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Sure Mastery #1
Unsure
Sure
The Sure Mastery trilogy charts the sensual and emotional journey of petty thief turned photographer Ashley McAllister as she struggles to overcome personal tragedy, loss and grief to rebuild her life in the wild beauty of the West Yorkshire moorland.
Resilient and determined, independent and courageous, Ashley has no qualms about cutting her old ties and starting again. Intent on establishing her landscape photography business, she is horrified when her turbulent past comes crashing back to haunt her, threatening to overwhelm and destroy her fragile new beginning.
Ashley needs Tom to guard her secrets and allow her to stay. He just wants her. He wants her submission, her surrender, but he’s already destroyed her trust in him. Will his seductive charm and sure mastery be enough to rebuild her fragile faith? Can he teach her the difference between the violent abuse she’s experienced in the past and his much more exquisite approach to pain? And where does pain end and pleasure begin?
Tom guides her into his world of pleasure, desire, trust and reward. His gifts to her are beyond price, the rewards of submission. But will it be enough, and can the shadows of her dangerous and violent past be left behind them?
Unsure by Ashe Barker
Book one in the Sure Mastery serial
He's hurt her once, and terrified her. He holds her future in his hands. Can she trust him with her body too?
Desperate to escape her past and start over, Ashley McAllister cuts her ties with her old life and heads for the wild landscape of West Yorkshire, the perfect place to reinvent herself. And her carefully laid plans are working, until she encounters her nemesis—the one man she'd hoped never to see again. Tom Shore, the man she and a gang of thugs attacked and robbed, and who swore he'd make her pay. He owns the cottage she now lives in and adores, and now he wants his pound of flesh. So he takes it.
Intimidated, beaten and dismayed by her sexy and dominant landlord, and totally confused by her intense physical response to him, Ashley needs Tom to guard her secrets. But will he, and his enigmatic and terrifying friend Nathan Darke, allow her to leave her past behind and start again? Having survived her first explosive and humiliating encounter with Tom, Ashley struggles to get her new life back on track. But Tom wants her. His demanding, persuasive, sensual charm is almost irresistible, his mastery of her assured.
But—can she submit to Tom's dominance? Should she? Ashley has escaped one violent and abusive relationship. Is she about to be sucked into an even more dark and dangerous liaison?
175 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 22, 2013
1 person is currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Ashe Barker
140 books807 followersUntil 2010, Ashe was a director of a regeneration company before deciding there had to be more to life and leaving to pursue a lifetime goal of self-employment.
Ashe has been an avid reader of erotic romance for many years—historical, contemporary, fantasy—you name it. Now, at last in control of her own time and working from her home in rural West Yorkshire, she has been able to realise her dream of writing sexy and compelling stories herself.
She draws on settings and anecdotes from her previous and current experience to lend colour, detail and realism to her plots and characters, but her stories of love, challenge, resilience and compassion are the conjurings of her own imagination. She loves to craft strong, enigmatic men and bright, sassy women to give them a hard time—in every sense of the word.
When she’s not writing, Ashe’s time is monopolised by her role as grandma to a lively toddler. She shares her writing space with a tortoise called Teefer.
Ashe has been an avid reader of erotic romance for many years—historical, contemporary, fantasy—you name it. Now, at last in control of her own time and working from her home in rural West Yorkshire, she has been able to realise her dream of writing sexy and compelling stories herself.
She draws on settings and anecdotes from her previous and current experience to lend colour, detail and realism to her plots and characters, but her stories of love, challenge, resilience and compassion are the conjurings of her own imagination. She loves to craft strong, enigmatic men and bright, sassy women to give them a hard time—in every sense of the word.
When she’s not writing, Ashe’s time is monopolised by her role as grandma to a lively toddler. She shares her writing space with a tortoise called Teefer.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 13, 2016
This was my first time reading this author's work and it was soooo easy to plow right through this story! This was not an erotic novel through and through, and despite the warnings in the synopsis, I laughed a lot while reading this book! It was a slow-burning self-discovery adventure with major erotic scenes that appeared towards the end of the story, around the 74% mark. While I was expecting a dark and gritty read with some pretentious characters, this story offered so much more than that! There was so much internal drama that I was certain I'd be sick of the heroine by the half-way mark, except that I sympathized with her reckless and at times poor decision-making skills, and I was rooting for her to be successful.
An aspiring photographer, Ashley McAllister is only twenty years old, and Tom Shore, her nemesis, thirty-two. Her frustrations, anxiety, and awkwardness made for an interesting read because she encountered one outrageous calamity after another without any end in sight, but she always managed to pull through.
The entire story (aside from the prologue) was written from Ashley's perspective and made me feel like I had taken a mini field-trip to England! Though some readers could be put off by the lush geographical descriptions, I loved that aspect very much! I also loved the "satanic friend" Nathan Darke who had zero filter to speak of!
Issues?
-I found the initial spanking scene and everything that happened immediately afterwards to be ridiculous and eye roll-worthy, but super-hot!
-I wished the author had played up Tom's Scottish accent, but that was absent from the story. I also wished there was more depth to his character, but this book is part one in a three-part series, so perhaps the reader gets a more fleshed-out Tom as the journey continues.
-Ashley's youth was heavily on display in this book and at times exaggerated: her thoughts, her speech, her behavior, etc. At times, I wanted to deliver a few good smacks to her!
♞This entire book felt like a terrible chess game, and one in which Ashley persistently claimed the losing side. Overall, I enjoyed this book! The internal dialogue was a bit over the top in some parts, but most of it was just hilarious!
An aspiring photographer, Ashley McAllister is only twenty years old, and Tom Shore, her nemesis, thirty-two. Her frustrations, anxiety, and awkwardness made for an interesting read because she encountered one outrageous calamity after another without any end in sight, but she always managed to pull through.
The entire story (aside from the prologue) was written from Ashley's perspective and made me feel like I had taken a mini field-trip to England! Though some readers could be put off by the lush geographical descriptions, I loved that aspect very much! I also loved the "satanic friend" Nathan Darke who had zero filter to speak of!
Issues?
-I found the initial spanking scene and everything that happened immediately afterwards to be ridiculous and eye roll-worthy, but super-hot!
-I wished the author had played up Tom's Scottish accent, but that was absent from the story. I also wished there was more depth to his character, but this book is part one in a three-part series, so perhaps the reader gets a more fleshed-out Tom as the journey continues.
-Ashley's youth was heavily on display in this book and at times exaggerated: her thoughts, her speech, her behavior, etc. At times, I wanted to deliver a few good smacks to her!
♞This entire book felt like a terrible chess game, and one in which Ashley persistently claimed the losing side. Overall, I enjoyed this book! The internal dialogue was a bit over the top in some parts, but most of it was just hilarious!
March 23, 2017
Life has not been kind to Ashley. As she tried to rebuild her life, she finds herself coming face to face with the one man who can do some serious damage to her future. Tom is less than thrilled to find his new tenant is none other than one of the thugs that attacked and robbed him. Determine to make her pay for the sins of her past, Tom takes things a bit too far. Confused and hurt by his actions, Ashley is unsure if she can submit to his dominance.
I’m so happy to see Tom get his own story. His appearance in the Dark Side Trilogy definitely perked my interest. Something about the foreign accents rattling around in my brain is such a weakness. Ashley story is an emotional one. So much pain, so much sorrow, so much loss. Her last loss turned me into a sobbing pile of goo. The two of them together is a very tumultuous relationship. First off, their initial meeting is not of the best of circumstance. Flash forward and things are not any better. Tom’s revenge of her actions during the robbery, to say the least, was not very nice. Sorry, I’m not spoiling it but let’s just say, Nathan was right to be unhappy. As for Nathan’s actions, having gotten to know Nathan from before (Another blatant plug to the previous series) I was shocked by his actions. Poor Ashley, double whammy revenge is no fun. I’m glad they came to their senses.
I will briefly touch on the sex. Oh yes…it’s good but not as frequent as I expected. Don’t take it as a bad thing. Really it’s the journey that Tom and Ashley take together that really makes the story. The sex is an added bonus and very tastefully done. I merely want to mention, while Tom is a Dom and he wants to have Ashley as a submissive, I found there was some BDSM in their sexual play. Usually when you read a book containing a D/s relationship there is a bit more BDSM. Considering Ashley’s story I think Ms Barker nailed the amount perfectly.
In the blurb, Ms Barker states that this book “ends on a cliffhanger that some readers might find upsetting” UNDERSTATEMENT! No, no, no!!!! This isn’t the one I was expecting and I was caught completely unprepared. Of course, I anticipated something else. What a way to throw a curveball at me.
This is most definitely a recommended read. Ashe Barker’s stories will draw you in and have you aching to find out more. If you haven’t had a chance to read the Dark Side trilogy I suggest you do. It isn’t necessary but it will give a bit more background to several of the characters. Now the hardest thing for me is to calmly sit and wait to get my hands on the next book. Come on Ashe…I need that book NOW!
