain - so I didn't guess it which packed a nice punch!
I strongly recommend you read this series in order -- I definitely felt I was missing a ton of back story here that would have helped things make more sense.
Jude/Olivia/Micah - I have not yet read the two stories that make up this trio's story so that may influence here. However for Jude and Olivia the relationship felt a bit off - maybe because it is always hard for me (regardless of gender BTW) to see a sub in a business environment where they should be in charge/commanding act submissively. I think the two roles can exist together but it takes a lot to convince me of that where authority is equal and/or shared.
In the end I'd give it a 2 stars for a solid it's o.k. I do want to go back and read Jude/Micah/Olivia's story but I have some trepidation based on how it comes off here. I hope that, in business, there is no mix of the BDSM D/s relationship unless somehow it can come off as authentic.
Up front: I'm not fond of two things. First the name calling ("you want it slut" etc etc etc) which this degenerated to towards the end. And the biggest thing though in dialogue and language - to me - is the whole "this slave" third person language. It made no sense here AT ALL. Rena is a strong woman, they do not have anything near 24/7 - in fact Rena is decidedly dominant outside the bedroom, and still they were engaging in the "this slave" type of language by the end. I just didn't buy it and it was completely opposite of her personality. She spend like 80% of the book telling him she didn't want to be controlled outside the bedroom, wanted to control her life, was confident in who she was and her skills - smart, intelligent, etc. This form of language, IMHO, works best ONLY in cases where it is a 24/7 type relationship with Master/Slave or where the personality of the sub/slave "fits" with this language. It's like believing that Judge Judy would say it. *snort* I don't think so. As a result I was completely pulled out of the story. I will say honestly though that I dislike that language and the objectification implied - to me it makes the submissive appear to be personality-less. If I know a book has that type of language I don't read it. Nothing about the blurb on this one would indicate this - so I didn't see this trigger coming.
The other component - the mystery and how Rena and Jackson go about solving it- was slightly off and not as believable as it could have been - because it appeared the things that the cops/CSI missed Rena found were almost contrived. However, I was surprised at the end by the villain - so I didn't guess it which packed a nice punch!
I strongly recommend you read this series in order -- I definitely felt I was missing a ton of back story here that would have helped things make more sense.
Jude/Olivia/Micah - I have not yet read the two stories that make up this trio's story so that may influence here. However for Jude and Olivia the relationship felt a bit off - maybe because it is always hard for me (regardless of gender BTW) to see a sub in a business environment where they should be in charge/commanding act submissively. I think the two roles can exist together but it takes a lot to convince me of that where authority is equal and/or shared.
In the end I'd give it a 2 stars for a solid it's o.k. I do want to go back and read Jude/Micah/Olivia's story but I have some trepidation based on how it comes off here. I hope that, in business, there is no mix of the BDSM D/s relationship unless somehow it can come off as authentic.
December 10, 2012
There are so few interracial BDSM books, especially books featuring black women and white men. It's a fascinating dynamic when done well and gives a reader a lot to think about even if the racial aspect never comes up. I went into Choosing Rena with some very high hopes, hoping Dakota Trace would become my other IR BDSM author like Bridget Midway. I was also thrilled that it was an older woman/younger man pairing, something else seldom seen in BDSM books.
Overall this isn't a bad story, though since it's part of a series, it's like being dropped into the middle of unknown territory with a bunch of side-stories and characters I didn't know. What made me very happy was some of those pesky tropes I find annoying about a lot of BDSM romances (especially the abuse trope) wasn't in this book.
YAY!!!!
Granted there was a high end bondage club, but unlike many books, it wasn't the focal point, so I can forgive it.
As a couple, I liked Rena and Jackson. I am forever bitching about the need for heroines in BDSM romances to be strong, savvy and know what they want in regards to the lovestyle. Rena's issue wasn't the lovestyle, but whether she could find a dominant who would allow her to retain her independence outside of it. I liked that she was comfortable being a sub (again, when it worked). Jackson was sexy (I kept thinking of a cross between Matthew McConnaghey and Gambit of the X-Men) but a Dominant I could respect. He didn't know everything and was willing to wait for Rena to feel comfortable coming to him. I liked his willingness to discuss with Rena what their hard limits were and his willingness to work with them.
