Reviewed by Nikyta

TITLE: Touch Me Not
AUTHOR: Genna Donaghy
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: 145 pages
BLURB: In an alternate universe, where gender is less important than how dominant a person is, Jake Alric is the odd man out. While other subs spend their days trying to find their one true mate, Jake goes out of his way to avoid dominants. He’s seen the dark side of soul bonds, and all he wants is to be left alone to tend his small Montana cattle ranch in peace.

When an oil company starts buying up land all around town, Jake comes under increasing pressure to sell. A chance encounter brings him into contact with one of his potential mates, Henry Waterstone, son of the man trying to buy Jake’s ranch and a handsome dominant who pushes buttons Jake didn’t know he had. For the first time Jake is tempted by the true pleasure of being a submissive. But as Jake and Henry grow closer, a new player in the oil company rises up and threatens to sever their fragile connection. Suddenly the person Jake was most afraid to find becomes the one he’s most terrified to lose.

REVIEW:

Jake Alric is a natural born sub who’s scarred by the memory of how a dom can abuse the sub they mate with. He lives his life with his head down and just wants to be left alone. He doesn’t want to mate with a dom because if he does, the ranch and his mind and body becomes his dom’s property but now Jake’s peaceful existence is threatened by an oil company trying to buy his land or take it by force. When Jake helps a drunk Henry Waterstone, he learns that the man is not only his mate but one of the executives of the oil company. Both their lives have just gotten more complicated beyond neither of them wanting to mate. Someone’s greed is screwing the ranchers’ over and it doesn’t take long before Henry and Jake to get sucked into the middle of it but when this happen, will their fledgeling, but incomplete, bond make things better… or worse?

I’m a big lover of fantasy and AU settings so reading this story was a real treat. The whole concept set around a world filled with subs and doms was just fascinating. Mixed with the abilities, mates and how it all comes together made this a really great premise. I loved the fact that, for a person to find their mate, they’d have to touch. The whole story centralizes on the concept of how a dom is supposed to protect their sub and a sub has the ability to strengthen and heal their dom (and sometimes others) but how some doms abuse the gift they’ve been given. It’s a very, very interesting concept and definitely unique. I both applaud and praise the author for creating such a world.

The characters were a great addition to the story as well. Jake is a strong sub but he’s stubborn. He’s set in his ways and refuses to mate because he’s seen the more evil side of how a dom treats a sub and he won’t live like that. Jake’s will is very strong, though, and Henry definitely has his work cut out for him when trying to prove to Jake he’s not like those other doms. Henry is the very definition of a dominant – strong, confident, almost arrogant. It was amusing but sweet to see him try to win Jake over and I absolutely adored his ways of breaking Jake’s notions of what a dom should and should not do.

While this story holds a unique premise, I found that it ended with a lot of open-ended questions. The conflict was a little predictable but when all is said and done, I’m still left with questions related to the side characters. What will happen to Ezra now? What about the other ranchers’ properties? I enjoyed the story and the characters but I just felt like it ended before the whole story could be settled even though most of the issues with the main characters are addressed. Beyond that, I wished we could have gotten to know both Henry and Jake a little better before they professed their love because I didn’t exactly feel it.

With that said, this was definitely a good story. Very different than I’ve read before as the author took the general role of BDSM – doms and subs – and made a whole world out of it, each with their own abilities. But most of all, I liked the issues both characters brought to the table. There’s a sequel in the works and I’m really looking forward to it (and secretly hoping it’ll be about Grant and Ezra!).

Nikyta rates it –

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