Blinding Love 1

Blinding Love #1

by Liv Bennett

He loves me and hurts me. The more intense his possessiveness becomes, the deeper the scars he leaves. And, I take in everything; the good and the bad, the love and the jealousy...until I can't do anymore.

Genres: Romance, Erotica, Adult, Contemporary, Amazon, Erotic Romance, Contemporary Romance

179 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

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Reviews

[SueBee★bring me an alpha!★]

FREE on Amazon US today (6/14/2015)

5-part serial is complete. Great way to sample, then read BOX set.
New covers!

BLURB:
He loves me and hurts me. The more intense his possessiveness becomes, the deeper the scars he leaves. And, I take in everything; the good and the bad, the love and the jealousy...until I can't do anymore.

http://www.amazon.com/Blinding-Love-B...


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[Mills · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is absolutely no point in novellas like this. We basically see a few weeks in the life of an abused woman. She makes excuse after excuse for her husband's disgusting behaviour and raves about how great he is in bed... which is utter bullshit. In what world do orgasms make up for having to be sexually available 24/7, being raped (because how dare you arrive home an hour after he gets in from work?), being called a slut in front of your colleagues for wearing a skirt to work - work which you've only just been "allowed" to start because he seriously fucked up in ways which I can't even bring myself to go into and about a million other things besides.

At some point she decides enough is enough and leaves him... only to have sex with him again because - to paraphrase - even though their love is twisted, it's still love. FOR FUCK'S SAKE. Ideas like this are so dangerous. Someone who loves you does not abuse you. End of. We have a last chapter of him all devastated, like "I love her so much and she's being so mean to me"... And then the book ends.

Like, what was the point? I thought the last chapter was going to give some whiny excuse like most of these pathetic "twisted love/dark romance" books (usually something along the lines of "my father was an alcoholic so all of this disgusting shit I pull is not my fault and actually I'm a nice person and it's all ok") And yeah, I wouldn't have given a shit because there is frankly no excuse... but at least I would've seen what the author was going for.

But I have no idea what the author was going for. Perhaps it was just an excuse to write lots of sex scenes? If so, it was a failed excuse because all the sex made me feel like doing was taking a bath in bleach.

If I could give less than one star, I would.

[Angi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a little different then my norm but I really enjoyed it. It showed some of the issues that women faces today.
Is it about loving each other or is it just about the sex? They met when she was a freshman in collage and have been together ever since...now eight years into their marriage she starts to question their relationship.
Matt is selfish and has pretty much been controlling their marriage, their sex life and everything else he can. Evie has finally realized this when Matt decides to do a "couple-swap" then have way through gets mad at the other guys and shows how controlling he is over Evie & her body.
Evie was a stay-at-home wife who never got a job after graduating collage and marrying Matt. After the couple-swap, Eve decides to get a job. On her first day at work, Matt shows up at lunch and embarrassed her...that's when she decides (with the help of her best friend) to leave him.
Then ending has bit of cliffhanger with showing only part of Matt's POV...

[Solmarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a huge fan of Liv Bennett for a long time now. And once again she has managed to sucker me in to yet another of her series!

Evelyn Parker believes she loves her husband Matt more than anything. So much so that she allows him to dictate her life. How she dresses, spends her time, everything is at his discretion. As far as Evelyn is concerned she can deal with even his caveman tendencies when it comes to their sex life because she has his love. When he betrays her trust her life comes crumbling down before her eyes.

When I first started reading this book I was really unsure if I would like it. The abuse aspect of it was raising red flags for me. I was pleasantly surprised at how Liv wrote about it.

Be warned that this is a series and has a cliff hanger!!

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon & on iBooks today (5/8/2020)! 🎁

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am giving this 3.5 stars. This book is a hard one to review. I am still emotionally upset and couldn't put the book down. That being said there is no hearts and flowers. The hubby is a self centered control freak who acts like he is 2. He wants what he wants. He is verbally and emotionally abusive. If they had a picture of an abuser for domestic violence it would be his. He is a master manipulator and con man. The submissive wife is the picture of the victim. She does as she is told and never verbally questions anything. I knew all this going into this. I did enjoy the book.