What put me off and kept this from being five-stars were the descriptive/dialogue tags. They were a little amateurish. I got it after the fifth or sixth page that Jackson was Cajun so I didn't need to have it shoved down my throat throughout the book. And Rena calling him "white boy" was just stupid. I don't know of ANY black woman/white man couples who do that (I never did) and made me wonder how many interracial couples the author actually knew. To be frank, it felt as if the author was making sure the reader knew "yes guys this is a white man with a black woman" book, which is pretty lame.
The mystery aspect was interesting, but I had it solved pretty much by the middle of the book. Rena's former Dominant, a total asshat named Louis was sufficiently creepy and he could have made the conflict all alone. He obviously never got Rena's message that she wasn't into sharing her top, especially when he wasn't monogamous.
Overall this isn't a bad story, though since it's part of a series, it's like being dropped into the middle of unknown territory with a bunch of side-stories and characters I didn't know. What made me very happy was some of those pesky tropes I find annoying about a lot of BDSM romances (especially the abuse trope) wasn't in this book.
YAY!!!!
Granted there was a high end bondage club, but unlike many books, it wasn't the focal point, so I can forgive it.
As a couple, I liked Rena and Jackson. I am forever bitching about the need for heroines in BDSM romances to be strong, savvy and know what they want in regards to the lovestyle. Rena's issue wasn't the lovestyle, but whether she could find a dominant who would allow her to retain her independence outside of it. I liked that she was comfortable being a sub (again, when it worked). Jackson was sexy (I kept thinking of a cross between Matthew McConnaghey and Gambit of the X-Men) but a Dominant I could respect. He didn't know everything and was willing to wait for Rena to feel comfortable coming to him. I liked his willingness to discuss with Rena what their hard limits were and his willingness to work with them.
What put me off and kept this from being five-stars were the descriptive/dialogue tags. They were a little amateurish. I got it after the fifth or sixth page that Jackson was Cajun so I didn't need to have it shoved down my throat throughout the book. And Rena calling him "white boy" was just stupid. I don't know of ANY black woman/white man couples who do that (I never did) and made me wonder how many interracial couples the author actually knew. To be frank, it felt as if the author was making sure the reader knew "yes guys this is a white man with a black woman" book, which is pretty lame.
The mystery aspect was interesting, but I had it solved pretty much by the middle of the book. Rena's former Dominant, a total asshat named Louis was sufficiently creepy and he could have made the conflict all alone. He obviously never got Rena's message that she wasn't into sharing her top, especially when he wasn't monogamous.
May 25, 2022
Sizzling, suspense, wonderful characters
Thoroughly enjoyed this book about Jackson and Rena. Loved how other characters we know were woven into story. Rena is strong woman who has had a bad experience in D/s relationships. But there is a unquestionable bond that she feels with Jackson no matter how much she wants to deny it. She is also fighting her desire to submit. Fast paced exciting and witty book.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book about Jackson and Rena. Loved how other characters we know were woven into story. Rena is strong woman who has had a bad experience in D/s relationships. But there is a unquestionable bond that she feels with Jackson no matter how much she wants to deny it. She is also fighting her desire to submit. Fast paced exciting and witty book.
January 19, 2013
Jackson is chasing and Rena is running. It seems that she's gotten away but she's not as successful as she thinks. When someone seems to start taking out his anger on members of the bdsm club members Rena is pulled in and then wham Jackson is right there. This story is full of heart pumping action and can't put down surprises.
September 4, 2012
Skim read most of it. Neither H/h kept my interest, this felt to much like "I am the Dom / your the sub I know best" wrapped up in sweet language. There was not enough emotional sharing or "got together" story line for me. Which is a shame since I did enjoy two other of this authors books.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews