Review: Slave to Love by Nikita Black

Slave to Love by Nikita Black
Synopsis (Goodreads):

Special Investigations Section Officer Caroline Palmer is not into whips and chains. That is, not until Homicide Detective Mick McGraw leads her undercover into a secret world she never dreamed existed. They are tracking a sexual predator, a sadistic killer who preys on adventurous suburban couples. But Caroline knows Mick is looking for something else. Something far more dangerous...

My Thoughts: I originally picked up this book for the BDSM elements and because I have a bit of a literary kink for partners who are unexpectedly thrown into highly charged situations and have to work their way around their sexual attraction in order to get the job done. I have to say that this book definitely hit the nail on the head in those regards.

Mick is complicated. He projects an image of complete control at work but he's a seething mass of emotions underneath. When he drops that ice cold mask with Caro, he overwhelms her and ignites all the hidden desires she's been hiding from herself. They have a complex relationship but one that shows an interesting balance between what Caro thinks she wants and what Mick knows she needs. He pushes her boundaries, she pushes at his control. He asks her to do things that she would never imagine doing and once she submits to him the worry that she's going to follow her mother's footsteps and let every aspect of her life be consumed by a dominating man begins to gnaw at her.  In the end, it all comes down to a matter of trust. She has to trust that he's going to know when to draw back and not hurt her - either physically or emotionally - and he has to trust that she'll accept him for who he is.

While I wasn't exactly comfortable with all the things Mick forced Caro to do - having her sexually submit to him in their workplace, while hot, made me think that he didn't care about the repercussions of their actions for her as far as her career went and that bothered me - I did like that Nikita Black touched so heavily on the issue of trust between a Dom and his sub. Caro's revelation that choosing to give her trust to him ultimately gives her power is beautifully done.

One last thing... I loved the ambiguity of the ending. I loved that everything wasn't spelled out in so many words. Nikita Black's letter to her readers at the end of the book (regarding Mick's actions) was thought provoking and gave us a little extra peak at Mick's overall plan.

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