My issues will have spoilers. The hubby has no redeeming qualities and I don't know how he can possibly fix this...there are 3 books. I wanted the wife to go have wild dirty sex with a stranger and send hubby a goodbye video. That's how done I am with him. Now the why's. First he posts a video of them having anal sex and proceeds to read the disgusting comments and tells her he gets off on other guys getting off on his wife. Without her consent and refused to pull it off. Then he arranges a spouse swapping with his coworker and tricks wife into being compliant by surprising her with said couple in restaurant. Hubby literally jumps into wild sex with coworker in front of her in reserved room above eatery. When the other guy starts to have axe with hubbies wife he drags him off and says he doesn't share. Point he never planned on swapping. It's just a ploy for him to cheat. Next he shows up at wife's work and proceeds to call her a office slut at her work place for wearing a skirt. Then he sends her work a false arrest record in order to get her fired. She finally decides to leave hubby after the false record!? Really! I am glad she did but her reasoning astounds me. Any number of previous incidents are more severe.

I did not feel this is a romance even though I did enjoy reading it. Now unless the other two books find evie finding a real dom for her submissive nature I don't know how this can be defined as romantic. It's more true crime or tragedy. Hubby is a crazy and I don't think he feels he has done anything wrong.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

*****5-Star Page-Turning GREAT Read!!!!*****

If you’re looking for a roller-coaster, full-out-adrenaline-ride-of-an-amazing story… then look no further!!! Blinding Love was a page-turner, and Liv Bennett’s writing is wonderful! Her stories just suck you right into the book, along with all the characters!

This was a great book from beginning to end!!! And just when I thought I knew what was happening, the story took a turn and surprised me! Even at the very end… the last chapter was in Matt’s POV (the male lead character)… and I just didn’t even know what to think at that point. I was very surprised, and now I have no idea even where book #2 is going to go… but I am just DYING to find out!!! I’ve got it ready and waiting for me on my Kindle… and will crack it open as soon as I’m done with this review! I just HAD to write this first though, because I enjoyed Blinding Love #1 so much! And if you’re looking for an amazing story… something different… and something that’s page-turning & very steamy too (loved those parts!), then you’ll love this book as much as I did!

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evie was a lonely orphan teenager and did not feel the stirrings of love and lust until she Matt in college. By all accounts he appears to be her soul mate. Evie loved Matt and would do anything for him. Matt craved Evie. What they shared could be a great love with all the hot sex and passion but it was all consuming and ultimately destructive. Matt is controlling, possessive and obsessive about Evie. Matt was Evie's first love and he awakened such deep feelings after being so lonely for so long that she will do the unthinkable for him just to make him happy.

Blinding Love 1 has all the hallmarks of Liv Bennet's great writing style. I read the book in one sitting as I couldn't leave Evie alone. She and Matt share great sex, heat and passion as a couple but will they make it. Evie grows some balls when Matt pushes Evie too far in his exploitation of her. If you enjoy women taking a stand then you will enjoy blinding love. This is a series book and I am hanging out now for book two.

[Td · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blinding Love 1 by Liv Bennett
4.5 stars

Can you spend years confusing love with lust? I think the answer to that is yes. Evie and Matt's relationship is intense. Their sex life is hot, but Evie starts to notice something is off. With one thing after another she is starting to open her eyes and wonder if she's been naive over the years and miss the signs of what her relationship and marriage to Matt really is. There are many parts to this story that ring true in real life for many couples, even if usually it does not happen quite so quickly. I was already a Liv Bennett fan, and was not disappointed with this one either. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Looking forward to reading the next one and seeing the changes Evie continues to go through.

[Priscilla Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

High Level Erotica with Middle Level Story Line

(Full Review can be found at www.priscillasbookshelf.weebly.com )

This book is jam packed with sex but the story line was a slow build up. I kept wondering how this was going to be with series when all I was reading was about Eve's submissive nature and her husband's joy. Then plot twist started happening and I had a good read on my hands. I also loved the fact book one while only 100+ pages had a complete story line that set up for book two but didn't leaving me wondering what she was going to decide to do.

[Amanda Nemec]

There's a typo even before the table of contents! "When is enough is enough?"

[Bj]

Free on Amazon as of 10/21/14!

[Angela B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely not something I’d normally read, as Erotica just has never appealed to me, tbh. I was finding free ebooks on Amazon & came across this title. I started to ignore it, as I typically do, but for some reason I read the blurb on it & it caught my interest. Honestly, had it not been free, I would’ve moved on. However, I started to read the ebook & it caught my interest immediately! I had only glanced over the synopsis, so I had no idea as to what was going on. It started out differently from anything I’d read before though. Firstly, the couple presented had been married 8 yrs.—not your typical Erotica-fantasy stuff. Then, the writing was half decent, along with the grammar! Before I knew it, I was glued to the storyline. Initially, the main character, the wife, is a naive, doormat of a woman, who is married to a much wiser, very experienced, & very dominant husband, Matt. She believes she cannot live without him, which is the way he likes it. Without spoiling things, all I can say is that her character grows through experience & maturity & having a very experienced best friend (also a woman). As her character grows, Matt begins acting out & relationship problems ensue. Does it have hot sex? Of course. However, despite the language, for me it didn’t seem as crude as others that I started to read but were turned off to (as far as Erotica goes). All & all this book kept me reading until I was done (it’s only 140 pgs., so a Quick Read). This book was different from any other book I’ve ever read. Despite my numbers here on Goodreads, I’ve read thousands of books in my lifetime, as until my terrible injuries & illnesses started 14 yrs ago, I usually read a 300 pg+ bk, daily. Yes, emotional abuse is a part of this story, but I liked the subtle way the main character got into her predicament & her disbelief that any abuse was involved, initially. Having tried to help a good friend through her abusive marriage to a very prominent & well respected, well educated man, I felt the same frustration with the character as I did with my friend, at times. In that manner, this story was very believable, as people who’ve not felt true love, may very easily mistake other feelings for the love that has eluded them. Good, strangely fun, read that exposes the realities of the type of subtle machinations that can make a person who thinks they’d never be in an abusive relationship get sucked into exactly that!

[Gemini · Rating 1 out of 5]

First read in 2014. Part one of an erotic “romance” serial.

This was bad. CW: rape, abuse.

Matt wants to fuck another woman while Evie watches, he also wants to fuck Evie in front of other men - Evie doesn’t want either. Matt uploaded video of him fucking her ass online (no faces) without telling her. There is a rape scene when she’s back late from shopping? Not dub/non-con, she wants him to stop as he’s so angry, this is clear. It’s uncomfortable. Eventually they “make love” when he calms down and Evie’s cool with that (he’s deranged).

There’s a flashback to when they met at college, she was a virgin first year and he was in his last year. The single ‘good’ thing about this was the blowjob/handjob scene here - Evie’s first time. Truly the only thing in the book for me to have anything good to say about. Back to the present and Matt tricks her into a “couple swap” where he fucks his co-worker but wouldn’t let her husband fuck Evie.

First of a trilogy serial, this was a freebie. Can see the direction the other 2 books take (mfm ménage), Matt is trash so I’m not here for that.
Steam in the book (if I can even call that as at times it was just not good to read) included: ass play, (rough) fingering, role playing, name calling, humiliation, blowjob, anal, eating her out, and hints of bdsm but really just abusive control. I should say that humiliation isn’t really my thing anyway.

[Debra Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished Reading November 12, 2014

3 Solid stars.
This is one that is tough for me to rate.
The sex scenes are very HOT except one scene that really made me cringe.
There were parts that I loved, parts I Hated and parts that confounded me.
Also, the cliffhanger... In this instance it ticked me off a B I T L O T!
It cheapened the story. There really was no reason for this to be chopped up into 5 FIVE separate books.

So the bottom line is that this story both annoyed me and intrigued me. However, it did not intrigue me enough to continue the SERIAL not SERIES that it is listed as.

October 23, 2014 AMZ

[Shannon Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well....this is interesting

I went into this book completely expecting to dislike it, but strangely it drew me in. Matt is completely off his rocker, but it’s not clear to me when this craziness started for him, because the book ends in a cliffhanger. I am not a fan of cliffhangers, but like I said this bizarre story drew me in. I have to keep reading the rest of series, but I am kind of leery of where it’s going to go. On a side note, the steam was nice. I like a bit of kinky talk in my romance books even if the H is a complete wack job.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, but my mind was screaming "Get Out!" for a majority of the time. So many red flags for an abusive partner! That made the hot stuff very uncomfortable, nearly making me quit. But I wanted to see how it ends up. Bennett knows how to make you keep flipping pages, however this is not for me. And I don't know how many people want to witness an abusive relationship. So kudos Bennett for solid story. Just next time, warn a friend. Trigger warnings only come from fellow reviewers.

[Sharon Eikenberry-Deary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsession sex or love

Evie met Michael in college after all her crazy childhood and running Michael was it. He was everything until he started showing her things were wrong. She had to move on. Needed to but truly didn't want to. Will he make it without her. Will she be able to move on.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and kept reading to find out what was going to happen next.
I struggled with relating to the story and things that were happening ... couple swapping with your employer, for example.

[Cindy Levy · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMW this is so sad. They seem like the perfect couple. Jealousy and control seems to be pulling them apart let see what happens, can't wait to continue this series. Awesome writing just love it.

[Elaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won't be reading this rest of this story. The characters were not likeable and the storyline didn't hold my interest. I could see where the story was going from the beginning.

[P]

She stays with him becuz the sex is good. GTFO.

[Harsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely wrote

[Brooke King · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh

ok,but book 1 of 5. no thank you. it IS a completed series though. might skip to the last page of the last book.

