Power Play: Awakening by Cat Grant & Rachel Haimowitz

Power Play: Awakening (Power Play #2) by Cat Grant & Rachel Haimowitz
Riptide Publishing

Novel: 292pgs

5+++ Pants Off

Blurb:
Brandon McKinney is a man reborn. Newly awakened to the notion of consensual power exchange and the submissive urges inside him, he begs for a second chance from the man who opened his eyes to this world: Silicon Valley superstar Jonathan Watkins. But no birth is absent pain, and Brandon’s is no exception. He fears he’s not strong enough to see it through.

Jonathan knows better. He’s seen the iron core inside his new submissive, and the wounded heart inside him too. He means to teach Brandon to heal the one with the other. They have five months left on their contract, after all, and Jonathan has done more with less before.

It’s tough to stay objective, though, when you’re falling in love. Shame Brandon doesn’t feel the same. He’s only there for the three-million-dollar payout at contract’s end—a fact that Jonathan, nursing his own wounded heart, reminds himself of each day. For even as Brandon’s barriers break and his mind expands, even as he grows to love his place at Jonathan’s feet, he’ll never love life with a sadist—especially one who cannot escape the public eye.

Review:
I don’t even have the words to express how awesome this book was, no freaking words. This will be another review where I am unable to express the awesmazingness packed into 292 pages. Cat and Rachel has outdone themselves with PP: A, and after fangirling over book 1, I am stone cold obsessed with Power Play: Awakening. Jonathan and Brandon are a tattoo on my heart and in brain. Impossible to Forget.

Power Play: Awakening picks up right after the first book, which left you wondering how things were going to work out between Brandon and Jonathan. Their relationship was a disaster from the beginning but there were glimpses that something beautiful would be the result if both men were to let go of their hang-ups. Well Brandon is willing to give it another go, and what a sweet second chance it was.

With 5 months left in their contract, Brandon has to completely submit and face things about himself that aren’t pleasant. He is willing to try, and when his head lets go of the things he believes a man shouldn’t be doing, and his heart accepts that there is no shame in submitting. Together the men create a rhythm filled with such sweetness, such pain, and love.

A love not recognizable from the beginning but you can feel it in their actions, the moments of tender vulnerability, and the fact that they are willing to do anything for each other. However, it is not always rainbows and sunshine with Jonathan being a hardcore sadist, and Brandon not being a fan of pain. It’s a freaking match made in heaven y’all. Because he want’s Brandon not to want the pain, he want’s his real tears and he wants his suffering, above all else he wants Brandon to take the pain for him. To willingly suffer for him.

Jonathan has come a long way from the man he was in book one. He is patient, loving, and so freaking sexy he made my pants lose pants. His character spellbinds me, and I think I dream about him at night. Brandon broke my wee little heart. His headspace was bit fucked up, but I loved those moments when he gave in. It came so natural to him, and makes you wonder why was he fighting it in the first place.

You could argue about whether both men feelings are genuine, based on how the relationship was started. I think a long the way the money became a lesser issue, because the money became an excuse for Brandon to stay. It was the only way he could cope. So Brandon you ain’t no ho, because sometimes we need that anchor to keep us to a place. If you are a ho? You sure are a smart one ^_~

Overall, I loved the crap out of this book. The writing was superb, the story excellent and the characters the freaking best. I am a huge fan of BDSM books, and they are sometimes never done right, never written with the respect that is needed. The Power Play series was written with respect, and a sure knowledge of the scene. This will forever be one of my favourite reads. Just Simply the Freaking Best!

Thanks to Rachel Haimowitz for providing me with extra pants, because yes a lot of pants were lost in the reading of this.

SideNote- That fucking book cover! That Is All

5+++ Pants Off

Power Play: Resistance by Cat Grant & Rachel Haimowitz

Power Play: Resistance (Power Play #1) by Cat Grant & Rachel Haimowitz
Riptide Publishing

Novel: 267pgs

Rating: 5/5

Blurb:
Brandon McKinney has scraped and sacrificed for what little in life he’s ever had. Though it’s been fifteen years since he escaped his father’s abuse, the damage remains. Trust seems as far out of reach as his dream of becoming an architect, and though he’s come to accept being gay, he can’t deny the shame and confusion he feels at other urges—the deeply-repressed desire to submit.

