Customer Reviews

Sweet Restraint

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At 38 years of age, Shane "Dom" Dominic has climbed rapidly up ranks of the FBI to be `Special Agent In Charge' of `Operation Serve and Protect', an investigation into the largest organized police theft ring in known history. The FBI uncovered evidence that indicates the corruption stretches back at least 10 years and involves senior officers in the Chicago Police Department.

Dom is an absolute `force of nature'. He is handsome, brilliant, driven and has an innate ability to comprehend people's motivations and to predict how they would act in a certain set of circumstances. This is one strong, enticing hero and I can say without hesitation that I fell in love with him. Dom is soon to be married to Clarissa, a smart and successful financial analyst, who has been extremely patient with his long hours and obsession with the investigation. Dom, however, is having second thoughts about his marriage to Clarissa who, in the short glimpse we are given of her, is a lovely woman.

When Dom was in his twenties he was involved in a short, very intense relationship with Laura Vasquez, a beautiful, very reserved and brilliant artist. Dom had been besotted, head over heels in love with Laura, however it ended in betrayal when she suddenly married Huey Mays, a cop and creepy slimeball ten years her senior. Laura never explained to Dom why she did it. He only knew she left him devastated. He tried hard over the years to extinguish the torch he carried for Laura. However, it continued to smolder and at times burn brightly.

Ironically, Huey was the linchpin for the FBI's continued investigation into the corruption at the Chicago Police Department. He was arrested, jailed and then makes bail. He subsequently commits suicide leaving a note. It is in these unlikely circumstances that Laura and Shane meet again and their explosive passion is rekindled. As a side note, she is one of only three people on the planet that call Dom, `Shane'.

Here is a short sample of the passionate erotic prose that permeates the narrative of this novel. Shane has rescued Laura from a crush of press at the hospital following Huey's death. At her insistence he takes her to her home instead of somewhere he feels would be safer. After Shane makes a surprising and powerful admission with respect to his knowledge of Laura's intimate relationship with her disgusting husband (details that he learned through FBI wire-tapping) an angry, bitter exchange of words turns fiery.

"He saw her eyes go wide but he didn't give her a chance to respond to his totally irrational proclamation before he covered her mouth with his own.

He drank from her furiously. Pain vibrated through his flesh. Not the discomfort of a wound or an injury, but the raw, searing pain that came from exposing a desire that had long been denied.

At that moment he needed Laura Vasquez just like he needed to breathe.

Later he wouldn't be able to say at what point she stopped struggling, precisely when her tongue began to tangle with his, or when her hands rose to caress his neck and her fingers delved through his hair. She pressed against him almost frantically, the abrupt appearance of her need shocking him. . .and nearly blinding him with lust."

Sweet Restraint © Beth Kery

After 13 years of pent up desire detonates between them resulting in an intense scene of spontaneous lovemaking, Laura refuses to talk or meet with Shane. He then devises and institutes an unorthodox plan to force her to acknowledge her desire for him, trust him and finally divulge her secrets. Shane knows in his bones Laura is a natural sexual submissive. Shane is a sexual dominant who has found satisfaction practicing a BDSM lifestyle over the years.

Needless to say, Shane calls off his marriage to Clarissa.

Risking all, Shane handcuffs Laura and takes her against her will to a remote cabin in northern Illinois. There, he nurtures her desire for him by making love to her. The scenes at the cabin are emotional, tender and sexually explicit. There is bondage and submission and Laura does respond to Shane in this context. IMHO, the character development in this novel is exemplary; I got to know these two people, felt the pain of their lost love, their frustration and their joy at finally being able to touch and become reacquainted with one another. There is one particularly powerful scene where Laura's pent up anger bubbles to the surface with such fury she lashes out at Shane. He, in turn, feels remorse and questions his belief that he has done the right thing in essentially kidnapping her.

