Books & Spoons Review: MASTERED by Maya Banks

What he wants, he takes with no remorse or guilt.

She stood out in his club like a gem, unspoiled and untouched. A lamb among wolves, she clearly didn’t belong. Drawn to her innocence he watched as she was surrounded by men who saw what he did—but no one but him could touch her. He summoned her to his private quarters. He sensed her fear. He also recognized the desire in her eyes. And he knew she wouldn’t leave before he possessed her. She had no need to know his secrets. Not until he had her under his complete and utter control.

What he wants, she isn’t sure she can give him.

The moment he told her want he wanted, she couldn’t resist. Instinct told her to run, but her heart said stay and walk the fine line between pleasure and pain. Though she wasn’t sure she could ever completely surrender, the primal part of her wanted to try, even knowing this man could break her in ways she never imagined. Because once he possessed her, he owned her and it would be too late to turn back. She can only pray that he doesn’t destroy her in the end.

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I'm a big fan of Maya Banks, I love her suspense books, and when this book was offered me to read for a review, I was excited. Well, it didn't work out so well. And I wish I could praise this book, but it just didn't work for me.
I didn't connect, or like, the main characters. Evangeline is super insecure, and stays that way. There's one incident that has happened with her first boyfriend, who was cruel to her, and no convincing from others will wipe that event from her mind. 
Drake, he thinks of himself as the god of his world, and acts in the role as well.
Sometimes dominance is done with a loving, caring attitude, and can be a huge turn on, but here, for some reason it comes off as very negative, almost angry. As erotica genre, the sex scenes are expected, and can be alluring, but there was something very awkward in some of them, that made me just uncomfortable.
The story moves on surprisingly slowly, yet very little information about the characters or their past is revealed. 
So, when you have a hard time even liking the characters, connecting with them, understanding their reasons for the behavior, and you are trying your best to get through a story, you are not in, and then the ending, well, I was appalled. The events are just not acceptable. All I could think of, was, 'I can't unread that'. 
To top it off, the story ends in a cliffhanger, and the second part of the tale comes in May (according to Amazon), and if you are a follower of the blog, you know that the knowledge of just that would have made me say no thank you for the book. 
I don't like to write bad reviews, I have struggled with this one as well, but I also believe in always giving your honest opinion, and that's what this is, my opinion. I am sure there's an audience for this book, but it didn't work for me.

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