Master of the Mountain (Mountain Masters & Dark Haven Book 1)

Spicy, hot, but great characters. Logan and Rebecca were my introduction to well written S/M bandage. The chase was great the capture better. I read this book last February and had bought orchards for Valentines Day... needless to say. I had never read anyone who kept such complete focus on a woman's center. Round and round up and down till the hood pulls back... I have read most of her books now and enjoyed them immensely.

I love to read about when a sub discovers themself. The joys of submissiveness astounding. Way to go Cherish Sinclair

I liked the build up of the story with the heroines relationship with her current boyfriend, the swinger event in the mountains and the gorgeous setting. I really could see the resort and the place they were staying. Very much enjoyed this.The heroine is overall, a pretty good character, but the body image issues, as someone who is a successful business woman and seems to have her life together (apartment etc), in her mid/late twenties, this grew tiresome. She thinks she is fat, that her scars are ugly, and she thinks about this all the time. Body image stuff is prevalent with many women, I'm not negating this, but it was just too much. I really grew sick of reading about it in my fantasy get away BDSM book on every other page.The first sexual encounter between the two treads the line of dubcon. (Dubious consent). She does say no at one point, but he also says asks her if she wants him to leave, and she does not ask him to. So there is a clear moment twice when he asks if she wants him to go. He also makes sure she wants to enter a D/S relationship and has a safe word and communication about this with her.Most of their 4 day D/S relationship at the mountain is really fun and I enjoyed it after they get going. But the ending two sexual interactions I really didn't understand.The first one, she has gone to save his dog, and twists her ankle. He punishes her as Dom for this severely. I don't understand this at all. Why is it that because he got scared and her life was at risk, is this a punishment for her? She rescued his dog! She did go hiking alone, a no no, and didn't tell anyone where she was. This was dangerous behavior. But she is injured and he's punishing her. I don't know, didn't sit well with me. This happens in books all the time (just read another where she got a punishment like this). This does not seem to fit a BDSM scenario but I am also not an expert. I also didn't like that she just rolled over and had sex with him right afterwards. How about no. It wasn't really a fair thing to do.The last scene where he goes to find her after they've parted, she's in a BDSM club in a scenario. There, in front of a bunch of people, he tells her some private things. She's tied up and they are having sex in front of an audience and he's asking her about being with him, if she wants him. This just wasn't a romantic moment for them to reunite. It was a real let down. There were some nice romance scenes up at the mountain, and I wanted a better ending for them. This was not romantic, there as NO declaration of any kind of feelings for one another (I got the feel this book was a romance even if it fits more erotica) so the end was a real downer. And talking about private things in front of a huge audience? (Her body issues, his nightmares/PTSD) It just seemed kind of icky.The writing was good, I enjoyed the middle of the book a lot, loved the mountain resort and liked the hero and heroine for the most part.

It has been a couple of years since I last read Master of the Mountain and upon rereading it, I recalled why I became such a fan of Sinclair’s work. As this was among the very first of the author’s books I read (and I actually looked up my purchase history on Amazon to confirm this), I remember being so taken by the fact that her heroines weren’t the perfect model thin women that society shoves down our throats as being the ideal. And no, just because I’m a plus-sized gal does not make me a skinny-girl hater. Fortunately I was in my early twenties when I came to terms with that fact that my bone structure would never allow me to wear single-digit apparel, not even in shoes. Because of this, reading books in which the woman has curves and gets her man because of those curves has helped immensely over the years in accepting myself as I am. Seeing Sinclair take that theme and apply it to the BDSM lifestyle made this a fascinating read for me, even now three years later – oh yes, I purchased and first read this book on September 1, 2012.Master of the Mountain isn’t just an erotic romance involving the BDSM lifestyle. It’s also a look at relationships and knowing yourself well enough to know what you want and don’t want in a partner. In the beginning of the book, Rebecca is NOT having a good time with her boyfriend Matt. It is a seriously cringe-worthy scene that is made worse when he suggests that she join him on an upcoming swingers’ weekend. Talk about adding insult to injury – it would have been laughable had it not so very obviously fed into Rebecca’s insecurities. Rebecca’s relationship with Matt seems quite one-sided and probably familiar to many women; not the specifics, but the fact that women (and men too I’m sure) will put far more into a relationship than they’re getting out of it just so that they can be with the partner they’ve been led to believe they should be with, whether it be by family or societal standards. While Matt might look good on paper and be compatible in many of their regular activities, the fact that he even suggested that Rebecca give swinging a try showed how little he really knew of her. Yes I may have been projecting a bit onto Rebecca, but Matt is not unaware of her self-esteem issues and for him to think she’d be comfortable with other men was mind boggling – even more so when they get to the lodge and Rebecca sees that every other woman there is thin and built – her physical opposite. So with the stage properly set, it’s not the least bit surprising that she’s skeptical when Logan expresses his interest in her. Logan being a dom is vital to his success in getting past Rebecca’s barriers because his authoritative nature is the only thing that keeps her mind at bay and her body responding.If you’ve ever read any of Sinclair’s books, you know she writes great sex scenes. The chemistry between Rebecca and Logan is both intense and calming. Despite her hesitancy, Rebecca finds that she trusts Logan when she has no reason to other than that he makes her feel safe. While we don’t realize it at the time, his brother points out later in the book just how much Logan must have trusted Rebecca as well. That they only spent four days together seems irrelevant as Sinclair managed to avoid the insta-love feeling that often accompanies such quick developing relationships, perhaps because there was a harsh parting of ways rather than professions of love. Even though Rebecca left the lodge in an emotional upheaval from Logan’s rejection, she left knowing what she didn’t want in a relationship – Matt and his swinger ways – and what she might need in a future relationship to be happy and fulfilled. I loved that Rebecca had a friend she could go to for help in finding out whether it was the D/s or Logan himself that did it for her. Even better was the scene in which Rebecca gets the answers to her questions about D/s, Logan, and her own desirability. I so loved rereading Master of the Mountain again and cannot wait to revisit Master of the Abyss.I reviewed my personal copy of this book.Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

