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The Dungeon Black Duology #2
Revived
Love unearthed his heart from the cold, hard ground.
Now comes the fight to revive it.
Love. Just when Max Kelley thought he’d eradicated it from his life for good it snuck back in, in the form of his beautiful new sub, Sean. Something that Max is far from happy about. In fact, he fights it tooth and nail. Having his world decimated was hell on earth, an experience he’d go to any lengths to avoid repeating. Problem is, while his head is determined to protect his heart, his heart can’t stop thinking about Sean. Sean, his perfect sub, his perfect match, his perfect everything. Which makes him that much more of a threat. Were Max to claim him and then lose him, the devastation would be far greater than even Kevin’s death. So, in order to ensure his heart and soul stay intact, he must once again eradicate love from his life. Eradicate Sean from his world. But Sean is a scrapper, just like Max, and refuses to give up without a fight. In their final showdown of fiery passion and wills, whose heart will come out in one piece?
Warning: This erotic, gay, BDSM romance contains intensely explicit sexual scenes both inside and out of the dungeon.
** Note from the author: In keeping with the promise I made to my Upending Tad devotees, I've included a small side story with Tad and Scott in book 2 where we delve a bit further into the developments of their relationship, and all the wonderful ways they've been keeping each other's hearts pounding. So, be prepared for a few more character point of views! Tad and Scott aren't going anywhere. XXO
Now comes the fight to revive it.
Love. Just when Max Kelley thought he’d eradicated it from his life for good it snuck back in, in the form of his beautiful new sub, Sean. Something that Max is far from happy about. In fact, he fights it tooth and nail. Having his world decimated was hell on earth, an experience he’d go to any lengths to avoid repeating. Problem is, while his head is determined to protect his heart, his heart can’t stop thinking about Sean. Sean, his perfect sub, his perfect match, his perfect everything. Which makes him that much more of a threat. Were Max to claim him and then lose him, the devastation would be far greater than even Kevin’s death. So, in order to ensure his heart and soul stay intact, he must once again eradicate love from his life. Eradicate Sean from his world. But Sean is a scrapper, just like Max, and refuses to give up without a fight. In their final showdown of fiery passion and wills, whose heart will come out in one piece?
Warning: This erotic, gay, BDSM romance contains intensely explicit sexual scenes both inside and out of the dungeon.
** Note from the author: In keeping with the promise I made to my Upending Tad devotees, I've included a small side story with Tad and Scott in book 2 where we delve a bit further into the developments of their relationship, and all the wonderful ways they've been keeping each other's hearts pounding. So, be prepared for a few more character point of views! Tad and Scott aren't going anywhere. XXO
503 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 30, 2016
80 people are currently reading
462 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
June 17, 2021
Well, I have to admit that for my first completed read of 2017, this was a lot of a let down and SO disappointing after being hotly anticipated. Yet another whopper of a tale from Kora, which was in dire need of an editor's cutting edge...literally. Waay too long [about 200 pages too long, and I freely admit to skimming], Max's wallowing in his own quagmire of angst, self-denial and cowardice got pretty tiresome after a while [i.e. for 3/4 of the story]...he definitely needed a good smack upside the head or a kick up the a**e, and after falling in love with Unearthed a few months ago, I felt somewhat cheated.
There was way too much Tad and Scott...they've had their series, and as much as I loved both of them, this was supposedly the second part of the Max and Sean show. It was time for Max to get his head out of his a**e and rise like a Phoenix from the ashes of his first relationship, Kevin's suicide and all. How Sean kept putting up with his so-called Dom's black moods, changes of mind and refusal to give anything of himself [and still keep his good humour and his sanity] was pretty amazing...I loved Sean to bits, and IMHO he deserved a much better person than Max but the heart wants what it wants of course 😉. Oh, and another minor niggle...we still only have a HFN and not a HEA, so that wasn't a hit with me either.
There were numerous typos and silly word endings, which we didn't have in book 1...and it says it was edited. Let's hope the 'editor' 😒 can do a better job with Kai and Breck's story...should he choose to accept the mission. 2.5 stars rounded up.
There was way too much Tad and Scott...they've had their series, and as much as I loved both of them, this was supposedly the second part of the Max and Sean show. It was time for Max to get his head out of his a**e and rise like a Phoenix from the ashes of his first relationship, Kevin's suicide and all. How Sean kept putting up with his so-called Dom's black moods, changes of mind and refusal to give anything of himself [and still keep his good humour and his sanity] was pretty amazing...I loved Sean to bits, and IMHO he deserved a much better person than Max but the heart wants what it wants of course 😉. Oh, and another minor niggle...we still only have a HFN and not a HEA, so that wasn't a hit with me either.
There were numerous typos and silly word endings, which we didn't have in book 1...and it says it was edited. Let's hope the 'editor' 😒 can do a better job with Kai and Breck's story...should he choose to accept the mission. 2.5 stars rounded up.
January 10, 2022
This was:
1. HOT
2. Angsty
3. Heartbreaking
4. Romantic
5. HOT
Max was:
1. STUPID
2. Jealous
3. Possesive
4. Growly
5. Sexy AF
Sean was:
1. The sweetest bb
2. Fearless
3. Level-headed
4. Romantic
5. Hopeful
Thank the lord that Max took his head out of his a$$ Because DUDE JUST LET SEAN LOVE YOU.
1. HOT
2. Angsty
3. Heartbreaking
4. Romantic
5. HOT
Max was:
1. STUPID
2. Jealous
3. Possesive
4. Growly
5. Sexy AF
Sean was:
1. The sweetest bb
2. Fearless
3. Level-headed
4. Romantic
5. Hopeful
Thank the lord that Max took his head out of his a$$ Because DUDE JUST LET SEAN LOVE YOU.
December 30, 2016
Kora Knight brings you the final chapter of Max & Sean's story with Revived . This story is a continuation of Unearthed, book one in the Duology and you need to read them in order.
We met our MC in book one, so I am not going to discuss them a lot as nothing has changed with the two. Max is still the same broken man he was when we met him, not believing in happiness or love. Sean, is still trying to get his Dom to see him as more than a boy toy and admit there is something between them. This is pretty much what occurs for 80% of the story - and while we occasionally see Max slip up and give in to Sean, he snaps out of it rather quickly. Leaving Sean and the reader with emotional whiplash! I love good ol' angst but this almost crossed the line of being redundant and torture, the back and forth was almost too much. I mean realistically, would Sean keep torturing himself like that? I guess that's up to each individual reader.
In addition to the whiplash aspect of the story, this book has additional characters thrown into the storyline - from out of nowhere we are in the life of Tad. While this may not bother readers who have read the other series, it was confusing to me - I felt it took away from Max and Sean's story as one moment you are reading about the MC and next page it's Tad's romance. So this over 400 pages in length book is not all for Max and Sean, be ready for that.
With that being said, it's not a bad book. I was let down, yes. But I still enjoyed the story of Max and Sean. I appreciated that the story was told in dual POV and I can safely say after reading this story I will never see a feather duster again and NOT think of this book. If I was to measure this story on kink alone it would be 5 blazing stars! I would have loved to see more of Max and Sean AFTER their back and forth was over, we barely touched the surface on how good they are going to be together - after all the work to get there.
“You unearthed my heart, and then you revived my soul.” is what Max says to Sean, and while this is true - we are left with a bereft HFN feeling at the end, when it could have been so much more -
3.5 Stars-
We met our MC in book one, so I am not going to discuss them a lot as nothing has changed with the two. Max is still the same broken man he was when we met him, not believing in happiness or love. Sean, is still trying to get his Dom to see him as more than a boy toy and admit there is something between them. This is pretty much what occurs for 80% of the story - and while we occasionally see Max slip up and give in to Sean, he snaps out of it rather quickly. Leaving Sean and the reader with emotional whiplash! I love good ol' angst but this almost crossed the line of being redundant and torture, the back and forth was almost too much. I mean realistically, would Sean keep torturing himself like that? I guess that's up to each individual reader.
