Kept

The Enforcers #3

by Maya Banks

From the author of Mastered and Dominated comes the third of the Enforcers novels. Kept is the searing story of a woman who finds sanctuary in surrender...   He can’t change who he is.   A horrific childhood has made Silas the man he is dangerous, distrustful and demanding. He’s lived in self-imposed solitude, convinced that no woman could ever accept his need for absolute control—in business and pleasure. That is, until a young violinist walks into one of his buildings and into his life.   She can’t change what she wants.   Hayley has been struggling to fulfill her father’s dying for her to attend a prestigious music school in New York City. But even working multiple jobs, she can’t afford the tiniest of apartments. Seeing her hopeless and near tears, Silas vows to help and protect her, no matter the cost to himself. But when Hayley meets his every demand with unwavering acceptance and love, he is overwhelmed by her goodness and gentle spirit. He knows that the dark stain on his soul can never be erased—and rather than risk destroying the most beautiful person he's ever experienced, he'll have to do the hardest thing he's ever had to do. Let her go. But he's totally unprepared for the lengths to which Hayley will go to fight for his love and for a future brighter than the sun...

Genres: Romance, BDSM, Erotica, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Dark

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 25, 2016

About the author

Maya Banks is the #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today and international bestselling author of over 50 novels. A wife and mother of three, she lives in Texas.

Reviews

[Hannah McBride · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know what? No. I can't even with this series. I wanted more - I *expected* more. After the disappointment that was MASTERED and DOMINATED, I expected Silas' book to be like the Maya Banks I know and love but this was a cliche mess.

Hayley makes Bella Swan look like the world's most independent and strong woman. I have never met such a weak character. And her background is sob story after sob story - her mom died, her dad died, she has no friends, she's attacked by 3 rapists ... But she's beautiful. And perfect and talented and did I mention beautiful? So Silas falls for her on site.

Except Silas wouldn't know what a good thing was if it smacked him in the face because he constantly chooses everything and everyone over his "princess".

And can we talk about the pet names in this series? Princess? Angel? I can't even.

What could have - and should have - been an amazing story was just rife with one disaster after another simply for the sake of angst and drama. It served zero purpose.

I'm done with this series.

[Ivy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only thing that spoiled my enjoyment of this story was the fucking mention of that spineless bitch Evangeline from the previous novel. Who the F really needs to care about Drake and his annoying wife? I wanted a story that was purely focused on my delicious Silas and sweet beautiful Hayley. That poor girl suffered so much as did Silas. The one good thing, however, was that Silas didn't let another man have sex with Hayley. I hate heroes, like Drake, who share their wives sexually with other men. That's not romantic in my opinion. I'm kinda old school: I like my sex between one man and his woman.

[♥ WishfulMiss ♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This contemporary read is the 3rd in the series (I haven’t read any of the previous books) but it can be read as a standalone. There are quite a few secondary characters but again, they didn’t distract too much from the main story line. The blurb hinted that there would be some angst between Hayley and Silas and I was feeling in the mood for some angsty turmoil. Long story short, the angst was definitely there but the reason behind it was too obvious and drawn out. The MCs had so much potential but were barely developed and their instant connection felt more forced than fated. It wasn’t bad really but I found the character’s actions and reactions to be OTT too many times to count.

Hayley is a 22 year old aspiring violinist who is barely scraping by. When Silas sees her inquiring about a unit in his apartment building, he feels instantly drawn to her. Before he knows it he offers her the apartment next door to his for a ridiculously low price (his interaction with her up to now is him seeing her through his security feed). Hayley is desperate so she doesn’t really question it. Over the course of a few days, Silas – who works as the enforcer for his boss doing some shady and illegal things– goes from avoiding Hayley at all costs because he is convinces his dangerous past/present would endanger her to throwing caution to the wind and claiming her.

And when Silas says claim he means it literally.

“…once I claim you and possess your body I will own you. Body, heart and soul. All will belong to me and you will be mine to do with as I wish, anytime, anywhere, any way I want.”

Which might sound sexy to some but to me just sounded creepy since they’ve literally only exchanged a handful of words to each other. It just seemed too extreme so early in their relationship. Also I get that Silas is all about control and dominating Hayley but his commands did not sound sexy or titillating at all! #sorrynotsorry

For their first time . . .

“When I get back, I want you naked and kneeling in the middle of the bed. Make sure your hair is down . . .”

And again later on . . .

“I want you belly down on the bed, feet planted on the floor. Do not move. Wait for me.”

This guy never smiles, never teases or flirts. There’s no soft caress or affection in his voice leading to either scene. Even when he starts calling her by his ridiculous pet names – my sweet girl and princess – it felt wrong. I ended up skipping over this weird dialogue because it was too weird. I felt like there was no build up to their intimacy so his bossiness felt domineering and I couldn’t take his endearments seriously.

Hayley wasn’t a complete doormat but she does come borderline close a few times. I did love the fact that she does tell him off when he dumps her and he tries to come back. More grovel would have been nice but I liked that she didn’t immediately buckle under his wants.

Favorite Line:

“I gave that to you because I wanted to and because it made you happy, and making you happy made me happy. But I don’t need it and I don’t need you.”

Would I recommend? It read like a really choppy rough draft, tbh. Not my jam.


SAFETY INFO:
Ages :Hayley is 22 (virgin) and Silas is “…older than she was by at least ten years.” So 32+ (experienced Dom)

Cheating : None.

OM/OW drama : Lack of communication between the MCs leads Hayley to some angsty moments when she assumes Silas has a romantic relationship with OW. From his POV we know that he loves OW like a sister but he never clears this up with the h, even after they get together.

