Title: Giving In
Author: Maya Banks
Series: Surrender, #2
Pages: 320
Publisher: Penguin Group
Date: May 6, 2014
Summary:
Kylie sees the way Jensen looks at her. The dark promise in his eyes. That rough edge of dominance she knows he possesses. But dominance is the one thing that frightens her above all else. She and her brother barely survived a childhood steeped in violence and abuse. She could never give up total control and submit to a man. Especially a man like Jensen. Could she?
Jensen sees the shadows in Kylie’s eyes. Knows he has to tread very carefully or risk losing any chance he has with her. All he wants is the opportunity to show her that dominance doesn’t equal pain, bondage or discipline. That emotional surrender is the most powerful of all, and that to submit—fully to him—will fulfill the aching void in her heart in a way nothing else ever will.
Review:
I thought I would like this book better than I did. I read it when it was first released and had so-so feelings about it. I still gave it four stars, but I thought Jensen was just too good to be true. He was just too noble and in touch with what Kylie needed. Perfection is unnerving, don’t you think?
Anyway, I re-read it a few days ago, so I could give it the review it needs. My opinion didn’t change. If anything, Jensen annoyed me even more this time around than he did originally. The only time he reacted as a human was when
SPOILER ALERT!
he had a nightmare and hurt Kylie. Even then, he was giving up what he wanted most in the world to protect her.
Of course, it all works out in the end and my opinion did not make me dislike the book. I think it was saved by Kylie. If ever there was someone who let her emotions, especially the hidden ones, affect her relationships with everyone around her, it was Kylie. I actually liked her the most because she seemed the most real.
Read this book, but read Letting Go first. This trilogy is tightly knit and you don’t want to miss out on anything. There are any number of great lines, so I’ll share a few.
“Some things are inevitable, Kylie. You and I are inevitable. No matter how much you fight it. No matter how much you deny it. We are inevitable.”
Yes, it’s sappy, but it is sweet.
Kylie, Joss, and Chessy are best friends with really distinct personalities. Joss and Chessy know Kylie is keeping something from them and she is determined to find out what.
Without Joss, the peacemaker, as a buffer, Chessy would latch onto Kylie’s ass and wouldn’t be able to be pried loose with a crowbar.
And regardless of how I feel about sappy, this is an absolutely wonderful description of Kylie’s and Jensen’s relationship.
But she didn’t want to exist without him and therein lay the truth. Loving him, leaning on him, didn’t mean she was helpless or hopelessly dependent on him. It just meant she was better with him.
This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Elaine Reads . . . constantly! 