I received this book from JeepDiva for the express purposes of an honest review. The opinions and rating of this review are solely mine and in no way was I compensated.
Stars – 5, Flames - 3
I’m so happy to see Tom get his own story. His appearance in the Dark Side Trilogy definitely perked my interest. Something about the foreign accents rattling around in my brain is such a weakness. Ashley story is an emotional one. So much pain, so much sorrow, so much loss. Her last loss turned me into a sobbing pile of goo. The two of them together is a very tumultuous relationship. First off, their initial meeting is not of the best of circumstance. Flash forward and things are not any better. Tom’s revenge of her actions during the robbery, to say the least, was not very nice. Sorry, I’m not spoiling it but let’s just say, Nathan was right to be unhappy. As for Nathan’s actions, having gotten to know Nathan from before (Another blatant plug to the previous series) I was shocked by his actions. Poor Ashley, double whammy revenge is no fun. I’m glad they came to their senses.
I will briefly touch on the sex. Oh yes…it’s good but not as frequent as I expected. Don’t take it as a bad thing. Really it’s the journey that Tom and Ashley take together that really makes the story. The sex is an added bonus and very tastefully done. I merely want to mention, while Tom is a Dom and he wants to have Ashley as a submissive, I found there was some BDSM in their sexual play. Usually when you read a book containing a D/s relationship there is a bit more BDSM. Considering Ashley’s story I think Ms Barker nailed the amount perfectly.
In the blurb, Ms Barker states that this book “ends on a cliffhanger that some readers might find upsetting” UNDERSTATEMENT! No, no, no!!!! This isn’t the one I was expecting and I was caught completely unprepared. Of course, I anticipated something else. What a way to throw a curveball at me.
This is most definitely a recommended read. Ashe Barker’s stories will draw you in and have you aching to find out more. If you haven’t had a chance to read the Dark Side trilogy I suggest you do. It isn’t necessary but it will give a bit more background to several of the characters. Now the hardest thing for me is to calmly sit and wait to get my hands on the next book. Come on Ashe…I need that book NOW!
I received this book from JeepDiva for the express purposes of an honest review. The opinions and rating of this review are solely mine and in no way was I compensated.
Stars – 5, Flames - 3
June 5, 2018
What a great story and fun read. Without giving anything away, Ashleigh and Tom make for an odd couple considering their beginnings but feel an attraction they cannot deny. Great start to this next series.
December 13, 2013
Seriously Ashe? That ending! Thankfully it's not too long to wait until the next book. I'm seriously loving these books, set in the Yorkshire Moors you can't help but feel the scenery and feel of the Moors adds to the ambience, mood of the book and the story.
I recommend that you read the Darkest series also not because it's imperative before you read these but simply because it's also so good and features some of the same characters like Nathan and cute little Rosie.
I recommend that you read the Darkest series also not because it's imperative before you read these but simply because it's also so good and features some of the same characters like Nathan and cute little Rosie.
March 6, 2022
My review for the whole series is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
April 7, 2015
Title: Unsure
Author: Ashe Barker
Publisher/Year: Totally Bound Publishing 11/22/13
Length: 216 pages
Series: Sure Mastery #1
Overview
He's hurt her once, and terrified her. He holds her future in his hands. Can she trust him with her body too?
Desperate to escape her past and start over, Ashley McAllister cuts her ties with her old life and heads for the wild landscape of West Yorkshire, the perfect place to reinvent herself. And her carefully laid plans are working, until she encounters her nemesis—the one man she'd hoped never to see again. Tom Shore, the man she and a gang of thugs attacked and robbed, and who swore he'd make her pay. He owns the cottage she now lives in and adores, and now he wants his pound of flesh. So he takes it.
Intimidated, beaten and dismayed by her sexy and dominant landlord, and totally confused by her intense physical response to him, Ashley needs Tom to guard her secrets. But will he, and his enigmatic and terrifying friend Nathan Darke, allow her to leave her past behind and start again? Having survived her first explosive and humiliating encounter with Tom, Ashley struggles to get her new life back on track. But Tom wants her. His demanding, persuasive, sensual charm is almost irresistible, his mastery of her assured.
But—can she submit to Tom's dominance? Should she? Ashley has escaped one violent and abusive relationship. Is she about to be sucked into an even more dark and dangerous liaison?
My Thoughts
Who would have thought that a well off guy would get beat up by a bunch of street thugs, one of which was a 'little bit of a thing who's 6 months preggo' and then fast forward about a year to encounter that girl again? Well, in the realm of reality in books, we knew that it would happen here. Granted, it's been a rough go at it for Shaz aka Sharon aka Ashley, so it's more about getting to understand what took her to live where she was to really see who she's become.