Laura is a very stubborn and private woman. She has dark secrets that she keeps locked deep inside because she feels she must. There were times where I, along with Shane, was very frustrated with this heroine because she cannot give him her trust and refuses to confide in him. However, as the story progresses to its riveting conclusion, I came to understand and respect why she felt she had to keep her secrets so close, literally bricking up a thick wall around herself.

Readers are also introduced to Elizabeth and Alex Dominic, Shane's kind and understanding parents. There is a particularly poignant exchange between Laura and Elizabeth when they are reacquainted after so many years that brought tears to my eyes.

Laura's only living relative is her brother Joey, also a policeman on the force, who plays a pivotal role in the story's suspense subplot.

The antagonist in this story is a cruel, powerful man with a Machiavellian complex who has 35 years of tenure on the Chicago Police Department. Nothing happens in the city without Randall Moody knowing and he manipulates Shane, Laura and the secondary characters of this story, in surprising plot twists and turns.

The path to Shane and Laura's HEA is not an easy one but if you are willing to ride the bumpy road with them, I hope you will find reading their story as emotional and special as I did.

"This time, he'll never let her go." As a reader, I was relieved he didn't.

Straight as an arrow Shane Dominic doesn't know what it is about Laura Vasquez but the woman makes him insane. She always has. Ever since she left him to marry someone else he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her or stop loving her. A Special Agent in Chicago, Shane is working on stopping a global theft ring and Laura's now deceased husband is right in the middle of the case. Laura knows more than what she is telling and Shane is having none of it. With kidnapping in mind, he whisks her away to try and get her to confide in him the only way he knows how - between the sheets and up close and personal. Add in a touch of dominance and Shane firmly believes that Laura will sing like a bird.

If Laura Vasquez has learned one thing in thirteen years of marriage, it is to keep her mouth shut. The lessons she learned so long ago are still very clear in her mind and no matter what Shane throws at her, there is no way he will ever get any information from her or out of her. Laura yearns and aches to feel Shane's strong arms around her but she doesn't want to be in a cage - she's had enough of that. She craves his dominance with a submissive nature that surprises her but she can't fully commit until she knows the danger is gone. When an unlikely suspect tries to get to her, Laura continues to hold what she knows close to her heart - a move that definitely puts her in mortal danger.

SWEET RESTRAINT will touch some buttons - it touched mine. I love to savor a well written novel containing D/s and SWEET RESTRAINT has that and so much more. The question of Shane's kidnapping Laura in order to get her to talk made me question myself for about fifteen seconds - long enough for me to read Shane's emotions. He loved Laura with every ounce of his being, and had for over thirteen years. She was the other half of his soul and the thought that she was in danger and stubborn to boot, almost sent him over the edge. He loved roughly, he loved tenderly, but most of all he loved Laura with a passion that was undeniable. Laura learned the hard way what it meant to love someone so much that it hurt. She knew firsthand how her feelings for Shane would be construed and she tried to hide them - deep down, however, in her heart of hearts, Laura's soul cherished Shane Dominic and there was nothing anyone could say or do about it. Laura was stubborn and I got tickled more than once at how much it made Shane crazy. He wanted his Laura on a pedestal and she wasn't about to capitulate.

In my book, Beth Kery is three for three! SWEET RESTRAINT joins two strong previous NY print releases, DARING TIME and WICKED BURN, on my keeper shelf. SWEET RESTRAINT kept me turning the pages, on the edge of my seat, and blushing all at the same time. I emphatically recommend this highly erotic, emotionally gripping novel. Beth Kery has definitely come into her own as a storyteller and I couldn't be more excited!

Natalie S.

Thirteen years ago FBI Special Agent Shane Dominic fell in love with Laura Vasquez, but she married a Chicago cop Huey Mays instead. Their paths have not crossed until now; Shane has busted Huey. Soon after his arrest on international corruption charges Huey is found murdered.

