Saturday, July 14, 2012

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







Summary:

Give me six months, and I'll give you the world.

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.



 Reviewer: White Daisy

The start of Resistance is rather rushed. Why is Jonathan, a wealthy billionaire in a bar where Brandon drinks his hot beer? And why is he so focused on Brandon from the start? These are two questions I asked myself as a reader. The start was simple: Jonathan wants Brandon as a sub and he is even ready to pay Brandon three million dollars to get him. 

 "Spend the next six months here with me, and I’ll give you the money."

and this money should be accepted by Brandon as a gift.
I really liked how Jonathan easily said: 

"Simply put, I’m a Dominant and a sadist. Which means I enjoy taking absolute control, and yes, I enjoy inflicting pain."
 Jonathan doesn’t hide his own character; why would he need to when he is the one with all the power, the one with money. But a true good Dom, he is not. Not with that kind of an opener. 

Brandon’s reply to Jonathan was
"No, you just go around offering men money so they’ll let you beat them. Sounds like a pretty expensive hobby."

Classic! It was a "‘total power exchange’" within the framework of the boundaries they set. Brandon has to obey Jonathan in all things, 24/7, regardless of what he would ask of Brandon. Jonathan says: 

"I may be a sadist, but I’m not a psychopath."
 
A good nickname for Jonathan is "little fucker", as Brandon calls him in his own thoughts. I loved it! 

Brandon is thrown into deep cold water from the start, he doesn’t even get an explanation, not even a set of rules, or how his day would look. No, it didn't occur to Jonathan that, as a good Dominant with a  4/7 contract, to explain to a total newbie what is wanted from him and what his punishment be if he didn’t provide it. Again, no, Jonathan gives Brandon the rules only after Brandon breaks them. This way Brandon will remember the rules faster on a deeper level by being psychically beaten. Wow, what a great Dom. :/

After reading this story, I felt so much revulsion, even hate for Jonathan that it was hard to review this story. In my mind, if Jonathan wanted to be a real good Dominant he would explain Brandon what was expected from him 24/7. Not plunge him into the lifestyle habit, naked all the time. Jonathan could break Brandon’s bad habits with class not force. I mean, sure you can be a slave, but come on! Everyone has a right to have his own mind, his own dignity. To speak, to chat, to laugh. This was simply too much for me. And even as a submissive, Brandon could at least wear clothing. What kind of a Dom enjoys his sub on display to others so that they can laugh at him? I feel really bad reading this story. I would never ever do what Brandon did. Not for anything, hell, not even for money. What Jonathan did to Brandon was treat him less than human. This wasn’t a healthy Dom/sub relationship. This was displaying power over a guy who was brutalized by his own father as a child. I wish Jonathan would suffer, and suffer a LOT. 

The way this story ended, it was too easy and simply unsatisfying. I hated this ending. Jonathan should be the one who needed to apologize, he wasn't worthy of  Brandon. Not at this stage, because he is a really bad Dominant. This story is hard, ugly, and full of PAIN and I hated it! We see nothing but pain, hurt, sad emotions, and feelings of being ashamed. Too hard a book for me. I'm giving it 2.5 stars and will think hard to decide if I will read the second part of this series. For now, I have no wish to read it and there are many better books to be picked up.

 


Publisher:  Riptide Publishing                     
Source:  Manic Readers

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