Sins of Arrogance

Creatures of Sin #1

by India Harper

(Gay / Contemporary / Mystery / Detective / Suspense / Thriller / BDSM / Series) Carver Eliot, who has always played fast and loose with the rules, finds himself demoted and reassigned to the backwaters of Pittsburgh's police force after being caught in flagrante delicto with the key witness for a case he was working. Still cocky, Carver arrives at Zone Six, willing to play the game until the dust settles. The lieutenant overseeing the department, however, has other ideas. Lieutenant David Logan has followed the rules and worked hard to earn his high rank by the young age of twenty-eight. Carver's arrival threatens to disrupt the efficiency of the quiet department. At the urging of his commanding officer, David takes on Carver to curb his brash, hot-headed tendencies. What he didn't count on, however, is the chaos that his attraction to Carver brings to his well-ordered life. David's unorthodox training methods capture Carver's attention, and the two men of opposing temperaments find themselves growing closer as the weeks pass. When Carver becomes a suspect in a carjacking ring, they find their relationship tested before it's even begun...

Genres: M M Romance, BDSM, Contemporary, Romance, Mystery, Erotica, Thriller

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2009

About the author

You might already be acquainted with us in our individual guises of Philippa Grey-Gerou (India) and Emery Sanborne (Harper). We have been writing together for about five years, two of those professionally, and finally decided that since we share a brain, sharing a name only makes sense. As our co-written stories tend to be a little darker and have a slightly harder edge than our solo words, the separate identity comes in handy. The fact that we don’t have to worry about who gets top billing doesn’t hurt either. Plus, no confusion on where to shelve us! Our stories under the name India Harper have a slightly harder edge as we explore predominately male/male relationships in the rich environments of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Emery lives in Philadelphia with her cat, while Grey lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with a less well behaved zoo.

Source: www.indiaharper.com

Reviews

[DaisyGirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 Star

Obviously, this one didn't work for me. While some reviewers complained about Carver, my problem was more with David. I simply didn't like him. Although Carver had his issues (namely, immaturity and poor impulse control), he was generally up-and-up. David was too ... too ... just too much. Too full of himself. Too stand-offish. Too got-a-stick-up-his-ass. Too cocky. Too I'm-better-at-everthing from darts to sex to working undercover. Barf.

To add insult to injury, the plot was ridiculous and ran ramshod over criminal laws and procedure. The U.S. Constitution ... what's that?!? 4th Amendment prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure ... huh?

Bottom line: Nu-uh.

[ElaineY · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked from the first page and while the abrupt ending detracted from my satisfaction, Sins of Arrogance is one of the most enjoyable MM cop romances I've read this year. This is supposed to be Book 1 of the Creatures of Sin series and I'm guessing David's and Carver's story will continue from here.

I took to both the characters right from the start even if Carver's entry was a rather ignominious one and got him transferred to Zone Six, which is sort of where cops go to die. Despite its reputation, Zone Six does have some good cops and one of them, David Logan, certainly doesn't fit. There's obviously more to David's past but we don't get much of a look into it or how someone like him ended up in this cop graveyard. He's always well turned out and obviously has money whereas Carver is a slob and appears to live from paycheck to paycheck. Thank God I only found out AFTER he'd grown on me and by then, I loved the two men and was rooting for them all the way.

The sex is hot and angry much of the time and even when the two men are not within touching distance, it's intense enough to make my PC smoke. Their D/s relationship (with Carver as reluctant sub to David's Dom) starts casually and subtly such that I wouldn't have classified this a BDSM story but in the end, it is...and a beautiful one for someone like me who's not a fan of this subgenre.

Carver's intro into the story doesn't set him up in a good light but somehow the authors (Emery Sanborne & Philippa Grey-Gerou) got me to overlook that. Anyway, thankfully, Carver's got enough good sense to know this is his last chance to save his career after being caught for fucking a witness. David, when he first encounters Carver, is full of understandable disdain. Carver sees David as one more person to provoke and David sees Carver as what the latter is exactly - constantly short-changing himself, too cocky and stubborn for his own good.

