Customer Reviews

Sweet Surrender

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really wanted to love this book. It had all the elements I enjoy: strong alpha hero, an intelligent and strong heroine who has a submissive streak sexually, and a suspense plot to keep things interesting.

There were parts of this book I really enjoyed. I liked the hero and heroine a lot. Both characters were engaging and well-drawn, and on paper were ideal for each other. The problem is in the execution.

In what I'm guessing was an attempt to build sexual tension, the author kept the hero and heroine dancing around a mild flirtation for about the first 1/3 of the book. Now, I love sexual tension in erotic romances when its done well. One of my pet peeves is authors who have the h/h jump into bed right away without giving the reader a chance to want them there. Frankly, we don't see enough sexual tension in erotic romance, in my opinion. Unfortunately it wasn't done well in this book. The hero kept the heroine at arms length to the point of acting like a beta male, nowhere near the take-charge alpha the heroine (and I) was looking for. Worse, conversations and scenes between them became boring after awhile. There was no real tension, just a sense of marking time.

There was also the fact that for a submissive, the heroine spent an awful lot of time trying to control the relationship and force the hero to take charge (I can't say that I blame her. He was annoyingly passive sexually for the first half of the book). To be fair, the author addressed the heroine's attempts to control things; the hero points it out in what becomes a turning point for them. Unfortunately that still means that for more than half the book you have a supposedly submissive heroine acting anything but submissive sexually and a supposedly dominant hero who has to be knocked upside the head before he will begin taking charge.

Toss in a disappointingly thin suspense subplot and the whole book became an exercise in frustration for me. I would also have liked to have known ahead of time that the book includes a menage scene. It's not a deal-breaker for me; they're fine in pure erotica, but I avoid them when I'm reading for romance.

I do think this author has a lot of potential. The erotic scenes (once we finally got them) were very, very hot. Unfortunately they came so late in the book that we never really got a chance to watch these two work out their d/s relationship. They talked a lot about what they were looking for but we never really get to see it play out.

I was excited about this book based on the reviews and the blurb, but I'll be cautious about trying this author again.

Gray Montgomery is working on the biggest case of his life. His best friend and partner Alex was murdered, and he cannot rest until the perpetrator is brought to justice. The Dallas police department has been working on it without any forward progress, and Gray decides to follow the lead Alex's father uncovered. He takes a leave of absence from the police department, and goes undercover in Houston to find out what Faith Malone knows because their suspect was last seen in the company of her mother.

After just spending a few moments with Faith, Gray instinctively knows that she had nothing to do with the hit on Alex, but stays in hopes of finding a lead on her mother. Gray finds himself incredibly attracted to Faith, but fights his feelings because of her involvement in his investigation, and he is afraid she couldn't handle his darker sexual tastes. Little does Gray know that Faith craves a strong dominant man. She finds herself thinking about him constantly hoping he is the man she has been looking for. When Gray and Faith finally give into their desires, and it is explosive.

Maya Banks became a must buy for me after Colters' Woman, and her subsequent books never fail to hit the mark. I am always excited to see what she has coming out next. This book was sexy, erotic, and thrilling. I am hoping to maybe see this developed into a series. It sure was set up to. Superb read!

I am glad I won this book in a contest. Had I paid a trade paperback price for this, I would have been out of my mind with disappointment.

Gray Montgomery is a Dallas cop working undercover, and off the record, to avenge his partner's death on the job. Faith Malone is the office manager at Gray's new job, and her mother is the suspected killer's accomplice. Gray takes this job to get close to Faith to see if she's in cahoots with her mother.

While tapping her phones and invading her privacy illegally (how romantic) the two begin a flirtation. You see, Faith is looking for a dominant man to call all the shots in and out of bed and Gray is looking to do some shot calling. Slam dunk, right? Of course not. Naturally he has to fight his attraction. Why? I don't know. We're never really given a reason. So Faith goes after him. Wicked submissive of her, amirite?

To be fair, Gray does call Faith on her topping from the bottom, but the book gets no less silly. The mysteriously rich sex club owner Damon, on a short, professional acquaintance, offers his Galveston beach house for her solo use for a week (and sends her there via chauffeured Bentley) so she can think about her Gray dilemma. Uh-huh. Sure.