[LaShundra Bolden · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

[Amy H · Rating 1 out of 5]

felt like just out of highschool..ugh

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

To Be Continued…

This is the first book of 3, maybe more! Good read but I’m not going to buy the other books.

[Shan ~A~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is definitely fitting for this story. Although it is not romantic in the least, there is an abundance of sex.

Evelyn and Matt have been together since her first day of college. They have been married for 8 years. He is her first and only lover.

Evelyn is very submissive to Matt's needs. She does everything that he wants and he had a contract drawn up before they got married that states certain things that he expects from her. This ranges from the way she looks to how often they have sex, because of her "love" for him she signs the contract and marries this man.

I did not like Matt and I tried very hard to like him and understand why he treated Evelyn the way he did. I only came up with one answer: Because he could. She didn't stand up for herself in any way, shape, or form.

As much as she gave this man of herself, almost entirely without question, he still treated he like s**t. He claims to love her, but I didn't see evidence of this love, nor could I see why she "loved" him at all.

All that being said, once he does make too many mistakes to suit her and we finally get a glimpse of his personality from his pov, I kind of fell a little bad for him.

He was allowed for years to use her and now he is surprised that she is taking a stand. Why shouldn't he be, she let him get away with basically abusing her for years.

I felt sorry for him, but am not sorry at all that she made the decision that she did. I think that she should have left him or at the very lest let him know she wasn't going to take his crap a long time ago.

I have to agree with Evelyn's friend Shelly when she said, and I paraphrase her, that she saw more clearly that Matt and Evelyn's marriage stayed together so long because of the sex. That is all the seem to be about. Their love has no substance.

Anyway, I do want to read the rest of the series, just so I can know how this "love" story is going to play out.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going middle of the road with my rating for Blinding Love because at times I really enjoyed the book and didn't want to put it down, but other times I was impatient with it. It started out hot and heavy with some unexpected rough sex and even a couple swap. The sex between Evie and her husband Matt was to say the least, bizarre, but also very exciting, and my attention was riveted to every intense encounter. Simultaneously, my logical side was horrified by Matt's behavior and that Evie put up with it all in the name of love, but it worked for them. Who am I to judge?

A turn in the story comes when Matt wrongs Evie. During the couple swap, Matt has his way with another woman but doesn't let Evie have sex with the other man. She finally sees how selfish Matt is and decides to make changes in her life and get a job. From here on, it seemed to become another book altogether. Up till then, there was so much sex going on that when the story turned, I was kind of surprised and being all jacked up on the sex, craving more, I was disappointed when I didn't get more.

I did like that Evie stood up to Matt and made him answer to his terrible behavior. No one should treat a loved one the way he treated Evie, basically as property. But most disappointing to me is the way the book ended. I was surprised with the last chapter coming from Matt's POV, but I liked it. We got to see inside his head and understand how sorry he was, and despite his crass and brutish ways, I was hoping for a reunion between him and Evie. Unfortunately, all I got was:

The End

.... and I was like, What? That's it? The ending bummed me out. If I want to see if Evie and Matt make amends, I'll have to buy the second book in the series. And then, eventually, the third....

[Brittany L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely Unpredictable!

My speculation vs. my inner thoughts...


Chapter 1, EACH and EVERY page I turned:  WTF am I reading?
                                                          
Must read synopsis, again! 

The synopsis: still confused because it’s not saying much, in fact, so I read it again, because, yes it is contradicting itself, but why?


Chapter 3: Is this a love story? A new love? A battered wife?  Is she in denial?


There are only a few reasons I have ever stopped to read a book, and this book is well written, no vampires -yet, and the furthest thing from boring.. I am not sure if I should call the connection between Matt and Evie chemistry our maybe obedient?

Either way, it's very steamy!


Chapter 5..The brunch: ugh... is he freaking serious, did that just happen?


I am almost certain that this sexual sadist, also known as Matt, will continue to escalate.. In the worst way..


or maybe she'll find a new love...


OH MY GOSH, HE GOING TO KILL HER!


Chapter 7: Evie, please listen to Shelly.  Get angry, scream, yell.. DO SOMETHING!


With every page turn, the more I fear for Evie..  it's escalating too fast.. There is no one but you. I can't live without you...
blah, blah, blah.


Thankfully there is Shelly, someone with some sense, she sees what I  see...


Chapter 10: whoaaa!


This book has completely taken me by surprise and I love it all! every word!

..Chapter 13: whatttt- How can that be? I am shocked!


And then, my blinding love story begins..

Now on to book 2...and I will be counting down the days till book 3!!