Sex taught him how to destroy others. Love will teach him how to heal himself.
Keegan Andrews and his father's best mate should never have gone away together for his eighteenth birthday. The birthday Keegan lost his virginity after tricking the handsome womanizer into being his first-time. Still, Keegan can't deny he enjoyed it--that he got a sadistic kick out of having his way with the arrogant, Damon Harris. Keegan now knows he has the power to turn his dark fantasies into reality... and he intends to use it.
Damon is nervous about visiting Keegan and his mother for Christmas. It will be the first time he has seen the seductive lad since that night in the cabin. A night where lines were crossed that never should have been. However, Damon is adamant he won't succumb again to the young guy's twisted desires. But after a tender moment between them, Damon crumbles and finds himself committing more submissive secrets.
Matt Andrews feels empty and lonely. It has been six months since his wife left him and moved back to London. The shy accountant worries if he will ever experience love again. His heartache is momentarily distracted when his estranged son, Keegan, turns up at his door and asks to stay. Matt relishes the opportunity to reconnect. But why has Keegan turned up unexpectedly and why has Matt's best mate, Damon, suddenly stopped visiting? Matt doesn't know it but Keegan and Damon have unleashed a chain of events that will send hearts crashing while long-forgotten feelings erupt back to life.
Submissive Secrets can be read as a standalone romance novel and has a HEA. It is the final book in the Crashing Hearts Series. The story contains explicit language, sex scenes, a wedding, and a life-sized My Little Pony.
Zane lives way down under on the west coast of New Zealand; the wet side. He is a fan of ghost stories, sport, ducklings and nights out that usually lead to his head hanging in a bucket the next morning.
He enjoys creating characters who have flaws, crazy thoughts and a tendency to make bad decisions. Zane’s stories are emotionally-charged and don’t shy away from darker themes. After all, they do say there is no light without the dark.
It took me weeks to get through this book. I kept holding out hope that it would get better. Aside from wondering how all these shenanigans could possibly lead to an HEA, it did not.
First and foremost, it could've used a thorough edit. There were continuity errors, things could've been streamlined and I think the narrative would've been better served had it stuck to one couple rather than diverting attention four ways. I'm not one to harp on multiple POVs but they need to make sense, to have a purpose where the plot is concerned.
But mainly it came down to writing style. And we did not mix well. Menzy does a lot of things that I personally don't like with his prose. So in no particular order: telling rather than showing, using slang like "cum n go" but avoiding contractions, random conversations that don't add to the narrative or push the plot forward and an excessive use of superficial metaphors.
Secondly, I didn't like any of these characters. They're all vain, vapid, juvenile, and fickle. I couldn't connect with any of them and if I can't connect with at least one character, it makes it nearly impossible for me to get into a book. Characters needn't be likable and they can even be diabolical, but they have to have some metaphorical meat on their bones and none of these did; they all have the same voice and are one-dimensional. However, Menzy did do a great job of making them shallow and anemic.
The plot as ridiculous as it is did hold my interest in a car crash sort of way, but still.
What drew me to this book were the age gap romance and the kink, but Keegan and Damon aren't ever really together. Damon is kind of pathetic actually and I felt sorry for him. He's a lonely and shallow thirtysomething relying solely on his looks to attract attention from anyone. Keegan is a stereotypical 18 y/o boy who would fuck a tree if it appealed enough. There's nothing wrong with that but there's nothing compelling or engaging about it either, to me at least. I crave depth and emotionality in my reads both of which were thin on the ground.
Keegan and Damon have sex twice and Keegan is essentially hate fucking Damon. He calls it dominating and needing "control" but to call what they do BDSM is reductive. What most of the sex reminded me of is dirty pig fucking (thanks tumblr!) which is mostly about tops annihilating bottoms, fucking holes, filling them with cum or piss or... other things, licking/sniffing armpits and kind of humiliating the bottom which isn't what I would deem romantic. I'm sure in the right hands it can be and I'm not passing judgment against those who enjoy it. I've watched it and sometimes it's hot. Not so much here, but still. I can see the appeal for those whose kink is humiliation, but humiliation with no emotional connection I find unappetizing. Moreover, if you're trying to sell me a romance narrative I need more of an emotional connection and chemistry between the MCs and neither of these couples have chemistry. There was definitely an attempt made towards the end at romance but it felt oddly tacked on, manufactured and hollow.
