Bound to Submit (Blasphemy) – book review

Bound to Submit
by Laura Kaye
Release Date:  October 11, 2016
Publisher: self-published
Book #1 in the Blasphemy series
Number of Pages:  172
Kindle edition
Source:  Amazon Purchase
Erotic Romance
Ages 17 and up
CW: military PTSD
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He thinks he caused her pain, but she knows he’s the only one who can heal her…

Kenna Sloane lost her career and her arm in the Marines, and now she feels like she’s losing herself. Submission is the only thing that ever freed her from pain and made her feel secure, and Kenna needs to serve again. Bad. The only problem is the Dom she wants once refused her submission and broke her heart, but, scarred on the inside and out, she’s not looking for love this time. She’s not even sure she’s capable.

Griffin Hudson is haunted by the mistakes that cost him the only woman he ever loved. Now she’s back at his club, Blasphemy, and more beautiful than ever, and she’s asking for his help with the pain he knows he caused. Even though he’s scared to hurt her again, he can’t refuse her, because he’d give anything to earn a second chance. And this time, he’ll hold on forever.

Sometimes I really wonder at the way things happen in the universe. Back a few years ago I came across the third book in this series, Theirs to Take, in an anthology titled Three of a Kind. I enjoyed the story and, when realizing it was not the first in the series, set out to find the first book to read. At the time I didn’t have access to the first story so decided to read the author’s Hard Ink series instead. I adore that series, as well as its spin-off series Raven Riders. To put it bluntly, I don’t know if I would have so actively sought out this author’s books if I had read this story first. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either.

Because this story isn’t long, the author made some decisions that made sense but I feel may have affected my overall attachment to the characters. Kenna is a veteran who lost her arm, and more, in an IED explosion. We meet Kenna about 2 years after the incident and her discharge from the Marines. She’s dealing with a lot, but because we haven’t visited this “before” time it feels like a lot of telling.

Griffin is a Dom (and part owner) of a kink club Kenna used to frequent. She also was in love with Griffin and was his submissive for a time before she enlisted. When Griffin turned down the chance to have a deeper relationship with Kenna five years ago, he never got to tell her he regretted the choice because she left town so quickly, she wasn’t around when he went to find her and beg for her forgiveness. We don’t see any of this, it all happens before the story starts and there are no real moments where we get to feel those past emotions.

Don’t get me wrong, these two do actually have good chemistry. The story is touching and sexy. I just felt we got a lot of surface information on the characters and Kenna’s injuries, but no depth. Kenna lost her arm but it almost seems as though it’s used for a plot point and thrown to the wayside once it’s addressed by the couple.

That being said, I still found all of the characters very enjoyable and I will read the next story to see how things progress in the Blasphemy world. I have enjoyed all of the other stories from this author that I’ve read, so I’m still interested in reading more. And, honestly, a 3-star rating from me isn’t bad. It’s not what I’m used to from this author, but not bad.

3 stars