Friday, February 12, 2016

Enthrall Series by Vanessa Fewings

The Enthrall series consists of 5 books in all, and although the last two- Cameron's Control and Cameron's Contract- are technically part of a separate series, you can't read one without the other. So to speak.

The journey begins with wide-eyed Mia (from whose point of view we are seeing the story) going to work for a secret, high-end BDSM club. Okay, let me put this out there in the universe. Is there some secret mandate that says ALL heroines MUST BE VIRGINS? wtf? What's wrong with a woman of experience? Huh? Huh?

Okay, mini-rant over. Anyway, Mia goes to work for Enthrall. The reasons are myriad that influence Mia's journey into the BDSM world, reasons I'm not going to tell you because that's part of the fun. But things are not always what they seem at first look.  Mia falls for Richard, the club's dom. Sexual situations ensue. So much fun, and actual heart-rending emotional connections are made with the characters.

Enthrall Her (which oddly was difficult for me to acquire because of a  link issue with B&N, but I digress) brings Mia further into the world of Enthrall and Chrysalis. Characters from Enthrall are here and doing their joyfully hedonistic best to make LA an interesting kind of town. They succeed. Cameron is called upon to...erm..assist Mia become a better sub to Richard. Part of this process is dealing with her incredibly crappy childhood, or lack thereof. The section is heartbreaking and triumphant at the same time. Enthrall Her doesn't end here, however. It's just a brilliant lead-in to...

Enthrall Him. Cameron gets as good as he's given. A frantic escape from a menacing businessman bring Mia and Cameron closer together as they flee to Europe. As anyone knows, urgent situations create urgent relationships. Mia and Richard's relationship is scrutinized under the microscope of Cameron's burgeoning feelings for his friend's sub. An uneasy situation at best. Honestly, I cried a little. At erotica. Because let's face it, this is an action/adventure/romance with some BDSM thrown in. And that's just dandy with me.

Cameron's Control and Cameron's Contract (written from Cameron's POV) continue the fun and the suspense ratchets up. Tension is rife in the Cameron/Mia/Richard dynamic, and one never quite knows what's going to happen. The psychological tension Fewings creates is believable and thrilling.

Like I stated in my first post, I'm not going to iterate the entire series' plots, etc. I say all the above to say things like this: Fewings has accomplished what Laurell Hamilton has only dreamed of doing. Creating a series that combines action/adventure/suspense/eroticism in a way that leaves the reader desperately wanting more. Her characters are fresh, original, intelligent, and believable. Which is frankly difficult to do with one of these "billionaire meets virgin" genre books. I mean seriously, booksellers, smashwords, whoeverthehell who publishes are rife with these books. I've read, or started reading, a few of them. And then stopped. Either the characters left me utterly cold, or the attempts to be sexy or sexual just fell so flat as to be a huge turn-off. I again reference Laurell Hamilton.

I am now a huge fan of Vanessa Fewings. Have I mentioned the role BookBub has played here? I received Enthrall for free from BookBub and was hooked on the series. The Bub does a great service to authors and readers alike. Had I not received the freebie, I would never have read the rest of this exciting series, and I wouldn't have a brand-new favorite author. So, if you've not signed up for BookBub, I highly encourage it. And did I mention? The free stuff? Free!

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