Separation : There is a one week separation, no mention of OP.

Push/Pull: Yes from Silas. He decides he can’t risk her getting hurt because of him and dumps her “for her own good.” Hayley pushes him away when he realizes he messed up with her.

Main Pursuer of relationship : Silas as the Dom in their relationship was the most aggressive of the two.

Possible Triggers : child abuse (off page), sexual assault of a minor (H, off page, some descriptive detail), violence against women (on and off page, h and secondary character), 2 attempted rape scenes (h, on page), Dom/sub MCs, light BSDM (mostly a really bossy H) and some spanking.

HEA/HFN : Ends on a HFN with no real epilogue. Last bit is two weeks later but no update on their relationship. Just a catch up scene with all the other side characters.

[Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

the dialoges in this book...
i don't even have a word to summer up the vomiting pulse of dislike...

Urrrghhh...

Predictable.
One dimensional.

But at least i rounded up the series! Yaaay!

[Yolanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 Como dice Noe, la trama no es para darle muchas vueltas, la verdad. Es lo primero que leo de Maya Banks y la verdad no me ha atrapado su manera de escribir. Dicho esto, tengo que decir que el protagonista es de los que me llaman la atención. Desde luego, Silas, nos ha hecho pasar unas tardes de escándalo porque, como digo, es uno de esos personajes que tanto a Noe como a mi nos gustan, de los que disfrutamos y que nos ha dado unas tardes de escándalo. Generoso y mandón, nos has gustado Silas.
le doy 2,5 al libro, a Silas le daría un 3 en nuestra categoría AY. Tengo que hacer hincapié en que ha tenido un par de frases de esas lapidarias que han hecho que nuestros teléfonos echasen chispas XDDDD
Silas, por Dior qué ratos nos has dado, porque nos los has dado buenos, pero nosotras hemos ido añadiendo cosas que si las lee la autora.... vuelve a escribir el libro jajajajaja.
Nos lo hemos pasado pipa no.... lo siguiente. Ha sido una de esas lecturas buenas buenas de verdad pero por quien te acompaña leyendo, no por el libro.

[Lover of Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final book in the trilogy and this is where we get Silas’ book I was very pleased to see that he got a story (but I am so curious if there are other books maybe a connecting series of the other men because I need it) and this is the story which features our beloved Silas and his lady, who is in school fulfilling her dream of being a violinist, but she is struggling and in need of a white knight, and Silas is drawn to her and takes her in and offers her a refuge she greatly needs. But their relationship is slow going, but the attraction is real and even though they are complete opposites in their backgrounds, there is something vibrant that grows between them. But Silas has a past and he also has a duty to Drake that holds responsibilities and great dangers. And Silas wonders if his woman can accept him fully.

I honestly couldn’t get enough of this one here and see all the wonderful aspects that bring this book together. Like with the previous two books, there are definitely angst-filled moments but I was so endeared in seeing how it was portrayed. I did love this relationship where the heroine is a violinist and I rarely see these types of heroines so I was purely delighted to have something different that we don’t normally see. I was really intrigued to see how this one would play out and even though there were moments wher eI felt certain moments of angst was unnecessary I did feel like this story really conveyed everything I need in a contemporary written by this author. I found them so sweet together, Silas is such a wonderful hero, who is so in need of love and connection and I love what he finds in this one.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just okay. The dialogue from Silas was really awkward unbelievable and he behaved in ways that made no sense. Hayley tried to be a strong woman but she too acted strangely. And the ending was a major letdown.


The story begins with Hayley trudging around Manhattan trying to find an apartment. Her backstory is that she’s a gifted violinist and it’s always been her dream to play professionally Her father, as he lay dying, got talked into buying a life insurance policy, thinking that it would provide for her after his death. Except it turned out he was swindled and the policy was written in such a way as to guarantee that she’d never see a dime. Now he’s dead and she’s broke but she’s trying to honor her deathbed promise to him to succeed at the violin.

She wanders into Silas’s apartment building and inquires about a room. Unbeknownst to her, Silas, (who owns the building and is some kind of mob enforcer for his boss, Drake), is watching through his security cameras and thinks she’s pretty. So he arranges for her to get the apartment next to his for a ridiculously low rent and this doesn’t raise any flags for her at all, even when the manager tells her that the owner she’s never met is the one who insisted she be given the place.

Fast forward a few days and we’re told that Silas likes to lie awake at night listening to the sounds of Hayley practicing her violin. Then Hayley decides that she really ought to thank Silas in person for giving her the apartment so she goes knocking. They have a pretty awkward conversation and then she leaves. The next day, Hayley is late coming home and Silas is on edge. His head tells him there are a thousand legitimate reasons why she’d be late, but his instinct tells him something is wrong and he goes out to look for her.

We’re told at this point that he knows exactly what route she takes home from work because he’s shadowed her many times. Really? When did that happen? Why didn’t we see it and get to hear his thoughts? This is one of the problems with the book. Everything about the relationship seems rushed. We get almost no buildup to anything. There's a big difference between him just finding peace in her music and nearness, to him actively stalking her through the city. Nothing we're actually shown in real-time backs up him being THIS obsessed with her. So this throw-away line really feels like it's coming out of nowhere.

Anyway, it turns out Hayley doesn’t know that walking home through sketchy NYC streets in the middle of the night is a bad idea, so she gets jumped by three guys. They break her violin and decide to rape her. She’s beaten up and groped, then Silas shows up and kills them all.