Plot spoilers alert, the FL agrees to go to a swinging weekend, can't bear the thought of going through with it and ends up in Logan's bed with a deep introduction to D/s. Four days later it's time for home and he brushes her off nastily. Weeks later she has jacked her job, thrown off the boyfriend who took her to the swinging weekend and given up her apartment.Of course, she then visits a BDSM club and he's there, having worked through issues that had affected him for years, and she just goes along with everything. Yes, Sir. Of course she did.The strong woman with a stressful career who had held her own just gave over her life to someone she'd known for four days, because he wants her.Just, no.Ms Sinclair undoubtedly builds a world where you feel you know the characters, but in this instance I just wanted to give the FL a decent slapping. I couldn't care about her one way or another.I do enjoy a good tale, but there has to be an element of realism in there to enable the reader to connect.No limit list, no explanations, just, trust me? Uhm, no.That said, the connection has only a short time to be made, and I can see how the author wanted it to work and I expect the strong dominant would work for a lot of readers who prefer the genre. I usually do obtain a wealth of enjoyment from Cherise Sinclair, but not on this occasion.I have given four stars because the characterisation is good, even if the FL isn't particularly likeable, the dialogue isn't wooden and the story flows effortlessly.There are no grammatical or editorial errors that I can recall. There are numerous kinky sex scenes and some swearing.

Well here we go again with another offering from this author who is surely the queen of romance with a BDSM theme. Her characters are vivid and believable with real problems that so many can relate to and here she's paired a war damaged Dom with an insecure yet stubborn woman.Rebecca might be plagued by feelings of physical inadequacy but she's a woman who has made a place for herself in the world. Knowing her relationship with boyfriend Matt isn't exactly catching fire she agrees to try a swingers weekend with him but no its just not really Rebecca's thing.Logan helps run the lodge where Matt and his 'friends' come to play but this war veteran has his own issues to deal with. Seeing Rebecca so clearly lost and alone he offers her shelter from her boyfriends antics but is surprised to discover that whilst she's not into changing partners she most certainly is a natural submissive! One who is a delight to teach but who challenges everything Logan is afraid of.Fear not this isn't a hard-core ride into depravity but a sensual journey of discovery. This author got it exactly right with a macho man who is possessive and unafraid to take charge. Logan is so enamoured by Rebecca that he wants so much to declare her his, meaning others might look but definitely not touch!Whilst not exactly vanilla or tame this story is passionate as this couple clearly have chemistry. Still the author gives depth to this story as she allows both her leads to face their fears with a happy ending that felt almost perfect. Why almost? Well there's a tiny bit of sweetness running through this story as Rebecca learns what it means to have a canine friend and I'd have liked to see a little more of that. Still it's a fabulous book that whilst at times hot still held tenderness.