In addition to the whiplash aspect of the story, this book has additional characters thrown into the storyline - from out of nowhere we are in the life of Tad. While this may not bother readers who have read the other series, it was confusing to me - I felt it took away from Max and Sean's story as one moment you are reading about the MC and next page it's Tad's romance. So this over 400 pages in length book is not all for Max and Sean, be ready for that.
With that being said, it's not a bad book. I was let down, yes. But I still enjoyed the story of Max and Sean. I appreciated that the story was told in dual POV and I can safely say after reading this story I will never see a feather duster again and NOT think of this book. If I was to measure this story on kink alone it would be 5 blazing stars! I would have loved to see more of Max and Sean AFTER their back and forth was over, we barely touched the surface on how good they are going to be together - after all the work to get there.
“You unearthed my heart, and then you revived my soul.” is what Max says to Sean, and while this is true - we are left with a bereft HFN feeling at the end, when it could have been so much more -
3.5 Stars-
April 26, 2025
3.5 - so many mixed feelings. Damn, Max is a hard man to love. Most of the book I was really hoping Sean would tell him to F off and find someone nice to him and closer to his age. Sean really does nothing wrong in this duology but Max makes him suffer, due to his tragic backstory. Is there too much suffering? Maybe. Is there not enough grovelling? Absolutely. I needed Max to be ON HIS KNEES for a week after that. And to be absolutely licking Sean’s soles. Giving him ALL THE LOVE. This is for sure a hard won HEA.
Just saying, weird AF choice to put Scott and Tad’s POV in an already overlong story. Yes I loved Tad and Scott’s books but didn’t need their POV here. The scenes were good but they stole the momentum from the main story line.
This could be so much better with a stricter edit, cutting out a lot of extra content and repetitive scenes, particularly in book one. It could have been amazing if condensed down because I was invested in these guys, just the trajectory for them getting together was long and by the end it was too little too late for me to be fully supportive of them being together.
Just saying, weird AF choice to put Scott and Tad’s POV in an already overlong story. Yes I loved Tad and Scott’s books but didn’t need their POV here. The scenes were good but they stole the momentum from the main story line.
This could be so much better with a stricter edit, cutting out a lot of extra content and repetitive scenes, particularly in book one. It could have been amazing if condensed down because I was invested in these guys, just the trajectory for them getting together was long and by the end it was too little too late for me to be fully supportive of them being together.
January 17, 2017
*ARC received as part of blog tour*
I just frigging loved this!!!
I'll tell you why:
1) Sean!!!
2) Sean + Max = HOT, emotional, touching, sweet, funny, and HOT!!!
3) Scott and Max' friendship
4) More Scott
5) More Tad!!!
6) Which meant more Tad & Scott together!!!
7) More Tad & friends
8) Jonah
9) Additional glimpse into Kai and Breck
10) Sean!!!!
That seems a lot going on, but oh I loved it alright!
This picks up right where Unearthed ended. This is really about Sean forging ahead with his convictions about him and Max. This is really about Max grappling with his emotions and being able to understand and accept what's happening with him and Sean.
If it's still not clear, while Max is no chopped liver, Sean totally sealed the deal for me. I loved everything about him. I loved his confidence, his doubts, his perseverance, his humor, his everything! GAH! Sean's da man!!! ❤️
Max' actions and thoughts challenged me but he also stole my heart and by his flawed actions and thoughts, he also made Sean shine. Not that he's not worthy of Sean because he totally is. For all his challenges, Max is a man who loves and cares deeply, even when he wasn't ready to acknowledge it. That in itself made him endearing, albeit in a frustrating manner.
Nevertheless, I don't think I could've asked for anything more with this emotional conclusion to their story. All the characters I've come to enjoy and love made their appearance. Kora didn't shy away from societal problems. She handled it deftly without weighing the story down. The story tugged the heartstrings. Their union sizzled!
Kora, thank you for giving me another couple to love. That's it, it's decided, you write it, I'll read it!
I just frigging loved this!!!
I'll tell you why:
1) Sean!!!
2) Sean + Max = HOT, emotional, touching, sweet, funny, and HOT!!!
3) Scott and Max' friendship
4) More Scott
5) More Tad!!!
6) Which meant more Tad & Scott together!!!
7) More Tad & friends
8) Jonah
9) Additional glimpse into Kai and Breck
10) Sean!!!!
That seems a lot going on, but oh I loved it alright!
This picks up right where Unearthed ended. This is really about Sean forging ahead with his convictions about him and Max. This is really about Max grappling with his emotions and being able to understand and accept what's happening with him and Sean.
If it's still not clear, while Max is no chopped liver, Sean totally sealed the deal for me. I loved everything about him. I loved his confidence, his doubts, his perseverance, his humor, his everything! GAH! Sean's da man!!! ❤️
Max' actions and thoughts challenged me but he also stole my heart and by his flawed actions and thoughts, he also made Sean shine. Not that he's not worthy of Sean because he totally is. For all his challenges, Max is a man who loves and cares deeply, even when he wasn't ready to acknowledge it. That in itself made him endearing, albeit in a frustrating manner.
Nevertheless, I don't think I could've asked for anything more with this emotional conclusion to their story. All the characters I've come to enjoy and love made their appearance. Kora didn't shy away from societal problems. She handled it deftly without weighing the story down. The story tugged the heartstrings. Their union sizzled!
Kora, thank you for giving me another couple to love. That's it, it's decided, you write it, I'll read it!
November 29, 2023
Again this would have been a 4 if it hadn't been so bloated with unnecessary content that did nothing for the story of Max and Sean.
I don't care about Jonah and Ledger, or Breck and Kai and whatever is going on with any of their lives.
Nor did I want to read about Tad and Scott - they had six books of their own already! If there was more to say for them it should have been in their own book. Even though I love them as a couple I was genuinely annoyed to have their thoughts keep popping up in someone else's story. Including their POVs so randomly really threw me and after the first couple times it happened I ended up skimming them. It just wasn't relevant to the story being told at all because only minimal parts were about Max and Sean. I would have read their POVs though if it had been a Tad and Scott novella or short but as it was this format just didn't work for me.
It feels like no one edited this duology because if you took out all the pointless content and repetitive inner monologues this could have easily been one book that packed a huge emotional punch.
I did cry at Max's struggles and Sean's pain, but because there was so much filler content I lost that emotional connection to the story way too easily and really frequently. That didn't make it an enjoyable reading experience for me, even though I am happy with the outcome of Max and Sean's relationship.
I don't care about Jonah and Ledger, or Breck and Kai and whatever is going on with any of their lives.
Nor did I want to read about Tad and Scott - they had six books of their own already! If there was more to say for them it should have been in their own book. Even though I love them as a couple I was genuinely annoyed to have their thoughts keep popping up in someone else's story. Including their POVs so randomly really threw me and after the first couple times it happened I ended up skimming them. It just wasn't relevant to the story being told at all because only minimal parts were about Max and Sean. I would have read their POVs though if it had been a Tad and Scott novella or short but as it was this format just didn't work for me.
It feels like no one edited this duology because if you took out all the pointless content and repetitive inner monologues this could have easily been one book that packed a huge emotional punch.
I did cry at Max's struggles and Sean's pain, but because there was so much filler content I lost that emotional connection to the story way too easily and really frequently. That didn't make it an enjoyable reading experience for me, even though I am happy with the outcome of Max and Sean's relationship.
February 25, 2017
So, so much love for this book, and I can see why. With a big edit I would have enjoyed it a whole heap more, too. Sadly, all the issues I had with the first book in this duology were not only still present, but in greater quantities. To the point that this time, I really started skimming from about 60% onwards.
What's that old adage? The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Well, it applied two fold to my experience reading this book.
The first is the book itself. Characters and plot both. A quarter of the words could have been cut from this story without losing any nuances in the plot. So much of the overwhelming naval gazing was just repetitive. Each time Sean or Max went into extended internal soliloquy, it was to rehash everything we'd learned not just from the first book, but from the previous internal soliloquy, as well. This is not character development, nor is it plot progression. As with their thoughts, the characters didn't change much either. They both dived headlong into the same mistakes over and over. There's only so many times 'he's so fricken hot I can't resist' can be a reason for ignoring your own decision to not screw again. The amount of times Max and Sean just went at it, knowing it was wrong... gah! As with everything else, endless sex scenes get repetitive.