Ashley has reinveted herself as a result of turning her life around, as well as hoping that a new identity would keep Kenny away from finding her. He's the guy that was part of the gang that beat Tom up, and for any number of other reasons, she knows that he's bad news for her and wants a lot of distance. On top of that, she's lost the baby that she was preggo with, gone to jail, lost her mom, and well, has just about nothing left to hold onto. Aside from Sadie - her moms cat.
So we're now in the English countryside where Ashley is trying to start her life again, as a photographer and just when things seem to be going ok, she meets the man who owns the property and it's none other than Tom,....the man she mugged. it doesn't take very long for him to realize that it's her and well....doles out quite the punishment - a stern spanking and a way for her to make amends - as his maid.
Between you and me, for anyone who knows the genre, a man who loves to give a good spanking is quite the dom usually and well, i think that we're just starting to see under the hood so to speak.
From here on out, it's really an interesting plot line. We meet Nathan, the man who's Tom's partner and owner of a few other businesses in town. Nathan's clearly a Dom as well and HATES Ashley on site. So that makes things interesting - especially when he realizes that Tom has a thing for Ashley (meaning that he wants to sleep with her in very kinky ways) and that makes things all that more complicated.
Where the story goes from there is a bunch of games, a test of patience and the beginnings of an education. We don't see anyone do more than Google BDSM for a bit, but there are services offered up and well, it'll be interesting to see the reason why and if anything comes to fruition. You know that it's inevitable that Tom and Ashley will get together, but will it be 'vanilla' because of her past or will she open up and allow Tom to do with her what he wants. That's really the twist and question since i get the sense that Tom would just about give anything of his kink up to be with her.
As promised though, there's a bit of a cliffhanger, and we see that things continue to get worse for Ashley. She's out and about in the mountains when a migraine takes her by surprise,and you know that when a hiker is left alone, on a trial, at night and in winter, well....that means that there's going to be drama. So - it's now a task for me to find the 2nd book in nook book form since i can't seem to find it in my first go spaces, but i'll sort it out since i already have book 3.
I'm quite new to this author and i have to say that i like how Ashe writes in these characters and the story line. Although i have to say that there's a LOT of UK verbiage and language that i'm not familiar with at all - so that's a learning curve, but the dynamic between Tom and Ashley is enough to get me going, and i'm even warming up to Nathan and would love to see what he's about. so on that note - i'll enjoy and i hope you do too!
Author: Ashe Barker
Publisher/Year: Totally Bound Publishing 11/22/13
Length: 216 pages
Series: Sure Mastery #1
Overview
He's hurt her once, and terrified her. He holds her future in his hands. Can she trust him with her body too?
Desperate to escape her past and start over, Ashley McAllister cuts her ties with her old life and heads for the wild landscape of West Yorkshire, the perfect place to reinvent herself. And her carefully laid plans are working, until she encounters her nemesis—the one man she'd hoped never to see again. Tom Shore, the man she and a gang of thugs attacked and robbed, and who swore he'd make her pay. He owns the cottage she now lives in and adores, and now he wants his pound of flesh. So he takes it.
Intimidated, beaten and dismayed by her sexy and dominant landlord, and totally confused by her intense physical response to him, Ashley needs Tom to guard her secrets. But will he, and his enigmatic and terrifying friend Nathan Darke, allow her to leave her past behind and start again? Having survived her first explosive and humiliating encounter with Tom, Ashley struggles to get her new life back on track. But Tom wants her. His demanding, persuasive, sensual charm is almost irresistible, his mastery of her assured.
But—can she submit to Tom's dominance? Should she? Ashley has escaped one violent and abusive relationship. Is she about to be sucked into an even more dark and dangerous liaison?
My Thoughts
Who would have thought that a well off guy would get beat up by a bunch of street thugs, one of which was a 'little bit of a thing who's 6 months preggo' and then fast forward about a year to encounter that girl again? Well, in the realm of reality in books, we knew that it would happen here. Granted, it's been a rough go at it for Shaz aka Sharon aka Ashley, so it's more about getting to understand what took her to live where she was to really see who she's become.
Ashley has reinveted herself as a result of turning her life around, as well as hoping that a new identity would keep Kenny away from finding her. He's the guy that was part of the gang that beat Tom up, and for any number of other reasons, she knows that he's bad news for her and wants a lot of distance. On top of that, she's lost the baby that she was preggo with, gone to jail, lost her mom, and well, has just about nothing left to hold onto. Aside from Sadie - her moms cat.