I loved the premise of this story. Rebecca is in a passion-less relationship with Matt, a true city metrosexual. While they get on well and have similar interests the physical side of their relationship is lacking. So when Matt surprises Rebecca by inviting her to a Swinger's weekend at a mountain lodge resort, she reluctantly agrees in the hope that it might spice up their relationship. Only it doesn't... instead, she realises she's not cut out for the swinging lifestyle and probably not for Matt either. She gets herself into a predicament and meets Logan, the lodge owner. And he in turn introduces her to a life of submission.Unfortunately, like other Cherise Sinclair books that I've read (Shadowlands book 1), there was lots and lots of sex, but not enough story or emotion to back it up. I'm not a prude, I'm happy to read about sex (obviously), but I couldn't help but feel that there was something missing here... namely the story. I couldn't quite connect with the characters because of all the gratuitous sex. Logan and Rebecca's relationship was too instalove-ish, and it made me a bit uncomfortable with how quickly it all moved, especially considering her naivety with the lifestyle. There was no discussion of limits or even her experience. He didn't establish at what threshold she'd safeword. There was pretty much no communication whatsoever, and no aftercare either. In fact, he wouldn't even sleep next to her because of his nightmares... it was pretty much 'your safeword is red, now I'm going to restrain you' followed by sex, sex and more sex, followed by sleeping in separate rooms before it all starts again. And there were a few scenes where I couldn't help but feel that he pushed her way too hard - the scene where he allows Jake in the room while punishing her made me cringe, and also the scene at in the club where he uses her for a demonstration after she's been restrained for non-sexual BDSM training by another dom. Both just felt wrong and made me really uncomfortable.I personally would have loved to have seen a little more exploration of the deeper issues that were touched upon - his PTSD and his military history or maybe a bit more exploration of her self-esteem issues.

I love this author and being a huge fan of the Shadowlands Series I had to give this series a go and what a cracking start to the series it is! I loved the characters, well, all except Matt who is just a blind imbecile, lol, and for the life of me can not understand why Becca has been with him for so long? However, takkng on this retreat was the best thing EVER for their relationship as she meets Logan, SIGH!!This book had me totally imersed from the beginning and although was not a short book, I literally couldn't put it down and found myself reading it continuously until the end as I needed to know what happened. I really enjoyed how it covered many subjects too, from Rebecas weight issues to her struggle with dogs which are both things that have raised their heads in my family and I'm sure many people can relate also, especially the weight thing as this is a very familiar problem in todays world. What was also really nice was how Logan, who himself, was HOT and extremely well built, found Rebecca really attractive just the way she was and liked her curves and ignored the skinny girls attending the weekend.With Cherise you expect a certian level of hotness in the love scenes and this book certainly didn't disappoint, they were very well written and panty meltingly HOT, phew!! But alongside that the romance was also extremely sweet and heart warming.I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book, and I cant wait to read the rest of the series, especially Logans brother Jake.One word for this book - Amazing

**SPOILERS IN PLACES** Five star read and I loved it! Feisty redhead Rebecca suffers with self image issues courtesy of her father and her neurotic mother. The bullying during school didn't help either. With the guidance and a shopping list from mother she thinks she has found her perfect man in Matt. He ticks all the boxes but she thinks maybe she should have sex as a box too as he leaves her wanting. To spice up their bedroom habits he decides that he needs to attend a long weekend retreat with a group of swingers that he has been with before. Rebecca is stunned but agrees to go to see if this will save their relationship.During the first day Matt is all over Ashley at which point Rebecca realises that he is going to be unfaithful and she feels gutted. When trying to get back into their cabin she finds them in bed and walks out to take refuge from the rain on a porch lounger. Logan finds her there and takes her off to his room.Over the next few days he discovers that Rebecca is in fact a rather nice little submissive and he takes time to introduce her to the delights of BDSM. When Ashley makes the catty comment of "I thought you said she was frigid" to Matt, Logan takes her into the woodland and makes her sing. That evening at dinner the other group that were walking in another valley were trying to find out who was enjoying themselves that much. Matt was shocked to find out it was her.During her stay in the mountains Rebecca finally makes some decisions for her return to the city. Logan meanwhile still suffering with PTSD pushes her away in case he strikes her during a nightmare.Following her return to the city she quits her job, cancels the apartment lease with Matt and goes back to her first love of drawing and painting, which was stifled by the advertising agency she worked for.Now all she has to work out is was it Logan or was it being a submissive that makes her heart beat faster. She takes an escorted step into a prominent BDSM club only to be found chained to a wall and being watched by a set of very bright eyes.Read it an enjoy, I know I did!