Knight (Impossible)

Knight by Julia Sykes was released in December 2013 and I provided with an ARC copy to read and review. I was very excited to receive this ARC copy because all the previous books in the Impossible series have been excellent and well written. While I was very excited to receive this book, I was also very leery. I knew one of the main characters was very complicated and had some very dark undertones to his persona.Due to the busy holiday season I kept putting this book on the back burner. I had a feeling it was going to be a dark read and that it would require my full concentration. I wanted to be able to read this book when I could put aside my personal feelings towards the BDSM scene. I wanted to be able to judge this book on the merits of the story. Let’s face it, during the joyful Christmas season I wanted books that were light, airy, romantic and overall feel good books. I didn’t want to leave my comfort zone.I am not a big fan of BDSM books. I have a hard time understanding the BDSM scene and what motivates people to embrace this lifestyle. I have read quite a few books with this theme. Some were very well written with charismatic characters that the reader could understand. There have been several that I have just downright despised. I was tired of the tortured billionaire, that suffered from emotional issues and was misunderstood. Tired of the heroine that was so in control of every aspect of her life with the exception of her sexual life and needs. Tired of her learning to surrender her control to achieve sexual bliss. I am a very strong willed person and had a very hard time grasping this idea. But there are some BDSM books that are so well written, that bring the characters to life, show the beauty that this lifestyle these characters embrace, as well as the dark insights that drive the characters to this lifestyle, and convince me as a reader that this is the perfect life and happily ever after these characters need. Books that have a strong story outside of their sexual drives and needs. Knight is one of those books. The writing and story line are beyond excellent. It is superb!When I finished Knight I was blown away. This story tapped into every emotion a person can experience. It was very frightening but at the same time very uplifting. This story ventured into a very real and horrifying world. The action and suspense in this book could make it crossover from erotica to romantic suspense.Smith James is an FBI agent. He is mysterious and has personal demons he battles daily. To manage his demons he embraced the BDSM lifestyle and has become a master DOM. Not only is this his life management, it is his salvation.A raid to BDSM club for drugs by the FBI turns into something much more horrific than the drug scene. They find a woman strung out on drugs. This young woman has no clue to who she is, how she ended up there, where she belongs, or any sense of self. She is a heroin addicted slave. She is completely broken. The FBI realizes that they have stumbled onto more than drug dealing by The Latin Kings gang. They have stumbled into the world of human trafficking.As the story unfolds, Smith takes it upon himself to help this lost soul. He thinks she has been poorly handled by her former Dom at first. He soon realizes that she has been truly broken. That she is a slave. He is determined to help this woman find herself and bring her monsters to justice.Her kidnapper wants her back and will go to any lengths to get her. Smith breaks the FBI protocol and takes her home. She is under his protection. He is determined to help her find out who she really is and where she belongs.During their time together many things come into play. They make some discoveries that bring them closer to finding her true identity. Her name is Lydia. She is an artist. But because she is so badly damaged she may not be able to go back to whatever her old life is.Smith understands that this damage has also made her need different things than most people can understand. He is a master DOM and knows that it is more than sexual release. It is a release of the inner pain, torment, and darkness that lives within the very soul. At the same time, Lydia gives Smith what he needs. She completes him. She makes his DOM persona more about emotion than control. She brings out the very best in Smith. He is her true Master and she is his true sub. They are perfect together.When her identity is discovered it rocks both of their worlds. She is married and must go back to Chicago to resume her old life. She fears her old life. She is too damaged and is not the same person. She fears her life without a master. The one master that has been kind, patient, and knows exactly what she needs. She survived being a slave but can she survive life without a master.Without giving away any spoilers, let’s just say it will be a very hard road for both. It will be a road of discovery. It will be a road of pain. Eventually this road will lead to their HEA that can only be defined on their terms. It is their perfection.Knight is the perfect title for this book.This book was consuming. I could not put it down. The pure genius in the writing showcases Julia Sykes gift. She is a MASTER in her craft. She took a very dark, ugly story and made it into a beautiful, radiant tale that outshines most novels.Although Knight is part of the Impossible series, it can be read as a stand alone book. The story content stands on it’s own merit.Knight is a dark book. It contains BDSM, violence, explicit sexual scenes, and subject matter that some may find very uncomfortable reading. At the same time this book is uplifting, passionate, romantic, and delivers a very positive message. It is a reading experience that will be unforgettable.I was a fan of this series before I began Knight. Now I am a total Julia Sykes fan girl. I hope to meet her at a signing sometime this year. I want to get Knight signed with a big bold red sharpie. I want this book on my keeper shelf.

This story from Julia Sykes was unbelievable. I almost couldn’t put it down. Strong, hot man and an unbelievable strong woman. So much sadness, fear, and passion. Loved it.

