Publication Date: June 2nd 2015 by Berkley
About the book:
“This is who I am. This is what I want. Now I need a man dangerous enough to give it to me.”
Graduate student Vivienne Charles is afraid of her own desires—ashamed to admit that she fantasizes about being taken by force, by a man who will claim her completely and without mercy. When the magnetic, mysterious Jonah Marks learns her secret, he makes an offer that stuns her: they will remain near-strangers to each other, and meet in secret so that he can fulfill her fantasy.
Their arrangement is twisted. The sex is incredible. And—despite their attempts to stay apart—soon their emotions are bound together as tightly as the rope around Vivienne’s wrists. But the secrets in their pasts threaten to turn their affair even darker...
Reader Advisory: Asking for It deals explicitly with fantasies of non-consensual sex. Readers sensitive to portrayals of non-consensual sex should be advised.
My Thoughts:
Asking for It was
an edgy romance that deals in a topic that makes a lot of people uncomfortable:
rape. Fair warning if a rape scenario is beyond your limits, Asking for It is
not the book for you. I was expecting a
wickedly hot read, which I got, but I was happily surprised to find this story
dealt with the deeper, complex emotions that would bring a woman to crave such
a violent or humiliating sexual experience. Lilah Pace tackled a difficult,
taboo subject in a meaningful and thrilling way. The story was completely
riveting!
While a lot of women have had the fantasy of being taken forcibly,
Vivienne can’t climax unless she pictures being raped. It’s never happened any
other way for her. She finally got up the courage to ask for this type of scenario
with her last boyfriend, it freaked him out and they ended up parting as
friends. Vivienne feels shame and guilt
over her desires, and she feels she’ll never have a truly satisfying sexual
experience until she meets Jonah.
By chance Jonah discovers Vivienne’s desire and immediately
recognizes that this is no fleeting fun fantasy fulfillment that she craves, he
sees it as it is: a desperate need. Jonah is the perfect person to fulfill her
desire, because he craves complete sexual domination.
Jonah proposes a deal: they set limits and
give each other what no one else can. He
suggests they meet up as virtual strangers, keeping a distance at all other
times to make the scenarios feel more real. Little do they realize that giving
each other exactly what they desire requires honesty that they’ve never shared
with anyone else, which inevitably binds them together on more than just a
physical level.
“I thought about you
every night,” Jonah murmurs. “Most of the days. I dream about tearing that
dress off your body. When I close my eyes I see the way you were afterward.
Wrecked. And what I want more than anything else is to wreck you all over
again.”
“This isn’t about
logistics.” I look upward at a pale gray sky, the kind you see when the clouds
have claimed the entire sky. Truth. Tell
the real truth. “Jonah, every time I’m with you, it’s more than sex. Every
time, I turn myself over to you, completely. I have to give you total control,
and total trust.”
“I haven’t abused
that trust, have I?”
Shaking my head, I
say, “No. But don’t you see? I don’t just fuck you, Jonah. I bare my soul to you. Then we go back to
being almost strangers to each other. The disconnect is getting to me, and I
don’t think I can take it anymore.”
This is where it got very interesting to me. Jonah and Vivienne start to connect on every
level, their personalities and experiences make the intensity of their
relationship fast and binding, but I worried if things would eventually go too
far with their games.
I was seduced by Jonah even though he plays at being a rapist in Vivienne’s fantasies, he was surprisingly tender. I liked that he showed a little jealousy over her, but he wasn’t over-the-top or petty. It was more that those feelings revealed how deeply he was coming to care for Vivienne.
I loved that Vivienne was pretty honest with her feelings with Jonah, even if it meant the end of their arrangement.
I was seduced by Jonah even though he plays at being a rapist in Vivienne’s fantasies, he was surprisingly tender. I liked that he showed a little jealousy over her, but he wasn’t over-the-top or petty. It was more that those feelings revealed how deeply he was coming to care for Vivienne.
I loved that Vivienne was pretty honest with her feelings with Jonah, even if it meant the end of their arrangement.