But David wants him all the same. Ditto for Carver where David is concerned. Their sexual chemistry in and out of the office made this story a page-turner for me. At no time did I get tired of following David's efforts to 'reform' Carver and as the relationship developed, as I saw the vulnerabilities surface in each man, I realized that the D/s aspect of BDSM is one I can enjoy, especially when, in the end, the Dom himself realizes he wasn't all that in control after all.

The HFN ending was fine but definitely unfinished because they hadn't wrapped up the car-jacking case which implicated Carver and I need to have those Three Little Words between these two guys. Omigawd, if any two guys need to break down and say them to each other, it's these two!

I'd say this was one of the better-developed relationships in this genre; the authors took time to bring out the various nuances and shades. Yeah, I loved it.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good read for people who like m/m lit featuring police detectives, light BDSM, a fair amount of hot sex and decent character development.

SOA is the story of police detective Carver Eliot who is so reckless he is about to be thrown off the force. When he is assigned to a new precinct, his Lieutenant David Logan tries to teach him some self discipline by using dominance/submission training techniques. The twist is that David, who assumes the dominate role here, was a sub in the past and is mourning the loss of his former lover/master. So the real focus of the story is David coming to terms with who he is now and where he wants his life and his relationship with Carver to go in the future.

It is my understanding that this book is the first in a series. I look forward to learning more about these characters in the next installment.

The writing is lively and concise. There is a good deal of humor as well as angst. There are a few typos in the text and the cover art is down right silly, but both are forgivable.

[JustJen "Miss Conduct" · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It took me a while to warm up to Carver in this story, and even when I did, I kept thinking he was a pretty immature kind of guy always losing control, failing at anger management, etc. And they let him carry a gun? Wow. But, once I got past that, and we are introduced to seemingly straight-laced David, he really started to grow on me. Carver becomes somewhat of a pet project for David when he takes on the job of helping Carver gain some control.

There is a bit of mystery in play here when Carver appears to be the victim of a set up, and we never really get closure on that aspect of the story.

I really enjoyed Carver and David's sessions. The sparring, banter and sex was quite enjoyable. I really wish we had gotten a little more background on David's past; maybe in future stories. The ending is also rather rushed and abrupt, leaving a few loose ends. I'm interested enough to continue on with this series, so hopefully I'll find some answers there.

[Skye Blue ☆*~ﾟლ(´ڡ`ლ)~*☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

I feel really bad, that I was so reluctant to read this. It turned out to be a good read.

The suspense/thriller portion, didn't rank that high for me. But I really enjoyed the story.

Carver had no impulse control. David decided to use D/s to help him. He was experienced as a sub. I was really interested to learn about his past, but it was barely hinted at. I would have liked to know more about his previous relationship. David was a little stiff, but he was interesting. I was a little surprised that David would make his moves at work, even if off duty. It seemed out of character, but it worked for the story. Pretty hot too. Carver grew on me a little at a time.

Enjoyable story.

[FloJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has potential. Take it off line and re-write it you two. We need to know much much more about why David is like he is. Who was Robin, a fellow police officer/Dom/Sub. What happened to him. Where did David get his money? Was he a sub and is now a dom?
The ending - what happened? Did you suddenly realise you had written 30000 words and that was all you were contracted for?
Having got that off my chest, this was an ok read that posed far more questions than it answered. I have given it 3 stars because it was marginally better than Eye of the Beholder which I also reviewed today, but really it is probably only 2.25 stars.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good story, but I think it had the potential to be great. I really liked how flawed both characters were and India Harper's writing style. The only thing holding it back from 5 stars were several loose ends that were never really explained. I would have liked to see a little more of David's past. I never really quite understood what made him tick.

[Kassa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is interestingly labeled with a bunch of labels such as thriller, mystery, and suspense over on the publisher’s site but none of them apply except BDSM. Harper has given the first in what appears to be a series of books but the entire book focuses on the D/s relationship between Carver and David. Although they are both cops and this does pose problems towards the end, the focus of the story never waivers from David training Carver to control his impulses and rash behavior. There is a lot of hot sex involved and certainly an edge of kink but it stays pretty firmly within dominance and control boundaries and somewhat casually so. So if you’re interested in a book about casual BDSM with strict role definitions with a police backdrop, check this out.

The plot revolves around Carver being re-assigned to David’s police zone after Carver was fucked ~ literally and figuratively. Now the department’s problem child is given to control freak David Logan to handle and he certainly throws himself into the role with relish. David decides that a good game of D/s will teach Carver control over his emotions and temper, bringing him under David’s firm hand ~ in all ways. Thus the careful choices David makes sometimes backfire but mostly achieve their goal as Carver craves the domination David willingly offers. Their relationship has a few rocky moments as well as a random aside about Carver being a suspect in carjacking, but really those are unnecessary and simply ignored for the most part.

The focus is clearly on the hot, kinky sex between Carver and David and unfortunately as entertaining as this is, neither man is really explored beyond the obvious. Carver is rash, emotional, explosive, and a hothead that causes numerous problems within his job but his carefree attitude is rarely dented. With David’s domination Carver becomes more controlled, respectful, going so far as to keep his house clean and show up to work early. Clearly the man just needed a firm hand, but his past motivations, needs, desires and much more than anything besides sex with David is never examined. It’s all about wanting, needing, and having sex with the added context of dominance and submission.

Similarly, David is very tight laced and controlled, often being teased as a machine or robot by Carver but it’s not far off. There are subtle references to David having been trained as a sub and the reason for his tight control but nothing is ever explained or offered. The regiment David insists upon for himself skirts the line of destructive as he rarely can let it go even slightly. The altruistic reasoning David tries to sell himself on as the purpose for having sex with Carver is thin but thankfully not dwelt upon as the entirety of interaction between the two men revolve around the buildup and dance of D/s. It would have helped to have more to the men beyond their obvious chemistry as often I still wanted to know more about their pasts and choices.

Thankfully the book is not entirely kinky sex and there is always the background of being detectives that eases the tension and heat level even if these scenes are largely irrelevant to the plot and characters. These added details do help create a more easily read story that attempts to bring in more elements to the erotica. The secondary character of Scotty was fun and delightful as a strong woman who can back up her claims but still has an edge of femininity and humor to her. The scene with Scotty, Rick, Carver, and David having dinner together near the end of the book was a great scene with a lot of humor and casual affection. This scene was an example of why the book was easy to read and entertaining even if it lacks much beyond the sex.

For an introduction to some interesting and hot men, this book will peak your interest if you like D/s. As the ending is rather abrupt and left hanging, I can assume it will pick up from there in the next book (or hope so anyway). The writing was clean and easy to read making the book a fast read with a lot of sex scenes so there is no shortage of tension and chemistry swirling within the pages. The blending of two authors into one was rather successful and well done. I’m intrigued enough to look forward to the next book.

[Smith Barney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Potential was there had the BDSM aspect not been so stiffly rehearsed and executed. The character blue-print was way off the mark, as well..considering David's demeanor was not that of a 28-year-old. His backstory..one-dimensionally-yawning-material.

But I did enjoy the law enforcement aspect of the storyline and some of the beginning steam-build-up was nicely sexy.

[Caro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read, nothing special - characters were pretty one dimensional and nothing really happened or came to a conclusion that was of any real interest. Did finish though.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the end I liked it. I'd be willing to read more about Carver and David! Unfortunately who knows when that will be!
You might want to wait until the entire series is out though! Happy reading.