After the proverbial shit hits the fan Garth and Keegan head to Auckland to stay with Matt, Keegan's father and they fall in love in a week during which Keegan coerces Garth into losing his virginity. Meanwhile Damon engineers a rekindling of his past sexual relationship with Matt so he can have some leverage then decides he's been in love with Matt all along. These melodramas are but the tip of the iceburg. The sheer volume of manipulation utilized by both Damon and Keegan in an effort to keep their paramours turned my stomach a little bit because that isn't love nor is it romantic. Matt at one point punches Damon in the face then kicks him in the head yet I'm to believe it's ok because he was upset. Yeah, no.
I wouldn't recommend this and it's highly unlikely I'll read anything else by Menzy but there are others who have sung its praises and if you enjoy Dick Lit wherein errrrrryyyyone wants the D because Damon and Keegan and their monster cocks are so irresistible even to the straight boys (yes, I'm making up this "genre") then you'll likely love it too.
Umm so this has a HEA. As happy as those weirdos can be :ı
I laughed quite a bit while reading this, but not because it was trying to be comedic but because it was just too weird. All those characters. God damn, they all need fucking therapy.
So I have to say that I didn't read book one or two. Honestly I didn't even read the full description of this book only the first two sentences and then decided it sounded good enough to try... I also don't like how a lot of books have spoilers in the description so lately I don't always read the full description before jumping in. This book was AMAZING!!!! Throughout the whole story there was so much going on and so many feelings that I didn't want to put it down. From beginning to end my opinion on who I wanted to end up with who changed about a hundred times until I wanted to say "fuck it everyone should be alone!". I will say that Keegan (imo) is a prime example on why young people shouldn't be watching too much porn, I'm not against porn but Keegan seemed to think porn is how all sexual encounters will be like. ****slight spoiler**** Out of everyone in the story I have to say I effing loved Garth, he was just so beyond prefect that I finished the book an hour ago and went back and read every page with him all over again because I just couldn't get enough of him! Usually my favorite book boyfriends are the broody dark ones but Garth is right up there with my favorites now even if he's the sweetest thing ever. I might go read book one just to see if he's in it at all just so I could read more of him now. **spoiler over**
I can't speak for the first 2 but if this book sounds interesting to you then hurry and read it cause this books such a great roller-coaster of emotions.
Just when I was beginning to like this author’s writing, along comes this overwritten, vanilla conclusion to the Crashing Hearts trilogy, complete with the worst grammar yet. (“Me and Damon are gonna sit down”, ”…when me and him went away for my birthday”, etc.) Now where are Strunk and White when you really need those guys?
An opus. This was the perfect culmination of this coming of age/growing up trilogy. Overall there was less sexual tension than the first two books. However, it was still a novel worthy of oven mitts. Reading ‘Submissive Secrets’ was like watching the landscape as the eye of a hurricane passes over. As the wind and the rain taper off, everything shifts and settles. So much to take in.
Sometimes even the wreckage of a storm can be beautiful. This book was brilliant, beautiful and hot enough to ignite freshly found driftwood.
My emotions were all over the board with this book. I laughed in delight and triumph, I cringed in horror, and teared up at the despair and sorrow of these characters. In the end, I loved that everyone ends happily, not necessarily how I expected them to be, but better.
I very much enjoyed SUBMISSIVE SECRETS and think it might be my favorite in the series, of which I have been a big fan since I read DUBIOUS DESIRES. I know the author is selling sex with the shirtless book covers and the suggestive titles. That’s understandable, because everyone knows sex sells. What is not clear from the covers or the titles, however, is that the author is also writing about the hearts of the characters, the ache of love when it is uncertain whether it is requited, and the power of male friendship. That’s not to say sex cheapens any of that; rather, the best stories of this genre are the ones where love, sex, and friendship converge without apology. Zane Menzy expertly intertwines all of those and more in SUBMISSIVE SECRETS, just as he has done throughout the series.
Keegan Andrews is the protagonist of this story. He’s 18 and in love with his impossibly sexy and aloof best friend, Liam. I think every guy who has questioned his sexuality has had a Liam in his life: a sexy best friend who may or not be open to more (or at least you search for hope in the smallest of details), someone you can’t imagine life without (whether he becomes a lover or remains a friend), and someone who can do everything you can do better. At least I have had a couple of Liams in my life, which is perhaps why I identified with Keegan and felt like I already understood Liam.
