Red Handed
(Benediction #2)
by Shelly Bell
Publisher: Avon Red Impulse
Publication date: April 14, 2015
Genre: Erotica
Rating:
An exhibitionist who’s waited her whole life to be seen …
After her stepmother is abducted, Danielle Walker has no choice but to follow the kidnapper’s cryptic instructions. Under the guise of a sex slave trainee, she must infiltrate Cole DeMarco’s BDSM club and find evidence of his offshore bank account … or she’ll never see her stepmother alive again. But Master Cole is no stranger, and despite the dark past they share, Danielle cannot resist his magnetic pull.
The voyeur who’s always been watching …
As Danielle begins uncovering Cole’s secrets, the artistic voyeur arouses her deepest desires, and she surrenders to a fiery passion she never expected. But with time running out to save her stepmother, Danielle and Cole will face off against an evil growing more ruthless by the day … and discover a twisted web of lies, betrayal, and murder that neither saw coming.
Danielle and Cole’s story is a lot more than the synopsis give. Cole was actually Danielle’s father’s silent business partner. They never actually met but they’d seen each other once before when Cole stopped by the house to speak with her dad. She’s been holding a flame for him since she was 17. Her father wound up joining to jail and killing himself and it’s all because of Cole. So, when Danielle’s stepmother is kidnapped and she’s tasked to infiltrate Cole’s BDSM club in order to get her hands on certain documents, she jumps at the chance to not only save her stepmother but take down the man who ruined her family. The only problem is, she realizes that her feelings for Cole have never gone away and that maybe he’s not as sinister as she’s cooked him up to be in her mind.
Red Handed was a very sexy read and while that’s great, I felt like the suspense, the whole reason why Danielle is there in the first place, took a backseat in the story. It was almost non-existent at times as she explored her inner sexuality at the club. I found myself forgetting that there was a person’s life on the line until a random note or phone call would pop up demanding that she work faster. I kind of wish that the suspense was a little bit more predominate in the story. Also, when the whole bombshell hits and secrets are revealed, I felt like everything was just brushed aside with no actual repercussions. I don’t want to go into details and give stuff away but I was expecting some feelings of betrayal or at least some hurt feelings but there was none of that.
While I would have liked to see more suspense, Red Handed definitely delivered on the erotic aspect of the story line. Since Danielle is new to the lifestyle, she’s slowly introduced to things and starts to realize that she has a little bit of kink in her. Not only that, but Cole definitely delivers in allowing her to explore her newfound interest and those scenes made for some extremely sexy times.
I wish there was more suspense to the story but I still found myself enjoying Cole and Danielle’s characters. They were both strong individuals who were not afraid to fight for what they wanted. I enjoyed all the secondary characters that came into play and I look forward to reading their stories. While there were some minor errors in the novel, it didn’t detract too much from the story and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a steamy erotic romance.
Favorite quote…
“Do you want to know why I named this club Benediction? […] BDSM gave me back some semblance of control in my life. When a woman submits to me, she places her trust in me, and I become her higher power. To me, that’s a blessing. It’s as close to believing in God as I’m every going to get.”
Despite a few points there, the series looks good. I’m just not sure it’s for me. I’m not really into erotica
I used to read quite of bit of BDSM, and was hooked. (lol) These days, I’m a little more into the suspense in a book with romance, so this may not make my list at the moment, but you never know, I could go back to this exciting genre one day soon. Loved your review! Hugs…RO
I really hate stories so I’m not sure if this one’s for me 🙁 But I’m glad you enjoyed this one Kristin 🙂
Hot as sin then 🙂
That sounds like a good one. I think I would like this one.
I’m not a huge fan of erotica or suspense so I’m not sure this is for me but I’m glad you enjoyed it overall despite the lack of suspense.
For What It’s Worth
wow that is quiet the set up for the plot o.o a lot going on