Review: The Greatest Risk by Kristen Ashley (Honey #3)


Note: This ARC was provided by St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

"I can give you beauty," he clipped irritably. 
"What I don't understand, baby," she whispered, "is why you think I deserve it." 
She was lucky she called him baby. 
But not that lucky. 
"If you ask me that question in a month, darling," he drawled, "I'll walk away from you, and you'll never see me again. That is my vow to you, Simone. By the end of the month, I'll make you understand. Now I'm done talking. Site beside me, fucking cuddle into me, and relax in front of the goddamned fire." 
"Okay, Stellan."

Kristen Ashley saved the best for last with the third and final novel in her Honey series--the very same series that pushed the boundaries of her storytelling as well as her fans and readers out of the their comfort zone and into a world of pleasure and pain when it came to a lifestyle that saw Dominants and Dominatrices finding love with those who embraced their submissiveness and discovered the sublime with love. The Greatest Risk is the story of thirty-nine-year-old Stellan Lange, the Master whose heart has yet to be claimed--a heart thirty-three-year-old Mistress Sixx has wanted for her own ever since she first saw him. In as much as Sixx believes that Stellan would never even consider being with someone like her, she's shocked when he makes his intent clear. Stellan not only wants Sixx to submit to him, but he wants Simone Marchesa, too. The Master desires both the Mistress who knows how to play with her subs and the complicated and damaged woman that barely anyone knows. But can a Dom and a Domme compromise and sacrifice what they need for what they ultimately want?

Ah, but how I fell for this book, sash, plug, and flogger. For the record, stories that rely heavily on BDSM aren't an automatic go-to for me. I don't necessarily dislike or avoid them, but I don't seek them out either. I rely heavily on the synopsis or blurb that's offered up by the author or publisher, and yes, I readily admit that when it's something that an author whose work I've read and enjoyed in the past has written, I'm more willing to jump in headfirst and hope that may heart will eventually follow. Kristen Ashley is one such author and she's repaid my faith in her writing three times over. Beginning with The Deep End, which I liked and admired but had a qualm or two about and followed by the even-better-the-second-time-around second novel, The Farthest Edge, Ashley has made this series where women are in charge of their pleasure and that of the men they fall for her proverbial bitch. Sure, there were those who weren't fully on-board with the author going in this more erotic direction, but I'm a reader who likes when a favorite author mixes it up and goes beyond their--and my--norm.

Stellan and Sixx's love story is one that's got its complexities mixed in with the one very simple and undeniable fact: they both want each other. I really liked getting to know these two better, especially since they've been such constants in the first two novels. Their back stories are heartrending, and I love how they've got a firm support system in place, even if Sixx isn't as aware as Stellan wishes she were that she does have people who care for her. There's nothing easy about their journey to happily-ever-after, given that Sixx had a bad tendency of self-sabotage and thinking she wasn't deserving of happiness, but Stellan certainly wasn't the type to back down from a challenge. The guy gets a lifetime of bonus points for going above and beyond countless times over, and not once did he ever make it seem as if Sixx owed him. He simply did what he thought was best for the woman he loved and their future together. There was nothing common nor ordinary about this last Honey novel, and while I will miss the series, Kristen Ashley ended it with a five-plus-starred read in The Greatest Risk. ♥ 

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Read my reviews for the Honey series:


The Deep End (book one) - four stars - My Review

The Farthest Edge (book two) - five stars - My Review

The Greatest Risk (book three) - five-plus stars - My Review (posted above)

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Release Date: 01 May 2018

Date Read: 26 April 2018

Learn more about Kristen Ashley.

Pre-order The Greatest Risk on Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo.

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