He takes her back to his apartment and calls a doctor, then calls his brothers to clean up the bodies. Hayley wakes up and is scared. She feels safe with Silas though, so she asks him to hold her while she sleeps. She also cries about her violin being broken because she can’t afford to buy a new one. She talks about her promise to her dad and the way he got scammed on the life insurance. Silas buys her a new violin and starts making plans to track down the insurance guy to force him to pay up.

Hayley stays with Silas for two days. At one point she makes a pass at him but he resists because she was just almost raped but doesn’t tell her that’s why so she feels rejected. Then she overhears him on the phone with Drake’s wife, Evangeline, discussing their upcoming “date” and assumes Silas has a girlfriend. She wants to leave and Silas is confused as to why she seems upset, but admits that he’s about to go out of town anyway. He insists on putting three of his brothers with her at all times, for her protection. Hayley hardly even lodges a token protest that this guy she barely knows is presuming to dictate her life.

Hayley makes friends with the various brothers who are on her protection detail over the next few days. She keeps catching snatches of conversation in which Evangeline’s name is mentioned but when she asks who that is, everyone gets all shifty and refuses to tell her, which reinforces her suspicion that Evangeline must be Silas's girlfriend. This prompts her to make a few snarky comments about how Silas clearly doesn’t care about her, which causes the men to exchange glances but no one sets her straight.

After a few days of the brothers escorting her to school, Silas gets back but Hayley says something scathing to him and just walks on by. One of the brothers has to explain that apparently Silas has given Hayley the impression that she doesn’t matter to him. There’s a scene break and then there’s a knock at Hayley’s door. It’s the insurance guy, beaten to a pulp, and he hands over a check for the full payout. Hayley realizes immediately that this was the pressing out-of-town errand Silas was running and she completely gets over her previous hurt feelings and suspicions. Not to mention that she’s fine with him using physical violence to make the insurance guy fall in line. She runs over to Silas’s apartment and throws herself at him. He again hesitates to respond. This time it’s because he feels he’s no good for her. He’s a monster. His soul is black, etc. etc. But eventually he decides to take what she’s offering.

The sex wasn’t particularly exciting or steamy since these two had spent so little on-page time together. They were virtually strangers and Silas had been so reserved that we hadn't even gotten any smoldering glances to build up the sexual tension so I just wasn’t invested.

Fast forward a couple of days and Silas and Hayley have big plans to spend the afternoon together. Then Silas gets a call that Drake needs him to babysit Evangeline this afternoon instead. Silas agrees without hesitation and tells Hayley that he’s sorry but his date with Evangeline has to come first. He says this with apparently no clue how it’ll sound to Hayley or how it’ll make her feel she ranks in his priorities. But she gets over this without even broaching the subject and continues sleeping with him. Then there’s a bit where she really wants to perform oral sex on him but he always pushes her away when she tries. He finally opens up to her about the horrific abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents, whom he eventually killed. He’s sure this’ll make Hayley turn away from him but she doesn’t. Then she asks him to trust her and to allow her to go down on him to help him heal from the past. He does and through the power of her magical BJ skills, he’s completely healed from his sexual trauma after that.

Then it’s time for her to perform in some big recital and Silas tells her that he wouldn’t miss it for the world…and then Drake calls and tells Silas to go babysit Evangeline again, this time taking her to a Lamaze class. This whole scene was really poorly handled. The reason why Drake can’t go himself is super vague. And the reason it HAS to be Silas and not one of the dozen other brothers is equally vague. Drake even realizes that he’s forcing Silas to miss Hayley’s recital but insists that he wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t “absolutely necessary.” Are you kidding me? How about she just skips Lamaze that night?

But it’s time for the Black Moment so of course everyone has to act like idiots. Hayley’s devastated at this fresh evidence of how low she ranks in Silas’s priorities, but she pulls herself together for the recital and knocks it out of the park. As she and the brothers are walking to their car, another vehicle races up and starts shooting at them. Hayley tries to push one of the brothers to safety but he instead grabs her and throws her to the ground, shielding her with his body. He’s shot several times but survives.

At the hospital, Hayley is huddled in a corner, covered in blood, and refusing to let anyone touch her. She blames herself for the brother getting shot because he was protecting her. Silas finally shows up and tries to get her to let the doctors look at her. She yells at him for ditching her and making it clear she wasn’t his priority. She tells him to get lost and then she tries to get up and walk out, only to collapse. Turns out she caught a bullet too and she’s rushed into surgery. During her recovery, she just kind of gets over her issues with Silas’s abandonment. The men are still keeping her completely in the dark as to the nature of their business and why people would be shooting at them but she figures out enough to realize that she’s a liability to him. That having to protect her puts him and his brothers in danger. So she tries to break up with Silas, for his own good. He tells her that’s not going to happen. Then they have sex and she’s apparently fine with it all.

A scene change later, a random car screeches into the parking lot at Drake’s club and dumps a badly beaten woman out on the ground. It turns out to be one of the other brothers’ stepsister, Gia, that none of them knew anything about. He’d tried to protect her from their violent life by keeping her existence a total secret from everyone, but somehow their enemies had found her. He’s devastated and gives an impassioned speech about how none of them had a right to bring women into their lives. Silas takes this to heart and says that he “knows what he has to do.”

So he goes home and kicks Hayley out. He has her things moved to a new apartment in a different building and tells her that he’s done. He just wanted sex from her and now he’s had his fill and wants to move on. Then he walks away. The whole scene was just completely unbelievable plot contrivance. How is abandoning her with no protection going to keep her safe? He doesn’t even have someone watching her! All he does is set up cameras around her new apartment so he can watch the security footage. Ridiculous.

