Reviewed by Christian
TITLE: Before You Break
SERIES: Secrets 1
AUTHOR: Parker Williams and K. C. Wells
NARRATOR: Joel Leslie
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press LLC
LENGTH: 13 hrs and 21 mins
RELEASE DATE: January 23, 2018
BLURB:
Six years ago, Ellis walked into his first briefing as the newest member of London’s specialist firearms unit. He was partnered with Wayne, and they became fast friends. When Wayne begins to notice changes – Ellis’s erratic temper, the effects of sleep deprivation – he knows he has to act before Ellis reaches his breaking point.
He invites Ellis to the opening of the new BDSM club, Secrets, where Wayne has a membership. His purpose? He wants Ellis to glimpse the lifestyle before Wayne approaches him with a proposition. He wants to take Ellis in hand, to control his life because he wants his friend back, and he figures this is the only way to do it.
There are a few issues, however. Ellis is straight. Stubborn. And sexy. Wayne knows he has to put his own feelings aside to be what Ellis needs. What surprises the hell out of him is finding out what Ellis actually requires.
REVIEW:
Wayne is gay, Ellis is not (or is he?). At the beginning of the book it doesn’t seem like they are really good friends but they actually are. And partners at work. Ellis is stubborn, but Wayne keeps him grounded and helps cover for him at times.
Wayne is a dom but has never had a full time sub before. For reasons you will end up finding out in the book. When Wayne’s previous BDSM club reopens as “Secrets”, he decides to go check it out. In a roundabout way he gets Ellis to come with him. That night Ellis ends up yelling at Wayne and walking out of the club. But he is curious. After some reading and videos, he still has lots of questions and just doesn’t get the BDSM lifestyle. After talking to Wayne a bit about it, he is still sceptical but decides to try it out.
The book is pretty much about Wayne teaching Ellis why Ellis needs this BDSM lifestyle and why it has to be Wayne. Their relationship slowly grows into something strong and beautiful. There are a lot of hurdles in the way but the book does have a wonderful HEA.
I tried reading/listening the prologue three times. Yes. Three. On separate days mind you. It threw me off the book very bad at first. So I decided maybe to just read the first chapter. Yeah, that will help. Well at least I could get through it and actually figure out what was going on. But be aware, the first chapter is not from the point of view of Ellis or Wayne. It’s from the point of view of the two new club owners. If you have read the Collars and Cuffs series you will recognize the names. You do not need to read that series for this book, though. Throughout the book you will get a point of view for either one of the “Secrets” owners. So be on the lookout.
Once we meet Ellis and Wayne in the present (around Chapter 2), things start to smooth out though! At first their dom/sub relationship is platonic and not romantic. But it ends up romantic. I have never read a book with platonic BDSM in it, so I am glad I was able to read a bit about how it works. I think that this book has a very real quality to it. Even though Ellis can be really stubborn and annoying when it comes to accepting himself and the BDSM lifestyle, a lot of real questions and concerns come up. Especially since he is so stubborn, you wouldn’t think he would make such a great sub. Wayne and Ellis work it out, though and have a very different dom/sub relationship than many of the other books I have read.
The book was kind of hard for me to listen through just because it was 16 hours long. Lately I haven’t been very good at concentration. But I got through it. It is a really good book with really good writing, so nothing towards the authors. But If you have trouble concentrating, be sure to take lots of breaks!
Joel Leslie makes the characters come to life, like always! He is one of my top favorite narrators but even I have to say WOW for this book, He had a LOT to record and he did such a wonderful job. I never had to wonder which character was talking and at one point he was taking on all 4 of the main characters plus a big group of guys from the Collars and Cuffs series (at the opening night of the new club). I always knew which person was talking. I love his BDSM voice, he has a really strong dom vibe when he narrates Wayne. When he narrates Ellis he makes sure not to make him sound too submissive as Ellis is not too submissive himself. The sexy times are amazing AS USUAL!! Joel really read up on these two men and it shows. There are a lot of partnership and relationship dynamics that come out in his speech. I felt like I was actually there with the guys, and love that about him.
With a horrible start to the book but I feel that it kept getting stronger and by the second or third chapter It was going well for me. Like I said I had a lot of hang ups throughout but that was because my attention span and I haven’t read a 16 hour book in a LONG time. Other than the first part of the book I think the book deserves a lot of credit. And so does the narrator! If you like BDSM, I would definitely recommend a read.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Read More » […]