Shane realizes Laura may be in danger from the same culprit who murdered Huey to insure silence and that same killer will not chance Laura knows something about her late husband's operations. Shane abducts her in order to keep her safe and to learn what she actually knows so he can go after the lethal big shot. However, as they fall in love, he also knows she is his submissive, but she fears going back into a relationship with a dominant even if she loves him; as her late spouse crossed the line into abuse.

The story line starts off rather fast as Randall Moody warns Huey that Shane is coming for him; Huey knows his life is over, but regrets not killing Shane and his wife. The plot slows a bit in the middle as the lead couple turn away from the investigation to forge a BDSM relationship. Still SWEET RESTRAINT is a spanking fun police procedural erotic romantic suspense

Harriet Klausner

Perhaps this book is worth more than three stars as it is way above average compared to the numerous poorly written books I could barely get through which preceeded it. I guess that when I opt for a romance I prefer the focus to be on that because if I want to read a good crime novel I go to the source and read Raymond Chandler, for instance. I found that in this book, as in the previous, 'Daring Time', there was far too much emphasis placed on the racketeering and corruption our hero was involved in uncovering, and less on the interaction between the hero and the heroine. Perhaps that is why 'Wicked Burn' by the same author, rates way above the others as there are no crimes and agents in that story at all, as it simply concentrates on the emotional struggle of the main characters.

Having said that, I'll write a brief of the story though it has already been done remarkably well by others. Special agent Shane Dominic sneaks into the house of the woman he was madly in love with ten years ago, Laura Vasquez. She jilted him for no apparent reason and married a person that was a very unlikely choice for her. She never gave him any explanation, walking completely out of his life in a cloud of mystery. Shane now has the chance for revenge. Her husband is involved in a criminal theft ring which is in league with some corrupt members of the police force so he hopes to find some kind of incriminating evidence against him. The basement has been wired to tape the conversations among the criminals. With the footsteps of Laura echoing above him, he plays the tapes but the content is not what he had expected to hear. Insteead, he hears Laura's sighs and moans as she partakes in a sexual orgy. On further investigation he finds other paraphernalia of sexual toys used to spice up the sex games that involve the participation of an audience as well. He is stunned to see that the sweet shy girl he used to adore has turned into a depraved sex addict, obviously under the tutellage of her equally pervertd husband. All he feels now is revulsion with the life she has chosen. As for him, he is about to get married to a lovely, intelligent woman and leave his memories of Laura behind once the case is solved.

When Shane is about to make the big break in the case, Laura's husband suicides and the press make a big feast of the case, digging up the story once again about allegations of police involvement in the crime ring. Laura is persecuted by the press who want to know whether it was not so much a suicide as a premeditaded murder. Shane extricates her from the harassment by driving her to her apartment where his pent up passion errupts like a volcanic explosion and he makes unrestrained love to her. He then comes to realize, that much though he despises he, he lusts after her, so he breaks up his engagement. Sensing that Laura is somehow blackmailed and trapped into a situation from which she cannot escape, he decides to use her penchant for BDSM, to force her to reveal the truth to him. He thus abducts her and takes her to an isolated cabin where he keeps her literally bound hand and foot and under constant vigilance. Shane also brings all his experience and prowess to the fore and gives our heroine an unforgettable exhibition of bondage and dominance that made her submit to him but unfortunately not make any revelations. In fact when Shane thinks he has got her eating out of his hand, she runs away and he is back to square one, left confused and confounded.

Whathappens next I will not reveal, but be rest assured it's what you suspected all along. Laura tries to aquire the evidence by herself without involving Shane and puts her life at risk once again and of course our hero is there at the critical moment...

What I object to is the paltry excuse to include BDSM in the story. It seems so bizarre to kidnap someone for disciplinary reasons. Only a seriously deranged mind would think of such a thing and not an intelligeng FBI agent who knows he is risking his career and freedom if his plan backfires! Besides, all this beating around the bush left little room for dealing with our heroes emotions about each other. The sex was hot, but as I said when the story hasn't tuned your heart strings enough, the music does sound a bit flat.