So we're now in the English countryside where Ashley is trying to start her life again, as a photographer and just when things seem to be going ok, she meets the man who owns the property and it's none other than Tom,....the man she mugged. it doesn't take very long for him to realize that it's her and well....doles out quite the punishment - a stern spanking and a way for her to make amends - as his maid.
Between you and me, for anyone who knows the genre, a man who loves to give a good spanking is quite the dom usually and well, i think that we're just starting to see under the hood so to speak.
From here on out, it's really an interesting plot line. We meet Nathan, the man who's Tom's partner and owner of a few other businesses in town. Nathan's clearly a Dom as well and HATES Ashley on site. So that makes things interesting - especially when he realizes that Tom has a thing for Ashley (meaning that he wants to sleep with her in very kinky ways) and that makes things all that more complicated.
Where the story goes from there is a bunch of games, a test of patience and the beginnings of an education. We don't see anyone do more than Google BDSM for a bit, but there are services offered up and well, it'll be interesting to see the reason why and if anything comes to fruition. You know that it's inevitable that Tom and Ashley will get together, but will it be 'vanilla' because of her past or will she open up and allow Tom to do with her what he wants. That's really the twist and question since i get the sense that Tom would just about give anything of his kink up to be with her.
As promised though, there's a bit of a cliffhanger, and we see that things continue to get worse for Ashley. She's out and about in the mountains when a migraine takes her by surprise,and you know that when a hiker is left alone, on a trial, at night and in winter, well....that means that there's going to be drama. So - it's now a task for me to find the 2nd book in nook book form since i can't seem to find it in my first go spaces, but i'll sort it out since i already have book 3.
I'm quite new to this author and i have to say that i like how Ashe writes in these characters and the story line. Although i have to say that there's a LOT of UK verbiage and language that i'm not familiar with at all - so that's a learning curve, but the dynamic between Tom and Ashley is enough to get me going, and i'm even warming up to Nathan and would love to see what he's about. so on that note - i'll enjoy and i hope you do too!
December 18, 2019
Out of all of the trilogies in this "world," this set of books (Ashley/Tom) is my favorite (and one of my favorite books I've read this year). After starting the 2nd book of this trilogy (Sure Thing), I actually went back to re-read this first one again. I wanted to find the different scenes where their relationship started evolving. There were so many scenes where my heart hiccupped for Ashley and her struggles and Tom's initial anger towards her. And don't even start with Nathan's anger - that one may have been harder to overcome. I've found with all of these series there is no grand realization or light bulb moment where the characters discover they're in love. It develops over time almost like an "of course we are and have been." Since Ashley/Tom had so much more to overcome given their history, I was even more intrigued to see again how they came to a comfortable companionship of forgiveness, trust, and love. And oh, those first scenes with Tom/Ashley/Nathan - oh, you feel Ashley's terror. I appreciated how Ms. Barker continued to go back to those moments and how they kept Ashley from fully putting her trust and safety in Tom's arms.
The other thing I loved about this book was Ashley's introduction into Tom's world of BDSM. Ashley could be an "everywoman" - your average, vanilla woman but open to the idea. As she's learning about this world and her boundaries, we also learn what it means to be in this type of relationship. Of course we are familiar with the kink and all the toys, but along with Ashley we learn what it means and the expectations to give your trust to someone else in this type of relationship. Although it's still not for me personally, I do better understand the connection to testing your boundaries, who ultimately has control, trust, and pain vs. pleasure. And what's great is the author was able to wrap all of this up (through the eyes of Ashley) without it being an info-dump 101.
The other thing I loved about this book was Ashley's introduction into Tom's world of BDSM. Ashley could be an "everywoman" - your average, vanilla woman but open to the idea. As she's learning about this world and her boundaries, we also learn what it means to be in this type of relationship. Of course we are familiar with the kink and all the toys, but along with Ashley we learn what it means and the expectations to give your trust to someone else in this type of relationship. Although it's still not for me personally, I do better understand the connection to testing your boundaries, who ultimately has control, trust, and pain vs. pleasure. And what's great is the author was able to wrap all of this up (through the eyes of Ashley) without it being an info-dump 101.
August 29, 2014
I love the way Ashe barker draws you in by getting to know these characters flaws before you fall in love with them!
September 13, 2014
Ms Barker does it again ....hooked completely and that ending was just .....aghhhhhhhh.
October 31, 2014
I loved this story of Ashley and Tom.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews