Tie Me Down Tuesday

Ok I have to start this blog with a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my daughter who turns 14 today. She is in Florida right now doing the World Strides trip with her school and this is the first time that she has ever been out of state without one of her parents. She is excited and I am a HOT MESS. LOL I know she will have a great time and will remember this week for the rest of her life. Now lets get to this weeks book, we are continuing with the Master's of the Shadowlands week by Cherise Sinclair. Rebecca called me after finishing the first book in the series and told me I had to stop whatever I was reading and buy these books immediately and can I just say THANKS!! WOW what a series! Now I realize that these kinds of stories may not be for everyone, but really once you get past the kink it comes down to a really great love story. I get to tell you about Master Dan and Kari and their story is the second in the series and is called Dark Citadel.

Dark Citadel, Cherise Sinclair, Loose-Id, April 2009
After Kari breaks up with her date during Beginner's Night at Club Shadowlands, she's given the option to continue with an experienced dominant. Despite her steamy fantasies about BDSM, the inexperienced schoolteacher plans to simply observe. Yet under the unyielding hands of Master Dan, she not only participates, but gives him everything he asks for. There is nothing she can hide from him. Not her passion…or her love.
Still mourning the death of his wife, Master Dan avoids getting involved with women and he never takes a sub twice. But this modest little beginner is such a sweetie, one night is far from enough. As he plumbs her responses, taking her ever deeper into the world of BDSM, the gentle submissive begins to show him how barren his life has become and what a dark citadel he's made of his heart.
During their three nights together, the teacher will learn to submit...can she teach the master to love?

Kari is a school teacher that has been told she is a cold fish when it comes to sex. Her current boyfriend wants to tie her up during sex and while it sounds intriguing she doesn't trust him enough to try it. So they go to Club Shadowlands for their newbie D/s classes. When Buck becomes aggressive and possessive she decides to leave, but Master Z stops her on her way out and talks her into staying under the tutelage of Master Dan. After an intense session with Master Dan, Kari is hurt when he leaves her abruptly but learns that Master Dan never takes the same sub twice.

Master Dan is having a hard time forgetting the new subbie. After leaving her the first night he is determined not to play with her again but when he walks in that second night and hears Master Cullen calling her "his sub" there is no way he is going to allow that to happen. He tries to fight his attraction to Kari and ends up confusing her and hurting her. He just can't seem to get over the guilt that he feels for his late wife's death, even though her accident was not his fault.

The two agree to just keep the relationship about sex and Master Dan teaching Kari how to be a good sub. After several sessions in which Master Dan pushes her beyond her expectations and perceived limits they grow closer but Master Dan still refuses to acknowledge his feelings. One night in the capture garden the conflicting signals come to a head and neither will come out unscathed.

The emotional roller coaster that Master Dan sends Kari on is quite the ride. I seriously wanted to punch him every time he pulled away from her. I hurt for her. It's amazing to me how some authors in just a few pages can suck you so far into a story you come out the other end feeling like you just ran a marathon. For me, Ms. Sinclair is one of those authors. She takes you into a world that not a lot of us really know that much about and the way that she describes and walks you through it makes you feel like you are there. She explains the world in a way that at the end you understand that being a submissive doesn't mean you are weak or a doormat. She underlines the importance of honesty and trust that has to be there for a relationship like this to work. She has become one of my auto-buy authors...club this is Cherise, Cherise this is the club, welcome! I give Dark Citadel 5 chocolate dipped strawberries and a warm subbie blankie to help you come down from the experience.