Starting with this review, I will incorporate a new system of rating according to me. The legend will be as follows:

5- Highly recommended to buy (Very hot, well-written, deep compelling love story, and answers all of my questions, leaves me wanting more) 4- Recommended to buy (Very hot, well-written, compelling story, some questions left unanswered, satisfied with conclusion) 3- Recommended to check out at library (Hot,

well-written, more questions asked than answered, ok with the conclusion, happy to return book) 2 Recommended to borrow (Not hot, lukewarm, writing level not good but ok, too many holes to care about story, why was this book published, mad at friend for not giving a warning, but have to finish, outcome not promising, some redeeming qualities)

1- Read at your own risk (so horrible, read while family was held hostage and the only way to save them was to read the book, wants minutes, hours, days back after reading) This legend will be included with all reviews going forward. Now onto the disclaimer. No one under 18 should read review or book being reviewed due to graphic sexual situations.

This book is from Penguin, and part of their imprint Heat. It is a full novel. The story is a futuristic erotic romance with three people becoming a whole lot closer. The main character is Sera Ayers, who is a soldier in a world where the rich or Families, are ranked with privileges and anything their hearts desire, whereas people like Sera are unranked and of little consequences to the Families.

Sera, who had a Dom/Sub relationship with a Family member Ash Walker, left him ten years prior to the story starting because he could not marry her for political reasons. At the start of the story, Sera must put aside her still volatile emotions for Ash and join him and Brandt Pela, another Family member, to go undercover to stop Imperialists from taking over their part of the universes’ democracy.

Both Ash and Brandt are both high up in the military and in need of Sera’s expertise, as they are on a Black Ops mission to save their world. From the moment Sera sets eyes on Ash again, she has to fight her attraction to him even after ten years.

Ash, who knows he messed up, wants Sera’s forgiveness and her back in his arms, bed, and life. While he did marry, he no longer is, and feels this is the perfect opportunity. Brandt, who has heard of Sera from Ash, wants her as well.

I really, really like the setting that Ms. Dane has created in the story. If the world building is done right, it comes off as believable and I believed it. I liked the social network she set up in this story, from the way women were treated, to how the poor were looked down on to how people with too much money and time thought they were untouchable. She has truly created a world I would love to see again.

There was also elements of BDSM. It didn’t come off as a true Dom/Sub story to me. I felt as if it was thrown in as a way to push the story along. Wish there was more here instead of words thrown out like Top, Sub-space, and spanking.

The sex scenes were very hot, and very sexy between the three. Yes there are ménage scenes and there are elements of m/m but again like the BDSM, it didn’t feel “real” to me. The scenes between the two men was mostly glossed over, and again I didn’t feel like the two men wanted to have that kind of relationship, even after Sera asked them to on several occasions.

Bottom line I give this story a 4. It is well-written, has a great love story of redemption and forgiveness, but certain elements were not believable to me as a reader. Did it take away from the story? No those elements didn’t because the story would have worked without them, as I loved the world building and social status in the story. It is an awesome adventure story and in the end everybody is happy. Would love to hear what you think! Agree, disagree? Comments always welcomed.