An Unlocked Heart (Collars and Cuffs #1), K.C. Wells
Rating: 5 Stars
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Gay Romance
Tags: BDSM, Contemporary, Series
Length: 314 Pages
Reviewer: Steph
Purchase At: Dreamspinner Press, amazon.com
Blurb:
A Collars & Cuffs Story
Since the death of his submissive lover two years ago, Leo hasn’t been living—merely existing. He focuses on making Collars & Cuffs, a BDSM club in Manchester’s gay village, successful. That changes the night he and his business partner have their weekly meeting at Severinos. Leo can’t keep his eyes off the new server. The shy man seems determined to avoid Leo’s gaze, but that’s like a red rag to a bull. Leo loves a challenge.
Alex Daniels works at Severinos to scrape together the money to move out on his own. He struggles with coming out, but he’s drawn to Leo, the gorgeous guy with the icy-blue eyes who’s been eating in his area nearly every night.
Leo won’t let Alex’s hesitance get in the way. He even keeps him away from the club so as not to scare him. And as for telling Alex that Leo is a Dom? Not a good idea. One date becomes two, but date two leads to Leo’s bedroom… and Alex discovers things about himself he never realized—and never wanted anyone to see.
Review:
The writing in this book absolutely blew me away. It was seamless and made my reading experience effortless and incredible. This is a fantastic example of why I love duel points of view so much. When done correctly it offers such a unique view into a relationship. It allows you to see both sides of an argument, both sides of a sexual relationship, and how each person sees the other. How they feel about each other… KC Wells did such a wonderful job. At only 6% in, I sent a friend of mine a message saying… I have the MOST amazing feeling about this book. Seriously, I can already feel every single word. And that never changed. My heart was in this book, right to the very end. I loved it.
I won’t lie, there was a time recently where I thought, You know what, BDSM and Bondage, stuff like that… (see, you can totally tell how knowledgeable I am on the subject. Haha)… just really isn’t for me any more. I got so fed up of reading about people seeing BDSM as just this kinky game. I feel like BDSM is used too often for the shock value. Thanks to ‘The Author Who Shall Not Be Named’, BDSM has become a gimmick. But this book just sounded way too good to pass up so I took a chance, and boy am I glad I did. It’s books like this that will make me search for the amazing BDSM books that are evidently still out there, like diamonds in the rough.
This is a book about two men; One mild and quiet, shy and subservient. And one strong, capable, confident and lonely… It’s about them finding something they didn’t even know they were looking for. Something neither of them were sure they deserved. It’s a book where two men learn about themselves and what they want out of their lives. This is a book where two men complete each other. It was a joy to experience.
‘Leo cupped his cheek, guiding Alex’s face inexorably towards his. “I’m not letting you go without a kiss,” he said softly. “So you’d better prepare yourself, boy.” Alex caught his breath as Leo’s lips met his in a sensual kiss…’
Leo is fantastic.
There’s just something about him that screams sexual dominance. I was drawn like a moth to the flame, just like Alex.
I fell in love with Leo more and more every time he took care of Alex. Every time he showed him that what he wants is important. Every time he made a sub’s day by telling him how proud he was making his Master.
I have to say that I think my favourite thing about Leo (bar that incredible dirty mouth, of course) was the way he empowered Alex. He saw the amazing man that Alex should be and he held his hand and encouraged him to be strong. He helped him face up to the things he had been hiding from. He helped Alex discover exactly who he is and what he wants.
Watching them both grow together as a couple was amazing.
Alex is such a sweet hero.
He has felt isolated, alone, unworthy, and completely lost his entire life. He is stuck in a family that don’t want him, that judge him and use his personality against him. I loved seeing him relax when Leo took those terrifyingly difficult decisions away from him. It gave Alex time to think and to breathe, something he has never had before. Having someone at his back to catch him if he falls made him blossom into this beautiful, naturally submissive sexual creature. It was enthralling to see.
Overall, this book was more than a pleasure to read. I devoured it and stayed up way past my bedtime, promising myself I would stop after just one more chapter. Haha.
This was my first book by K.C. Wells but it certainly won’t be the last!
This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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This looks like a really good book. I always enjoy a good BDSM story when it’s written well.
Thanks, Steph!
Sounds really good Steph. Looks like K C Wells just got a new fan.
🙂
I too loved this book! I just checked my “Manage my Kindle page” to see what other KC Wells books I have read and realised there’s 10 of them! So yep, I’d say she’s a wonderful writer. I loved her “Learning to Love” series.
Haha. She definitely has a new fan, Kazza 😉
I’ll have to look that up, Kelsey 🙂