ARC Review: Black & White Flowers by Rachel Robinson

I have to admit that I wasn't drawn to this cover, but the minute I read the blurb I knew I wanted to read this book. Black & White Flowers is the first book in Rachel Robinson's new Real SEAL series. I will tell you that I struggled a bit with this book. I was drawn in right away, but as the book continued, the story and writing lost me a bit and I was left with very mixed feelings.

Carina Painter's life wasn't anything like you would hope for, so she created a life she wanted to live within the pages of her book. But after a horrible childhood and an abusive engagement, she is left broken. Navy SEAL Smith Eppington is broken as well, after an accident took the life of his best friend and left him scarred. When Carina asks to interview him for her novel, a friendship between them forms and their lives are forever changed. 

I liked Carina and Smith together. I felt like they were good for one another and I was so excited to read their story because it was so different from anything I have read before. Things were sweet and angsty, and their relationship wasn't where I had issues. 

My issues came in with the fact that there was a ton thrown into this book and at times it was just too much. I really felt like this book had the potential to be such a fantastic and moving story that would really resonate with readers. But I also felt like it was just trying to hard and never got there. It felt forced throughout much of this book, and that made it hard to really feel invested in this story despite the fact that I did like the characters. While I did like things here, ultimately I was disappointed with what this could have been and what it actually was. I would still read more from Rachel Robinson and I am interested in continuing the series. I just felt like maybe my hopes and expectations were a little higher than what this story lived up to.

**ARC Provided by TRSOR Promotions**

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ARC Review: The Dom Games by Rachel Robinson

This is my first book by this author. I’ve heard a lot of really great things about her and I can see how I might love some of her other books. For one reason, however, I didn’t love this one. My ‘we can only be friends, not lovers’ reason is Kayla.

The premise of this book was intriguing to me. A game show with a dom trying to find a sub. Yup, that’s all I really needed to know, I was in. I knew almost right away there was going to be a problem. Kayla applies to be on the show and is chosen by the shows owner (who is also starring in this season) because she is so non-submissive. But THAT’S the problem. Kayla wanted to be on the show for money but she wasn’t interested in the lifestyle at all.

That wasn’t what really annoyed me thought. What really irritated me was that Kayla didn’t even really try. She really wants the money that comes from winning the show but she shuns everything about the lifestyle she is supposed to be excelling at. I’ve read some books about bad submissives but that isn’t what happened here. Kayla just wasn’t a sub….at all. The more the book went on, the more Kayla annoyed me. Her aversion to the lifestyle (that she signed up for!) started to come across as bitchiness and I just wasn’t here for it.

The other thing that I found annoying about this book was the Hero, Dominic. Ok, I just….it was a bad trip. He is supposed to be this big bad Dom but he lets Kayla get away with ridiculous behavior while pining for her. And oh yeah, while he is pining for her, he is screwing every other woman on the show in every imaginable way. After a certain point, I was just disgusted by the whole deal.

When Kayla starts to develop feeling for Dom, I was like ‘oh c’mon.’ I just didn’t get the connection between these characters. The fact that Dominic reciprocated Kayla’s feelings diminished him in my eyes. There are some things I can’ tell you because I don’t want to spoil the book but by the end I was just over Kayla and Dom.

This book gets three stars from me because the writing is good, the plot was super original and there is some HAWT sex in the book. If I was just judging this book on the characters, it would probably be two stars less than I’m giving it. Take that however you take it but here’s a word of advice. If you are really into the BDSM erotic romance scene, this book might be disappointing for you.

**ARC provided by TRSoR Promotions**

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