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Previously published as Elements of Submission by Karissa Knight.

My new client has the wealth and power to make his own rules. As I’m drawn into his secret world of dark fantasies I must know: Is he a killer, or the man of my dreams?

Wilhelmina Green is the lawyer of choice for Chicago's wealthy offenders. Mina’s latest victory, the acquittal of a U.S. senator, has made her a media sensation. To the outside world she appears to have it all, but she’s still searching for a man with the strength to bring her dark fantasies to life.

CEO Jonathon Thomas Heun, a suspect in the death of his personal assistant, hires Mina to represent him. He slowly draws her into his seductive world of wealth and power as they investigate the murder. Despite her attraction to him Mina holds back, sensing Jonathon is keeping part of himself closed off from the world. And from her.

As the passion of their affair intensifies, Mina soon realizes her desires were just the beginning of an erotic dive into Jonathon’s lifestyle.

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2021

23 people are currently reading
80 people want to read

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Karissa Knight

3 books33 followers

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for Bookish Thais💌.
110 reviews50 followers
September 19, 2022
B O O K R E V I E W

⭐⭐/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5





Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Wilhelmina is a well known lawyer who's past decisions hunt her daily. Her guilt for freeing guilty people from the consequences of their crime will always follow her. When CEO Jonathon Thomas Heun requests her personally to be his lawyer in the new murder case against his assistant, she doesn't want to be hated by the public anymore but when more women who are connected to Jonathon go missing she starts to question if her client is what he seems.

This book was definitely a full on rollercoaster with all the crimes happening and all the new suspects. I wouldn't usually read a book like this since it is VERY spicy. This book is dark romance so there is no fluff whatsoever. I did like that Mina felt guilty for representing all those criminals who are now free and roaming the streets again. I had a bit of a love- hate relationship with Jonathon. I didn't know if he actually loved her or not. He felt a bit controlling to me with the contract and everything but that could just be me? That little plot twist near the end SHOOK me. I felt like the whole BDSM part of their relationship was not really needed since from my view Mina just needed someone's love. I felt like there were a lot of extra scenes and this book almost put me in a slump since it took me 9 days to read and I usually am able to read a book in 3-5 days.

In conclusion, this was a good book. If you like dark romances with spice this book is definitely for you.
Profile Image for Ashley.
1,175 reviews
July 24, 2022
**Disclaimer: I received a free advanced readers copy of Elements of Submission by Karissa Knight through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity.

Elements of Submission by Karissa Knight is a dark romance with mystery elements.  It follows an infamous criminal defense lawyer named Mina as she takes on a new client and gets sucked up into a greater mystery, while also being incredibly drawn to her new client.  It was published on June 21st, 2022.  I rated it 2 stars on Goodreads.


Here's the summary from Goodreads:

When a powerful young billionaire hires Chicago’s hottest legal star, she must decide whether he’s a killer or the man to unlock her most private fantasies.
Wilhelmina Green is the lawyer of choice for sexual predators and murderers. Her latest victory, the acquittal of a U.S. senator, has made Mina a media sensation. Escaping the attention, she secretly takes her next tombstoning dive into Australian waters. The risk of a solo jump at dawn serves as her punishment and atonement for releasing guilty men into the world.
CEO Jonathon Thomas Heun, suspected of a brutal murder, hires Mina to represent him. His seductive world of wealth and power soon draws her in as they work to uncover evidence of Jonathon's innocence. Mina senses he's keeping part of himself closed off from the world. And from her.
Dark fantasies of fear, pain and passion haunt Mina's dreams and leave her breathless. No man has ever seemed capable of having her—possessing her—in this way. Until Jonathon.
Is he a killer? Or the one she's been waiting for?
Elements of Submission is the first book in the Elements of Power series and follows Mina's dark journey into sexual submission, as Jonathon's past catches up with him.

Sometimes a girl just needs to read a smutty book, and this was one of those times.  I don't read a lot of these types of books so I'm not sure I am the best judge of them, so I'm going to respond to it in general and give some general opinions like I would give any other book.

I liked the overall premise of this book.  The idea of a defense lawyer being so conflicted about her job made a lot of sense to me considering who it was that she was defending.  Her clients were awful horrible people and she was getting them off, so I really appreciated the inner conflict that Mina had about that.  She was a compelling narrator and I enjoyed her back and froth and her character growth.  She was on the whole quite interesting to me.

I also appreciated the chemistry between Mina and Jonathon.  They had an interesting dynamic even though it was definitely kind of unethical since he was her client.  But I enjoyed how she felt drawn to him almost from their first meeting.  He was an interesting enough character but I would have liked for him to be a bit more developed.