Right after she leaves, Gray's partner's father shows up in Houston all worked up about the suspected killer being nearby. Gray and the people her works with, aka the Cast of Future Heroes, hatch a plan to set a trap to catch the bad guy, who's after Faith to try to kidnap and ransom her. Gray is then sent to Galveston to "protect" Faith with the command from her father to not tell her about all this trouble (foreshadowing should be subtle, this screams INCOMING BIG MISUNDERSTANDING, no?)

What follows is some light D/s play, some backdoor action, a borderline creepy threesome with her friend Micah and enough showering to drain the Great Lakes. Banks' falls into the trap of telling rather than showing when she writes sex. There's a lot of play-by-play where she tells us what body parts are doing to other body parts, but a paucity of emotion and reaction. Gems include, "He continued to thrust against her until finally he stopped....Then he eased out of her body with a gentle pop." So. Not. Hot.

The conclusion to the suspense has gaping holes like a porn actress after a gang bang. What the hell was Mick on about by leading the bad guy to Galveston? Why was he so mean to Faith? Did the bad guy actually kill Gray's partner? Why was Gray unarmed? Why did bad guy leave Faith where she could escape? Why would Faith believe an armed madman's word over Gray's and who the hell asks questions of an armed madman? Surely her relationship drama could've waited.

All told, this book was a chore to read. The secondary characters were woefully underdeveloped, the D/s rather vanilla, the sex tepid and the prose dry. It was a disappointment, as I enjoyed the Samhain books of hers that I read. I doubt I'll read book two, unless I win a copy of that as well.

Police officer Grayson Montgomery is on mandated leave. Having lost his partner, Alex, to a rogue criminal months before, Gray only has one physical and psychiatric evaluation standing in his way before he can return to work. When Alex's father, Mick, comes to Gray and asks him to take a leave of absence and follow a lead on Alex's killer, Gray feels he owes it to Alex and arranges another few months off in order to try and find the man who shot Alex down in cold blood. The killer's trail leads to a woman in Houston named Faith Malone. Grayson figures he can get in good with her and then he will find his man. Once that is done, Alex can rest in peace.

Faith Malone and her adopted family run a security company. She spends her time working and her nights craving the touch of a man. The dominant touch of a man who will call the shots, who will take what he wants when he wants. A man unlike any she has ever met. When her family hires Gray Montgomery, Faith can't help but hope that the dominance she sees in his eyes is for real and she sets out to capture the elusive Mr. Montgomery. There is just one problem, he knows what she is doing and he isn't cooperating. Until Faith gives over power and completely surrenders, Gray refuses to even be half the man she hopes for. Surrender, however, comes with a price; a price so steep that Faith may never recover.

Talk about Sweet Surrender! Let me be the first to say that Gray Montgomery can tie me up anytime, anywhere - and let people watch! That alpha man pushed my buttons and steamed my glasses. His dominating personality was just perfectly executed and his tenderness, albeit alpha tenderness, could have made me swoon had I been there experiencing him firsthand. I held my breath, I got teary-eyed, and I smiled. All because of this enticing male character. Faith was so near to me in personality that I more than once winced at her mistakes, although they were innocent ones. Her ability to forgive showed how innocent she truly was and her ability to complete Grayson was awe-inspiring.

I can't get enough of this author. Maya Banks has the ability to whisk me away and make me forget where I am and who I am with--When I read a Maya Banks release, I am right there with the characters and I wouldn't have it any other way. Sweet Surrender releases from Berkley on March 5, 2008. I have already pre-ordered my copy and I personally think others should do the same!

Talia
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Barely recovered from his own injury and still reeling from the murder of his partner, police detective Gray Montgomery will do almost anything to bring the killers to justice. But his department in Dallas isn't getting anywhere with the investigation. Worse, they've cut him out of it. Frustrated and determined, Gray teams with his partner's father, a retired cop, to follow the trail to Houston and the doorstep of one Ms. Faith Malone.

From the moment he lays eyes on Faith, Gray's gut tells him she is innocent, even if she does have ties to the murderer. Sweet, delectable Faith brings out every protective instinct he's got, and stirs some very dominant tendencies as well. But Gray has never found a woman who can handle his dominant side, and he is sure that innocent little Faith can't, no matter how much he wishes otherwise.

Faith has never found satisfaction in her relationships, either in or out of bed. She needs something more than the men she knows have been able to give. She wants someone to take control - not only for a night, not just in bed, but in all aspects of the relationship. When she meets Gray, she recognizes a man who can fulfill her every fantasy, if only she can figure out a way to prove she is the woman he needs...