Jonathan Watkins is a self-made Silicon Valley billionaire whose ex-wife took half his money and even more of his faith. Comfortable as a Dominant but wary of being hurt again, he resorts to anonymous pickups and occasional six-month contracts with subs seeking only a master, not a lover.

When a sizzling back-alley encounter cues Jonathan in to Brandon’s deep-seated submissive side, he makes the man an offer: Give me six months of your life, and I’ll open your eyes to a whole new world. Brandon doesn’t care about that; all he wants is the three million dollars Jonathan’s offering so he can buy the construction company he works for. But he soon learns that six months on his knees is no easy feat, and shame and pride may keep him from all he ever wanted—and all he never dreamed he had any right to have.

Review:
Let me begin by saying that this book was just surprises, rises, and falls. Cat and Rachel did something wonderful in this book, and left me in love with Power Play and its characters. Dynamics were switched, emotions put to the test, mistakes were made, and its one of the best BDSM novels I have read. What a pants losing this one caused.

Brandon McKinney has been on his own for a long time; he knows the meaning of a hard life and depends on no one but himself. He’s a ‘slam bam thank you man’ kinda guy when it comes to sexual encounters. He doesn’t want anyone to get too close, because that would involve a little trust, and trust isn’t really a Bran thing. When he’s approached by a man who clearly looks like he should be hanging uptown instead of Chinatown, Bran think he’s gonna get his dick wet and walk away. What transpires in the alley behind bar leaves Bran shaken, and the little man who literally brought him to his knees engraved in his mind.

Jonathan is a self-made billionaire, use to the finer things in life but he’s worked very hard for his things. As a Dom he’s able to recognize the sub in a person, and he’s getting that vibe from Bran, and he wants nothing more than to have him is his bed, and to play in his dungeons. He knows getting Bran to play will be difficult, but he’s willing to work on brining out the submissive in the man because he feels the payout will be worth it. So what does one offer a man that would make him his submissive? Something he wants above all else, in a shiny package and only 6months to get it.

It’s not hard to recognize that there will be disaster ahead, with Brandon’s past of being abused by his father and the things that Jonathan wants from him. Jonathan as a Dom is unrelenting and set in his ways and Bran though submissive to certain things is finding it hard to give up complete control. The men clash and cause more harm than good, and somehow along the way it becomes a battle of power with the seasoned Dom, losing the essence of what it truly means to Dom. I am no expert when it comes to D/s elements but Mr Jonathan Watkins makes some mistakes. It became more about breaking Brandon than nurturing him to his submissive nature.

Bran is not free of my wrath, he just became too stubborn and could have caused himself harm along the way, and his pigheadedness really got under Jonathans’ skin, which caused world war three in fancy apartment of Mr Watkins. Though Bran voice is the carrier in the book, I have yet to truly learn anything about him. I know enough but not nearly enough, because Jonathan was to be his voice and his carrier but he just became his enabler to nothing (if that makes sense). The line between hurt/harm was crossed, because both men were just not in the right headspace to be playing with whips, chains, and tasers. Which leads me to a realistic conclusion, that sometimes even the most knowing of individuals makes mistakes and it takes a strong person to come back from those mistakes.

As I much as I loved this book, I am also somewhat disappointed. I perturbed by Jonathan’s behaviour and thinks that he needs to do some serious apologizing. I am disappointed in Bran because he threw his safety out the window trying to stick it to Jonathan. I am disturbed by Jonathan’s cook; she probably has a dungeon of kinky delights in her own home. I am terrified that I found myself laughing aloud at the most shocking of times ‘Miss Grant and Haimowitz have a twisted sense of humour’. Also… I am seriously in love with Jonathan, though as Bran would say “he fucking terrifies me”.

Overall, Power Play: Resistance is splendid and fascinating. It’s gripping and pushes your boundaries, while remaining sensual and erotic. I do love Bran and John together, and they have like a Mount Everest worth of growing to do. At this point all I’m thinking is “Who am I gonna have to sleep with to speed up time?” I want it to be June already.

5 Pants Off