ARC Review: Truly Helpless by Joey W. Hill

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
 
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Recommended Read!

“Her submissive men are knight in shining armor types that don’t have a hint of femininity.”
~ Under the Covers

Joey Hill has been my go to author since my introduction to BDSM literature. She was the one who started it all for me, and this series, the Nature of Desire series, was the beginning of my adventure. When a new release hits my Kindle, I take a deep breath and make sure I have quiet time. Joey’s prose is always lush and descriptive, her dialog real and compelling, and her scenes unique and captivating. Truly Helpless is book 10 in the series and while they all have characters that connect (even across series here), they’re essentially stand alone. Marius is a submissive on his terms: masculine, in your face, and sexy as hell. He doesn’t do relationships and has been known to turn the tables and mess with a Domme’s head. One night, he goes too far and is dismissed from his home club, The Zone. Management has observed him enough to know that one Domme, Lady Regina, seems to affect Marius in ways that suggest she could control him. He’s given one last chance to gain re-entry into The Zone: under Lady Regina’s tutelage. Marius isn’t so convinced. He has a dark and violent side that always simmers under the surface. Lady Regina is up for the challenge.

As I mentioned before, Joey Hill doesn’t cut corners when it comes to the stories she unfolds for her readers. I’ve never found one of her reads that wasn’t a deep and emotional exploration of the psychology of BDSM. Truly Helpless was no exception. Marius is easy to dislike as a character from the onset. He’s a rough fighter with a chip on his shoulder and as unlikely a submissive as you’d ever meet. Lady Regina is a beautiful, statuesque Domme, a highly educated professional, and a good match for Marius. Their play is not on the mild side in terms of kink level, but it’s deeply emotional and brutally physical. No one gets the headspace of a sub in consensual play more than Ms. Hill. I’m always in awe of how she connects two characters in such a beautiful way. This is a highly emotional book. Marius has lived through trauma that may be disturbing to some readers. One scene of tenderness had me in sobbing tears in my early morning reading. That’s unique for me. I loved how she wove in that aspect of his story into his healing (I refuse to spoil it!). If you would naturally shy away from femdom, try this series out. Her submissive men are knight in shining armor types that don’t have a hint of femininity. There’s always a satisfying HEA and a promise of things to come. A very highly recommended read for BDSM lovers who want to delve beyond the surface of what makes D/s relationships tick.

READING ORDER & BUY LINKS

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About Joey W. Hill

Joey W. Hill writes about vampires, mermaids, boardroom executives, cops, witches, angels, simple housemaids... If there’s an erotic love story to be told, she’ll take the plunge. As a result, she's proud and humbled to have five series and over thirty award-winning and highly acclaimed titles, as well as the support and enthusiasm of a wonderful and widely diverse readership. In 2011, she was awarded a Career Achievement award in Erotica by RTBookReviews.

According to her personal memo book, seen only by her eyes--probably because it would reveal that she loves the Partridge Family and the movie Pure Country--the top three ways to ensure her readers continue to come looking for her books are #1 Write a great story, #2 KEEP writing great stories and #3 “For the love of God, don’t let them get to know the author – that will scare them away.” (Particularly if they find out about the Partridge Family.)

She has become known for writing the type of erotic romance that not only wins her fans of that genre, but readers who would “never” read BDSM romance. That’s because first and foremost, she thinks what attracts a reader is strong characters.

“Whatever genre you’re writing, if the characters are compelling and sympathetic, the readers are going to want to see what happens to them. While I strive to make sure my work includes essential elements of the storytelling craft – tight plot, engaging dialogue, etc. – if the character development isn’t there, there isn’t much point in reading. It can be the coolest plot ever, but if the reader could care less whether the hero or heroine survive (in fact, in some cases you may be rooting for their destruction just so you can be done with the darn thing), then it’s not a story worth reading.”

Why is that? She believes that our world is an ironically isolating one. Humans have overrun the planet, armed with a plethora of communication tools. Yet we feel very alone in our own heads, trying to make a connection with someone. The “ah, there you are – where have you been?” person. The person who gives us an anchor, but also the courage to release our tedious baggage to embrace ourselves fully.

That’s what she seeks to accomplish in every story. Bringing characters together who have numerous emotional obstacles standing in their way, watching them reach a soul-deep understanding of one another through the expression of their darkest sexual needs, and then growing from that understanding into love.

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Jennifer

Guest Reviewer at Under the Covers Book Blog

I’m a 30-something medical professional by day and obsessive Crossfitter by night who’s been in love with the written word since I can remember.And that means that I read every Nancy Drew and Nancy Drew Files until I snuck Stephen King’s It from my father’s bookshelf at age 10.I was never the same… I read voraciously for years, until academic pursuits derailed me, but re-entered the fray 8 years ago when a certain teen paranormal series caught my attention.The passion back, I haven’t stopped since.When I’m not working, working out, or traipsing around for my teenage son’s hectic activity schedule, you can find me with Kindle in hand, often until the wee hours of the night.

I’m well known to be a genre hopper, who has very few hard limits.My first real romance series was J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood and she still rocks my paranormal world, along with Karen Moning’s Fever series and Joey Hill’s Vampire Queen series.That being said, you’ll often see me reading erotic romance with a BDSM focus.I’m never afraid of dark and dubious reads a la Joey Hill, Tiffany Reisz and Cari Silverwood.When genre fatigue sets in, a witty historical romance never fails to satisfy me, and Lisa Kleypasand Sarah MacLeanare my auto-buys.My favorite series of all time is Diana Gabaldon’s Outlader saga, and I will fight for Jamie Fraser to the death ;). Much to my fellow romance readers’ surprise, I also cleanse my palate with popular contemporary reads.Romantic suspense.LGBT.Western.If the writing is on, I’ll dig in.

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