Hayley is heartbroken and loses her will to play the violin. So she quits school, her dream now dead. Then she thinks about moving to another town but in another stroke of plot contrivance, she for some reason decides to not only stay in town for a few days, but to get a crap apartment in the worst part of town to “save money” while she decides what to do. It makes no sense at all. And suddenly she’s got a gun and is an expert shot with it too. This is just tossed in with a quick retcon saying that it had been her father’s gun and he’d taught her how to shoot it so she’d always be protected. Sure.

Meanwhile Silas watched the security footage and saw Hayley leaving the apartment he gave her. She hasn’t been back for two days and he’s losing it. So he runs over there and quickly realizes that all the things she owned before meeting him are gone, but that she’s left behind everything he bought for her - including the violin. Then he storms over to the school and learns that she quit. He realizes how badly he must have broken her if she’s given up on her dream. So he starts using all his resources to try to figure out where she’s gone. He doesn’t find anything, but then his mole in the enemy organization calls and has plot-conveniently gotten all the bad guys’ files. There’s one on Hayley that contains her new address and he thinks she’s the bad guys’ next target. Silas grabs all the brothers at hand and they race off to this address.

Back in Hayley’s grotty apartment, the bad guys show up and attack her. They beat her up and then start ripping her clothes off to rape her, but she makes enough noise that the neighbors start threatening to call the cops, so they drag her outside where she pulls out her gun and kills them both.

Silas and crew arrive to find her glassy-eyed and still dry-firing at the two dead bodies. She tells Silas she doesn’t want to have anything to do with him and he’s gutted but resigned that he deserves it. Finally one of the other brothers convinces her to come with him to get medical attention, while the rest of the guys make the evidence disappear. Silas goes to visit her and she tells him to get lost again. That she can’t trust him. That every single promise he made to her, he later broke. That he’d never put her first in anything. She asks him to leave her alone and he resignedly says that he will.

A few days later Silas hasn’t slept and has been drinking regularly. He goes into the office because the rival family is still a threat, but that’s all that’s keeping him going. Gia’s stepbrother comes in and sees what a wreck Silas is, so he goes to see Hayley and tells her all the things that have been happening that Silas never bothered to mention. Now Hayley understands why he was so mean to her. This all seemed weird to me because I thought she should have figured it out without needing this little talk. And it didn’t change the fact that Silas had, indeed, broken all his promises and put everyone before her. But she’s totally over it all now so she goes to see him. They have a very short talk where she tells him that she’s got the right to decide whether being with him is worth the risks. He agrees and they go have sex.

Two sex-filled, off page weeks later, Silas tells Hayley that he has something very important to ask her but then his phone rings and he stops and says he has to answer it because it's Drake. They find out that Evangeline is in labor, weeks ahead of her due date. So Silas needs to rush off to the hospital. And this scene is just a perfect little snapshot of what their life will really be like in future. Silas was about to say or do something important for his relationship with Hayley, but allowed himself to be sidetracked simply because Drake called. Even after everything they've been through in the course of the book, Silas STILL puts Drake and Evangeline first. And he always will.

At the hospital, Hayley and Evangeline decide to be friends and the doctors manage to stop the labor so everything’s fine. Then they get a call that the bad guys are no longer a problem. It was all dealt with off-page by some other crime family. So it’s done with no input from Silas and his brothers at all. The end.

So yeah, that was a very abrupt and anticlimactic ending that leave a lot unfinished. We've got no indication of whether Silas and Hayley's relationship is heading for marriage or children, and are left with the knowledge that Silas's loyalties will always be with Drake first so that's depressing. We also don’t know if Hayley ever succeeds at her dream or if she ever even plays the violin again. There was a lot of foreshadowing about Gia and her stepbrother (Thane?) that didn’t get a resolution. And it was totally lame that the rival crime family’s threat was resolved off-page and with no input from our heroes.



Overall it’s just kind of a dud. It’s not sexy enough to be a good erotica, but not emotionally affecting enough to be a good romance. And it’s not smart enough to be a good action thriller either. And the ending is just too abrupt and lame. Oh and Silas’s habit of calling her “princess” and “my sweet girl” was truly awful, unbelievable and irritating to read

[SB*needs low angst books* · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hayley has moved to New York for only a short amount of time to attend a prestigious music school. She is about to not have a place to stay and so far no luck in finding something she can afford. Then the building she just left with the place out of her budget calls and tells her they have another one ridiculously cheap. She is in shock but doesn't look a gift horse in the mouth and takes it.

Silas sees Hayley in his apartment building due the security cameras he has installed. He is immediately taken with her and tells the manager to give her the place next to him. He begins to obsess about her and when she is attacked one night coming home he can no longer deny what he feels and a relationship begins. But due to who is his and what he does it puts Hayley in the line of danger. He wants her but he also wants to keep her safe and is better to be with him or without him.

So I had this on my tbr list for a while but due to price I waited but found it at the library. Glad I got it from the library but I would be pissed if I spent that much money on this.

The hero just sucked. I liked him at first in that he seemed alpha but was sweet with her. Then he was damn fool to me. He to me was so stuck taking care of his boss Drake and his wife Evageline that he didn't give as much to the woman who he claims he loves. And oh my gosh, Evageline came up so much that I could understand her ill feeling toward the woman nobody bothered to let her meet. I really like the other guys in the crew way better and that is sad. Maddox was awesome. I get Silas had a bad life and all but damn. And his boss was a ass to me cause again never not once did he help him take care of her because it was about him and his wife and child which again I get but how you ask him to do something on a important night for his girl. He hurts her over, over and over again like a a$$hole.

