Other Reviewers: Goodreads
This is an advance reader copy given to me by the author for an honest review. As with all of my review, these are my own opinions.
I recently reviewed another book of Rain Carrington, called Honky Tonk. While I overall enjoyed the book, my main concern was the rushed ending. So, when I got the opportunity to try Rebel Yells, I jumped at the chance to see if this one had a better ending and pacing.
Basic Plot:
Jack Colton is the local Sheriff who currently recovers from the loss of his long-time romantic partner, Martin. They were deeply in love and it has been hard for Jack to get back into dating. He’s lonely, but Jack is not sure if he will be ever ready to try love again.
Enter Rebel Marino, a hot young stud who rides into down on a Harley with lots of attitude. Funny thing is, the town doesn’t seem to like him any more than Rebels likes it. However, there is instant chemistry between Rebel and Jack. Can Rebel give Jack the spark to start living again? Can Jack be the something stable that Rebel has been yearning for?
Background:
This book deals with a lot of BDSM, Master/slave type. BDSM is one of those things where an author can make it “light, sexy time” or to a more lifestyle Master/slave intensity. Rain is used to writing BDSM, so I was ready to read something that was fairly accurate in depiction of the lifestyle.
Jack Colton:
Jack is a Dominant. We learn as the story goes along about his relationship with Martin. I do not want to give away their back story, as it is developed organically as the book proceeds.
Jack chuckled and got out of the car slowly walking along the narrow shoulder. As he approached the rider got off of the bike by swinging his leg over and then sat sideways on the seat. He turned his head and Jack stopped in his tracks. He was fucking beautiful. The cocky smile alone made feelings awaken in Jack that he had thought he buried with Martin. He pushed them away. Those feelings belonged to Martin and only Martin.
What we find out is that not only has Rebel awaken his physical desire, he has also awaken his desire to become a Master. What we find in Jack is someone who is not a perfect Dominant, he makes mistakes. What I like about how Rain creates this character is that he is not some sort of magical Dom who does everything perfectly every time. He has knowledge and skills, true, but he is also a human who can make some wrong assumptions and decisions.
Rebel Marino:
Rebel is a young, brash, and complicated person. On the surface he seems to be indifferent to life and settling down. However, what we find out is that he really has been searching for something, someone who could take care of the restlessness within. What Rebel finds out is that by accepting Jack as his Dom, the fears and anxiety within is lessened.
Dark like his past, like the things haunting him and the things he was bringing to Jack now. It wasn’t fair to Jack. All the man had done was treat him with loving kindness. He didn’t deserve the fear Rebel had inflicted on him finding his unconscious body. He deserved the world and as his tears continued to fall he resolved to give Jack everything he could, do anything to make him as happy as he possibly could.
The question becomes, can Rebel handle all of the emotions and questions that come to him as he begins his journey as a slave.
Theme Summary:
A theme can simply be “sometimes it takes finding another person to realize that something is missing within”. And that’s what we see here. Both men struggle with their own emotions. Jack is lonely but still missing his deceased lover, Martin. Rebel has been running away from his past and any possibility of stability. As their Master/slave dynamic evolves, then so does their relationship. Their relationship gives them an opportunity to full explore their own hidden needs. The conflict develops more out of them understanding their roles and outside influence rather than a “will they fall in love”.
Strong Points:
One of the strong points of this book are the sex scenes. Rain Carrington knows how to write a sex scene, certainly one of the hottest I have ever read. She manages to give us sex scenes that advance the romance / relationship development as well as provide extremely hot descriptions.
I enjoyed this book better than the last Carrington book. While I felt that Carrington understood what BDSM was in the last one, in this one she reaches deeper into the Master/slave dynamic. Master/slave story lines can often be off-putting to some readers. After all, it is more than just “Kinky in the bedroom”, so some folks might not feel comfortable reading about how Rebel willingly gives up control of his life. I know some people who have similar relationships as described here, so Rain’s writing is in the ball park.
What could be better?
Overall, I enjoyed the book. However, there was a part that I felt was not realistic either in “real-life” or in the BDSM world. Jack and Rebel “fall in love” fairly quickly in the book. Which is not a problem normally in a romance book. However, because this is a BDSM novel, “instant trust” can be dangerous.
Which is my problem #1. Rebel allows Jack a lot of fairly heavy BDSM activities which requires a lot of trust. I find it hard to believe that he would do this based on what we know about his history. In my opinion, even a person who is naturally submissive would struggle more with the role of a slave.
Problem #2: There is no contract. They agree to a trial of 30 days and they do not discuss a contract until near the end of the 30 days. I find it very hard to believe that a competent Dom would actually disregard the need to discuss the contract at this late date, especially because we are talking about a Master/slave rather than just a Top/bottom or Dominant/submissive relationship with someone who is new to the scene.
Did it hamper my enjoyment of the book? No. It just kinda irked me.
Conclusions:
I enjoyed this book, in fact, I was close to giving this a 4-star rating. But again the rushed ending (the entire Lonnie thing was odd to me) made me round down. Although I did enjoy this book more than Honky Tonk, it suffered from the same problems.
Yet, I have put Rain Carrington on my must read list of BDSM authors. She provides an entertaining story as well as some exciting sexual dynamics. I have a feeling that as she continues to develop her craft, my rating scores will increase. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Bea
Bea's Hive 