Monday, September 30, 2013

DNF--Beyond Eden by Kele Moon


Three lifelong friends find themselves tangled in a web of love, pain and dangerous secrets in this erotic Garden of Eden tale.

Tall, dark and handsome Danny Carlow has always gotten whatever he wants except for the two he wants more than anything-his best friends, lovers Paul and Eve. Determined, he waits like a snake in the grass, poised for the right moment to offer them a temptation too delicious to resist.

Artist Eve Everton makes the painful decision to leave her true love Paul for the siren call of New York City. Ten years later, with her life in shambles, she returns. When Paul's waiting arms aren't available, Eve falls for Danny's charm and finds herself a willing accomplice in the dangerous games Danny plays.

Former college football star Paul Mattling is now a successful attorney with a bright future ahead of him. But behind those brilliant blue eyes are secret desires for a taste of the forbidden. Will he play it safe or give in to Danny and Eve and bite the apple?

Reader Advisory: Not for the faint of heart, the pain in this story is vivid and real, the emotions even more so. Haunting and poignant, Beyond Eden presents a darker side of BDSM. You might gasp. You might cry. You might find yourself reading it again and again.

Type: Erotica, BDSM
Heat: 4 out of 5 content wise but sexy not so much
Rating: DNF 1 out of 5 stars

Amazon All Romance Goodreads
Well damn. Beyond Eden just didn't work for me in any way whatsoever and wound up on my very small shelf of DNF books. To me this wasn't healthy BDSM and fell more in lines of  BDSM being used as a cover for abuse. Yall know I love BDSM. I love dark BDSM and even though this is marketed as that it just...wasn't.

While the overall concept had promise--three people with complicated pasts/relationships finally coming together-- I didn't care for the way the actual story was presented and never connected with any of the characters and really didn't even want to. They're nearly 30 but come across as immature and just unlikable. They lie. They cheat. They manipulate the people around them. And--I know this may be petty--but I found their nicknames and the extreme overuse of them creepy. Paul Guy (91 times), Danny boy (79 times) and Evie Girl (50 times). It just started to grate when I was already feeling rather annoyed with the story and disgusted with the characters behaviors.
"Do I need a safe word or something?" she asked curiously.

"Nope," he said, his eyes narrowed. "If you trusted me, you wouldn't have asked for it. I'm disappointed."
Really? I just. No that's not working. The 'hero' also chides the heroine for not being able to come with just penetration and miraculously cures her of this with a couple hours in bed training her body. I mean, really now? I just wasn't buying the relationships in or out of the bedroom and really didn't find the sex scenes all that hot. When something that's usually used in a positive way in BDSM relationships was turned into a negative thing coupled with refusing the heroine a safeword (she's new to the lifestyle as well) I called it quits. This just wasn't for me. I know it's worked for quite a few people. It's gotten some high markings but it's not one I can recommend.

Have you read Kele Moon? 
What did you think?

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