She was a good heroine but she worked my nerves a couple time but I have to say she had my respect at the same time for laying out how much of a a$$ he was. She also got stronger which again made me give her some respect and her sweetness was a nice plus.

The part of the story about their business was completely uninteresting to me. I skimmed a lot even as I read it. But I didn't care. And the romance was so fucking angst ridden and not in a good way. You find out the Silas was just as bad as his boss in how he treated his now wife. Maybe worse cause he was a damn hypocrite. I just want to rant about him because just UGH!!! He was just pitiful and I was over his stupid a$$ by the end and had no f*ing sympathy for him.

[Elfina Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Aou · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am still wondering how I didn't DNF this! 🤔

[Noemí (Mysticnox) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro no es de los mejores de Maya Banks, aunque su erótica me apasione. La trama no es para darle muchas vueltas porque ni siquiera se nos aclaran los negocios turbios de Silas y compañía. Sin embargo compartir lectura con Yola ha hecho que la lectura sea de lo más divertida. Porque dejémonos de tontadas y seamos sinceras, Silas es un protagonista para hacerle la ola, al igual que en las entregas anteriores fue Drake. Silas nos has hecho pasar unas tardes de escándalo a Yola y a mí. Bravo Silas por tu dominación, por tu saber hacer y por tu generosidad. Ay que tardes de whatsapp, ay que frases y que momentos querido. Por ello te doy 3,5*
AY SILAS AY

[Krissys Bookshelf Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

He can’t change who he is...

A horrific childhood has made Silas the man he is today: dangerous, distrustful, and demanding. He’s lived in self-imposed solitude, convinced that no woman could ever accept his need for absolute control—in business and pleasure. That is, until a young violinist walks into one of his buildings and into his life.

She can’t change what she wants...

Haley has been struggling to fulfill her father’s dying wish: to attend a prestigious music school in New York City. But even working two jobs, she can’t afford the tiniest of apartments. Seeing her hopeless and near tears, Silas vows to help and protect her, no matter the cost to himself. But when Haley meets his every demand with unwavering acceptance and love, he is overwhelmed by her goodness and gentle spirit. He knows that the dark stain on his soul can never be erased—and rather than risk destroying the most beautiful thing he's ever experienced, he knows he'll have to do the hardest thing he's ever had to face. Let her go. But he's totally unprepared for the lengths Haley will go to fight for his love and a future brighter than the sun.






Kept is easy to relate to when you have been there and know just how far you will go when you've lost everything and have no where to turn.

That's where we find Haley is from the start which is why I think I liked her so much. I could see myself in her shoes because I've been her before.

It took a lot longer for Silas to grow on me because he was such a punk through most of the book and by the end I was still a little unsure about him and his relationship with Haley but in the end despite their own baggage and backgrounds I think they both found their sense of home.

My feeling in the end about Kept is that I think I liked it more for its personal journey and my relation to Haley that made me like this book more than her intimate relationship with Silas. I think this book is really great and worth the read for both the sexy readers and the emotional ones.














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Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a print copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.




Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from Berkley / Penguin Publishing




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[Simply Love Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadow's review posted at Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

4.5 stars

This is the third book of three in the Enforcers series, It is a standalone, but is tied to the characters from Mastered and Dominated.

This is a much better book than the first two. Silas is a much more sympathetic character than Drake, and while he screws up, he does it for a good reason, unlike Drake.

Haley Winthrop has had a tough time of it lately. Cheated out of her late father’s life insurance money, she is struggling to hold on, working two jobs and going to school full time. When she comes to the attention of Silas Goodnight, he provides her with a place to stay, and then is captivated by her talent as a musician. He gradually starts taking care of her in other ways, not realizing that he was endangering her by showing his interest.

Haley isn’t at all sure at first that Silas has any romantic interest in her, but that quickly changes. But how can she offer her heart to a man who puts another woman, Evangeline, before her. In fact, she sometimes feels she is the lowest of his priorities. When Silas finds out she’s been targeted, can he protect her and his heart?

The story line is complex, pitting three gangs against each other. The characters are likeable: Haley is strong, dedicated, and caring, while Silas is a delicious Dominant. The two strike sparks off each other, all the while complementing each other’s weaknesses. The sex is hot, with mild BDSM, and the emotions run high.

While Maya Banks has been hot and cold, recently, Kept is one of her better reads. It is fine to read as a standalone.

Review copy provided for an honest review.

[Varied Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

My random thoughts

The writing wasn't consistent. It felt as if there were 2 writing voices.

I liked both the H/h. Insta-lust story turned into love. h is a Mary-Sue in the sense that everyone loves her. The story did keep my interest but it wasn't fantastic & the current ebook price of $9.99 is ridiculous IMO.

H is all alpha who needs to be in control & keep the people he loves safe.

h is submissive but is not a pushover. She's Not TSTL. I loved how she believed scum should get what's coming to them in non-legal ways. She was happy when it happened. She has courage.

"She loved the approval that warmed his gaze when she willingly did his bidding. It made it sound like she was a child desperate to please or gain the approval of a parent or adult. It would no doubt make her appear needy and pathetic to other people, but she didn’t give one fuck about what anyone except Silas thought about her. Making him happy wanting to make him happy was something she did for her every bit as much as she did it for him."

There was miscommunication between H/h that caused strife between them. There isn't a formal d/s relationship between them & no master talk. There are pleasurable punishments doled out by the H.

Both thought they weren't good enough for the other which is meh to me.