[JD Waggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up because this wasn't actually awful.
I'm aware that that's a terrible way to start a review but y'all, I am so tired of m/m romances being horrendously misogynistic, weirdly awkward, and obsessed with gender roles. This one isn't that (or at least, isn't that *much* because there are a few moments of gender roles with the only female character that are just foolish, but they're few and near the end of the book).
The cover is ludicrous, but the story itself is actually engaging. Carver Eliot, a hothead (whom I'm surprised ever made it past basic training, but heyo suspension of disbelief) who miraculously doesn't get tossed off the police force for sleeping with a witness, gets noticed by David Logan, resident by-the-book lieutenant. Shenanigans ensue.
Is this tropey beyond belief? Sure, but in a fun way; this is beach read extraordinaire. There are a lot of plot lines that get left untied and the ending is very abrupt, but that makes more sense once I realized this is the first of a series. I might even track down the rest of the series.
Also? The sex is believable. I know that's an odd thing to praise, but man, some writers seem like they've never taken a biology or a physics class when they write. Harper's scenes are possible and sexy--but fair warning, they dance the tango over the line of safe-sane-consensual. Don't learn your D/s etiquette from smutty novellas, friends.
So all in all, it's not terrible. Given some of the horrifying drivel I've read recently, that's actually pretty high praise.

[Genise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is going to be a 3-fer review, as I read the 3 main CoS books consecutively, and enjoyed them all. I gave the series to-date an overall average of 4, because it works as a series, but not, I think, as individual books.

I will say up front that I like the way they handle the "police work" aspects of the story. There is nothing exotic about what they do. No sneaky science, or impossible scenarios. It's just believable, and interesting. But, for me, the main story is the romance between David and Carver, and that is where I will focus the bulk of this review.

My favorite book of the three was Sins of Omission, because a lot of questions that were raised in book one were answered in this book, and, the two books together could have stood without further embellishment (although I'm pleased to see the series is going to continue). I had a bit of trouble settling into the abrupt change between past and present, since there was no clear delineation, except for the chapter breaks, but once I figured that out, I was good with it. I really appreciated the glimpse into the how of David's persona. I was also pleased to see that both Carver and David finally took the time to decide what kind of relationship they were going to be involved in. I was disconcerted in the first book when David basically manhandled Carver into a D/s relationship without ever giving him a choice. Which, by the way, is also why I was somewhat perturbed by David's reaction when Carver asked David to play the sub as part of the undercover investigation.

Sins of Affection brings back Lucas, the gigolo who is the excuse behind Carver's demotion and reassignment to Zone 6. I say "excuse" because it sounded like he was on his way out anyway. I wonder if we will ever find out why, if he was such a good cop, Carver was so bent on self-destruction? There would have to be more to it than we currently know. This was my least favorite of the three books because I am not fond of couple-becomes-three menage stories. I always find it curious that so many stories devolve into threesomes, even when there is love between two characters. Am I missing an "accepted" wisdom somewhere, or is this just the newest trend in erotica? But, I digress. The redeeming factor for me, and why I will continue to read the series is that Lucas (the temporary third), bowed out gracefully at the end. I hope we get a story that finds him with his true mate.

[Heidi Cullinan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really debated on how to rate this, and I nearly did not give stars. I still might go back and change it. Were it not for the beginning and the end, it would be a five, but the beginning and the end are to me the most important parts of a book, and their less than ideal state bother me quite a bit.

The story is great. I love the characters. I love their relationship, and I love their conflict. The banter was fun, the sex was good, and it was all very well-paced. I have to say, though, that if this hadn't been assigned to me as a challenge, reading the opening scene would have made me put it down. I didn't bond to Carver until he was in District Six, and that was quite a ways in. Based on the opening scene with Luke, hot as the sex was, had no character introduction to me. Having read the whole thing, I get it now, but as a reader I don't want to have to work to figure that out.

