Title:Stare Him Down

Author :Riley Murphy

Series:Stare Down #3

Release date:May 31st 2016

Rating : 5 Stars

When he agreed to walk away from the lifestyle for her, he never expected she’d subversively push him back into it. Until she did…

After tragedy stole the only man James Barrington looked up to, his perfect and orderly life hit a brick wall. One minute he was the right-hand man to the owner of the company, and in the next he was the boss fighting to stop a hostile takeover the only way he knew how. He needed to marry his late mentor’s over-protected daughter, Michaela Donavan, and stay married to her until the threat to the company was averted.

While they were together, James had no intention of disrespecting his in-name-only wife by remaining entrenched in the lifestyle. For the time being he was prepared to walk away from his Dom-like pursuits. He had to. Michaela was the opposite of everything he embodied. She was soft, where he was hard. Gentle, when he favored rough. She was refined and elegant. The epitome of a virtuous woman, and he wasn’t going to do anything to change that.

Circumstances may have forced them to enter into a marriage of convenience in order to keep her father’s legacy alive, but the moment that legacy was secured they’d both be free to go their separate ways.

Michaela knew this may be her only opportunity to finally get the one man she has always fantasized about. She’s spent years studying him. Idolizing him. Wanting him in a way she wanted no other. And now? Well, her father always told her to seize whatever good came out of the bad, and Michaela was ready to do just that.

Heartbroken over what happened, and faced with the task of saving the company, she sees James’ sensible offer as the perfect solution. A way to achieve two things she desired most at one time. James may consider this a marriage of necessity for the short term, but she’s determined to covertly change his mind on the matter.

Suddenly, his modern-day marriage of convenience is anything but convenient when this powerful Dom discovers his supposedly vanilla wife isn’t vanilla at all.

If you follow me on twitter you might have noticed my “battle” with Riley Murphy and Holly Blackstone last weekend. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of “Stare Him Down” and I could not stop teasing the Author while reading it.

#laughing Oh My God – that book was really fun.

I really take this as education because so far my ventures into the world of BDSM were always marked by serious (ly hot but still SERIOUS ) guys like Holly Blackstone’ “Stuart” or serious (ly damaged hot) guys like Jodi Ellen Malpas’ Jesse – just to name my favorites.

One thing that seems to be the overall opinion is that the guys always have to have something dark around them or a secret that forces them into the world of BDSM. They are tormented souls needing an outlet.

And then I met James… and I am seriously grinning now just thinking of the moment it became obvious to me why the book has the title “Stare Him Down”. I spit tea twice because I was laughing during reading – one time (Sorry I have to repeat that line) because of the phrase “cerebrally raping”.

I even told the author I will hold her personally responsible in case I choke on my tea during reading. My advice would be “be careful what you are drinking or eating during reading”

There were some really interesting turns in the story (OH YES this book really HAS an actual story around the subject of the relationship of the leading characters quite a surprise if you compare that to some other novels) and I really did not anticipate this plot when I started reading.

This is the third book of a series of standalone novels. I did not read the first two as I was assured by the author that it is not necessary to know them to understand the story. And it really is not – only – as a reader you feel thrown right in the middle of the story and I assume there might be some more explanations on the background if I had read the previous books – but I cannot be sure.

Anyway – as the story unfolds – the reader slowly starts to understand where the characters are coming from and mostly what their intentions are. Heck – I would even go so far to say that I unraveled one mystery quite early.

But in the end I felt like that was only to bait the reader because there will be something along the road that no one will anticipate. Something that really surprised me but on the other hand was already totally obvious and right in front of you – but you will only notice when you pass that moment of recognition and look back than to reflect.

Well I guess I am going to get that bouncing tail ready for Ms. Murphy for that cyber meeting with my favorite DOM’s #laughing

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