The unfolding story behind their cravings gradually comes to
light, more on Vivienne’s end than Jonah’s, and I was horrified by what
happened to her. I’m not sure if I was
more appalled by what happened or by the way her family dealt with it afterward
and continued to deal with it. Talk
about heaping salt into the wound! Acting
out her rape fantasies empowered Vivienne and helped rid her of the shame she
felt for her cravings. Still, loving in a “normal” way requires complete
disclosure and Vivienne worries if their relationship will survive if she
reveals everything.
Asking for It was sizzling, but I couldn’t help but feel just a tad guilty for getting so hot and bothered over some of the scenarios. Jonah and Vivienne seemed perfect for each other in so many
ways, but there were reasons why they needed such extreme role playing. Asking
for It is book one in this duology, and so I knew going in that there
wouldn’t be a HEA at the end. I felt like Vivienne made so much emotional progress,
but Jonah started unraveling more and more. If you pick up Asking for It, you’ll definitely want Begging for It ready and waiting to start immediately after.
5 Suns
Publication Date: September 1st 2015 by Berkley
About the book:
The provocative author of Asking for It once again explores the dark side of erotic obsession, and the secrets that make it as dangerous as it is irresistible.
Some secrets should only be shared in the dark.
Jonah and Vivienne’s erotic bond—living out raw scenarios of captivity and force—began as no-strings sex between strangers who shared the same desires. Now the intimacy between them is turning into love, but it’s a love built on fantasies so extreme that exploring them makes guilt inescapable. But the risks they're taking are far more dangerous than they'd imagined.
A stalker is terrorizing the city, and one of Jonah’s ex-lovers names him as a potential suspect to the police. Standing by a man under suspicion could cost Vivienne everything. But when Jonah’s stepfather takes advantage of the scandal to seize control of the Marks family fortune, Vivienne is drawn into her lover’s broken family and twisted past. Only then will she learn how dark the truth really is...
My
Thoughts:
Begging for It
takes up immediately after the end of Asking
for It. The revelations of Vivienne’s past and the roots of her rape
fantasy raise doubts in Jonah. But there’s no one out there who understands each
other’s needs on such a profound gut level.
Because their fantasies stem from past trauma, acting out was bound to
stir up the ugliness from the past.
Vivienne had some positive growth, IMO, but Jonah was finally facing
demons long ignored, and he’s rattled.
If that wasn’t bad enough, a serial rapist has sprung up in
their college town, and a past lover points to Jonah as a possible
suspect. Jonah’s stepfather takes full
advantage of the situation, and Vivienne gets a front row seat into the horrors
that made Jonah the man that he is. The
fantasies they act out push boundaries, and send them into an emotional
rollercoaster. I wish Vivienne could’ve
been just a little more understanding earlier, but I did feel so very hurt for
her, too. It was still evident that she wanted the best for Jonah.
The mystery of the rapist ended in a gratifying way, that’s
for sure! I had suspicions from the first book which proved correct.
Begging for It
was a little heavier and angsty than Asking
for It, but I loved all the powerful emotions and layers of the
story. Jonah and Vivienne’s relationship
was moving, and so very sensual. With the fantasy they indulged in, I was surprised and
moved by the utter tenderness they shared.
I read this duology in a 24 hour period, stayed up until three in the morning
to finish and I still wish we could get a little more in the way of a short story or epilogue for Jonah and
Vivienne! I guess that tells you how much I loved their romance!
4 Suns
Connect with Lilah Pace:
The lovely people at Berkley have generously provided a Paperback Copy of Begging for It (Asking for It #2) by Lilah Pace to one Waves of Fiction follower. Simply fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win. Giveaway is open to US & CA residents only.
if written well and with sensitivity, no , I don't find it taboo. Thanks for the great spotlight!
ReplyDeleteNo, I can read pretty much anything.....
ReplyDeleteIt's different. I would want to see the author handle it with sensitivity and make sure the characters talk about it first.
ReplyDeleteIt depends but usually I can read past my limits in a book if written well.
ReplyDeleteThere are circumstances that would be but this series is not one of them. I have read many great things about this series and am very intrigued and excited to check it out. Thanks for the great reviews!
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel, I’m surprised to see you’ve read this duology and even more surprised by your high rating. I’ve seen these books around and dismissed them as “not for me because of the subject matter”. But after reading your reviews I think I’ll give it a try when I’m in the right frame of mind. Wonderful reviews!
ReplyDelete