A book that at the heart of everything is about redemption. A wonderful love story ensues with some drama and suspense along the way.I go back and forth about including storyline details in my reviews. The description about this book is very good, so I am not going to reiterate details of the storyline as part of my review.This book centers around a character that we have been introduced to in previous books in the series. I like that he has a book all on his own. I am drawn to male characters that have a bit of a smart-ass attitude to them -- when they know that about themselves -- and can still be charming. Smith is one of those kind of guys. Because he has not be a central character in the other books, you only get glimpses of him. Now, this book is all about him.This book is an amazing journey of recovery for the heroine. The book opens where she is broken beyond what we think can be repaired. Sykes does a superb job of getting us as readers into her completely broken mindset. I would venture to say that the majority of the readers of this book have never even come close to experiencing what this character has experienced. So the screwed up way that she processes the things going on around her is mind-boggling to us because our minds would never go there. The hero in this story, Smith, does an amazing job of meeting her where she is and getting her past it. He bullies everyone around him to keep her safe and shielded as he lets her heal. However, you watch him personally struggle with what has to be done to get her to through that healing. For Smith, it is a very thin line between right and wrong, and helping and damaging her.The realism was very gripping. There is a point where she chooses not to heal because it would mean going back to the dark place and remembering things she is not ready to remember. But like in so many victims, the subconscious mind has a way of doing for us what our conscious mind can not. When she very unwittingly reveals a part of her identity, I applaud how Sykes had Smith handle it. He acted as a true gentleman, a true hero would act. He put the best interests of the victim at the heart of his response in spite of his desires.This book can be read as a stand alone. I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND THAT! You miss so much of the beauty of the interaction between Smith and his best friend if you haven't read the previous books. And you will have a better understanding of Smith going into this book if you spend the time reading the other books. Besides, those books are awesome.This book is dark. It is hard to read at times. Not because of writing or language, but because of subject matter. It is emotionally draining because Sykes takes you so deep into the heroine's mind. If you like it dark and twisty, you will like this book. It is not the darkest book in the series, but you will feel affected by the evil that has occurred to this woman. I thought the way the story was told was perfect. The dialogue was good, the build up was good. The sex was amazing. Smith was an amazingly hot alpha male with just the right amount of sensitivity.One thing that we never find out is why the heroine was out in public to begin with. It would be nice to know why her capture decided after a year to take her on a "field trip".The only thing that would have made this book better for me was if it were in a double narrative. I would love to see the POV of Smith. When Sykes wrote "Impossible: The Companion Trilogy" from the POV of the hero, it added so much depth to the storyline for me. We know, based on things said late in the book, that Smith had a real internal struggle with how he was having to handle the heroine in this book. I would love to watch that struggle. Maybe Mrs. Sykes could write a 4.5 from Smith's POV.I highly recommend.

Sykes has a flair for this type of novel, dark, intriguing and uplifting as the pages turn. Her characters are very real.

Wow wee..., I've been waiting for this book as I really enjoyed the impossible series and the book previous to this, Saviour, I didn't think it could get any better, but blimey...,this is an unbelievable story of hope, courage, love and above all trust, Smith is just brilliant as the FBI agent/Dom who immediately takes over the care of "little one",(I loved that he called her that), after finding her during a raid. Their initial story is heartbreaking, sometimes hard to read, but it's not rushed, it's done with care and understanding, you feel everything the characters go through, I thought I knew where this story was going to go, I didn't have a clue!, there a few surprises which had me gasping Noooo!, but that's a good thing, this book had my heart filled with angst, warmth and hope, although the subject matter maybe isn't for everyone I would definitely suggest giving it a go, it gives you a very good understanding of BDSM and doesn't glamorise it as some other books do, this book is fundamentally a beautifully love story, so it works for me. Definite TBR.

This is the first? Book in this series that I have read there are others that go before this one but I didn't know that at the time whoops...This book is hard hitting and you need to be aware that it may not be to everyone's taste as it deals with rape and torture and kidnapping.it is a long story to get to the end and find happiness with the one she loves but I won't give the whole thing away.I found it easy to understand without reading the ones before this one so the choice is yours to read out of order I guess....

Well written, but tediously long. 450 pages later and we still don't know who Mentor is.Thin plot with minimal action other than what goes on in HER head and between her legs. A bit of OTT brutality, and a HERO who must be taking a box-full of Viagra every day. Too much content is barely believable. Hero killing MC is stupid and grossly unprofessional - MC is only link to Mentor.

Loved the story. One character completely broken after being abducted and held as a sex slave only to be rescued by a strong man (FBI). She he helps her re-identify herself they fall in love

I absolutely adore this series. Dark and gritty, absolutely sexy, with intense and arousing BDSM scenes. Sykes never disappoints her readers