The second was me. The amount of times I got frustrated with chunk after chunk of the same angst over and over again and put the book down, only to pick it up again minutes later, thinking maybe something new would crop up in the next couple of pages got ridiculous. Because I rarely found what I was after. And when I did get some character development, it felt far too late and, for all the proceeding belabouring of the same issue, far too instant.
I think I do still prefer Tad and Scott to Max and Sean, but after this, I'm not totally certain. Knight said she'd listened to the readers' desire for more Tad and Scott so she added chapters from their POVs and more of their continuing story. For this reader, it didn't work. It just dragged Max and Sean's story out even more needlessly. If we were to get more Tad and Scott, they should have had their own story. What was presented here, by necessity of this being Max and Sean's story, felt shallow and pointless. There was no substance to their little side arc. And sadly, Tad didn't feel as Tad-ish as he was in his own stories. I miss that Tad.
After this, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to join in for Kai and Breck or Ledger and Jonah. From the brief glimpses given here, their stories seem like they may be as angsty and overbearing as this one.
What's that old adage? The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Well, it applied two fold to my experience reading this book.
The first is the book itself. Characters and plot both. A quarter of the words could have been cut from this story without losing any nuances in the plot. So much of the overwhelming naval gazing was just repetitive. Each time Sean or Max went into extended internal soliloquy, it was to rehash everything we'd learned not just from the first book, but from the previous internal soliloquy, as well. This is not character development, nor is it plot progression. As with their thoughts, the characters didn't change much either. They both dived headlong into the same mistakes over and over. There's only so many times 'he's so fricken hot I can't resist' can be a reason for ignoring your own decision to not screw again. The amount of times Max and Sean just went at it, knowing it was wrong... gah! As with everything else, endless sex scenes get repetitive.
The second was me. The amount of times I got frustrated with chunk after chunk of the same angst over and over again and put the book down, only to pick it up again minutes later, thinking maybe something new would crop up in the next couple of pages got ridiculous. Because I rarely found what I was after. And when I did get some character development, it felt far too late and, for all the proceeding belabouring of the same issue, far too instant.
I think I do still prefer Tad and Scott to Max and Sean, but after this, I'm not totally certain. Knight said she'd listened to the readers' desire for more Tad and Scott so she added chapters from their POVs and more of their continuing story. For this reader, it didn't work. It just dragged Max and Sean's story out even more needlessly. If we were to get more Tad and Scott, they should have had their own story. What was presented here, by necessity of this being Max and Sean's story, felt shallow and pointless. There was no substance to their little side arc. And sadly, Tad didn't feel as Tad-ish as he was in his own stories. I miss that Tad.
After this, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to join in for Kai and Breck or Ledger and Jonah. From the brief glimpses given here, their stories seem like they may be as angsty and overbearing as this one.
February 5, 2017
In my opinion: There is not a better series. There is not a better book. I cannot write a review because I can't stop ugly crying, although no series I have read deserves a more thorough and gushing review but I will get back to that. Kora Knight you are a damn gorgeous genius and I am grateful!
July 8, 2023
Max y Sean encontraron su equilibrio en su relacion Dom-sub una vez a la semana. Pero Sean no esta contento con eso, sabe que Max es mucho mas para el, y siente que Max siente lo mismo. Sean esta buscando la forma de que Max lo acepte, que lo acepte no solo como su sub sino tambien como su novio-amante, quiere mucho mas de la relacion, pero Max no cede.
Max sabe que sus sentimientos por Sean son muy fuertes, no puede engañarse mas, sabe que o entra en una relacion con el, o lo saca de una vez de su vida. Asi que decide sacarlo de su vida, hiriendolo de la forma mas dura, haciendo que Sean lo odie. Pero realmente Max podra vivir sin Sean? Sean dejara que Max se salga con la suya y los separe? Sera que Max podra superar sus miedos?
En este libro vemos la continuacion de la historia de Max y Sean, por lo menos la primera mitad del libro es erotica, casi no hay romance, y muy pocas interacciones fuera del "calabozo", y si, es lo que uno espera de un libro de este genero, pero con tanto drama? Ademas, a esto se le une la "repeticion" de un par de capitulos de la serie original, solo que vistos desde otro punto de vista, ademas de un par de capitulos con un poquito de drama entre Scott y Tad.
No se, el libro estuvo bien, pero como el anterior, tanto drama y tanta repeticion (de lo que paso desde el punto de vista de cada uno) hacia el libro largo y aburrido. No fue hasta casi el 60% del libro, que realmente comence a interesarme por lo que iba a pasar, y como iban a resolver sus problemas Max y Sean.
Ademas, solo conocemos la historia de Max, detalladamente, pense que en este libro ibamos a conocer un poco mas la historia de Sean, a los padres de Sean, incluso a "Rick", aunque hubiera sido solo de pasada. Pero no, Sean sigue siendo como un anexo a la historia principal, protagonista pero no totalmente.
En fin, es una buena historia, pero tiene mucho drama para lo que me gusta de este tipo de libros, pero seguro leere otro de este autor mas adelante.
Max sabe que sus sentimientos por Sean son muy fuertes, no puede engañarse mas, sabe que o entra en una relacion con el, o lo saca de una vez de su vida. Asi que decide sacarlo de su vida, hiriendolo de la forma mas dura, haciendo que Sean lo odie. Pero realmente Max podra vivir sin Sean? Sean dejara que Max se salga con la suya y los separe? Sera que Max podra superar sus miedos?
En este libro vemos la continuacion de la historia de Max y Sean, por lo menos la primera mitad del libro es erotica, casi no hay romance, y muy pocas interacciones fuera del "calabozo", y si, es lo que uno espera de un libro de este genero, pero con tanto drama? Ademas, a esto se le une la "repeticion" de un par de capitulos de la serie original, solo que vistos desde otro punto de vista, ademas de un par de capitulos con un poquito de drama entre Scott y Tad.
No se, el libro estuvo bien, pero como el anterior, tanto drama y tanta repeticion (de lo que paso desde el punto de vista de cada uno) hacia el libro largo y aburrido. No fue hasta casi el 60% del libro, que realmente comence a interesarme por lo que iba a pasar, y como iban a resolver sus problemas Max y Sean.
Ademas, solo conocemos la historia de Max, detalladamente, pense que en este libro ibamos a conocer un poco mas la historia de Sean, a los padres de Sean, incluso a "Rick", aunque hubiera sido solo de pasada. Pero no, Sean sigue siendo como un anexo a la historia principal, protagonista pero no totalmente.
En fin, es una buena historia, pero tiene mucho drama para lo que me gusta de este tipo de libros, pero seguro leere otro de este autor mas adelante.
April 10, 2017
I waited for this story since my love Red was first introduced in Upending Tad Bundle (Volumes 1, 2, 3) I felt like he had a story I wanted to know it. This is more than story than I was waiting for than book 1, don't get me wrong I really enjoyed that book but this one was more in the timeline that I knew.
Things with Max and Sean are exactly were we left them. Max is a closed off man, he thinks that by shutting down his feelings he is protecting himself.
Sean is such a great guy, I like him for Max because he is not a pushover, he might submit to Max in his dungeon but he is not going to let Max get away with treating bad.
The relationship took some time, this book is really long. I love them and everything about them but gosh was this book long.
The upside of this is the we get more Tad and Scott, This personally didn't bother me because I love them and I was so happy know how their relationship is going.
I loved seeing Max heal, it was slow, honestly I wanted to beat some sense into him because he was a stubborn man but he came around and realized that Sean is someone he needs in his life.
The epilogue is a HFN with the promise of a HEA.
I would have love to see more of Max and Sean as a couple, I mean it's very long BUT I'm not complaining, it was a very satisfying ot read their journey.
