Fortune by Annabel Joseph

 

We first met Ryan in Deep in the Woods, he was a fun guy and a pretty serious dominant. And a great friend.

We get to know him a whole lot better in Fortune.

Here's the blurb:

Kat doesn’t know whether or how to end her six-night-a-week party habit, not to mention her unhealthy addiction to meaningless sex. Then an accident lands her in the hospital. She wakes to find a menagerie of origami figures—and a gorgeous neurosurgeon—beside her bed. The complexity of the paper creations is nothing compared to the complexity of dark-eyed, authoritative Ryan, who seems determined to give her life some direction. Trouble is, Kat’s just as determined to resist his efforts to tame her wild side.

With persistence, Ryan draws Kat into his world of dominance and submission, where quiet commands and lengths of rope awaken needs and desires she never knew she possessed. But Ryan’s intimate, erotic shibari sessions frighten Kat as much as they excite her, for each simple knot requires infinite trust and inspires complicated emotions.

Then a family crisis tests their love and threatens to snap the fragile ties that bind them. Will fortune ever smile on this unlikely couple, or will fate tear them apart?

Normally I have a problem with Doms who spank someone before the whole "consent" talk happens. But in this case it was okay. Kat did consent to it, in her own way... and she never would have had the conversation if she hadn't already experienced some kink first.

The whole set up worked for me. The "vanilla" woman who is really submissive and a touch masochistic but never realized it. Authors have to be careful with that or it doesn't work. Annabel Joseph made it work. Quite well.

The cranes were almost a character within the story. A powerful presence. The character development in general was powerful, and to make origami cranes have enough of a presence to qualify as a character... it takes a skillful author.

I appreciated the levels of consent in place throughout the book. I also appreciated the way the BDSM was integrated into real life. And the way the relationship progressed. This is a love story, a romance. Sure, it's between a Dom and a sub. But it's also between a doctor and a translator. A man and a woman.

And I loved the way Kat's family was integrated into the story. Even the painful parts.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: Yes, but the bondage was artfully done. 3 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: Yes. And it was very realistically done. 3 of 3.
• Sadism and Masochism: Oh yes.  2 of 3
• Extra Point: Yes.

There is one group scene between friends, an extended version of what happened in the first book. An M/M/f/f scene. And it's hot. Capital H. Hot.

As for the writing elements: The plot worked. Nicely. The pacing was well done. Prose and dialogue were skillfully woven together. Character development was most excellent.

• Book Rating: Fortune: 10 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 9 of 10
• Heat Level: 5 of 5

Both of these books can be read as stand alone books, but both books are excellent, so you may as well read the first book first, then read the second.

1. Deep in the Woods
2. Fortune