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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Torture is Not Entertainment, April 22, 2009
This review is from: The First Sin: A Lexi Steele Novel (Lexi Steele Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
Cheyenne McCray's book "Total Surrender" dealt with some of the same themes of dominance and submission and was super sexy. I bought this book hoping for more of the same and was sadly disappointed. More so, I was angry by the time the book was over. Torture is not entertainment. None of the scenes relating to submission were even remotely sexy unless you get off on rape, degradation, and mutilation. Some of the reviewers warn that this book is not for the faint of heart and they are correct. The violence is gratuitous and plentiful. The book resembles Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" more than romantic suspense. Even when the heroine is not being tortured, she is having flashbacks to torture.
If there had been a good story to pull the book together, I might have been able to overlook everything else but that is not the case. The alpha male, Nick Donovan, has been a Dom long enough to be accomplished in the use of a whip with his own sex slave. It is just a horrible coincidence that his sister is kidnapped by a white slavery ring tied to S&M Clubs. If that is not strange enough, as soon as he becomes romantically involved with Lexi Steele all of those desires just go away. They have vanilla sex that doesn't appear to please either one of them.
We are also led to believe that the super-secret government agency Lexi and Nick work for has unlimited resources and is above pesky little things like the law and due process. Even though it appears that everyone in the book is a trained killer, they don't have a lot of common sense. If you can put an entire building and every employee inside under surveillance, wouldn't someone check out the suspect's house? Instead we are subject to a super-violent scene reminiscent of another Tarantino movie.
What scares me the most is the cover of this book says "A Lexi Steele Novel." Please tell me this is not going to be the beginning of a series.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dark and graphic, March 20, 2009
This review is from: The First Sin: A Lexi Steele Novel (Lexi Steele Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a very good, suspenseful book. I had a couple of problems with it on a personal level, it's in first person narrative, which I dislike, and has more than a little BDSM in it, which is not to my taste. But it doesn't change the fact that in my opinion, it's a very well-written book. The action doesn't stop, the tension ratchets up, and the characters are ones you care about after the book ends. Lexi, in particular, is very likeable. Nick is hot and mysterious, and if I have one complaint it's that the first-person narrative (Lexi's) means we don't get inside Nick's head. And I'd love to know more about his motivations regarding Lexi. I get how he felt about his sister, that is very clear. But besides being attracted to Lexi, I didn't get much more.
The subject matter is very dark, and you see plenty of the evil side of human nature. That was tough for me, since this really does happen, and it's tough to think about. Even though Nick and Lexi have success in breaking the one slave ring, you can't help feeling it's not enough. And the revenge they take, also not enough. Lexi kicks all kinds of tail in the book, but she takes a lot of abuse in the process. It made for difficult reading for me.
In the end, I still think the book is excellent. But do be warned that it is dark, there is violence, there is Master and Slave stuff, there is evil. I am glad I read the book, but frankly, after finishing it, I needed a hug.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vivid, Enthralling, Non-stop action!!!, February 7, 2009
This review is from: The First Sin: A Lexi Steele Novel (Lexi Steele Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is my first Cheyenne McCray book. I am so glad I found this author.
I was totally engrossed in this book,I could not put this book down. The scenes were so well written that I felt as though I were watching from the outside. The book puts you through so many emotions.
I loved Nick and Lexi.
I hated the villains and wanted to kill them myself.
Cheyenne, created characters that I loved and connected with.
Fast-paced. Erotic. Vivid.
I am looking forward to the next Lexi book.
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