All in all, if you like slow build romance and good bdsm I totally recommend to read this series, Kora knows how to write sex but she knows how to create good characters with good backstories too.
We get a little teaser for the next couple and man I can't wait for it, Kai pushes all my buttons.
**ARC provided by author in exchange of an honest review**
Things with Max and Sean are exactly were we left them. Max is a closed off man, he thinks that by shutting down his feelings he is protecting himself.
Sean is such a great guy, I like him for Max because he is not a pushover, he might submit to Max in his dungeon but he is not going to let Max get away with treating bad.
The relationship took some time, this book is really long. I love them and everything about them but gosh was this book long.
The upside of this is the we get more Tad and Scott, This personally didn't bother me because I love them and I was so happy know how their relationship is going.
I loved seeing Max heal, it was slow, honestly I wanted to beat some sense into him because he was a stubborn man but he came around and realized that Sean is someone he needs in his life.
The epilogue is a HFN with the promise of a HEA.
I would have love to see more of Max and Sean as a couple, I mean it's very long BUT I'm not complaining, it was a very satisfying ot read their journey.
All in all, if you like slow build romance and good bdsm I totally recommend to read this series, Kora knows how to write sex but she knows how to create good characters with good backstories too.
We get a little teaser for the next couple and man I can't wait for it, Kai pushes all my buttons.
**ARC provided by author in exchange of an honest review**
March 31, 2017
4.5 stars, rounded up. Because Sean!
This is the sequel to Unearthed, Max and Sean's story, which runs concurrently with Upending Tad, right into through much of this story. It is a very long book but it had a lot of story to tell and I liked not having it split up into too many smaller installments. Max is one incredibly broken man and worse, he knows it but clings to it. It's not mentioned in the book but I think it would be a form of PTSD.
I really liked Sean, so determined and focused on trying to get Max to see him as more than a part-time sub. Max is determined to keep it confined to his dungeon but their dynamic is remarkable. The scenes they do together are scorching hot! I'd still call it fairly moderate BDSM. Nothing was too extreme, just occasionally prolonged but in a good way. Extra points for inventive and inappropriate use of a hand-held power tool! Kora Knight seems to really know her kink and there was nothing that set off my ick alert. There was also no "take the sub to the club" action or any sugar-kink either.
It's not just Max and Sean's story as Tad and Scott's continuing relationship is integrated. It becomes crucial to the story, since Scott is Max's best friend. Sean's roommate Jonah, and Tad and Scott's friends are also blended in, to expand the parameters of this continuing story arc. It will be very interesting to find out what's going on with Kai and Breck.
My half-star deduction was for two specific reasons. One was my personal preference that there had been some mention of counseling for their emotional issues. However I never felt that the BDSM was shown or used as a cure for anything. It was just shown as a way they built the necessary trust that was needed. I did feel that Max's moment of epiphany was not given quite enough page time after all the self-inflicted struggles he put himself through to get there.
You will get far more out of Max's story if you read Tad and Scott's story first. If you enjoy hurt/comfort Max's story really hit that trope out of the ballpark. I really, really enjoyed this and I'll be one-clicking Kora Knight for future books.
This is the sequel to Unearthed, Max and Sean's story, which runs concurrently with Upending Tad, right into through much of this story. It is a very long book but it had a lot of story to tell and I liked not having it split up into too many smaller installments. Max is one incredibly broken man and worse, he knows it but clings to it. It's not mentioned in the book but I think it would be a form of PTSD.
I really liked Sean, so determined and focused on trying to get Max to see him as more than a part-time sub. Max is determined to keep it confined to his dungeon but their dynamic is remarkable. The scenes they do together are scorching hot! I'd still call it fairly moderate BDSM. Nothing was too extreme, just occasionally prolonged but in a good way. Extra points for inventive and inappropriate use of a hand-held power tool! Kora Knight seems to really know her kink and there was nothing that set off my ick alert. There was also no "take the sub to the club" action or any sugar-kink either.
It's not just Max and Sean's story as Tad and Scott's continuing relationship is integrated. It becomes crucial to the story, since Scott is Max's best friend. Sean's roommate Jonah, and Tad and Scott's friends are also blended in, to expand the parameters of this continuing story arc. It will be very interesting to find out what's going on with Kai and Breck.
My half-star deduction was for two specific reasons. One was my personal preference that there had been some mention of counseling for their emotional issues. However I never felt that the BDSM was shown or used as a cure for anything. It was just shown as a way they built the necessary trust that was needed. I did feel that Max's moment of epiphany was not given quite enough page time after all the self-inflicted struggles he put himself through to get there.
You will get far more out of Max's story if you read Tad and Scott's story first. If you enjoy hurt/comfort Max's story really hit that trope out of the ballpark. I really, really enjoyed this and I'll be one-clicking Kora Knight for future books.
February 22, 2024
Dnfed at 82%
I reached the point where I just couldn’t anymore max and Sean got on my nerves really hard. Nothing between them went forward everything was just a push and pull and push and I was so done with it 🥹.
I reached the point where I just couldn’t anymore max and Sean got on my nerves really hard. Nothing between them went forward everything was just a push and pull and push and I was so done with it 🥹.
January 8, 2017
Hmmm … where to start? Well first things first you definitely need to read part 1 of The Dungeon Black Duology before reading this book because in reality this is really just one long (necessarily so) book split in two parts. Though Scott & Tad figure somewhat prominently here you could be a stranger to the Upending Tad series, but seriously why would you deny yourself such pleasure?
Okay that's enough of my stalling. I want to give a concise and helpful review for other readers but may just find myself doing *Happy dance & fist bumps* but I'll give it a go.
Revived starts exactly where Unearthed ended. Max is still trying to convince himself that his life will continue as it was, that Sean will just be his perfectly matched sub and nothing more. What Max hasn't counted on is who Sean is: strong, brave, resilient, curious, open minded and more importantly honest with himself, what his feelings are and willing to act on them. Man do these attributes come in handy when dealing with Max who can be, in his own words, a douche rocket. But is also worth fighting for and who and what Sean wants.
Due to his past Max has erected not just a wall but more like a whole fortress to shield himself from any future pain, because his problem isn't that he can't love but rather that when he loves he loves BIG as in ALL IN and loss is just something he can't deal with and so he lives but isn't alive.
Be prepared for Max being all sorts of a**hole in his efforts to keep Sean out and many times I wanted to grab a ball peen hammer and bash his brains in because Sean is just so perfect for him and wanting to be with him and even when he knows this is true he fights and resists with all he's got which sometime can be cruel as hell. He is the guy who will bring a gun to a knife fight.
Like Sean you must have patience and persistence with Max because he is one stubborn S.O.B. and it takes every ounce of Sean's efforts with invaluable assists from Scott and even Tad and, the surprise player, Kai to get through to him.
I won't lie, the book is long but not gratuitously so. Max's journey to finally letting himself be open and vulnerable i.e. to love and be loved in return is a long and hard one because he was so bound tight in his armor. There are some quite extended sex scenes mostly of the BDSM variety because duh! the story is about Max. He is a Dom. Period. In many books the sex scenes are just super sexy times or sometimes filler you can skim over if you want to. However Kora's guys and in this Duology particularly the sex is where the communication, be it verbal or otherwise, happens. Where true intimacy comes into play and not just because people are naked physically but because these are the moments when they are vulnerable and their souls are naked too. Open to be touched in their intimate core. Exposed. Good things come of this.
Ultimately Sean is the hero of this story. The person who without any guarantees keeps putting his heart on a platter as an offering of love and if that isn't a hero I don't know what is. But I will say that Scott (my twin *wink*) is the one to give Max the final push and that is so fitting because they are brothers in the purest sense, bound by love and shared experiences, even finding their happy roughly at the same time.
It was good to see Max finally forgive and set free his past because holding on to that misplaced anger had kept him isolated in a prison of his own making.
This book, and I mean Parts 1 & 2, will take you on a emotional but ultimately satisfying roller coaster of a ride. Because the hard won things are the ones we cherish the most and in their own way Max and Sean clawed their way to a HEA.
