Title: Reclaimed Surrender
Author: Riley Murphy
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave (08 February 2012)
ASIN: B0077ROL0O
A marriage on the rocks. A wife who longs to be taken in hand. A husband who wants nothing more than to recover the control he’s relinquished. Reclaimed Surrender is a fabulous exploration of what happens when the equilibrium is upset in a D/s relationship; of the havoc that ensues when a Dom, with the best of intentions, cedes to his sub.
Rene and Alexis Tanner are having major problems. Something has happened (I won’t spoil the book for you by saying what) that’s severely affected the level of trust between them – and it’s absolutely killing their relationship. To the point that they’re unable to relate to one another, to exchange power, in the way they both desperately need to.
When we first meet Alexis, she’s pretty much resigned herself to the fact that her marriage is, for all intents and purposes, over. In her heart, she doesn’t want it to be (she can’t bring herself to officially end things) but she’s accepted that it’s not working. In fact, she’s doing everything she can to push Rene away from her in an attempt to get him to call time. The problem is, Rene loves his wife – and he’s not about to let her destroy them. He’s tried stepping back and giving Alexis space in an effort to get them back to where they were, but it hasn’t worked and he’s reached his limit. So for one week they’ll do things his way. He’ll assume complete control once more. And if Alex baulks? Well, yeah. Then things really are over.
Verbal sparring, clashes of will, bratty behaviour, delicious punishments – Reclaimed Surrender ticks all the boxes. This erotic story moves at a really good pace and watching Alexis rediscover her submission – and Rene reclaim it – makes for very compelling reading.
‘“You’re a spoiled, self-indulged brat who’s gotten too big for her britches.”
“How dare you!”
“I haven’t finished. Those britches I mentioned? They need to be stripped from you so I can spank your ass until you can’t sit down. How dare I? How dare you?”’
While laced with some incredibly hot play passages – the sublimely cathartic crop scene springs immediately to mind – Reclaimed Surrender also includes beautiful demonstrations of power exchange and submission in their less ‘physical’ forms (specifically, the text message and errand list sequences). This is very much a book about connecting, mentally as well as bodily.
Of course, the backbone theme of Reclaimed Surrender is trust – having it, losing it, getting it back – and the way Riley Murphy articulates and explains the nuances of it within a Dom/sub relationship though her characters is both thoughtful and moving:
‘“ … where a deep trust is perceived to be broken? I can only imagine that this would devastate a fully committed Dom because that would mean his honour comes into question.”’
One final point worth mentioning … There’s a certain human curveball in the Reclaimed Surrender mix – one who keeps you from getting too confident about how it will all end between Rene and Alex. Yet although he was both troubling and obnoxious for most of the book, I unexpectedly warmed to him in the last few pages. In fact, now I must confess to being rather curious about his future. Will Mr Curveball pop up in another of Ms Murphy’s books? I kind of hope so …
Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to purchase a copy.
Amazon.co.uk:
Amazon.com:
