Book Review
Title: Haven (Beards & Bondage #1)
Author: Rebekah Weatherspoon
Genre: Erotic/Romance
Rating: *****
Review: The opening to Haven was definitely explosive as we are introduced to nature photographer Shepard “Shep” Olsen and his dog, Titus after returning from his once yearly trip home, where he also has a play partner. However, his peace is interrupted when he hears a woman screaming for help and she practically falls threw his door. He kills the man trying to kill her and on their way to the hospital he learns that there might be more of them and that they killed the woman’s brother. He learns her name is Claudia and despite his rugged appearance, he is kind and gentle with her. The police are quick to act and find Claudia’s brother Miles dead, and the two men that did it. It turns out they are wanted in connection with a string of murders which is why the FBI are involved and despite the cut and dry nature of this attack, they grill Shep pretty hard. By the time he can see Claudia again she has left to go home and leaves no way of contacting her but Shep from the brief time he has known Claudia, knows she is a fighter and that she will be okay.
We then jump to Claudia’s perspective in the first week since her brother’s murder, at the moment is she numb waiting for the FBI to release her brother’s body which takes months. In the next six months, Claudia deals with her brother’s affair and lays him to rest but she is struggling with getting back into her life before, she doesn’t really talk to her friends, she wants nothing to do with her boyfriend; Jason and she doesn’t want to return to work. By the six month mark, she has dumped Jason, quite her job and travelled back to the mountain town where she met Shep. She brings thank you flowers for everyone that helps her and eventually she meets Shep again and they end up going for a drink. Shep knows that Claudia returned for a reason and needs some form of closure but she isn’t willing to tell him what she needs yet as despite everything, they are essentially strangers. However, before Shep can head home Claudia calls him, now she has his number and spends the night at his place while nothing happens they do discuss the possibility of a dominant/submissive relationship between then and despite his brain telling him it isn’t the right thing to do, Shep agrees.
After their first night together, Claudia agrees to spend a week with Shep at his home before they rethink their arrangement, however, Claudia is used to a D/s relationship where she is also dating the person whereas Shep is used to a D/s relationship where he has no emotional attachment at all and after seeing how compatible this pair are I don’t think it’s going to be possible for Shep to keep emotions out of this relationship. As soon as this pair start exploring their new BDSM relationship, the honesty and communication is strained between them because Claudia isn’t used to it and she has a lot of issue she is trying to work through as well but being a good dominant Shep knows what she needs and knows when not to push her limits. However, as I predicted Claudia wants a lot more than just a D/s relationship with Shep and if he is being honest, he wants that as well.
Their week together goes really well as Shep and Claudia develop a sense of trust between them that they have never had with anyone else, Shep even introduces Claudia to sub space and what they means, developing their relationship further but when Claudia gets a job offer she leaves to return home. After 45 days both Claudia and Shep aren’t doing well with being apart and she suddenly makes a reappearance in his life where she explains she worked through all the shit she has been carrying around with her. When he asks about her job, she tells him that she lied to her boss saying they were getting married and he couldn’t move so she now can work remotely and travel occasionally which she was used to doing in her old job. Shep is his usual cranky self during this time but when she mentions he would make a great stay at home dad, that seals it for him and they begin their new life together. Overall, Haven wasn’t as BDSM heavy as I was expecting and Shep is honestly one of the best portrayed dominant I have ever read about and I’d highly recommend this book to all.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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