ARC Review: Unwound by Lorelei James

“As always, Ms. James hits it off the hotness charts with this one.” ~Under the Covers

Lets start off with clarifying that the Mastered series is one story told in two full length books.  You absolutely cannot pick up UNWOUND without reading BOUND first.  So that being said, BOUND left us hanging a bit on what would happen next and this book picks up shortly thereafter.  Ronin and Amery haven’t talked in weeks and Ronin is not in a good place without her.  He dives deeper into his darker world until he’s almost too far gone to recover.  But then Amery is there to slowly draw him out.

This is a book of reconciliation and balance.  Balance because while they are together, they still have plenty of things to work through in order to make their relationship work.  There’s trust that has to be earned.  There are limits that need to be put in place or tested.  And their natural behavior outside of the bedroom that has to be controlled.  I enjoyed seeing that balance put to the test.  Ronin is an overprotective male and that can, at times, be overbearing for a strong woman like Amery.  And at the same time Amery has insecurities that need to be overcome, with trust in a strong bond.  That to me was the beauty of this story.  It was tested time and time again.  And it’s not about one overpowering the other, but how they can complement each others lives going forward while they both thrive.  After quite a bit of heartbreak, I can totally see that at the end of UNWOUND.

As always, Ms. James hits it off the hotness charts with this one.  I always wonder how she will top her last book and then she does it again.  Ronin and Amery get down and dirty, hot and flexible 😉 and will leave you steaming and panting …. and googling.  But just as hot as the scenes can be, there was always a reason why they were there, a function to the story they were telling.  I loved how we see BDSM in this world and in combination with the martial arts discipline.  It makes it a beautiful art and a pleasure to “see”.  I can definitely tell there was quite a bit of research put into the developing of this story and I think readers can appreciate that.

This was the perfect ending for Ronin and Amery, however I am not ready to see the world end.  There are still many stories left untold back at the dojo and I hope there are plans for more!

*ARC provided by publisher

What did you think of our review? Let us know in the comment box below!

[about-author author=”Lorelei James”]