Book is told in 3rd ppov. Steamy slightly kinky sex. Both Book ends in a HEA. Some loose ends about other side characters so I can see another book in the series.



Trigger warnings:
h is a virgin
H is Not a man-ho
No exhibitionism
No voyeurism
No sex sharing
H at age 11 was forced to give a man oral. The scene is described by the H to the h.. Because of the abuse he wouldn't let any woman give him oral until the h.

[Debra Presley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 STARS.

I read the first two books in this series and I really enjoyed them but this book I really fell in love with. The pace of this book was a lot more my speed and Silas was a character that I was very intrigued with in Mastered and Dominated.

I loved that Silas got a dose of his own medicine, sort of speak, with how crazy protective he became over Haley. He now realized that love can make you do, say and act in some crazy ways.

Haley is a pretty strong female lead character and I think this right here is the BIGGEST difference between the previous two books in The Enforcers' series. Even though she's young, life experience has made her strong. She gets Silas' protectiveness and even allows it but she doesn't really understand why until later on.

In this book you'll get a lot of steamy scenes but you get a great plot with a bunch of suspense. Something that for me makes a book that will keep me engaged. This book truly stands alone. Totally worth picking up.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

So very disappointed in this entire series. But especially this story. I was hoping that Silas's story would be better than the first two. What happened to Maya Banks? It reads like a bad old harlequin with sex thrown in. I guess I was expecting too much.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the actual fuck?

[JuD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenía muchas ganas de saber la historia de Silas y la verdad es que me ha gustado e impactado saber su pasado.
Es cierto que este libro quizás no aporte nada original o diferente. Sigue muchos estereotipos y los mismos patrones que los dos anteriores pero aún así, consigue mantenterte enganchada a sus páginas.
Y aunque parece que solamente va a ser trilogía,a mi me falta por saber la historia de muchos de los hermanos. Es más, la de Maddox la necesito.

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featuring the silent and steadfast friend of Drake, Silas meets the woman of his dreams. This dream seems out of reach for a man of his past. He was dealt a bad hand with his despicable parents and the so called child protection services. Ms. Banks appears to be upping her usage of tortured pasts. Perhaps this series should really be called alpha hot guys who have terrible childhoods. It is what binds these men all together.

Haley is a bit better than Evangeline. She may be all alone in her life, but she is determined to make it. She fights for everything. She is the underdog and so scrappy. I love that she is a musician. Her violin playing soothes the savage beast within Silas. Their dynamic does follow the same formula as the previous book in the series. A secretive male afraid of weaknesses shuns relationships only to fall head over heels in love with a young and innocent girl.

This series is advertised as BDSM. Meh, kinky light with a little flogging and a vanilla interpretation of a dominant man. The BDSM is romanticized and sweet. The sex scenes were a little too tame for me and I could have done without them. I do not read Ms. Banks' books for the sex. I only read it for the engaging characters and story-line. This erotic romance is recommended for romance readers who like angst ridden story-lines.

*provided by NetGalley

[Caro · Rating 1 out of 5]

Leí este libro por inercia, sólo porque estaba a mano en el kindle y mi otra selección era igual de pobre. Una novela mediocre, con personajes olvidables que no te conmueven para nada, y cuando llegué al final fue un alivio.
La protagonista tiene menos independencia que Bella Swan y eso es decir poco. El protagonista es flojo, un Grey en ciernes bastante beta y boludito que ponía a cualquiera por encima de la heroína (eso fue por demás de irritante para mí), las escenas se sexo fueron muy, demasiado, mainstream y carentes del furor que se espera en novelas como estas.
No me gustó y no lo recomiendo.

[Nicky نیکی · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one writes angst and emotional stories quite like Maya Banks and this book was no exception. Unlike Drake from the first two books, Silas wasn’t an asshole to the heroine and never disrespected her or questioned her loyalty. He hurts Hayley profoundly but it was through a desire to keep her safe and a feeling of being unworthy of her, not because he’s a jerk. Hayley is sweet and innocent but nowhere near as annoying as Evangeline. I mean, not even in the same room. I enjoyed all of the angst and emotional intensity of this book and liked Silas a whole of a lot better than Drake. Also, there was less sex and no menages in this book which was a huge plus to me.

[Darcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had hoped that Silas learned from Drake and his actions. Instead Silas made the same stupid mistakes that Drake did. I was a bit surprised that Haley kept forgiving him. What was really odd for me was how the guys kept Haley away from Evangeline. That caused a bunch of jealousy for Haley. They needed to keep the women protected and isolated, but wouldn't it have made sense to have them meet and be friends??? They could commiserate with each other about their over the top protective men.

[Sophia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full-filling a dying father's wish, talented violinist, dark protector, and danger surrounding them really drew me in and made me eager to experience my first book by the author. While I have mixed feelings about this book, I'm not sorry to have read it.

Kept is actually book three in The Enforcers series. The first two books were about one couple and this book started a new romance arc with a new couple and the ongoing trouble with the mafia types out for revenge. I didn't read the first two books, but I did alright jumping in with this one because the author set the table well bringing the new reader up to speed on the situation and characters.

I went into this one loving that the heroine, Hayley, is attempting to fulfill her own dreams and her father's dying wish that she attend a prestigious school and hone her musical talent. She works hard and faces the big city alone. I was also captivated by this dark soul, Silas, who is moved by her music during the night and it gives him peace even though his life has been anything, but peaceful.
I had high hopes of loving this pair and their story.

