Review – Yours to Take by Joely Sue Burkhart

Publisher: Samhain
Publish Date: May 8th
How I got this book: eARC from author

The day one of her old clients gunned down a cop, former defense attorney Vicki Connagher lost everything—her passion for justice, and her lover, Detective Elias Reyes. The dead cop’s partner.

Even though she’s following her dream to start her own fashion line, it’s tough with heartache as her only companion. Until she brings Jesse, a wandering street artist, in from a freak Texas snowstorm. His submissive flirting brings out dominant tendencies she never knew she possessed, yet she hesitates to let him take her as far and as hard as she wants to go.

Some homeless junkie in Vicki’s house? Not on Elias’s watch. Pride kept him away, but as long as Jesse is staying in Vicki’s downstairs shop, he’s staying with Vicki. On the couch, but it’s a start.

As the days go by, the three work out an uneasy alliance. But Vicki’s joy at having Elias back in her life is tempered with a growing desire to have it all. Elias in her bed, and Jesse under her command. The only question remaining is if her tough alpha cop is willing to embrace all that she is…

Product Warnings
Explicit sex, BDSM, a tough alpha cop, a reluctant Domme, and a smoldering submissive street artist willing to do anything to belong to her.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

I love the Connaghers books, even when I wasn’t sure that I would like them, so although I’m not a huge fan of any of the previous FemDom books I’ve read, I knew that Burkhart is always able to keep me entertained and engaged.

Vicki quit her job as a high profile defense lawyer to start her own clothing line after her on-again-off-again boyfriend Elias’ partner was killed by one of her clients. When she happens to run into Jesse, her old friend homeless friend from the park, she invites him to stay to get out of the cold. When Elias finds out, he rushes over, not wanting Vicki to get hurt because of her huge heart.

While Vicki loves her relationship with Elias, the constant fight for dominance and the way that he can have her melting into a puddle at his feet, there is also a little something extra missing. But Jesse also calls out to the side of Vicki that desires to have a submissive of her own. As they navigate through the cold days and steamy nights, will the three be able to come to some kind of truce, and make a very unrealistic relationship work?

This book definitely had it’s ups and downs. I don’t know that Burkhart has changed my mind about most FemDom books I’ve read, but by the end of the story, I enjoyed the dynamic between the three of them. One of the things I really like about Burkhart’s writing is that when it comes to the BDSM, she is very honest and realistic and true. I enjoyed watching Vicki struggle with wanting to be a Domme, but also knowing that Jesse had been hurt in the past and not wanting to hurt him again. She took the time to go to her brother Victor (hero of Hurt Me So Good), to get advice on how to take care of both their needs.

Elias went back and forth as being a likeable and not-so-likeable hero for me. At times I loved him. He obviously cared and loved Vicki, but he also had the tendency to be a total Alpha-hole, and not in a good way. He thought he knew what was best for everyone, and he seemed to get angry easily. I wavered when it came to his character, and in the end I thought that Vicki let him get off without enough begging and groveling on his part.

The dynamics between the relationship with all three of them was odd as well. Vicki had a much deeper sexual relationship with Elias, and at times it seemed as if she favored him over Jesse in a lot of situations. It wasn’t necessarily that I felt as if Jesse got jipped, but it did seem as if he wasn’t being offered as much as Elias when it came to Vicki and a future relationship. I was also hoping for a little man-on-man time, but unfortunately Elias wasn’t having any of that. /sadface

I didn’t enjoy this story as much as the first and second, but I did like the dynamics and complexity of the relationship. It was something totally different than any of the other BDSM books I’ve read in the past, and while I don’t think I’ll necessarily be reading it again soon, I did like opening my eyes to a different aspect of the lifestyle.

All in all I was pleasantly surprised by the third book in The Connaghers series. The BDSM aspects were not as prevalent as the second book in the series, and yet I thought that they were handled well (and given I’ve never enjoyed reading Domme and male submissive scenes, that says a lot…). I hope that Burkhart continues to write in this series and that we can see Elias’ new partner and perhaps Mistress Mal? I’d be interested to see how that dynamic works.
I give Yours to Take a B-

Kindle eBook