With Maya Banks' second New York print release, I realize I just may need another bookcase in the next year with a few shelves reserved for her work! This author's accomplishments in the writing arena grow with every new release, and this reviewer never ceases to be impressed with Ms. Banks' imagination and skill.

Sweet Surrender is a story ripe with potential for sequels, with a solid cast of supporting characters as intriguing as the hero and heroine. Yet for all the interest she stirs in the secondary characters, Banks easily manages to prevent them from overshadowing the main characters. Do we want to see more of hunks Connor, Nathan, Micah, and Damon? Heck, yes! But this book very definitely belongs to Gray and Faith.

Gray is your typical tortured hero - only he never feels typical. Not one little bit. Not only is Gray fighting to capture his late friend's killer, but his own internal demons. He struggles with guilt over a necessary deception, concern that he wants more from Faith than she can give, and fear that he might lose her forever. For a man as in control as Gray is, that internal struggle is perhaps more worrisome than the murder investigation he is conducting. But once he sees Faith for who she truly is and decides what he really wants, the doubt falls away and the man we've caught glimpses of throughout the story shines through.

Faith is absolutely beautiful. She is warm and giving, qualities that are bound to make a submissive desirable to any man, but which beckon to Gray as sweetly as any Siren's song. In the beginning, she is simultaneously unsure of what she really needs from a relationship, and afraid to admit what she suspects it is. As she begins to explore her submissive side, she learns more about herself than she ever expected. And she soon discovers that what she needs can only be found in the arms of one man.

Through it all, Banks tells an intriguing tale of suspense, with an action packed climax guaranteed to keep you biting your nails!

I absolutely adored Sweet Surrender!! This story ran my heart through the wringer more than once, ultimately leaving me with a more than satisfying ending - the kind of ending that makes me believe in real-life romance. I will be crossing my fingers for many sequels to this fantastic story of love and suspense!

I read this book out of order. I first read Sweet Persuasion, then Sweet Seduction, and then Sweet Surrender. I was looking forward to how Julie, Serena, and Faith became such good friends but Julie was only briefly mentioned and Serena was no where to be seen.

I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the male bonding going on. I like how Faith was the only girl in the office with these macho guys. It would have been nice if we got a bit more explanation as to why Mick was so sure Samuels was the guy who killed his son but hey . .. let's get to the good stuff.

I was curious how Micah and Faith ended up hooking up. It was hot when he tied her up to Gray's bed. My only problem was when Faith and Gray fell asleep on the deck the entire night. When he woke up he took her to the bed and tied her up. Then Micah and Gray had their way with her. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking "oh no, she hasn't had a chance to brush her teeth and she's going to have sex with horrible morning breath." That was not a good thought to have when I'm reading erotica.

Also it got pretty old whenever Gray pulled out of Faith it was always followed by "a gush of fluid." We get it, they're not using condoms.

This isn't going to make the list of "Greatest Books of All Time," but for what it is, it's fantastic. A romance featuring steamy sex with splashes of bondage and d/s thrown in. For people who want more than just a hint of kink, but who don't want full-blown BDSM, this is a great read. And among 'erotica authors,' Maya Banks definitely stands out as one of the more talented.

Grayson is sent to Huston by his adoptive father to find the killer of his brother and partner on the police force. They have a lead that is linked to Faith in a security firm. They have an instant attraction, but not knowing if she is involved with the bad guy Gray pushes, Faith pulls. Faith is looking for dominance yearning to be a submissive, for a good portion she tries to control situations to a suitable outcome. She knows what she wants, just doesn't know how to get it. Grayson finally understands her motives and tries to set things right.
I understand that this novel was trying to build up the sexual tension between the two, it didn't pull me in as well as some other novels have. I enjoyed the characters and their development. I liked Micah, Conner, Nathan, Damon and Pop. When the damn finally broke between Faith and Gray it was passionate and sweet, but I easily put down the book. It was a sweet romance, I wouldn't read it again. Maybe i'm having an off day, towards the end I was bored. The subplot wasn't suspense full at all. Overall it was okay i give 3.5 stars.

A good erotic romance with the emphasis on romance! Warm and full of emotion, not as edgy as the other books in this series - light bdsm - but still very good!

I loved this book!!! The journey that Faith goes on to find out what she needs and how Gray is there to help her figure it out. Throw in a little crime and lovin'. It's enuff to keep you warm for quite awhile. The secondary characters are amazing as well. I hope their stories will be told at later dates. Ms. Banks is indeed on my list of must haves.