Review: Release Me – J. Kenner

For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You comes an erotic, emotionally charged romance between a powerful man who’s never heard “no” and a fiery woman who says “yes” on her own terms.
 
He was the one man I couldn’t avoid. And the one man I couldn’t resist.
 
Damien Stark could have his way with any woman. He was sexy, confident, and commanding: Anything he wanted, he got. And what he wanted was me.

Our attraction was unmistakable, almost beyond control, but as much as I ached to be his, I feared the pressures of his demands. Submitting to Damien meant I had to bare the darkest truth about my past—and risk breaking us apart.

But Damien was haunted, too. And as our passion came to obsess us both, his secrets threatened to destroy him—and us—forever.

Release Me is an erotic romance intended for mature audiences.

Series:
Release Date:  January 1, 2013
Publisher:  Bantam
Source:  NetGalley
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

I will admit, I am in the “I loved 50 Shades” camp, but after reading Release Me, Mr. Grey only scratches the surface compared to Damien Stark.

Nikki moves from Texas to Los Angeles hoping to leave all the bad behind her and start fresh.  With her new job, she hopes to learn the business side to technology companies in the hopes of opening her own someday.  But her few days on the job puts her in contact with the man who’s foundation funded her education and who gave a sixteen year old girl hope she could break out of her mother’s grip.  That man is Damien Stark.  Damien, ex-tennis star, now billionaire technology magnet knows instantly that he wants Nikki.  While she fights him and their attraction, he’s determined to have what he wants at any cost.

Damien summed up his and Nikki’s relationship very early in the story.  He labeled them as kindred spirits back when they first met when he was a judge at a beauty pageant Nikki was in.  And while he may not have known Nikki, his summation was dead on.  Nikki and Damien have huge scars as a result of their parents and demands.

For Nikki, those scars have manifested themselves in fears and urges to do harm to herself.  For Damien, it’s made him close himself off to everyone and trust virtually no one.  But with each other,  they tend to open up to one another, even when they don’t want to, about those past hurts.  While their relationship isn’t easy and they each struggle with their feelings and where their relationship is going, you can sense that in some odd way they truly are good for the other person.

There was some interesting dynamics between Nikki’s best friends, Jamie and Ollie, which I hope we’ll see more of in the next book.  As well as the ever present Eric Padgett who seems hell bent on bringing Damien down.

A book I really enjoyed, especially being many months removed from reading 50 Shades.  While there are definite similarities, Damien’s darkness and Nikki’s emotional turmoil packs a little more of a punch.