Her Claim
by Rebecca Grace Allen
Series: Legally Bound, Book 2
Genres: Erotica, Romance
Release Date: April 23rd 2018
Pages: 345
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo
My Rating: ★★★★☆
She’s no princess. He’s no prince. Then again, they never wanted a fairy tale.
Legally Bound, Book 2
Cassie Allbright takes no prisoners. A half Cuban ball-busting attorney, she’s too tough to admit what she wants in bed. But tough is the only way to cut it in her high-powered firm, and Cassie doesn’t need a knight in shining armor. And she definitely doesn’t need Patrick Dunham—an arrogant, chauvinistic man-whore with a knack for pissing her off.
Bound to the helm of his family’s publishing house, Patrick is shackled to a life of power and wealth he never wanted. Seduction is his only distraction—his nights of pleasure always temporary, because happily-ever-afters are not for him. But while luring a woman into his bed has always come easy, the high-and-mighty Cassie has never succumbed to his charms.
Their verbal sparring turns to foreplay, but instead of scratching an itch, it only whets their appetites. Patrick gives Cassie a taste of what she’s secretly craved, and Cassie’s dark desires stir up things Patrick never knew he wanted. Enchanted, he offers to fulfill her most dangerous fantasies. She agrees, with an iron-clad escape clause: her heart is off-limits, and so is his.
Funny thing about hearts, though. They have a way of ignoring the fine print.
Warning: This book isn’t for the faint of heart. Disclosure includes angry, vying-for-control hate sex and one steamy weekend in Miami. Ready? Break the caution tape and proceed.
Review
I found myself reacting very differently to Her Claim than I typically do to books like it, and I’m not certain if that’s because I connected to the characters too much, or not enough.
Like Cassie, I’m biracial and (somewhat) bicultural. Unlike her, however, I never really struggled with my cultural identity, probably because I was mostly raised white. So I was left in an odd place of closely identifying with the character, but not. It’s not something I’ve faced before, and made me uncertain how to proceed with my review.
What I can say is that I enjoyed Her Claim. I expect that once I’ve discharged my current writing and reviewing obligations, I’ll be picking up up His Contract. I also eagerly anticipate Samantha and Brady’s story. I’m just assuming, at this point, that it’s book 3.
I don’t know if it was intentional, but I got strong Pride and Prejudice vibes while reading Her Claim. From the two main characters hating each other then slowly falling in love, to Cassie finding she’s completely misjudged Patrick, to the love letter Patrick sends her, and a few other spoiler-ish things I won’t mention, I was strongly reminded of Pride & Prejudice throughout the second half of the book. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it was simply unexpected given the subject matter.
One final point I’d like to make. Like many BDSM stories/books I’ve read, Her Claim features a strong woman trying to make peace with submissive tendencies. I’m usually annoyed by that struggle because it feels as though authors stick it in just to add conflict to the story. I think Her Claim offers a better justification for Cassie’s feelings than many books offer. I could accept the struggle Cassie was facing in reconciling her own desires with her reasons to be disgusted by them.
All said, I think my only “negative”, if you could even call it that, is that I would have liked to see more chapters from Patrick’s point of view.
Overall, Her Claim was a great book. I’m giving it four stars more because of my own struggles mentioned earlier than any fault on the author’s part. If you’re into BDSM related stories, this is a good one to check out.
Giveaway
About the Author
Rebecca Grace allen holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with a double concentration in Creative Writing and Literary Comparison as well as of Master of Science degree in Elementary Education, both of which seemed like good ideas at the time. After stumbling through careers in entertainment, publishing, law and teaching, she’s returned to her first love: writing. A self-admitted caffeine addict & gym rat, she currently lives in upstate New York with her husband, two parakeets, and a cat with a very unusual foot fetish.
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Disclaimer: This review is based on a complimentary eBook I received from Xpresso Book Tours. The complimentary receipt of this book has in no way affected my review or rating.
