Title: My Liege of Dark Haven
Author: Cherise Sinclair
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (August 26, 2012)
ISBN: 978-1-61118-978-0

Cherise Sinclair, how much do I love My Liege? Let me count the ways.

I love the depth and breadth of His character.
I love His outward poise and inner grace.
I love His calm, His confidence.
I love His humility.
I love His stoicism.
I love the way He expresses himself.
I love that He questions himself.
I love His naturalness.
But most of all, I love His dominance.

Oh, my goodness. If I had the ability to will a fictional character into existence, I would be doing my utmost to bring Xavier Leduc (a.k.a ‘My Leige’) to life. He strides about the pages of My Liege of Dark Haven, dominating the characters in the story – the heroine, Abigail Bern, in particular – and the reader like the most wonderfully dark maestro. He is absolutely – wonderfully – consuming.

I realise that I’ve only recently posted a review for one of Cherise Sinclair’s other books (Breaking Free from the Club Shadowlands/Masters of the Shadowlands series) but I’ve been waiting for My Leige’s story for the past few months and it – He – is just too good not to talk about immediately. Master Xavier waits for no one.

So what’s My Liege of Dark Haven about, then? Let me tell you, dear reader, let me tell you …

Abigail Bern is a sociology professor facing major university cutbacks and the end of a romantic relationship with a fellow academic, a man who has tried repeatedly (and unsuccessfully) to engage her in BDSM. Desperate to hold onto her job and to try and understand her ex-partner’s desires – with the tentative hope that they might one day get back together – she decides that publishing some edgy and ground-breaking research on non-vanilla sexual practices may help her achieve both her goals.

 

‘Publish or perishwas not longer a cute phrase—not with the proposed cutbacks at her university.

It had been a ghastly week. She might lose her job and she’d definitely lost Nathan.
.
.
.
She hadn’t been meeting his needs, he’d said. His need to tie her up, call her names, order her around. His need to have his precious BDSM in the bedroom. Hopefully, during her fieldwork, she’d grow to understand the appeal of such things.’

 

But rather than making a formal approach to the BDSM community regarding her proposed research, Abigail decides to covertly observe the members of a local fetish club, Dark Haven. Wanting to watch their behaviour without actually participating herself, Abigail signs up for the position of part-time club secretary but is shocked to realise that standing on the sidelines isn’t permitted; as part of her role, she is expected to assist in demonstrations. Even more worryingly for Abigail, she attracts the attention of Dark Haven’s owner, Xavier Leduc, a seriously experienced Dom who both scares and excites her – and exposes her as a submissive, despite her protestations to the contrary.

 

‘”I’m not a submissive, I’m a Domme,” she informed him in reasonable tones. “I’m the one putting clamps on, not receiving.”

“The receptionists are always submissive.” Before she got herself in trouble, he made a guess and asked, “Simon recruited you?’

She nodded.

“Despite your overly encompassing clothing, I doubt Simon made an error.” Xavier took her pointed chin between his thumb and finger. As her smoky eyes widened and she tried to retreat, he let his voice slip into command mode. “Be still.”

A shiver ran through her, and her pupils dilated. Even her breathing stopped.’

 

Xavier, My Leige, is inexplicably fascinated by the woman who has suddenly appeared on his staff. (No pun intended.) Abigail is clearly intelligent and her quick, ever-active mind, naturally submissive nature, and desire to please are an irresistible challenge to him. Xavier wonders what it will take to make Abigail truly let go, but in pushing her boundaries finds that he’s dangerously close to becoming more involved with her than he ever planned. And then there’s the matter of her somewhat odd propensity to watch other members of Dark Haven at play …

Cherise Sinclair writes D/s like no one else. Her stories and characters are excellent, but what really sets her apart is her ability to get into the psychology of BDSM because she understands that the crux of sexual power exchange lies in the mind, not the body. Even better, her Doms, while experienced, aren’t perfect. They acknowledge their shortcomings and understand they aren’t infallible. They ‘listen’ to their partners; their bodies, their words. To what they don’t say as well as what they do. Even when the action on the page is singe-your-fingers hot, the minds of the characters are never left behind; the physical and mental are intrinsically linked.

There are some truly beautiful D/s encounters in My Liege of Dark Haven (I loved the very realistic – and educational – nipple clamp scene in the first quarter of the book) but one of the most powerful exchanges to my mind is the one that occurs between Abigail and her ex, Nathan. It provides a wonderful contrast to the former’s interactions with My Leige and is extremely effective in underscoring that BDSM is fundamentally about trust.

I think I covered the reasons why I like Xavier so much in my introduction but I’ll just re-iterate again, here, how much I adored him. Heck, he made me want to kneel for him and I was merely reading His book, not participating in it. Definitely a contender for the ‘my favourite Cherise Sinclair Dom’ spot – he’s jostling Nolan (Breaking Free) and Cullen (Lean on Me) for position. That’s not to say he is the sole engaging character in My Liege of Dark Haven. Oh, no. The extremely likeable Abigail, his foil, was utterly endearing in her ‘realness’. I loved that she had flyaway hair and bad eyesight. That she wasn’t ‘other worldly’ or insanely and annoyingly perfect.

The other thing I particularly enjoyed was that the focus of My Liege of Dark Haven was very much on the BDSM relationship at its core. Its exploration of Xavier and Abigail’s strengthening connection was the backbone of the storyline and there were no extraneous plot points to detract from the mental sparring taking place between the two protagonists. (Cherise Sinclair’s Club Shadowlands/Masters of the Shadowlands series – which I have loved reading – tends to include instalments that contain elements of suspense. I don’t dislike this device but, personally, the writing of hers that I’ve enjoyed most has focussed almost exclusively on a Dom and a sub forming a bond with one another.)

I should point out that My Liege of Dark Haven contains characters that were originally introduced as part of the Doms of Dark Haven anthologies (Doms of Dark Haven and Doms of Dark Haven 2, Western Night), which Cherise Sinclair co-wrote with Sierra Cartwright and Belinda McBride, and her Masters of the Mountain series. You don’t have to have read any of these books to enjoy and appreciate My Liege of Dark Haven, though. But I suspect you’ll be curious about past faces.

I really wonderful book that will undoubtedly make you hot under the collar. And Ms Sinclair? I am utterly intrigued by the deliciously sadistic DeVries. I can only imagine what he has in store for Lindsey. Because I good Dom never forgets – and I’m 99.9 per cent certain he’s going to collect on that debt she owes him … Oh to be in her shoes. <Sigh>

Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to buy this book from: Amazon.co.uk (Kindle), Amazon.com (Kindle).