Angela @ Touch the Night

It's been a long hiatus between books - from 2011 to 2013 - in this series, and then an even longer one for me. I didn't read this book until just a few days ago. I admit that Master Sam made me uncomfortable. I liked him whenever he showed up in the other books, but I wasn't sure how I felt about reading and entire book with his sadism at the fore.

Fortunately, once again, I needn't have worried. Cherise Sinclair took me well past my comfort zone and made me love this book. Sam and Linda are a perfect match, and seeing them recognize who they are - separately and together - is incredibly satisfying.

Linda has healed a lot since her involvement with the slavers (that we were first introduced to in Make Me, Sir). She's had a few months to heal and has started to get her life back on track. But she's also denying a very important part of herself - that she's a masochist and needs pain to feel complete. Again, this isn't something I understand at all, but I thought Ms. Sinclair did a wonderful job of showing Linda's needs and how she comes to terms with them.

Sam's need to be a sadist is a bit more unclear to me. I understand that he gets something out of the exchange, but I'm still not sure what. And that's okay. While I would never be okay with a lot of the things that Sam and Linda enjoy, I understood that they did - and that made me love this book ... even when I was supremely uncomfortable.

Cherise Sinclair's Masters of the Shadowlands series is still a favorite for me. And with Sally's book - one I feel like I've been waiting forever for - up next, it seems it's going to continue to be great.