Thanks to Kora for delivering flawlessly on the promise of these two characters and keeping true to an original vision of this group of friends.
Extra points I did a happy dance every time I got a glimpse of Scott & Tad and how happy they are. The appearances of Jay, Marcie and Ned are icing on the cake and then we have the tasty bait of what will play out between Breck & Kai! Can't wait for that. Even Chad, his bat and his buddy we're a welcome sight and so I have one complaint: Maybe Kora can do us a solid and remedy that in the Breck & Kai story and also will Jonah & Ledger's story be a solo thing, a short or woven into the Breck & Kai story????
Okay that's enough of my stalling. I want to give a concise and helpful review for other readers but may just find myself doing *Happy dance & fist bumps* but I'll give it a go.
Revived starts exactly where Unearthed ended. Max is still trying to convince himself that his life will continue as it was, that Sean will just be his perfectly matched sub and nothing more. What Max hasn't counted on is who Sean is: strong, brave, resilient, curious, open minded and more importantly honest with himself, what his feelings are and willing to act on them. Man do these attributes come in handy when dealing with Max who can be, in his own words, a douche rocket. But is also worth fighting for and who and what Sean wants.
Due to his past Max has erected not just a wall but more like a whole fortress to shield himself from any future pain, because his problem isn't that he can't love but rather that when he loves he loves BIG as in ALL IN and loss is just something he can't deal with and so he lives but isn't alive.
Be prepared for Max being all sorts of a**hole in his efforts to keep Sean out and many times I wanted to grab a ball peen hammer and bash his brains in because Sean is just so perfect for him and wanting to be with him and even when he knows this is true he fights and resists with all he's got which sometime can be cruel as hell. He is the guy who will bring a gun to a knife fight.
Like Sean you must have patience and persistence with Max because he is one stubborn S.O.B. and it takes every ounce of Sean's efforts with invaluable assists from Scott and even Tad and, the surprise player, Kai to get through to him.
I won't lie, the book is long but not gratuitously so. Max's journey to finally letting himself be open and vulnerable i.e. to love and be loved in return is a long and hard one because he was so bound tight in his armor. There are some quite extended sex scenes mostly of the BDSM variety because duh! the story is about Max. He is a Dom. Period. In many books the sex scenes are just super sexy times or sometimes filler you can skim over if you want to. However Kora's guys and in this Duology particularly the sex is where the communication, be it verbal or otherwise, happens. Where true intimacy comes into play and not just because people are naked physically but because these are the moments when they are vulnerable and their souls are naked too. Open to be touched in their intimate core. Exposed. Good things come of this.
Ultimately Sean is the hero of this story. The person who without any guarantees keeps putting his heart on a platter as an offering of love and if that isn't a hero I don't know what is. But I will say that Scott (my twin *wink*) is the one to give Max the final push and that is so fitting because they are brothers in the purest sense, bound by love and shared experiences, even finding their happy roughly at the same time.
It was good to see Max finally forgive and set free his past because holding on to that misplaced anger had kept him isolated in a prison of his own making.
This book, and I mean Parts 1 & 2, will take you on a emotional but ultimately satisfying roller coaster of a ride. Because the hard won things are the ones we cherish the most and in their own way Max and Sean clawed their way to a HEA.
Thanks to Kora for delivering flawlessly on the promise of these two characters and keeping true to an original vision of this group of friends.
Extra points I did a happy dance every time I got a glimpse of Scott & Tad and how happy they are. The appearances of Jay, Marcie and Ned are icing on the cake and then we have the tasty bait of what will play out between Breck & Kai! Can't wait for that. Even Chad, his bat and his buddy we're a welcome sight and so I have one complaint: Maybe Kora can do us a solid and remedy that in the Breck & Kai story and also will Jonah & Ledger's story be a solo thing, a short or woven into the Breck & Kai story????
March 6, 2018
I get it! I'm long-winded too! But this was a good story that would have benefited greatly from a cutthroat edit that made the book significantly shorter (like 100-150 pages shorter), but tightened up the storytelling so that the scenes had a little more "oompf!".
And this is totally a personal thing, but by about the half-way point in this book (and certainly by 75% on my Kindle), I was so over the fact that a lot of the difficulties between the MCs still stemmed from Max's inability to come clean with Sean about Kevin's death. Like, at some point you have to put your big boy pants on and use your words, and I felt like it took Max an unrealistically long time to reach this point.
Don't throw things at me *ducks in anticipation* but I didn't really enjoy breaking away from Max and Sean in their own novel to follow up with extra scenes that belonged in the Up-ending Tad series. Like, they had their shining moments, let's leave it at that. I love them as a couple, but I had to attention or emotion to give them in this series. :(
And this is totally a personal thing, but by about the half-way point in this book (and certainly by 75% on my Kindle), I was so over the fact that a lot of the difficulties between the MCs still stemmed from Max's inability to come clean with Sean about Kevin's death. Like, at some point you have to put your big boy pants on and use your words, and I felt like it took Max an unrealistically long time to reach this point.
Don't throw things at me *ducks in anticipation* but I didn't really enjoy breaking away from Max and Sean in their own novel to follow up with extra scenes that belonged in the Up-ending Tad series. Like, they had their shining moments, let's leave it at that. I love them as a couple, but I had to attention or emotion to give them in this series. :(
July 22, 2020
Una montagna russa costante. Meraviglioso <3
September 8, 2020
Potente.
Intenso.
Emotivamente destabilizzante per le innumerevoli emozioni provate.
Sensualità e erotismo unico, sublime e inimmaginabile.
Due protagonisti agli opposti, luce e ombra che si rivelano, si trovano e si amalgamano in un gioco di contrasti bellissimo.
La storia di Max e Sean giunge al termine in un uragano travolgente di profondità emotiva e psicologica.
I piccoli intermezzi di Tad e Scott, di cui l'autrice ci fa dono, mi hanno fatto tirare sospiri di sollievo e sorridere nel ritrovare i miei cuccioli.
Ma Max e Sean, la loro passione, il loro percorso, il loro sentirsi domina l'intera narrazione.
Li lascio con il cuore gonfio di amore per due ragazzi unici❤️
Intenso.
Emotivamente destabilizzante per le innumerevoli emozioni provate.
Sensualità e erotismo unico, sublime e inimmaginabile.
Due protagonisti agli opposti, luce e ombra che si rivelano, si trovano e si amalgamano in un gioco di contrasti bellissimo.
La storia di Max e Sean giunge al termine in un uragano travolgente di profondità emotiva e psicologica.
I piccoli intermezzi di Tad e Scott, di cui l'autrice ci fa dono, mi hanno fatto tirare sospiri di sollievo e sorridere nel ritrovare i miei cuccioli.
Ma Max e Sean, la loro passione, il loro percorso, il loro sentirsi domina l'intera narrazione.
Li lascio con il cuore gonfio di amore per due ragazzi unici❤️
Read
January 21, 2019No rating because I mostly skimmed both books.
After reading the first few chapters I realized Max and Sean’s story had too much angst for my taste, but I loved reading about the scenes from the Upending Tad series from Max’s perspective and seeing more of what was going on on Scott’s side at the time, since almost all of the original series is in Tad’s POV.
I’m not usually a fan of random scenes about other couples and I think it might be annoying if you haven’t read the first series or simply don’t want MCs of other series to have their own POV now and then, but Tad and Scott are one of my favorite couples and the only reason I even skimmed the second book and read about Max and Sean’s finding their happy ending was because I was actively looking for new developments in Tad and Scott’s story. And I wasn’t disappointed, the scenes in their POVs in this series felt like an extended epilogue for them. :)
Still looking forward to Kai and Breck’s story.
After reading the first few chapters I realized Max and Sean’s story had too much angst for my taste, but I loved reading about the scenes from the Upending Tad series from Max’s perspective and seeing more of what was going on on Scott’s side at the time, since almost all of the original series is in Tad’s POV.