But then, it stopped working. This was instant everything and it rushed it way through each moment in the romance and character development. I might have tolerated this better, but for a few factors.
First, Silas introduced BDSM elements that was not addressed or presented in a healthy, safe, well-developed way. They've known each other for mere days and this is their first serious conversation about a relationship. After a five minute general (no specifics) convo about his unique control needs in the bedroom and his need to control her whole life, she basically nods and is all in. They don't really know each other and she has no idea what he means or what she's getting into. Other than his physical attractiveness, her feelings hinge on her gratitude for all he has done for her and that he seems this dark, lonely type. This naive innocent is ordered to present as a submissive right after he gets done swiftly telling her that he has control issues with no details or discussion and then she just does with no questions or hesitation. She goes along with everything from bedroom control to control of her life after only meeting him a few weeks before. And this is while she thinks he's got another woman and he's with this other woman. What is wrong with this girl?

There was just no depth to Hayley and the part that is introduced about Silas doesn't really factor in for long other than overblown dramatic feelings of guilt over stuff and 'his darkness'.
This romance was just there for two near strangers with no development or explanation or conversation- and it's a dominant/submissive too. They both wallow inside their heads about stuff and don't talk.

And for the second half of the book, I was left scratching my head over the new layer of conflict for the pair. Like I said before, I didn't read the first two books about the previous couple, but there was enough of an explanation to get the gist. So, here in this one, same scenario (sounded like it was exactly the same) and Silas, who was there all along, does all the same wrong stuff that Drake did and caused the same drama. Made no sense.

In summary, it wasn't a total loss in that I was able to finish the book and remember some high points in the midst of it all. Too much of this needed more time and development and shouldn't have been introduced into the plot if it was just going to get raced over like potholes in a swift moving car. I want to still try her older books particularly the historicals, but I'm not at all sure I want to touch another modern.

I rec'd this book from Penguin Group in exchange for an honest review.

[Khadidja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was unbelievably ridiculous and full of cliches but it came on the right time and I'm just glad that it was bad in the sense that kept me genuinely entertained like yes it's trash but it's MY trash

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept was a surprising roller coaster ride of emotions that had me wrung out by the end! Banks definitely had me going through the gauntlet with this one. I found myself amused, distraught and annoyed within the span of a few chapters. As always, Banks weaves a tale full of redemption. Silas believes himself to be damaged goods, unworthy of love. When Haley barges into his life with her innate goodness and gentleness, he finds it difficult to continuously push her away. He doesn’t make it easy on her, he tests her limits and demands nothing short of perfection, yet she takes it all in stride and he finds himself falling for her despite his reservations. Since he’s been a solitary person, save for his band of brothers, he finds letting her into his life hard but she slowly gets him to open up about his difficult past. He blunders along the way but more than makes up for it in the end.

Haley was one of those characters you just have to like. Not naive but hopeful in a way that makes her sunny disposition despite her odds enjoyable. She was determined yet not headstrong or bitchy. The woman could give as good as she got but not in a way that made her come off as rude or annoying. Even though Silas took every opportunity to confuse her with his hot and coldness, she never lost her edge or her zest for the life she knew she deserved. I loved that about her. Her unyielding loyalty and goodness.

Dare I say how much I’m loving this series? I don’t want to jinx it, but damn, this had everything I’m looking for! I can’t wait for more!



I give Kept by Maya Banks 4 stars!

[Katy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This isn’t my first Maya Banks book; I’ve read her before and enjoyed her work. So I’m surprised by how little I liked this book. I couldn’t stop reading it, which is in its favour, but the book as a whole just felt…weird.

Firstly, I’ll say that whilst the writing style is engaging, the dialogue is very stilted and formal; some of the turns of phrase come across as old-fashioned and archaic. This made it very hard for me to take some of the interactions seriously.

The plot is exactly what it says in the blurb, but it didn’t work for me. Nothing about the build up of the relationship between Silas and Haley felt natural to me. Yes, it was an instalust/instalove type of relationship, but it wasn’t even that it felt rushed. I just felt like there was no build up, especially from Haley’s perspective.

Character-wise, I found it hard to like either of them. Silas is a very dominating, possessive character, which I fully anticipated going into it, but there was something weird about it. Haley is put on the biggest pedestal possible, and pretty much treated like a child throughout, with no consideration given to her thoughts or opinions. Haley as a character felt very flat. She’s a doormat, but sassy about it, except the sassiness felt very false, and came and went.

One of my main issues with the relationship was the complete lack of communication throughout. The major source of conflict between Silas and Haley is Silas’ relationship with his friend’s wife, Evangeline. Evangeline and Drake are the main characters in the previous two books in this series, and whilst the relationship between Silas and Evangeline is not remotely romantic, it does cause a lot of conflict between Silas and Haley as Silas repeatedly puts Evangeline’s safety and needs above Haley’s, mainly out of loyalty to – and at the request of – Drake.. The way this story played out was infuriating to read. I could not f for the life of me understand why no one introduced Evangeline to Haley at any stage, or would even talk about her. For a character that plays such a massive, defining role in the relationship between Silas and Haley, it felt like a very odd choice to only have Evangeline appear in one scene during the entire book, right at the end. As a reader, I did not get to know Evangeline, unless I had read the previous book in the series. It was clear that Evangeline was put on the same pedestal as Haley, but was living an extremely closed-off, lonely lifestyle, cocooned in a bubble of protection enforced on her by her husband, Drake (Drake, it’s worth mentioning, came across like a terrible, selfish character with no redeeming qualities. I spent most of the book wanting to punch him.) The conflict over her character felt extremely forced.

