ARC Review: The Librarian by Logan Belle

“I finished this book in less than 24 hours.  Once you start it, you can’t put it down.” ~Under the Covers

Hopefully without sounding a bit too cliche or an overused description at this point, this book has a very Fiftyish feeling.  No, I’m not saying that because it’s BDSM.  I think it’s just the premise of the damaged rich boy with a crazy past, and enough power to make anything happen who falls in love with a simple, inexperienced and somewhat naive girl, which seems to work well. But that can also be bad because after a while these kinds of themes are starting to get repetitive (for me at least) even when it’s a good book.  Which this was.

But Logan Belle brought something new to the table, which appealed to me.  The setting of this book being New York, where anything can happen, and a library environment was unique and truly came to life in the book.  The setting was so much a part of this story it was almost a character.  And then there’s the old time glamour and charm by incorporating Bettie Page and the symbolism of her pictures and influence.  I find that these two elements set the story apart.  Of course it helps that I love photography and love when an erotic book incorporates tasteful photography as part of the storyline.  And sex in the library helps too. 🙂

Then there’s the characters.  Regina comes from somewhat of a small town, where she left her mom behind to come to the Big Apple to chase her dream, working at the New York Public Library.  At the beginning I thought Regina was way too naive to be living in today’s age.  It was almost as if she had crawled from under a rock.  But as she starts opening up and wanting to experience things, her character actually fit with the BDSM lifestyle and being a submissive.  In the end, she had grown a backbone and wasn’t just Sebastian’s “toy”.

Sebastian on the other hand was over the top.  Like I said before, very rich and powerful.  I know some people love that in and of itself in a hero.  My only complaint in that respect is that it felt at times as if he didn’t have much common sense or connection with how the world worked when it didn’t revolve around his finger.  I wouldn’t say he’s the best Dom I’ve ever read about, but he was definitely very sexy and knew his way around the bedroom.  But my favorite part has to be how sweet and attentive he was.  He knows how to make a woman feel special.  He took care of Regina and spoiled her to the max.

Could there have been a little more character development?  Yes, probably.  I still don’t understand how Sebastian got to be his kinky self.  We briefly read about his issues with his parents and not much else.  I feel like we could’ve dug deeper.  Also, I couldn’t figure out how Regina ended up living with Carly (who supposedly comes from a family with money and quite influential in the City).  Some questions, were definitely left unanswered.

The secondary characters were also great.  I loved Carly and Alex, they brought some much needed spunk to the story.

This whole story sucked me in from the beginning.  I finished this book in less than 24 hours because once you start it, you can’t put it down.  Can’t say that I’ve done that in a while.

*ARC provided by publisher

Did you like this review? If so, please tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

[about-author author=”Logan Belle”]