A Buckeye Girl Reads: Review: Enslaved by Sydney Somers

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Review: Enslaved by Sydney Somers

Title: Enslaved
Author: Sydney Somers

Genre: Futuristic Romance/Erotica

Number of Pages: 124

Publisher: Samhain

Source: Sent to me by the author to read

She's got him right where he wants her. Dominion sentinel Kaela Garrett will go to any lengths to gather evidence against a suspected traitor, even if it means auctioning off her body to the highest bidder. Posing as a slave should have been the perfect cover to gain access to an exclusive gala. Only she hadn't anticipated a sexy treasure salvager with a grudge outbidding everyone--including her mark--to possess her. Lorcan Hunt can't believe the very sentinel who had him arrested six weeks ago is on the auction block, completely at his mercy. What better way to get even--and pass the time until his next job--than force her to submit to every new and wicked revenge he can imagine? His every demand for her submission, however, comes with a price: a burning need that slides under his skin and grows stronger with every concession she makes. When Kaela finally gives in to the fierce desire between them, Lorcan finds himself hopelessly caught in an impossible choice. Honor the commitment binding him to his next job--or hold onto the one woman he can never have. This book contains a fiery battle of wills, the frequent use of restraints, seductive escape attempts and the kind of hot, explicit take-you-to-the-edge sex that comes only from complete surrender--heart, body and soul

Enslaved is a fast paced futuristic erotic romance. Every now and then I love reading outside my little box of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romances. There were some really sizzling steamy scenes between Lorcan and Kaela in a dressing room, on a table and up against a wall. This book is not for the faint of heart and deals with some issues like sex slavery and restraints that might be uncomfortable to read about.

I thought that Sydney Somers handled the whole issue of slavery well, because Kaela wasn't really meant to be a slave-she was supposed to be going undercover on an assignment, and she gives Lorcan a run for his money in the battle of wills. She just wouldn't give in to Lorcans demands, but Lorcan wouldn't give up. He kept trying to make her squirm and feel uncomfortable as payback for arresting him but everything he tried backfired, and he gradually realizes that he admires Kaela for her independence and refusal to back down.

Kaela is used to everything being in black and white, and when she realizes that she may have been wrong for arresting Lorcan it startles her and she starts looking at him in a different light and thinks she might have some feelings for him. Just when Kaela is starting to see him differently she learns that Lorcan has brought her on the ship where the gala is being held that she was supposed to be at for her undercover assignment. Kaela decides to continue her undercover assignment even though she's in a different role then originally assigned to. Lorcan however, is at the gala to take back an artifact that was stolen from him. He does everything possible to keep Kaela out of the way.

I read Enslaved in one sitting, and while I loved the tension between Kaela and Lorcan, and enjoyed the steamy love scenes, I had a hard time being convinced of the romance between Kaela and Lorcan and I'm not sure why, because all the elements were there for the chemistry to work, but

Kaela and Lorcan's personalities were hard to like at times. I think Lorcan fell for Kaela to quick, and that she fought her feelings for too long. Kaela was really tough, and that made her hard to warm up to, but by the end of the book I understood where she was coming from and liked her better, I just wish it had come sooner so I could like her before the last chapter. I also wish that instead of fighting each other so much, that Kaela and Lorcan would have joined forces earlier to fight against their common enemy instead hiding their true goals from each other.

Enslaved was very different from the Gargoyle Series that I just love to pieces. While I didn't enjoy this novella as much as the Pendragon brothers series, I can't wait to try the other genres that Sydney Somers writes because she writes such great steamy love scenes.

I give this novella two Buckeyes: