Review: "Becoming His Master" by M.Q. Barber (Neighborly Affection #4)
Note: This ARC was provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
"Why do you allow your fear to hold you back? Love demands more of you. Whether master or servant, we are all slaves to love."
Prior to the night that their paths crossed, longtime dominant Henry Webb and neophyte submissive Jay Kress would never have imagined how entwined their lives would become after Henry rescues Jay from a sadistic and barbaric dominant. The blood may have been wiped clean and his broken skin will slowly heal, but Jay has been traumatized by the physical abuse and degradation he suffered. Henry may be the only one qualified to take the young man under his tutelage and teach him the ways of the BDSM lifestyle, but will Henry be ready to let him go when the lessons have been learned and their time together is up?
Jay is desperately seeking a new dominant to take him into service but those in the club are keeping their distance, as per the orders of the owners for his own safety. When the owner requests Henry take Jay under his wing, Henry is hesitant, and not just because the bloodied and battered novice is forever burned in his memory. There's something about the young man that calls to him like no other person has before, leaving him unsure of whether he can separate being the professional dominant Jay needs from his own personal feelings. The fact that Jay looks at him with such adoration isn't exactly helping matters either.
As Henry agrees to help Jay, he reminds himself that at the end of the two months before the return of the suspended offender who hurt Jay, he will need to have prepared the submissive in the ways of servitude without giving up his rights while looking for the ideal dominant for him. Easier said than done as Jay is showing signs that he was thrust into the world of BDSM without any preparation and the dominants he was previously with failed to provide any training whatsoever. As the weeks pass, Henry falls even more for his young student and will need to soon decide if it's time for him to be honest about what he wants.
Becoming His Master by M.Q. Barber is the fourth novel and fifth release in the addictive Neighborly Affection series and is now officially my favorite book among the five. This is a prequel and tells the tale of Henry and Jay and how their relationship first began and the challenges that they had to face to get to the point that we find them in in book one, Playing the Game. This is pre-Alice and further solidified the idea in my head that the love these two men have for each other is true and pure, with a foundation based on mutual trust and respect and open and honest communication and made me believe they're soul mates.
The Neighborly Affection series as a whole has opened my eyes and has made me view the BDSM lifestyle in a new and refreshing light and I fully appreciated the wonderfully gifted manner in which author M.Q. Barber presented these books. This fifth book in particular was hauntingly beautiful, what with Henry's selflessness and Jay's innocence and their mutual love and affection for one another. Even in the wreckage of a terrible event, something amazing can be found in the rubble, bringing with it light and hope to take over the darkness. Becoming His Master goes on my list of 2015 favorites and gets five-plus stars! ♥
Release Date: 17 March 2015
Date read: 11 March 2015
Learn more about author M.Q. Barber here.
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