I’m not usually a fan of random scenes about other couples and I think it might be annoying if you haven’t read the first series or simply don’t want MCs of other series to have their own POV now and then, but Tad and Scott are one of my favorite couples and the only reason I even skimmed the second book and read about Max and Sean’s finding their happy ending was because I was actively looking for new developments in Tad and Scott’s story. And I wasn’t disappointed, the scenes in their POVs in this series felt like an extended epilogue for them. :)
Still looking forward to Kai and Breck’s story.
June 28, 2018
UGH WHAT A ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS IN THIS BOOK!
This picks right up from where the first book ends, so these must be read in order. Sean knows what he wants - Max, and he’s determined to wear him down and make him fess up to wanting him too. Only, Max has walls thicker than the most unimpenetrable place imaginable and puts up a fight for like 90% of the whole book.
The emotions between these two are raw, deep, with crazy chemistry and desire. I’m so glad Sean wore him down in the end and got his man!
Also! LOVED seeing more of Tad and Scott settling into domestic bliss post-Upending Tad. They are ridiculously romantic together and still hella sexy, too! It’s gonna be a full house when we read about these guys next!
And Breck and Kai?!? SO ready for their story!
This picks right up from where the first book ends, so these must be read in order. Sean knows what he wants - Max, and he’s determined to wear him down and make him fess up to wanting him too. Only, Max has walls thicker than the most unimpenetrable place imaginable and puts up a fight for like 90% of the whole book.
The emotions between these two are raw, deep, with crazy chemistry and desire. I’m so glad Sean wore him down in the end and got his man!
Also! LOVED seeing more of Tad and Scott settling into domestic bliss post-Upending Tad. They are ridiculously romantic together and still hella sexy, too! It’s gonna be a full house when we read about these guys next!
And Breck and Kai?!? SO ready for their story!
April 13, 2022
Changing my rating to one star after learning the author has made comments that are extremely hurtful to the autistic community.
January 1, 2017
When I started Tads journey I loved the mystery of Max/Red in the books and when his book came I was so excited I just almost wet myself with such excitement as book one took my breath away, then book 2 arrived I was even more taken, an emotional journey, max is a great guy with a past that holds him dearly and as Sean is the little sub to keep his mind occupied and crack the wall a little it's a hard journey from each emotion coming into action.
Sean and max are perfect in a Dom and sub relationship now the real Side of the relationship that Sean wants so much was at first one thing I rooted on and max has this way that makes you believe he shouldn't/wouldn't have it by is actions alone but deep with his own walls he knows he could have it again.
The sexual ability of the pair during their scenes was off the charts and wow just wow my fan was stuck on full speed.
I'm over the moon we got more Scott & Tad throughout as their what brought max to me. And your love going between these pages.
I'm not giving anything away just you have to read book 1 to fully understand max & your be wowed in points.
This book was amazing in every flipping way and was the best book to finish 2016 with, kora is a talented author and I'm looking forward to much more coming this 2017
Their a bit at the end I'm excited about and these guys will rock just as hard as max may be more.
Sean and max are perfect in a Dom and sub relationship now the real Side of the relationship that Sean wants so much was at first one thing I rooted on and max has this way that makes you believe he shouldn't/wouldn't have it by is actions alone but deep with his own walls he knows he could have it again.
The sexual ability of the pair during their scenes was off the charts and wow just wow my fan was stuck on full speed.
I'm over the moon we got more Scott & Tad throughout as their what brought max to me. And your love going between these pages.
I'm not giving anything away just you have to read book 1 to fully understand max & your be wowed in points.
This book was amazing in every flipping way and was the best book to finish 2016 with, kora is a talented author and I'm looking forward to much more coming this 2017
Their a bit at the end I'm excited about and these guys will rock just as hard as max may be more.
January 1, 2017
This book was so good. I really enjoyed it even though I thought Max's angst lasted a little too long. I also do not think that this series is a stand alone and you should definitely read the Upending Tad series (start with Loser Takes All) first. I am giving this book 5 stars because of Tad and Scott. I love them and I was thrilled at getting their POVs. I loved seeing the events from the Upending Tad series play out in this book. AND if you want to see Sean & Max's hot BDSM scene with Tad and Scott playing voyeur, run and don't walk to Sideline Submission. I now cannot wait for Kai and Breck's story.
September 13, 2020
Intenso, doloroso, coraggioso, ma soprattutto meraviglioso! Un'altra lettura superba di Kora Knight 😍
January 3, 2017
Review by The Blogger Girls.
This is book 2 of the Scott and Tad Spinoff. You really have to read book 1, Unearthed, before this, and I highly recommend you read Scott and Tad as well, as they were the ones who started it all and that series is amazing. The first installment of Max’s story was really good, but it had some pretty big shoes to fill after Scott and Tad. Max has some major issues, so much that it has taken a lot of pages to work through.
Sean is fabulous and amazing, with such a wonderful attitude that it was hard not to be affected by it. He tries so hard for Max, takes everything Max throws at him and comes back for more, even when he should have walked away and never looked back (on more than one occasion). But, he knew what he wanted, saw what he and Max could have, and almost never gave up trying to get it. Max, on the other hand, not so much. He spends most of his story beating himself up, denying himself and Sean, hurting Sean time and again, all in the name of being broken beyond repair. When he finally decides his only option is to give Sean to another dom, I wondered why he didn’t think of his own mentor, but instead chose Kai, whom he stated he barely knew. Then again, I questioned a lot of things Max did.
Ms. Knight is a master of the hot scenes though, and she did not disappoint in this area. They were creative and held a nice balance of dirty talk and dialog to go along with the rest. Unfortunately, there were some issues with the rest of the story that had me scratching my head in disappointment.
As I said, Max spends much of his time in self-denial, self-inflicted angst and turmoil, so much so that it got very tiresome and repetitive. When a particular scene ended, the story didn’t move on, but the scene was then basically retold through Sean’s POV so we had to experience it all over again. Much of it felt unnecessary. There were also certain phrases that were used over and over, enough that they stood out like beacons. For example, “truth be told” was used frequently.
This story is also told somewhat throughout the same time frame as Scott and Tad. So, there were times when we got to see things that happened in Scott and Tad’s story, but from a different angle, which was kind of fun, but also felt like their amount of page time was a bit unnecessary to the overall story.
Those niggles aside, I enjoyed this quite a bit even though I admit I had to skim a little here and there. I loved everything about Sean, except for how easy he let Max off the hook at times. I loved the humor and dialog and definitely the hot smexy scenes. Seeing Scott and Tad again was nice as well, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing more of Kai in action, especially with the seemingly confused Brent. So, while this one didn’t wow me as much as I had hoped, Ms. Knight remains on my auto-read list, and I can’t wait to see what she cooks up next!
April 29, 2020
This is really a hard book for me to rate. On one hand, I really like Max and Sean a lot, and their story is a great one that deserves to be told. On the other hand, like many reviewers have mentioned, this story is loooooong, and needed some good editing.
So the better points: Max and Sean are pretty well realized characters for this genre, based on what I've read. They have solid back stories that show how they got to where they are now and how these past events move them forward in the story. I mentioned in my review for the first book that I related to Max and his problems quite a bit, and that relations was strengthened here. I totally get Max and the walls he puts up, because I've done the same. I've wanted a Sean my whole life, someone who gets me in spite of my flaws, someone who fights for me even when I fight back, but it's never happened. Thus, by the end of the book, I was bawling my eyes out, not just for Max and Sean but for myself as well. That's some good writing to bring that kind of emotion out of me.
But my God, this book is repetitive in bringing the clashes between Max and Sean upfront. Max pretty much goes through his personal haranguing every few chapters, and while I get the needed emphasis, by the fifth time or so it's just numbing and tiresome to read. Throw in the extra material on Scott and Tad, and I wish Knight had just written another book about them instead of shoehorning them into this one. Except when they interacted with the MCs, their story was unneeded and served to make this one whopper of a book. I love Scott and Tad as much as I do Max and Sean and I think fans would have no problem reading another book just about them.
