Reviewed by Stephen K.
TITLE: Take My Body
SERIES: Cursebound #2
AUTHOR: K. A. Merikan
PUBLISHER: Acerbi & Villani Ltd
LENGTH: 405 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 7th 2021
BLURB:
“I don’t want to have him. I want to be him.”
Caspian. Gunner.
Big. Small.
Rich. Poor.
Top. Bottom.
Bully. Victim.
Dominant. Submissive.
College graduate. High school dropout.
Organized and diligent. Complete walking disaster.
Which one is which when they swap bodies?
…And do they even want to switch back?
Dirty, dark, and delicious, “Take My Body” is a gritty M/M dark romance novel with magical elements and a happy ending. Prepare for violence, intense arguments, and scorching hot, emotional, explicit scenes.
REVIEW:
Note: Having read the blurbs on both books 1 and 2, I was curious about both but was MUCH more intrigued by book 2. So I started with book 2. There were a few references to the first book, but they seemed very minor, and starting with the second book affected my enjoyment of this series not at all. In fact, given what I enjoy in my reading, I’m guessing that reading 2 before 1, will actually add to my overall enjoyment of both. Sometimes it’s OK to eat dessert first.
What I expected to find was a somewhat dark revenge fantasy. What I did find was excellent storytelling and excellent writing in one package. This was billed as a revenge fantasy but it quickly turned into much more, there is revenge but there’s also a plot-line involving empathy, personal growth, self awareness, and self acceptance. The story revolves around a body-switch curse, but it seemed to be more of a blessing than a curse. As I read more, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted them to swap back, or not. It seemed that each of the main character’s personalities were more at home in their post-curse bodies than in the ones that nature had given them. Reflecting on that, and how it might mirror the sense of relief and “ultimate rightness” post op transsexuals might feel, gave me an increase in empathy in that area as well.
The sex here was the hottest I’ve read in a long time. Given the initial revenge aspect, the dirty, raunchy aspects of the initial sexual encounters are somehow made more acceptable, and given that each is temporarily inhabiting the other’s body, the dominance and submission aspects are rendered a lot less ominous. The BDSM aspects of the sex here was some of the most organically justified by the story that I’ve ever read.
And not only were my lustful expectations for this fulfilled. The empathy aspects of the book, each character seeing the world from another’s perspective was incredibly satisfying as well. It truly is harder to hate those we really understand.
Now that I’ve read book 2, I really am more looking forward to going back to read book 1. Having not read book 1 yet, I’m not sure it matters all that much which you feel most comfortable starting with. I just advise that you pick one up and start.
RATING: 
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