Title: Building Bonds
Series: Kiss of Leather 01
Author: Morticia Knight
Genre: Contemporary, Light BDSM
Length: Novel (162 pages)
ISBN: 9781784306731
Publisher: Pride Publishing (August 11th 2015)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Tams
Blurb: Kyle’s a natural sub who builds dungeon furniture, yet has no interest in BDSM. It takes a hunky Dom to show him just what he’s been missing.
After Kyle’s partner of five years leaves him for another man on the night of their housewarming party, the shy, early-thirties carpenter needs to do a major reassessment of his life in addition to raising some serious cash. With no one to help him pay the lease on his Los Angeles condo, he worries how he’ll survive. His best friend sets up a meeting with one of the Doms and partners at Kiss of Leather, a gay BDSM club being built as a premier destination for those who want the best of the best.
Master Gavin not only wants the best—he demands it. When he meets Kyle, he assumes that part of the builder’s reticence to share anything personal with him must be due to his experiences with an abusive former Master. Not one to back down from a challenge, Gavin determines to break through the walls surrounding the beautiful man he can’t get out of his mind. He’s hopeful that once he convinces Kyle to sign an initial contract, Kyle might be the first sub to open up his heart.
Misunderstandings and accusations almost destroy everything between them before they have a real chance to begin. However, the true obstacle becomes not only whether Kyle will embrace BDSM as a lifestyle, but also whether he can handle a full-time D/s relationship with a big, bad, scary Dom who’s as sexy as hell.
Product Link: https://www.pride-publishing.com/book/building-bonds
Review: Kyle is shy, reserved and timid. His best friend Marshall keeps telling him he’s a natural Sub, but Kyle has this pre-conceived notion of the BDSM lifestyle that has him adamantly denying Marshall’s claim. He’s quite good with his hands though, and wood (note the double entendre). With Marshall’s help, Kyle lands his dream job as the exclusive designer for the new BDSM club, Kiss of Leather, that is opening in town.
The minute Master Gavin lays eyes on Kyle, he’s pretty much done. It will take a lot of swooning, reassuring and promises to get Kyle to willingly submit to the lifestyle though. If there is one thing Master Gavin is, besides sex on a really tall stick, is patient. He sets his sights on Kyle to become his Sub, neither man realizing that they are about to get far more than they bargained for.
So, I’m constantly turned on to new things that I previously thought I didn’t care for. The softer side of the BDSM lifestyle is apparently one of them. What I enjoyed most about Gavin and Kyle’s story was the communication between them. Gavin is a very patient man, though Kyle tests that patience on occasion. Kyle is curious, very curious, which can be a blessing and a curse. Gavin graciously navigates Kyle through the rocky waters of a Dom/Sub relationship, molding and shaping him into the man he wants. He realizes somewhere along the way that part of the attraction to Kyle is not only his shy, constantly blushing nature. It’s his backbone made of solid wood. Kyle may struggle a lot, but he is not afraid to say no when he means it.
There were a few issues I had with the story, minor details mostly. I didn’t like that Gavin had Kyle call him Master even when he was at work. I thought that should have been a degree of separation between personal and professional lives. And then I had mixed feelings about the ending. Without giving spoilers, let’s just say I wanted a little more than what was there. That being said, I loved the vulnerability that both men expressed at the end.
Regardless, this was a fun read. I devoured it in just a couple hours, unable to set it down once I started. Knight has this definite flair for the BDSM lifestyle and I enjoy the way she writes it. She explains it in a way that conveys love and respect, not just pain and punishment. I’m a bit excited to see whose story will be next. I’d kind of like to see someone put a leash on Marshall; he’s got a mouth on him.