Then there’s the attitude in this book towards sexual violence. Firstly, Haley is really put through the wringer in this book, with not one but two attempted rapes on-page, and a man who sexually harasses her for much of the book and attempts to physically assault her when she rejects him. It felt very crowbarred in when it came to how Haley was treated. I also think that Silas’ backstory and his childhood sexual abuse was treated very insensitively. I don’t think it needed to be described as graphically as it was. None of it came across like it was there for any reason other than shock value, or for the sake of it, because this was a dark romance.

The thing is, I’m not really squeamish about dark romance; I know going into them there’s going to be heavy topics and that the romance will not always be healthy. It comes with the territory. But this book didn’t work for me on any level. Beyond the sex – which, to be honest, wasn’t that well-written – I didn’t get what Haley got out of her relationship with Silas. There were a lot of references to him spoiling her and taking care of her, but I didn’t think the book showed that. To me, it mostly showed him breaking her down and forcing her into the same closed-off, lonely existence that Evangeline lived in, because he loved her so much. The thing with romance, especially dark romance, is that it must convince you that these characters need to belong together. But I genuinely thought both characters would be better off without each other. I had other issues with the book, but I wasn’t convinced by any of it, and the whole thing left a sour taste in my mouth.

Content Notes: Instalove, instalust.

Warnings: Death of a parent (in past), cancer (parent, in past), murder, violence, gun violence, blood, child sexual abuse (in past but descriped in detail very graphically on-page), rape of a child, forced prostitution of a child, sexual harassment, attempted rape (on-page, two separate occasions), sexual assault (on-page), hospital scenes, injuries, PTSD, nightmares / flashbacks, references to drug use.

Other: On-page sex, rough sex, impact play / flogging, mild Dom/sub dynamics, unprotected sex Condom use once then switch to no condoms, FMC on birth control, no discussion of STI status., virgin FMC, age gap Exact ages not specified for either character as far as I can recall, but it’s implied FMC is early 20s and MMC is in his 30s., OW drama of a sort The MMC is very close to the wife of one of his closest friends, who are the main characters in the previous two books in this series. Although the MMC has no romantic or sexual feelings towards this OW, he spends a lot of time with her on friendly ‘dates’ and spends a lot of time prioritising her safety and needs over that of the FMC due to his loyalty to his close friend. This causes major conflict between the MMC and FMC but nothing romantic/sexual happens between the MMC and any other woman in the book..

[Astraycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. This book had hot scenes, threats you didn't know when will strick, and alpha males.

I felt deeply for h's situation at first, and when H helped her without hesitation, I admired H so much, esp when he saved her.

However, I didn't like how suddenly they just slept together…felt sth miss at the plot. The built-up from beginning was so great that I didn't understand why the rush all of a sudden.

Then my admire to H disappeared when he pushed h away. Really ridiculous. Gladly to see h yelled at him and pushed him away after he wanted her back. Served him good!

Wish there's an epilogue.

[kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good! Hayley was a sweet heroine who was put through the ringer in this book, which tends to be a trope I enjoy 🤷‍♀️ I really felt for her but also really liked Silas and could understand where he was coming from, which made for an angsty read 😋 the only thing I’m scratching my head about is in the last chapter, Silas is about to ask something seemingly big/important to Hayley and is then interrupted by a phone call… and then we never find out what the question was😭 I’m reading a physical copy so maybe there was like an expended scene somewhere on a digital version but I wanted to know what he was going to say!!!!

[Sheila Diez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bueno pues tengo que decir que nuevamente Maya Banks me ha hecho devorar sus páginas. Nuevamente he disfrutado de su lectura y es una trilogía que recomiendo a todo el mundo que le guste este género. En esta ocasión el protagonista es Silas, y me ha encantado conocer su historia, ya en los libros anteriores fue un personaje que me gustó mucho y me mantengo con este libro. Y luego está Hayley, un nuevo personaje en la historia y que me ha gustado, me ha parecido fuerte y valiente.
Como punto negativo simplemente decir que me hubiera gustado leer algo más sobre la historia de Drake y Evangeline, y que me encantaría que sacasen un cuarto libro.... ahí lo dejo..... jijiji ji
Muy pronto reseña en el blog

[Kendra Needs · Rating 4 out of 5]

KEPT by Maya Banks, what a great book, in my opinion it was the best in the series and not at all the story line we are used to from Maya Banks.  I have to say I was shocked (in a good way) that I was more than half way through the book and there had been no explosive sex scenes (don't get me wrong I love those sex scenes, but it was really nice to read a book where there was more story than sex).

This is Silas story and we know from the previous two books in this series that he has developed a very special (platonic) relationship with his bosses, Drake, wife Evangeline, and he will drop whatever he is doing for either her of Drake when he is needed, that's his job and until now its been his whole life, and with the past that he had Silas never thought that he needed more than that.

Haley comes into Silas's life when she needs a place to live, she is working two jobs to make ends meet (even that is not working) and she is attending the music school to fulfill her fathers dying wish.  But that may all come to an end when she is being kicked out of where she is living and has three days to find a place to live within her budget.  This is where Silas and Haley's world meets, he gives her a place to live, beside his apartment, with dirt cheap rent, and Haley knows the place is worth more rent than she is paying.

Each night while Haley practices her violin, Silas falls a little more each day for her and once they finally come together their worlds become explosive, they way she submits to him freely, I just love it.  But as with any relationship there are bumps in the road, and with Silas's job and his devotion to Evangeline, and the constant danger his job puts her in, will this all be too much for Haley or Silas???

I loved every moment of this book and I wish the book would have gone on longer, I was not ready to say good bye.

I would give KEPT 4/5 stars

Reviewed on behalf of Once Upon an Alpha