I liked the mystery aspects of the story as well as they were trying to figure out what was going on.  It kept me guessing.

A big glaring thing that stood out to me as I read through the story was there were details that felt like they contradicted themselves to me.  There were moments when something would be said, then later they would contradict it by saying Mina didn't already know when I was pretty sure they had just gone over that.  I found that really annoying as I read through because it seemed like it a bit more was needed to be put into the editing process or something.

Overall, even though I gave it a low rating, I would still recommend this book.  I had a decent time reading it, and I think most readers of this type of book would have been able to find enjoyment in it.  So I would definitely suggest checking it out if you're intrigued by the plot.
Profile Image for Marilyn.
Author 26 books448 followers
September 12, 2021
As a defense attorney, Wilhelmina Green has had to represent some reprehensible characters. Obliged to defend wealthy Jonathon Thomas Heun, she discovers she is attracted to this handsome dynamic man. While she worries that he may have killed a few people, she's eager to take part in his exciting way of making love. While I'm not a fan of erotica, I enjoyed the storyline of this well-written mystery.
Profile Image for Joy Ribar.
Author 11 books233 followers
January 6, 2022
Meet Wilhelmina Green: This high-powered defense attorney to the notorious is conflicted by her success. No wonder she’s a divided self: Wil to her family and friends, loyal and fun-loving. Mina in the shadows - a stranger even to herself. With her reputation for success in court, she should easily be in charge and control. But some contracts are binding in more ways than one. Enter the client, a person of interest connected to a string of murders who proves to be a dangerous distraction for Wilhelmina. This novel is more than a walk on the wild side: prepare to dive off a cliff and gasp for breath again and again in this first thriller by Karissa Knight.
Profile Image for Amanda.
349 reviews24 followers
January 29, 2023
A hot and suspenseful read. Mina and Jonathan are a story of professional to personal, instant wicked heat, with the suspense of danger. This was outside of my usual rom-com genre and I really liked the added elements of danger that were in this book. I definitely want to read the next one in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Hannah Hansen.
132 reviews1 follower
July 31, 2022
I loved the actual story in this book: the murder mystery, the romance, the did he didn’t he, the mode of escapism used, the tie backs to Dracula. Jonathan was mysterious and hot and everything you could want in a dominant, billionaire love interest. Wil/Mina was interesting and complex and powerful- a spectacularly independent and strong heroine. She was able to defend herself and hold her own when shit really hit the fan. I really enjoyed the progression of their relationship and getting to know Mina in her professional role.
What I didn’t love though was some of the intimate scenes; they just seemed so disjointed in some parts and the wording and vocabulary choices were just off to me and completely took me out of the scenes. There were some good scenes that I really did enjoy, but the ones I couldn’t seem to bite 😏 into were the reason I decided to rate this 3 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc!
Profile Image for Laurie Buchanan.
Author 8 books357 followers
November 18, 2021
A titillating tale, ELEMENTS OF SUBMISSION moves at a heart-racing clip as a steamy love-can-hurt-so-good courtship unfolds. The author deftly blends a provocative story with a thriller plot that builds from a nice slow burn with plenty of sizzle to a climactic explosion.
Profile Image for Sophie Sheppard.
341 reviews
October 21, 2022
Not my usual type of thriller but I loved this one. I was browsing for something slightly different when I saw the client on NetGalley so I thought I’d give it a go and I’m glade I did.

Mina is a high profile criminal defender lawyer. She is currently at the top of her game and is very good at getting criminals off, however this weights heavily on her conscience. One evening she received a call on her personal mobile from a high profile CEO Jonathan Thomas Heun who needs a criminal defender lawyer having become a person of interest when his PA is goes missing and later turns up dead.

There is natural chemistry between Mina and her new client however she doesn’t mix business with pleasure and makes this crystal clear from the start, but there is something about Jonathan that Mina just can’t resist and this incredible thriller has a rather romantic twist which I liked.

