Finding Eden by Kele Moon

Title:  Finding Eden

Series:  Eden 02

Author:  Kele Moon

Genre:  Contemporary BDSM

Length:  Novel

Publisher:  Ellora’s Cave (August 18, 2011)

Heat Level:  Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥%Hearts

Blurb:  Handsome, angry and spoiled, Danny Carlow struggles to find his place in the world when his hatred for authority makes survival difficult. The only thing keeping him from completely giving up and turning to a life of crime is his friendship with clean-cut Paul Mattling. More than his conscience and best friend, Paul’s also the one Danny secretly pines for with every ounce of his being.

Paul is a natural over-achiever with a football scholarship and straight A’s to boast about. Yet he’s haunted by an abusive childhood that’s left him more scarred than anyone realizes. Looking for an escape from his demons, Paul has his own deviant secrets, ones he doesn’t want anyone, especially Danny, to know about.

When dark desires are accidentally revealed, Danny and Paul end up coming together in a clash of wild passion more tumultuous than either of them could have anticipated. Tasting the forbidden is sweet, but it turns the tables on their relationship, putting everything, even their lifelong friendship, in jeopardy.

Reader Advisory: This story visits the dark side of BDSM, where the only thing more intense than the scenes the characters participate in, is the love they have for one another. Please note there is a very brief F/F encounter.

Product Link:  http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9519-finding-eden.aspx

Reviewer:   Portia

Review:  Newsflash:  I don’t like bondage.  Don’t get me wrong, a little tie-me-up and ass slappin’ is sexy.  The whole beat me until I bleed…not so much.

Which is why, I don’t get why Kele Moon is one of my favorite writers.  I think it’s because she creates characters that are so real, even my cynical soul can suspend my inner demons and believe the players are getting exactly what they want and need.

This book was particularly satisfying because I already knew the main characters.  Beyond Eden was one of the first bondage titles I’d ever read that didn’t creep me out.  Going back to see how Danny and Paul began was awesome.  And unlike some series that are written out of chronological order…this worked for me.

Paul is a pretty simple guy; he needs pain.  Finding out why was sad.  Danny, on the other hand is much more complex.  For me, his love for Paul was never in question.  But, watching him struggle with his feelings, especially guilt over his own masochistic tendencies was heart wrenching.

I will probably never be a big fan of BDSM, but as long as Kele Moon is writing them, I’ll be reading them.  Highly recommend to anyone who wants an intense love story between two young men, trying to find themselves and each other.

Thommie’s Two Cents: I love BDSM stories, and I adore them when they are written with the passion the genre deserves. This is one such story, however it is not a simple one, not light in any way and there is some serious dark side some people might not like at all. Me? I loved it.

Danny is a rich boy, but angry beyond what one would call normal. He hates authority. He hates not being on top of things he hates his father. Everything makes him want to unleash the anger but for Paul, his best friend and golden boy who grounds him and makes him want to be better. Paul is also his tormentor as Danny for years pines for him, loving him bone deep. In short, Danny is a bomb waiting to explode.

But Paul is not the golden boy everyone sees. Deep down there is darkness and abuse, deep down his soul hurts and he tries to find that elusive nirvana anyway he can, and that leads him to danger so real that even his life hangs on the line. When Danny finds out the truth, things between them burn hot and there are only two things that can happen when there is such passion and tension between two people. Either they’ll crash or they’ll fly together.

I loved it. The eroticism was sensational and the way these two dealt with their vices simply spectacular. I’m not a pain slut but even I felt like I was about to fly with these too, they were so great together. I loved the fact that nothing came easy, I loved the fact that the enormity of their situation was stressed properly, how their decisions affected both of them, the pain, the hurt, the love that was yet wasn’t. This is not a romance, this is a love-story, and as such, it was filled with pain, loss, and emotions that often drive near insanity. It takes you spinning along with them and you have no idea what you’re going to experience next.

I must say that this book just sucked me in and made me its slave in more ways than one. The characters were not only alluring, but it felt like they had glue in their aura and I couldn’t escape. Both are touched by darkness and abuse, both reacts to it differently. They are the epitome of sadist and utter masochist. They are glorious together. Now I don’t need to be either, or to understand how someone could get off on pain for me to accept it as a fact or simply enjoy the read. If you read this book with intention to understand in a psychological level the workings and wirings of a sadomasochistic relationship I think this is not a book for you, but if you want to read about fire that burns hot, the inevitability and hold the dark passions have on two brilliantly written characters, then I’m absolutely certain you’ll love it.

And then, there was the end, and oh my, what a turn. At that point I felt like it would never happen, and the pair would literally revel in that sick fire until they ceased existing. It all depended on Danny (something I felt a bit awkward about) and he rose to the situation, and he made me want to squeeze him so hard he cracked. The promise for a fantastic sequel is there and I can’t wait to see how these two manage to overcome the haze that blinded them through the entire book and grow into their possibilities. As for this one, it’s strongly recommended.

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