The end. The end was unsatisfying to me, and very abrupt. In fact, I didn't realize I was at the end until I realized I was reading the author information instead of story. I did expect a happy end, and I think it was trying to give me one, but it happened so fast and was mostly a, "Well, it's better this way, right?" sort of thing, but I was told, not shown. It left me leaving it frowning.

It was a good cop novel. It had excellent characters. It had wonderful internal dynamics. Wonderful sense of place and description. The structure was off, and that's a bummer. A two for the beginning and end, a five for the middle, but man, those beginning and ends are vital. Rounds to a three for me.

Still. Not sorry I read it at all. Just wasn't as good an overall experience as I'd have wanted.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was a good story and but I think it could have been a lot better, there was a lot of potential. David was a little frustrating and in the beginning all I thought was he was a tease. I think if the author had told us more about his past, it would have explained a lot more about why he was the way he was and I am hoping that it will be explained more in the next book which I plan on reading, because there are a lot of unanswered questions. I liked Carver and David together, but I also think that Carver, who was originally portrayed as strong willed, would not have caved in so fast to David. I would have been very frustrated at how this seemed to abruptly come to an end without really tying up the loose ends if it wasn't for the fact that I know there is a next book and will see how the author continues and if we are given answers.

[Antisocial Recluse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read 2/12/16A little slow going.

I liked this, especially since I already know there's a sequel. It was a little slow in parts but I enjoyed the unusual approach to David and Carver getting together. Those little hints of David's past are intriguing. Definitely not an action story but engaging nonetheless.

Reread 4/20/16 got the rest of the series for a bargain, so I'm starting over!

So, I'll leave my rating. We're there problems with some of the story? Yes, as well as little character building except what we learned through the interactions. I'm assuming I'll get more in subsequent books. But I'll forgive a lot with this many really good sex scenes!

I never mentioned my other concern. How did David get to be a detective lieutenant at the age of 28? That seems way too young.

[Lillian Francis]

Despite some reservations about the bdsm elements in this story (and the frankly dubcon nature of their first encounter) I still found myself rooting for the MCs to get their heads out of their backsides to sort things out. Based on the development of the relationship to that point I'm happy with the way things were resolved.
There are a further 5 books in this series but I don't be reading them. Not because I don't care for the characters, but because by the end I did care for them both. And from what I've read of the blurbs and some reviews I don't think I'd like the way the authors decided to take their story. So I'm going to leave them to live on in my head the way I want things to pan out.

[Soami]

Can someone tell me why this has made a couple of Worst Cover lists?
Have they replaced it or something?

Oh, is it the severed torso effect? When you click the image, he has pants on... all in all, this is far better than many covers. The top of the gun is even placed perfectly and takes on the look of his eye...

Just wondering :)

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the feeling of urgency that I got from Carver and David. They were smoking hot together and I savored every moment of the Dom, David and the Semi- sub, Carver. If the plot was more fleshed out and the end was a little different, this read would have been 5 stars. Highly recommended for readers who like a little dominance in the bedroom... Err, shower, well anywhere actually.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I'm starting the Creature's of Sin Series today, we'll see how it goes. Okay, so I finished this one today and I enjoyed it, I like the banter between Carver and David. Can't wait to start the next one.

[Marianne Boutet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice read. I didn't like Carver much at the start, but he definitely grew on me. David was great as the dom who brings Carver under his thumb. Good story, good characters. Well worth the time reading.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this story of good cop helping bad cop get his act together through D/s. (Kind of made me want to hire David to whip my husband into shape as well.) nice balance between the growing reltionship and a bit of a mystery (though not a particularly complicated one).

[Natsroshan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 stars.
Great story. I really liked the dynamic of the relationship between David and Carver.
My only complain (a little one) is that i would like to have more answers on David's past!

[TaraG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! Hot cops, light domestic discipline, good secondary female character.

[☔️ Stormy Day Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

My rating is a bit low despite liking the characters mostly because I'm not really into erotica. Also, the "mystery" was pretty boring and totally predictable.