I really enjoyed this book, just about every page had twists and turns and that really excites me. It was also nice to read something really original. Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review!
Profile Image for Susanne Leist.
Author 5 books582 followers
June 27, 2021
As a defense attorney for suspected murderers, Wilhelmina Green keeps her guilt buried inside. To help ease her guilt, Mina jumps from high cliffs and into dangerous water. When CEO Jonathan Thomas Heun hires her to defend him, Mina's nightmares intensify. Is Jonathan a monster or an innocent man? Either way, he haunts her dreams and nightmares. Thrust into the world of corporate power, Mina must work hard to save Jonathan and herself.
Profile Image for Laurie Buchanan.
Author 8 books357 followers
May 14, 2021
“A titillating tale, ELEMENTS OF SUBMISSION moves at a heart-racing clip as a steamy love-can-hurt-so-good courtship unfolds. The author deftly blends a provocative story with a thriller plot that builds from a nice slow burn with plenty of sizzle to a climactic explosion.”
Profile Image for Sheila Lowe.
Author 50 books204 followers
June 19, 2021
Intriguing mystery with hot sex. When high profile attorney Wilhelmina Green takes on a handsome billionaire client, she gets more than she bargained for--or exactly what she wants. You'll need a fan and a cold glass of water close by when you read this one.
Profile Image for Gisele Vezelay.
Author 9 books5 followers
December 9, 2021
LOVED this. The settings, the atmosphere, the clever use of physical danger in more than the most obvious... I'm inspired and want more novels with this kind of plotting. When will #2 be available???
Profile Image for Karolina.
72 reviews3 followers
September 26, 2022
3.5/5 stars

My initial thoughts reading this book is that it was somewhat slow in the beginning. As the book neared its climax it picked up but prior to that it was a slow read.

The book is about a high profile lawyer, named Wilhelmina Green (Mina as referred to by Johnathan), who defends high profile clients in criminal cases. One day a case arises and the infamous Jonathon Thomas Heun calls her to represent him as his lawyer. He is a suspect in a murder investigation of his former assistant. Throughout the book Mina starts to fall for Johnathan but she doesn't completely know if he is in fact innocent of the crime, since so much evidence points at him.

The book portrays an introduction into BDSM, a romance that is very much based on Johnathan being the dominant and Mina being the submissive between the two. While the writing of the sex scenes is juicy and leaves you wanting to read more, the actual part where the characters feelings are involved is lacking. I couldn't correlate their feelings to be ones of love or affection, it just felt like all they did when they were together was talk about the murder investigation or have sex with no talks of emotion before or after. I couldn't really see the characters fall in love.

However, the thriller and mystery part of the book was much more interesting. I felt as if I was always guessing to find out who the killer was and how it was all tied together. Every time I felt like it couldn't be Johnathan, something pointed in his direction.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this book for an honest review.

Profile Image for Jasmine.
353 reviews17 followers
July 5, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a free copy in exchange of an honest review. The book is about a criminal lawyer named Wilhelmina known as Wil to her friends or Mina to Jonathon who got famous for defending high profile clients who are definitely bad people. She meets Jonathon, “the most eligible bachelor” who wants her to represent him and from there she learns more about her sensuality and falling in love with her client but of course it’s forbidden and there’s the hangup on whether he’s innocent or not. The writing is honestly really good and definitely made me invested with the characters. I personally have never experienced what Mina experienced but the author made me somehow relate and understand her. Jonathon well there is an air of mystery around him. There are some parts that I do take issue like mentioning COVID 19 which took me out a bit. I know the character, Whitney is suspicious and Jonathon doesn’t trust her but calling her a “bisexual manipulator” just seems kinda off? Especially with Mina also kinda leaning both ways sexually. Anyway I wished there were more scenes on why and how they fell in love because idk it just seemed like they’re attracted sexually and like vampires. Since the book is inspired by Dracula I assume with the numerous Dracula and vampire references, I was half expecting a supernatural aspect but oh well. Maybe there’ll be a sequel? I hope so!
Profile Image for Sue Wallace .
7,407 reviews140 followers
July 10, 2022
The Client by Karissa Knight.
Mina's choice book 1.
Wilhelmina Green is the lawyer of choice for Chicago's wealthy offenders. Mina’s latest victory, the acquittal of a U.S. senator, has made her a media sensation. To the outside world she appears to have it all, but she’s still searching for a man with the strength to bring her dark fantasies to life.
CEO Jonathon Thomas Heun, a suspect in the death of his personal assistant, hires Mina to represent him. He slowly draws her into his seductive world of wealth and power as they investigate the murder. Despite her attraction to him Mina holds back, sensing Jonathon is keeping part of himself closed off from the world. And from her.
As the passion of their affair intensifies, Mina soon realizes her desires were just the beginning of an erotic dive into Jonathon’s lifestyle.
An OK read. Slow but readable with likeable characters. I didn't trust Jonathan or Travis. I did like Mina though. I would like to read more about Mina. I do hope there is more to come. 3*.
Profile Image for Maggie.
Author 26 books341 followers
July 21, 2024
I enjoy a good mystery, and Carissa Knight has it in The Client, the first book in the Mina’s Choice series. After reading the blurb, I wanted to read and review this book.