I hope we see more of all four of these guys, particularly in the Kai/Breck forthcoming book, but Knight needs to give room (but not too much) to one set of characters and focus on the conflicts and relationships pertinent to them instead of putting too much into one novel.
So I'll give this a four star review, although it could have easily been a three or a five. Right down the middle seems about right.
So the better points: Max and Sean are pretty well realized characters for this genre, based on what I've read. They have solid back stories that show how they got to where they are now and how these past events move them forward in the story. I mentioned in my review for the first book that I related to Max and his problems quite a bit, and that relations was strengthened here. I totally get Max and the walls he puts up, because I've done the same. I've wanted a Sean my whole life, someone who gets me in spite of my flaws, someone who fights for me even when I fight back, but it's never happened. Thus, by the end of the book, I was bawling my eyes out, not just for Max and Sean but for myself as well. That's some good writing to bring that kind of emotion out of me.
But my God, this book is repetitive in bringing the clashes between Max and Sean upfront. Max pretty much goes through his personal haranguing every few chapters, and while I get the needed emphasis, by the fifth time or so it's just numbing and tiresome to read. Throw in the extra material on Scott and Tad, and I wish Knight had just written another book about them instead of shoehorning them into this one. Except when they interacted with the MCs, their story was unneeded and served to make this one whopper of a book. I love Scott and Tad as much as I do Max and Sean and I think fans would have no problem reading another book just about them.
I hope we see more of all four of these guys, particularly in the Kai/Breck forthcoming book, but Knight needs to give room (but not too much) to one set of characters and focus on the conflicts and relationships pertinent to them instead of putting too much into one novel.
So I'll give this a four star review, although it could have easily been a three or a five. Right down the middle seems about right.
December 7, 2022
Ok so rating this was a struggle!! Let’s get into it.
This duet was probably 3x too long. It was full of redundancies that did not add any new information or character development. The internal dialogue was wildly overdone. The weird Tad and Scott chapters were better suited for a novella and weren’t necessary for a duet that was supposed to be about Max and Sean. It was disjointed and confusing.
Additionally the constant push and pull between Max and Sean got predictable and made Sean seem like a fool and Max completely heartless. In all honesty, Max had zero character development until 75% of the way through this. And I think there should’ve been more time apart from each other. More groveling on Max’s part. Sean needed to find himself again.
I wanted/needed more angst because the little we got was amazing!! And that may sound odd but I found Max’s issues to be sad but not angsty. Sean’s overwhelming love and devotion with no reciprocation, endless fighting for Max, cutting his heart open was angsty.
Ok ok. I know that sounds like I didn’t like it. Oh but hunnies I did like it. I just had those issues. This duet should’ve been one book around 300 pages. We just had too much filler with no forward movement.
I loved the last 15% of this book. By far the best part of the series. We finally get a splayed open Max and a resilient Sean. We get these truly emotional and impactful moments where these two men let all their walls down and share themselves with each other.
The sex, unfortunately while Max was intoxicated, was some of the best lovemaking I’ve read. And the moment when he asked Sean to take his heart with him broke me to pieces. The moment when Max’s mother told Sean she’s been waiting years for him also destroyed me.
There were so many of these moments in the final part of the duet that made up for some of my earlier issues but oh how I wish we would’ve had them throughout. Ultimately I loved Max and Sean together. I wish we would’ve had more passion and vulnerability instead of bickering.
This duet was probably 3x too long. It was full of redundancies that did not add any new information or character development. The internal dialogue was wildly overdone. The weird Tad and Scott chapters were better suited for a novella and weren’t necessary for a duet that was supposed to be about Max and Sean. It was disjointed and confusing.
Additionally the constant push and pull between Max and Sean got predictable and made Sean seem like a fool and Max completely heartless. In all honesty, Max had zero character development until 75% of the way through this. And I think there should’ve been more time apart from each other. More groveling on Max’s part. Sean needed to find himself again.
I wanted/needed more angst because the little we got was amazing!! And that may sound odd but I found Max’s issues to be sad but not angsty. Sean’s overwhelming love and devotion with no reciprocation, endless fighting for Max, cutting his heart open was angsty.
Ok ok. I know that sounds like I didn’t like it. Oh but hunnies I did like it. I just had those issues. This duet should’ve been one book around 300 pages. We just had too much filler with no forward movement.
I loved the last 15% of this book. By far the best part of the series. We finally get a splayed open Max and a resilient Sean. We get these truly emotional and impactful moments where these two men let all their walls down and share themselves with each other.
The sex, unfortunately while Max was intoxicated, was some of the best lovemaking I’ve read. And the moment when he asked Sean to take his heart with him broke me to pieces. The moment when Max’s mother told Sean she’s been waiting years for him also destroyed me.
There were so many of these moments in the final part of the duet that made up for some of my earlier issues but oh how I wish we would’ve had them throughout. Ultimately I loved Max and Sean together. I wish we would’ve had more passion and vulnerability instead of bickering.
December 29, 2016
It's no secret that i love Tad and Scott, nor is it a secret that i've always loved Max too, even when he was being his usual offish self in their books.
Now, in the first book of this series we learned a bit about who Max and Sean were, what'd happened in their pasts etc. In this book we see how Sean tries to break down Max's seemingly impenetrable walls. Walls so thick that even a wrecking ball would struggle to break through.
Sean is such a strong character, at times i feel he was a lot stronger than he's ever credited as being. He has a kinda "roll with the punches" attitude, yet there's only so many times he can do that, everyone has a breaking point...
Max, as stubborn as he is, and as much as i'd hate to ever admit, really is such a loving caring person. Even though he thinks by protecting himself he's also helping to protect Sean, he isn't, he's doing the one thing he PROMISED never to do. He has so many layers, the hardest layer to peel away though is the layer of fear which, after his past, is understandable.
It was great seeing how even he has a breaking point, a point where after being at his lowest, he's made to sit up and smell the roses, yet finds he may be too late.
As expected, we see a lot from Scott and Tad too which i'm glad of as i don't think Max and Sean's story would've been the same without them. I feel that if Max didn't have Scott and Tad's relationship in front of him, he'd never have got over his issues.
This seriously was a fantastic, sexy yet deep and thought invoking story. I went through a mix of emotions and feelings at how they acted with each other. In one breath i'm begging Sean to keep pushing, yet the next i'm begging him to ease up too ! Then i'm begging Max to stop pushing Sean away and let him in and then begging him to be gentle when he does let him go !!
Absolutely fantastic ! LOVED !!
Now, in the first book of this series we learned a bit about who Max and Sean were, what'd happened in their pasts etc. In this book we see how Sean tries to break down Max's seemingly impenetrable walls. Walls so thick that even a wrecking ball would struggle to break through.
Sean is such a strong character, at times i feel he was a lot stronger than he's ever credited as being. He has a kinda "roll with the punches" attitude, yet there's only so many times he can do that, everyone has a breaking point...
Max, as stubborn as he is, and as much as i'd hate to ever admit, really is such a loving caring person. Even though he thinks by protecting himself he's also helping to protect Sean, he isn't, he's doing the one thing he PROMISED never to do. He has so many layers, the hardest layer to peel away though is the layer of fear which, after his past, is understandable.
It was great seeing how even he has a breaking point, a point where after being at his lowest, he's made to sit up and smell the roses, yet finds he may be too late.
As expected, we see a lot from Scott and Tad too which i'm glad of as i don't think Max and Sean's story would've been the same without them. I feel that if Max didn't have Scott and Tad's relationship in front of him, he'd never have got over his issues.
This seriously was a fantastic, sexy yet deep and thought invoking story. I went through a mix of emotions and feelings at how they acted with each other. In one breath i'm begging Sean to keep pushing, yet the next i'm begging him to ease up too ! Then i'm begging Max to stop pushing Sean away and let him in and then begging him to be gentle when he does let him go !!
Absolutely fantastic ! LOVED !!
April 10, 2022
things I liked :
- the main characters
things I didn't like :
- the main characters
things I didn't like :
July 15, 2020
Questo libro. Questo libro è qualcosa che non si può descrivere a parole. Bisogna leggere per capire.
