REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Breathless
SERIES: The Game
AUTHOR: Cara Dee
PUBLISHER: Cara Dee
LENGTH: 254 Pages
RELEASE DATE: September 15, 2020
BLURB:
“Will you beat me without knowing the reason?”
That’s the question I ask when I go to clubs to seek out Sadists.
Most men say no immediately. They see the flags my question raises and walk away. They’re the good guys. They’re the guys who adhere to safe, sane, and consensual. They wanna be aware of the risks and cause no harm.
But I’m not looking for a good guy.
I’m looking for punishment.
The strobe lights hit me as I reach their table. The heavy, industrial music is deafening, and my head is swimming with images of grief, fire, and accusation. I hear the piercing tone of a machine letting me know that I have to tell my two kid brothers that our sister’s heart will never beat again.
Maybe these two twin Sadists will help me. The only thing bigger than River and Reese Tenley is their reputation. They better not let me down.
I ask my question. I ask if they’ll beat me without knowing why I want it.
They give me a stone-cold onceover, and I don’t know if it’s River or Reese who responds. He has a menacing-looking tattoo on his neck.
“Sure. It’s your funeral.”
REVIEW:
I wasn’t too sure what to expect with this one, but Cara Dee is pretty much an auto read for me, so I dove right in. It turned out to be a few things I wasn’t expecting, some that I didn’t know I would like and exactly what I expect from Ms. Dee.
Shay is a bit of a lost soul. He has been punishing himself over past trauma when he isn’t busy underground cage fighting to provide for his two younger brothers. He seeks out beatings from Sadists that won’t ask him any questions or hesitate to give him what he’s asking for. This puts him on the radar of the Tenley Twins, two of the founders of the kink community where Shay has been making appearances. The twins decide they must either ban Shay or get to the bottom of his issues and reckless behavior. Deciding on the latter, they put a plan in motion to lure Shay to their Estate to see if they can help Shay.
The twins – River and Reese – wowzers. Both sadists, but both different, yet both so in tune with each other. It was so easy to see their bond, which they are very secretive about. Shay gets to see a bit of it, i.e. living together, sharing the same bed, etc. But aside from some hints here and there, that’s really all we get. They work so incredibly well together and as each of their different sides come out – Reese is more of a Daddy when he isn’t administering creative beatings while River is the Interrogator and mental sadist. All of their different sides provide a very well rounded experience for Shay, and they quickly get past Shay’s defenses. The twins have set up a life together that has just worked out perfectly for them, and while they were not looking for a serious relationship, they don’t pass up the opportunity when it falls into their lap so perfectly.
The troubles I had with this story are mostly my own – the Daddy/Little aspect, which I generally dislike reading for numerous reasons, is really only touched on here. Shay shows some tendencies, but it only comes out at certain times, just as Reese’s Daddy feelings. Calling their play partners “subbies” was another one that kept pulling me out of the story. To each, his own, but it tends to give stories more of an unrealistic feel, so I generally try to steer clear. However, just as with the Daddy/Little issue, the other was fleeting and I was able to move on. This is also a pretty solid example of insta-everything. I put this down to people finding their kinks align so perfectly and their short time together so intense that time pretty much doesn’t factor in. But, that aside, things happen pretty fast for these guys.
Back to the story – I was sucked in, rooting for the Twins to get through to Shay and for Shay to find some peace that would allow him to seek out the kink he enjoyed as opposed to that which he believed he deserved. Thankfully, between the two of them, River and Reese are just the guys to get the job done. I really wasn’t ready for this to end and admit, I’m really looking forward to more to satisfy my curiosity of River and Reese’s story. This was another winner for me from Ms. Dee.
RATING:
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