A very satisfying read. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Kery and it held my attention from page 1. The charismatic hero of the story, Shane Dominic, is an alpha-male law dog with a serious jones for the ever-aloof, Laura Mays; the one that got away. Their history, Shane's resolve, and Laura's inability to trust him completely lead to drastic measures being taken by Shane and eye-ball scorching love scenes ensue! Shane's longing is almost palpable and luckily, the BDSM aspects lend credence to his desperation and contribute to the overall tone of the story rather than detract from it, in my opinion.

Laura Vasquez just might have found a way out of the sticky web she has been living in for the past several years. Her husband is dead and was under investigation by the FBI when it happened. Now Laura just has to find the correct person to give her the evidence she needs to finally set herself free. The only problem with this plan is that the man she turned her back on long ago is the lead agent in this investigation. Shane Dominic is now the Chicago Special Agent in Charge, but years ago he was just the man that loved and wanted to marry Laura. Shane has never understood why she married Vasquez nor why she has put up with the type of married life he understands she has had.

His investigation is stalled and Shane needs answers from Laura that she is not willing to give. Laura is doing everything she can to avoid answering Shane and ignoring the passion between them that has never gone away. When Shane believes he has nothing to lose, he decides to use the knowledge about Laura that he once thought to use for pure enjoyment. Laura is a natural submissive and Shane knows that she was forced to do things because of this. Laura can't believe when Shane takes her into the middle of nowhere and plans to dominate the truth from her. After the handcuffs, the erotic passion, danger and fantasies are over; will Shane and Laura be able to discover their future among the mistrust and misunderstandings that they each held?

One widow trying to get out from the shadow of her marriage and one spurned lover turned FBI agent discover what they missed in Sweet Restraint. Laura is relieved that her husband is gone, but is trying to get the evidence needed to let her escape the web they were in. Shane has never forgotten his love for Laura nor how she abruptly turned against him and married someone else. Ms. Kery had me in shivers and it was hard to tell at times whether they were from the eroticism or the suspense that teamed up beautifully. From the very beginning I could tell that Shane and Laura would be doing more than just smoldering and was not surprised when the flames came forth, but I was delightedly surprised on just how just how it would turn out. I loved Shane and Laura even when I was shaking my head trying to figure out the why of something only to have it explained further along. Sweet Restraint is a tumble whirl of emotion, eroticism and suspense that will hook you and not let go. It is also a must read and Joyfully Recommended by me.

Jo
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Thirteen years ago Shane "Dom" Dominic and Laura Vasquez had a beautiful love affair that was destined to go all the way. Then one day Laura turned from him and eloped with a man ten years her senior. Stunned, Shane tried everything in his power to get Laura to explain but not only did she never give him the courtesy of a simple explanation, she even gave him the cold shoulder and did everything in her power to break his heart. Now Shane is the head of a racketeering investigative committee and his sights have been locked on Laura's husband since the beginning. He's relishing the moment when he can bring her husband's corruption into the light of day when the little weasel commits suicide. Now he's back to square one, trying to dig out the corruption that is currently running rampant throughout the Chicago Police Department, when he finds Laura being snatched by a known criminal in front of her brother's home, who is currently getting chummy with known dirty cops. Now more than ever he needs to know what happened to Laura thirteen years ago. He needs to know what she knows so he can protect her and ease the blackmail he knows someone has on her. With her screams of ecstatic submission ringing in his ears from the wiretaps placed in Laura's basement, he figures he can use the sexual desire that still runs red hot between them as a means to take control. So he kidnaps her. Handcuffs her and drives her into the mountains and basically locks her away as his prisoner. He does everything he can with the limited time he has stolen for them to open Laura's eyes to the passion they once had. Even though what they shared up in that cabin was magical and a moment out of time, Laura still runs from him and back to her life at the first chance. He follows her only to discover that Laura's own brother may be part of the corruption that has been holding her hostage for over a decade. Laura's trust in men has been severely shaken and decides that the only thing she can do is find the proof that will set her and her brother free. Meanwhile, Shane can only pray that Laura will let him in before it's too late.