Max è sprofondato negli abissi, ha innalzato dei muri altissimi finché non arriverà Sean a mettere in dubbio ogni sua certezza, a sfidarlo con la sua luce...
Ci sono dei passaggi che ti uccidono, altri che sono poesia perché la differenza, qui, oltre a due personaggi straordinari, la fa la scrittura, la bravura di questa autrice.
Per le appassionate, ritornano anche Scott e Tad. Nota di merito a Scott, un amico come pochi.
Max, personaggio unico che ti prende il cuore e non lo molla più ❤️
Max è sprofondato negli abissi, ha innalzato dei muri altissimi finché non arriverà Sean a mettere in dubbio ogni sua certezza, a sfidarlo con la sua luce...
Ci sono dei passaggi che ti uccidono, altri che sono poesia perché la differenza, qui, oltre a due personaggi straordinari, la fa la scrittura, la bravura di questa autrice.
Per le appassionate, ritornano anche Scott e Tad. Nota di merito a Scott, un amico come pochi.
Max, personaggio unico che ti prende il cuore e non lo molla più ❤️
August 2, 2024
Where to begin with this one? 😅 I loved it and I didn't at the same time, and that makes rating it incredibly difficult. All things considered though, I'm going to go with 4*, rounded up from 3.5*. At the core of it all, Max and Sean had such a great dynamic, but the execution of their story fell flat. It's so sad that this could have easily been a 5* read for me given some good editing.
As others have mentioned, the book is entirely too long. There was so much unnecessary content that it took away from the core story. I know most people (me included) loved Scott and Tad, but Max and Sean's story was not the place to include more of their POV. Almost every time something important happened with Max and Sean, the next chapter switched to a Scott or Tad POV 🫠 Whyyyy??? Did no one tell Kora Knight that this wasn't a good idea? It really ruined the flow and emotional impact of the main story. I definitely don't mind having more Scott and Tad, but a novella was the place for it, not here. I couldn't even enjoy the extra time with Scott and Tad because all I was thinking about was how I wanted to get back to Max and Sean. In that respect, both sides were less enjoyable than they would have been had they been dealt with as their own stories.
There was so much to love about Max and Sean's story that it's a shame it was watered down the way it was. Aside from the Scott and Tad POVs being thrown in, there was just too much repetition. There are only so many times Max and Sean can have the same conversation before it gets tiresome. Same story, different day. I hated how it made me dislike Max. I love angst just as much as the person, but this was too much. Poor Sean was needlessly destroyed time and time again. I almost cried a few times because my heart simply ached for him. I think everyone well understood how troubled Max was and how difficult coming to terms with everything was for him without it being rehashed over and over. It was like beating a dead horse.
Unfortunately, by the time I got to the end, I couldn't enjoy where Max and Sean ended up. It felt like too little too late. By the time the HEA started to form, the book was almost over and Max had been such an asshole for so long, I couldn't feel happy about it. After everything he put Sean through, I felt way more groveling was required. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for how everything did work out, but I needed more. More I'm sorry, more loving tender moments, more for Sean and everything he went through. I felt that Max got off too easily. I wanted to skip happily into the sunset with them, but I just couldn't because Sean deserved more 😭
As others have mentioned, the book is entirely too long. There was so much unnecessary content that it took away from the core story. I know most people (me included) loved Scott and Tad, but Max and Sean's story was not the place to include more of their POV. Almost every time something important happened with Max and Sean, the next chapter switched to a Scott or Tad POV 🫠 Whyyyy??? Did no one tell Kora Knight that this wasn't a good idea? It really ruined the flow and emotional impact of the main story. I definitely don't mind having more Scott and Tad, but a novella was the place for it, not here. I couldn't even enjoy the extra time with Scott and Tad because all I was thinking about was how I wanted to get back to Max and Sean. In that respect, both sides were less enjoyable than they would have been had they been dealt with as their own stories.
There was so much to love about Max and Sean's story that it's a shame it was watered down the way it was. Aside from the Scott and Tad POVs being thrown in, there was just too much repetition. There are only so many times Max and Sean can have the same conversation before it gets tiresome. Same story, different day. I hated how it made me dislike Max. I love angst just as much as the person, but this was too much. Poor Sean was needlessly destroyed time and time again. I almost cried a few times because my heart simply ached for him. I think everyone well understood how troubled Max was and how difficult coming to terms with everything was for him without it being rehashed over and over. It was like beating a dead horse.
Unfortunately, by the time I got to the end, I couldn't enjoy where Max and Sean ended up. It felt like too little too late. By the time the HEA started to form, the book was almost over and Max had been such an asshole for so long, I couldn't feel happy about it. After everything he put Sean through, I felt way more groveling was required. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for how everything did work out, but I needed more. More I'm sorry, more loving tender moments, more for Sean and everything he went through. I felt that Max got off too easily. I wanted to skip happily into the sunset with them, but I just couldn't because Sean deserved more 😭
September 17, 2023
I need to be Revived!!!
Max and Sean the MC in Revived first appeared as side characters in “The Upending of Tad” Book 1 and 2. They get their own story in ‘Unearthed’ Book 1 and here in ‘Revived’ Book 2 which takes up where Book 1 left us.
Both these stories are really heavy into BDSM as an MC is an instructor/teacher and the other is a client. I had to just skim over a lot of it as there was so much activity. I was more focused on the storyline.
I loved the relationship Max had with his childhood friend Kevin, but Kevin had parents from hell, that destroyed Max. Max was devastated and consequently build barriers and walls to any intimate relationship.
Sean was a College gymnast but due to injury retired early and focused on his photography. He was also in great demand as a model for artists.
In was as a model for a Sculpting class that he first set eyes on Max Kelley who was also an Artist and Teacher in Sculpting. He wasn’t willing to let him out of his sight much after that first class.
While Sean was besotted with Max, I disliked Max for what he had become and how he was treating Sean. Sean was a ray of sunshine, with a cheerful personality and zest for life. I had to admire his persistence and determination.
Kora Knight has written an excellent series here so far and I read them all since I started ‘Upending Tad’. There is another two books in the series telling Breck and Kai’s story which I’m starting on next, ‘Tamed’ and ‘ Claimed’. They also feature in Max and Sean’s story.
Loved the cover on ‘Revived’, wish I could identify who is who on it though, Sean is described as a very blonde man in the story, but neither models strike me as blonde on the cover.
Highly recommend this whole series, there is a suicide and extremely graphic descriptions of BDSM, so perhaps not for the feint hearted.
Max and Sean the MC in Revived first appeared as side characters in “The Upending of Tad” Book 1 and 2. They get their own story in ‘Unearthed’ Book 1 and here in ‘Revived’ Book 2 which takes up where Book 1 left us.
Both these stories are really heavy into BDSM as an MC is an instructor/teacher and the other is a client. I had to just skim over a lot of it as there was so much activity. I was more focused on the storyline.
I loved the relationship Max had with his childhood friend Kevin, but Kevin had parents from hell, that destroyed Max. Max was devastated and consequently build barriers and walls to any intimate relationship.
Sean was a College gymnast but due to injury retired early and focused on his photography. He was also in great demand as a model for artists.
In was as a model for a Sculpting class that he first set eyes on Max Kelley who was also an Artist and Teacher in Sculpting. He wasn’t willing to let him out of his sight much after that first class.
While Sean was besotted with Max, I disliked Max for what he had become and how he was treating Sean. Sean was a ray of sunshine, with a cheerful personality and zest for life. I had to admire his persistence and determination.
Kora Knight has written an excellent series here so far and I read them all since I started ‘Upending Tad’. There is another two books in the series telling Breck and Kai’s story which I’m starting on next, ‘Tamed’ and ‘ Claimed’. They also feature in Max and Sean’s story.
Loved the cover on ‘Revived’, wish I could identify who is who on it though, Sean is described as a very blonde man in the story, but neither models strike me as blonde on the cover.
Highly recommend this whole series, there is a suicide and extremely graphic descriptions of BDSM, so perhaps not for the feint hearted.
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