Wilhelmina Green, or Wil to her friends, or Mina to Jonathan, is a fiercely independent woman who’s more than proven how smart she is. As a criminal attorney, plenty of her clients are sketchy, but she enjoys working for the powerful firm, and representing these sketchy clients has made her one of the best attorneys in Chicago.

Read more here: https://wp.me/p12iNR-c0d
Profile Image for Amanda.
349 reviews24 followers
January 29, 2023
A hot and suspenseful read. Mina and Jonathan are a story of professional to personal, instant wicked heat, with the suspense of danger. This was outside of my usual rom-com genre and I really liked the added elements of danger that were in this book. I definitely want to read the next one in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Valerie Biel.
Author 10 books156 followers
November 17, 2021
Sexy suspense!
Love the main character—an in-control professional lawyer, mixed with a thrill-seeking cliff diver who has other steamy secrets. The author puts this intriguing character in the middle of a perfectly twist-y psychological thriller, creating a delicious beginning to a series that will have readers anxious for the next book. (I know I can’t wait.)
Profile Image for Piper.
1,775 reviews21 followers
September 6, 2022
As a defence attorney Wilhelmina has represented some characters. This is a quick-paced story which works well. Acting in her job as a defence lawyer she was hired to be the Ceo in a case about who assistant who they say the murdererer is This attraction shesheis intense and she intends to explore it.
216 reviews
April 12, 2025
Only ok

I like the premise, but the story was lacking in parts. This book would have been better as a straight murder mystery. I like sex scenes, but most of these were written as an afterthought. Also, when the author kept over describing rooms, what people were wearing, etc., it stopped the flow of the story. Ended up skipping numerous paragraphs.
252 reviews
August 24, 2022
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me this eArc to review.

Sadly, I did not like the heroine of this book and gave up fairly early on. The premise sounded interesting but it wasn't enough to keep me reading.
Profile Image for Christine Galletly.
1,125 reviews5 followers
September 14, 2022
I really enjoyed this story

It was a good storyline and the characters were well developed too, they worked really well together

Trust and truths win the day - it was a romantic and sexy story

It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended
418 reviews
September 17, 2022
ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and opinion. The character build up was really good but so many stories where happening at the same time. The author could not commit to a specific line to take her book. It was not a pleasurable read for me.
Profile Image for Illustrious Illusions.
1,220 reviews33 followers
November 2, 2023
Karissa Knight's "The Client" is a sizzling tale of forbidden attraction and suspense. Knight's well-drawn characters and a plot filled with twists make for an engaging read that's sure to captivate those who enjoy steamy romantic suspense.
Profile Image for Hannah.
258 reviews21 followers
August 2, 2022
I mean,,,, I didn’t hate it? Didn’t love it either. Feeling kinda meh about it.
Profile Image for Alyssa.
188 reviews1 follower
September 21, 2022
I enjoyed this book. I usually can guess who the bad guy is, but I didn't see the reveal at all.
1,247 reviews3 followers
October 21, 2022
I was torn on what to rate this book as I enjoyed parts but then it seemed really slow as times to the point that I wasn't going to finish it. I did enjoy Mina though.
Profile Image for Marjan Pourdavood.
162 reviews4 followers
March 22, 2023
Very suspenseful and action packed romance which pulled you into its dark web. Loved the characters and great plot line.
4 reviews
August 18, 2022
This book draws you in from the get go. It is a romantic book with thrilling events and even the ever going wonder if who done it. The writing style is unique and flows smoothly.. brand new author for me and I can't wait to continue the series.
Profile Image for Sue Wallace .
7,407 reviews140 followers
July 10, 2022
The Client by Karissa Knight.
Mina's choice book 1.
Wilhelmina Green is the lawyer of choice for Chicago's wealthy offenders. Mina’s latest victory, the acquittal of a U.S. senator, has made her a media sensation. To the outside world she appears to have it all, but she’s still searching for a man with the strength to bring her dark fantasies to life.
CEO Jonathon Thomas Heun, a suspect in the death of his personal assistant, hires Mina to represent him. He slowly draws her into his seductive world of wealth and power as they investigate the murder. Despite her attraction to him Mina holds back, sensing Jonathon is keeping part of himself closed off from the world. And from her.
As the passion of their affair intensifies, Mina soon realizes her desires were just the beginning of an erotic dive into Jonathon’s lifestyle.
An OK read. Slow but readable with likeable characters. I didn't trust Jonathan or Travis. I did like Mina though. I would like to read more about Mina. I do hope there is more to come. 3*.
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