***I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review!*** (3.5 Stars)
This is the first book in the Black Brothers Trilogy, and it introduces us to the oldest brother, Beckett. Curious with the woman who has been put in charge of working on a campaign for his office, he decides to get to know her better. By offering her a job to write his father's memoir, he gets to know the independent woman who has piqued his interest. From the beginning it is clear that there are sparks between the two. Having just gotten over her divorce, Emma decides that she wants to become a little more fearless and to take some chances for a change. Beckett makes and interesting offer, and it is one that she cannot refuse.
I liked Emma. I thought she was funny, loyal and very intelligent. She was a good mother, and worked hard at her job. While she was independent, Beckett brought out desires in her that she never knew that she had. He was able to take control from her, but in a way that left her protected and satiated.
Beckett was a bit of a control freak. Being a Dominant, he liked things the way he wanted them. He pursued Emma, and though he never expected to find deeper feelings for her, he did. Beckett was a bit of an enigma. While I thought he sounded dreamy, and I liked the way he took control, I didn't feel as much of a connection to his character as I would have liked.
Having read the last book in this series first, I knew what was going to happen already in the story. I wish I had read them in the correct order to maximize my reading enjoyment so there was a bit more of a surprise. That didn't take away from my rating though, just a recommendation to other readers to read them in order.
There were some things in this book that seemed to not be as well thought out. I felt that there needed to be a bit more interaction with the "villain" in this series. While it is a romance, there is a thread of suspense underlying this book. There were a few scenes with this person, but it didn't seem to play as big a role as I felt it should have. At least, with the seriousness of the events towards the end of the book.
I did like the sex scenes. I thought they were well written, but at times I almost felt that there were too many. I wanted to see more serious conversations between Emma and Beckett, and also some more with Emma's daughter, who seemed to be a bit of an afterthought at times. There are particular scenes that take place in every book that I don't feel need to be there. I feel like there should have been new places involved, rather than revisiting the same ones. There was one scene in particular that I truly didn't care for, although the author explains why it occurred later on, I still felt it was uncalled for.
I think that it is clear that the author did some research for this book, because the technical, scientific stuff is well written. I think that it was plotted well, but it just needed a bit more. There were also several editing issues in this book. At times I felt that the book was a bit long and drawn out, especially since the conflict was resolved very quickly. I also believe that books that portray a BDSM lifestyle, or similar tastes, should provide a warning to readers beforehand so they know what they are in for. Overall, I do recommend this book. I think that the author is going places, and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.