[ARC Review] Blossom by Helen Hardt
The ultra-luxe Black Rose Underground Club used to be Mary Sandusky’s favorite place to play. She was happy to slip into her role as seasoned submissive Blossom and relinquish control to an expert Dom. But when a scene gets out of hand, she can no longer trust her own dark appetites. She’s ready to walk away from Black Rose for good...until she meets a hot Highlander who pushes all the right buttons.
Nothing makes Ronan O’Connor’s blood heat more than commanding a submissive in a scene, but forming a relationship outside the club was an urge lost long ago. The closer people get, the more damage they can do. But when he meets the alluring Mary, her beauty—and her obedience—captivate him, and he's determined to make her his.
Every Dom has firm rules, and Ronan is no exception. So he’ll make her an offer—one that will push her boundaries of pleasure and submission even as it challenges the line that separates Mary and Blossom. But neither of them is prepared for where his plans take them...
MY THOUGHTS: I've loved the two previous books in the Black Rose Underground series, but I think Blossom may just be my favorite. I loved that our female main character is one that we've previously met and got to know a bit in her life outside of the club before we dove into her personal life in this book. And the fact that Ronan, our leading man, likes to wear a kilt doesn't hurt the spice factor any.
As this series progresses, it feels like more emphasis is put on the emotional relationship each couple has, rather than the physical. And despite the fact that parts of this book take place at the Black Rose Underground club, it actually makes the most sense that the relationship would focus less on physical sparks and more on the emotional connection; after all, the first book featured friends becoming more, so they already had the emotional connection and just needed to explore the physical side of things. But Mary's whole character arc would've seemed incomplete if she didn't first come to terms with her past scene failure before exploring a future with Ronan.
I thought Hardt did a great job balancing the emotional and the spicy within this book. Both main characters exhibited a lot of emotional growth within this story, from Mary learning to trust herself to Ronan learning to trust others with himself. I thought both the physical and emotional blended well together with these two, and I loved the path they both went down in this book.
Blossom was a highlight of the Black Rose series for me. Between fantastic character growth, great scenes in and out of the club, and some deeper discussions on the lifestyle itself, it was hard to put down Mary and Ronan's story.
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Release date: 1/23/24
Format: eARC
eARC provided via: NetGalley widget
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