SUBMIT:
This book stunned me at first, not knowing how to react. I've read BDSM books before, but never a sadomascist romance. It may be different and difficult to understand, but it's definitely a romance. Author Sky seems to be making an argument for love in all forms...even in the most brutal and consensual cases. This story highlights the violence in Maxim and Frankie, and how they look for absolution through it. Some of the scenes are cringeworthy, but if you submit to the characters fully, you can't look away. Frankie has taken on so much responsibility at a young age, and harbors so much anger. Maxim is arguably the same. They come together and ignite the world in fire. You may not understand how these two can behave the way they do, but you accept it as their truth.
OBEY:
I'm limp from exhaustion. Reading this incredible story took every ounce of emotion out of me, and I don't regret a thing. Sky has ripped these characters open so we may get a look inside madness. How can they co-exist together? These two seen destined to burn out in a hail of gunfire and blood. But Sky has given them there happiness. The only happiness they understand. What a ride. This is the conclusion to a deeply disturbing story that you just can't look away from.
SURRENDER:
What an extraordinary end to a complicated emotional series. It was time for both Maxim and Frankie to make a stand for what they want and believe in. But are they on the same page? This is a part of the story that redefines family for both of them.
We get introduced to a new family member, who changes the game. You wonder what Dima wants: revenge? Money? Power? Or maybe it's something more nebulous. But it's Dima that's the catalyst for both Maxim and Frankie to make choices with real consequences. You might think they already did, but did they really? Getting involved with Maxim was simple for Frankie, and holding her close was easy for Maxim. They both had a symbiotic relationship together sado/masochism at its core. They used each other, but now it's time to deal with the reality that is chasing them. Do they have the strength?
"“But tell me something. A hunter comes across a wolf and learns to care for it. He feeds it. Nourishes it. And then he locks it in a small cage because it is a difficult thing to care for a wild creature. To understand the freedom it needs. To trust that it will always return to you. That hunter may admire its beauty, and its power, and its brutal strength. But how can he trust that such a creature won’t turn on him? And the wolf, it cares for the hunter as well, you see. But even such a creature can sense the fear in the other. So it tries to deny its nature and pretend it enjoys its life within captivity. But instinct can only be ignored for so long… Until one day, the wolf lashes out from behind its bars, mortally wounding the hunter. And they both die, each never truly knowing the other.” “What are you saying?” The picture he painted is in my head, replaying in a morbid loop. Death. Death. Death. “I’m saying that love is in trust,” he warns. “Not fear.""
That above quote was said to Frankie, but it applies to Maxim as well. They are both scared of each other...what they mean to each other, what they would do to keep each other, and the huge changes to their respective lives. Even sister Daisy asks about the relationship. Is this all going away at some point? Does the lavishness mean anything? Does she have to call him Daddy? Frankie and her family have never known stability, so why would they believe it suddenly dropped on them now? And is it healthy for little Ainsley to trust Maxim so much? Can Maxim handle the chaos of 6 children and hide the destructive urges he carries?
The emotion bleeds from every page as Maxim holds on to Frankie for dear life. She's become his lifeline...a support system that goes way beyond sex.
“"You want to know why I brought you? Because if I didn’t, I would have lost my $#@% mind, and I would have killed him. I would have lost control…” His voice breaks, followed by a laugh and then a sigh. “You say you don’t know me—but you do. You know when to ask me &@$% questions I wouldn’t tolerate from anyone else. You know how to use those #&@% eyes so that I can see myself reflected in them. You keep me here.” His tone deepens with unsaid meaning. Here. In the present, away from the horror of his past. "
Frankie is wary. Can Maxim be who she needs long term? Whether he's desperately trying to protect her family or trying ice cream for the first time ever, she is watching a man trying to change...FOR HER. Part of her just can't accept it.
"A tendril of lingering doubt creeps in, feeding off the memories of him in that room. The anger. The repressed emotions. Again I have to wonder if this little game of give and take is more than he can handle. Is normalcy beyond his limits?"
When decisions are finally made, we as The reader sighs in relief. These characters are so likeable, even with the rough stuff! You want them to move forward from their startlingly brutal childhoods that defined them too long.
"This is the life I’m willing to sign up for. The trade, I’m finally able to make—a harmony of violence and security. Death and life. Blood and the purity left behind once it’s all washed away."
"(Maxim says) “By hiding behind that name, I could lie to you and claim that it was all I knew.” The line of his jaw tightens as he captures my waist, dragging me against him. Near my ear, he confesses, “Even before I saw you in that dress… I knew what needed to be done. What I needed to sacrifice to keep you. I’ve done it.”"
I loved all the psychological warfare used, and no one does it better than Sky. Some of the emotions you will feel reading this are dread, ecstasy, sadness, happiness and anxiety. Because you live these characters as you read this book. I felt gutted after reading it in only the best ways. I was pleased to find the next book Sky is releasing is Dima's story. Because wow, he's made an impression!