Review of Bound (Mastered #1) by Lorelei James
Bound is the first book in the Mastered series.
Amery Hardwick is living the dream as a graphic designer in Denver, Colorado. After her employee and friend is attacked, she takes a self-defense course with her at a local dojo. There she meets the sensei, Ronin Black.
Ronin immediately takes to her and pursues her relentlessly until she agrees to date him. It quickly becomes a heated, steamy relationship. At the same time as Amery wonders if all the do is have sex, she's enthralled with the play at bondage between them.
Until Ronin shows her how deep his love of bondage goes.
After my first Lorelei James book, I wanted more, but the next book in that series wasn't available from my library. So, I decided to check this one out.
Like the first book of hers I read, the characters were developed well, but could have been delved into deeper. I liked both main characters, and Amery's personality made it a delight to be in her head. I both liked Ronin's reticence and was frustrated by it along with Amery. His enigmatic nature made him a mystery to be solved.
The plot was excellent with twists and turns that I loved. Ronin's love of bondage was shocking at first, but soon became something quite different. The climax was surprising to me, though I did expect it to be some reveal about Ronin or something to do with Amery's ultra-conservative parents considering Ronin's lifestyle, religion, and side jobs. It suited the story and made Amery's choice at the end understandable yet heartbreaking.
My one complaint is of very obvious insta-love on Ronin's part. There was no transition between him as a sensei of the dojo to him being crazy about Amery. They jumped straight from antagonistic feelings on Amery's part to Ronin opening his guarded private life and space to her almost without warning. It was jarring and a little confusing. My thoughts went along the lines of "Where did that come from?" It was also vaguely reminiscent of Christian Grey's obsession with Ana in Fifty Shades of Grey only more sudden and a little confusing.
Despite that, I can't wait for the next book to see how things turn out with the couple!
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