Bound by Guilt by Sandra Bard

BoundByGuiltLGTitle: Bound by Guilt

Author: Sandra Bard

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novel (200pgs)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (27th May 2013)

Heat Level: Low – Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3 ½ Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Kit Mason works at Eddy’s, a boutique where the clothes are chic, the paycheck’s weak, and Kit has no qualms about snagging rich older men looking to pay for play. When Cory St. James walks in, he checks all Kit’s boxes: he’s middle-aged, the entrepreneur of a pharmaceutical company, and already has a kept boy at home—what’s one more? Kit sets out to seduce Cory and bulldozes through his denials, but when Cory finally gives in, his lover, Sasha, catches them with their pants down. 

Sasha isn’t the pampered toy Kit expected. In fact, Kit may have misjudged him. And the consequences that ensue when Sasha catches Kit and Cory together leave him alone. Unwilling to be weighed down by guilt, Kit decides to look after Sasha himself, even if Sasha can’t stand the sight of him and there are a few things about Kit’s past he doesn’t want Sasha to know. But Kit isn’t willing to do all the work when it comes to forcing Sasha to rebuild his life. It’s a slow process of growing trust and learning to stand on their own—and together.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3820

Review: Kit is always on the lookout for a mark, a rich older man who will pay to play. When Cory walks into the boutique where Kit works and ticks all of Kit’s boxes, Kit is tenuous in his pursuit and refuses to take no for an answer. Even knowing Cory has a live-in lover, Sasha. When Cory finally caves under Kit’s relentless pursuit, Sasha catches them. Now Sasha is left alone and Kit feels guilt over his actions. Checking to make sure Sasha is alright ends with Kit trying to get Sasha to rebuild his life. But Sasha hates him and it is a fight of wills.

Well, what can I say about this book other than it twists your emotions as the full story enfolds. Kit is not a likeable man. In fact, for the first half of the book you would like nothing better than to plant a fist in his face. Kit is callus and self-centred, he pursues rich older men with the sole purpose of sex for gifts or money and he doesn’t give a damn who gets hurt from his actions, until the day he meets Sasha. Sasha is a man who has been through hell and now he has a new fight on his hands because some man wanted his lover and it all went wrong.

Before we go any further this isn’t a romance as such. Yes, some feelings develop and Sasha and Kit become close, but there is so much more going on like Kit’s growth as a person and Sasha’s recovery, an understanding of sorts grows between them and it is a minefield. There isn’t any warm fuzzies as you read this book. We don’t get rainbows, unicorns and sunshine. what we do get is guilt, companionship and an understanding of sorts which is hard-won. The range of emotions that get dragged out of you is quite astounding; hate, disgust, pity, glee, admiration and hope are just a few. There are one or two powerful scenes like the scene where Cory and Kit get caught and then the scene outside the church.      

The characters are splendidly written as they both draw you into this story seeing the awkward dance between them. A tenuous understanding that draws hope to them and the beginning of something developing between them. Sasha is a difficult character to get to know as he is very guarded and it is a while before you get his full story. Kit is a character that you aren’t sure you want to know, at first, but he does manage to redeem himself quite well and he is also a man who refuses to apologise for the way he is. But, he does improve the longer he helps Sasha.

I have to recommend this story to those that love hope and redemption, guilt, a great storyline, companionship and developing feelings, misunderstandings and beginning anew.