But, Keegan really comes into his own in this book, which I really liked. He’s good-looking in his own right, even though he hasn’t realized it yet and doesn’t see the same person looking back at him in the mirror. He’s thinking of his future. He’s coming to terms with that he is gay. And he’s realizing he has a long and hefty package in his pants that he can use to turn the tables on those who had thought they had an upper hand on him.
Central to the story is Keegan’s relationship with a cocky DILF named Damon who got a taste of his own medicine in the last book and has had his mind (and other parts) in awhirl ever since. I won’t tell you any more than that, but suffice it to say there’s a lot going on in this book and it all comes together. It’s not clear to me whether this is the end of the series or there is more, but I certainly hope there is.
You don’t need to read the first 2 books in the series before starting this one, because the author opens the book with a smooth look back at the action from the first two books and a reintroduction to the principal characters, most of whom the story has followed since the beginning. That said, I would suggest starting with the first one and reading them in order. But, you don’t have to. As with the others books by this author, the New Zealand setting is a big plus for someone like me, who lives on the other side of the world.
SUBMISSIVE SECRETS is a fun, sexy, and smart. 5 stars!
Wow, what a roller coaster ride! The series was incredibly well done: frightening, hilarious, loving, cringeworthy, caught myself saying "oh god, this is gonna be bad" more than once, hit so close to home I almost had trouble finishing it, and caused more than one loud case of unstoppable giggles (the whole wedding scene is just awesome!), so overall I'd say it's well worth the read. It's so real - almost too real in places - but I promise this is unlike any fiction you're likely to come across.
Coming off I Kissed Him There, this was disappointing.. There was just too many points of focus in the book and I just didn't really gaf about Keegan. Which is ironic considering Garth and Liam were so good. Keegan had a teensy tiny amount of development at the end of this book. Like bruh, this man did not learn anything.
And do not get me started on fucking Damon. It felt like a mistake to read this right after I Kissed Him There because this book kinda just.. threw out what made Book 2 so special. Damon.. you promised you would always be on HIS team. How could you turn around and even THINK about doing that to him. And the romance had like zero time to develop so it felt forced. We know that there's so much history between them but we were never shown anything past Book 2. And Damon's actions felt like he started right back at where Book 2 began. It makes me furious just thinking about it.
Read this book since you've read both book 1 and book 2 so you might as well. I personally would just read book 2 as a standalone and leave it at that.
I honestly loved everything about this story it came with drama, sexy heat, and it held so many cocky characters they could have mended a fence with their spit.
The coming to turns or coming to terms of the characters are more than related and made a huge connection. But i have to say my favorite character is Garth. I loved everything he had to offer, he wasn’t to cocky or too insecure but plenty of funny I loved the book.
This book has many twists and turns, sex, misunderstandings, humiliation, self discovery and love. What a ride. I was so invested that I just keep reading all day until a very satisfying ending. I can't recommend this book enough. And bonus, it all takes place in New Zealand with delightful local color and language. This is my first novel by this author but it won't be my last.
This is an honest thought provoking story.well written and entertaining.Not for the faint of heart.betrayal, lol humorous, sexy,homophobia,blackmail,selfishness. I had to start at the last book in this series because I’m too sensitive. I liked reading through a male author much better.4.8 star ratings for me❣️😜🥰🤬🤣
2.5* I'm not sure what just happened! I was expecting a sexy, kinky story about a D/s relationship between an older man, Damon, and his best friends son, Keegan but in actual fact, that was a two-time event that involved Keegan humiliating Damon and the rest of the time, it felt like everyone was either trying to or was sleeping with everyone else. It felt like an endless list of coercions and was not what I expected at all.
While this book was easy enough to follow and the author did a very good job of helping you picture everything that was happening, the characters felt so insincere. I wasn't convinced that any of them were capable of loving anyone because they were all so completely f'd up. Four guys who started the story as allegedly straight were all into guys by the end and although they get their HEA, it's not very believable. I'm not convinced that any of them actually knew what they really wanted.
So, I enjoyed this story for its utter craziness but because the characters had multiple personalities and were blubbering one minute and all macho and forceful the next, I didn't feel like I really got to know any of them and subsequently, struggled to care about them or what happened to them.
Copy received from publisher in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed by Cheryl from Alpha Book Club Alpha Book Club All Alpha Males Accepted alphabookclub.org