The only other Beth Kery book I have read so far is Wicked Burn and I loved it to bits. The emotions that ran through that book were so deep and true and I was really hoping for more of the same. This book also had a lot of emotions running through it but it was not quite as realistic as Wicked Burn. I didn't feel like Shane and Laura were flesh and blood people until the end when they had finished with their sexcapades up in that cabin. Vic from Wicked Burn was a pretty dominant man and I felt like I was prepared for Shane, also having read a few reviews for Beth Kery's other book, Daring Time, which sounds pretty kinktastic, too. Also, hello? Have you seen the cover for this book?! Hot!! So I felt I was sufficently prepared for this book and all it's kinky glory. Yet I was still surprised about how ambiguous it was, consent-wise. I'm pretty lenient when it comes to forceful seductions but I still gasped and went, "what an *expletive deleted*!" I know a lot of people are not so lenient and they will believe she had those earth shattering orgasms (lucky cow) under duress. Plus, hot button issue for a lot of people, he watches her go to the bathroom. And this is more of a personal hangup than anything else but I thought it was cruel and unusual punishment that he forced her to go jogging with him. For six or seven miles. I wouldn't have lasted more than ten minutes (if that) before he would have had to drag my sorry, out of shape corpse behind him.

While some of Shane's actions pissed me off, for the most part the sex was pretty erotic and intense. Again, I'm pretty lenient and I get what he was trying to do. He was trying to break through her shell and get back to the woman he knew was in there. Because of this, Laura's emotions were skewed all over the place and so were mine. I wish Beth Kery could have had Laura spill the beans at the end of the trip but, sigh, she doesn't. It's a lot of sexy scenes, a big buildup of tension, Dom got his rocks off and then she leaves, not having solved anything. No catharsis for the soul, no crying in his arms and asking him to help shoulder her burdens. They get back to the real world and immediately started snapping at each other again. I know this was an erotic romance but still. I was starting to get tired and had been flipping through the sex scenes anyway and I needed her to just spill the beans already so we could all move forward.

Though, when she did finally let Shane in on the truth all my stunned brain could say was, "Wow. That sucks." I completely sympathize with everything she endured and because I felt like Shane was in part punishing her for what he thought he heard on those wiretaps, I felt a sick surge of satisfaction when he heard another set of audiotapes. I enjoyed the suspense part of the book and really, really wish there could have been more of it. It was really good and well thought out, but I just wish there could have been more of it.

So bottom line, while I might have had some problems with Shane's actions at the cabin, the story itself was first rate. I just thought it took way too long to get there and the sex kept coming too long and hard throughout the book. (hehe) So I'll give four stars for the suspense part of the book and 3 stars for all the sex.

Beth Kery has done it again. This is a sizzling HOT, erotic BDSM tale about soul mates wrapped in a suspenseful crime drama for the frame. Though circumstances have kept them apart, they relentlessly carried each other in their hearts. This is another "can not put it down" read. I certainly could have read another 200 pages of the crime story; as is the book has a lot of sex scenes. This book is about 75% erotic romance and 25% crime story. Although some of the other reviewers have provided in depth synopsis of the plot, I recommend this book.

After reading Wicked Burn, I was so looking forward to read Sweet Restraint, but alas I was disappointed. While it is hard to write an erotic novel with a story, Beth Kery had failed to portray the poignant emotionality that she introduced us to in Wicked Burn. I felt so detached from the characters, that at times I thought that I was just watching a badly acted porn movie. Even the angst that I was expecting from the type of history that the HH had together was nearly non existant. Their relationship was so shallow and the sex was mechanical. I don't really know what happened to Beth Kery's writing but it felt like she went back to her Elloras Cave pointless erotic stories. Too bad as I was really looking forward to adding her to my favorite authors list.