[ARCHIVE] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of Freed

STACEY KENNEDY is the USA Today bestselling author of the CLUB SIN series. Growing up, Stacey’s mind wandered the path less traveled and that path most often led to love. She has always broken rules and she continues to feed off emotion – staying true to her heart. Those traits are now the bones of her stories. She lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, who puts any of the heroes in her books to shame, and their two young children. If she’s not on mom duty or plugging away at a new story, you’ll find Stacey camping in the summer, hibernating in the winter and obsessing over Penny Dreadful, Game of Thrones and Sons of Anarchy.

Connect with Stacey:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Freed

CLUB SIN Book #4

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Mary Schmidt knows only too well how thrilling a Master’s touch can be. Her husband, Charles, had been her ultimate fantasy, a seducer in the erotic dance of dominance and submission. She misses the sensual lifestyle they shared, but mourns him so deeply she cannot bear to embrace her submissive needs with another Dom—until a man who exudes temptation reawakens desires she can no longer deny.

Elliott Foster is dazzled by Mary. He instantly knows that she’s the woman he’s been waiting for—a woman who turns games into need. As her Master, he dares to unlock the deepest pleasures of her flesh, releasing her from pain and healing her mind. When Mary’s lithe body comes to life under his, he knows their connection goes beyond sex. Now that he has found the perfect woman, the perfect partner, the perfect submissive, he desires only to give her everything she craves.

Freed is an erotic romance intended for mature audiences.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Vivacious Valkyrie - Marta (with thoughts from Pack Alpha, Chelle):

*Copy gifted in exchange for an honest review

This is part of the Club Sin series but the author has cleverly changed the format entirely with this story and the "action" does not take place at the ubiquitous club. No this story has a completely different feel to it as the central characters are not young thrill seekers but rather a mature couple who both understand fully the lifestyle that so many wish to emulate .
Mary is a character who has been on the fringes of the Club Sin storyline. She's a woman no longer in her first flush of youth but not quite over the hill yet! Mary lost Charles, the love of her life just four short years ago and has never truly healed. Charles was the perfect Dominant to Mary's natural Submissive nature and their marriage was everything the couple had ever dreamed of but now Mary has put romance behind her.
Elliott has never really found the perfect partner for him and has no desire to settle for less than what he needs. Meeting Mary quite by chance he sees a woman whose very essence seems to be crying out for the type of release that he is capable of giving. Mary has no place in her life for a permanent man and her heart is still consumed with her memories of Charles . Yet she takes a risk and agrees to one night with Elliott but for Elliott that will never be enough. He sees the pain she hides and more importantly he sees the woman and Mary is the perfect woman for him. If only Mary could see that!
Our heroine Mary lost the love of her life and has not allowed herself to grieve properly. True grief has many stages and it's all too easy to lose yourself to it. Mary needs to heal but the only way she can do that is by opening herself up and allowing herself to feel again and I feel she was a very lucky lady indeed to meet Elliott. I found Elliott to be a complete revelation and his patience with Mary opened up the story to showcase that BDSM is not just about pleasure and pain it's also about trust and understanding . We all have needs and it was wonderful that the author chose an older couple for this story as not everyone is young and nubile! What I felt uncomfortable with was the sheer amount of time Mary thought about her late husband whilst in the arms of Elliott. I understand that it was difficult for her but I thought it eclipsed the storyline a tad as it was difficult to believe that she was truly falling in love with Elliot. That being said I'm glad that Elliott was not deterred and love could find a way.

Notes from Chelle: Another sinfully sexy CLUB SIN book by Ms. Kennedy. I'm still amazed how she can suck me in with these, not being - for the most part - a fan of BDSM. It's just a sign of good writing. :)

FREED