Review: 30 days to Syn

30 days to Syn by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars


Billionaire males into BDSM wanting a virginal vanilla female to dominate is bound to be interesting. Interesting in either a really good story or a complete cluster fuck. This one is just strange. Ms. Boyett-Compo is an author I really enjoyed from her sci-fi stories. She is an accomplished writer who is really good at storytelling. 30 Days to Syn is not the best representation of her work. The virgin in this story is Melina Wynth. Her problems in life is scarily more common in reality than one thinks. Due to health care for a loved one, her savings are wiped out. She can't get a decent paying job in the current market. Without a family to help out, she's one step from a cardboard box to call home. This is truly a nightmare. So when her one remaining friend pushes her to apply for a wanted ad listing a salary of 1 million dollars in 30 days, it's too good to be true.

Synjyn McGregor is the billionaire who desperately needs therapy. Coming from a person who abhors therapy, this says a lot. Syn is a masochistic out of control male with mommy issues. It's a train wreck as more of his life and past is revealed. Basically, this entire story can be summed up in the following quote.

“You are too calm, too self-possessed and arrogant to be a serial killer. From what I learned of them in college, serial killers are sociopaths and you do not appear to fit that description.” (loc. 385-387)

Why do I point to this specific one? It's because it is so far off base that it's laughable. This story is a constant contradiction. First, how is domination roleplay to be separated from BDSM? This is not to say it can't, but generally domination goes hand in hand with BDSM. The so called scenes of domination in this story are mind blowing fucked up. It's not domination. It's a domineering male playing tricks. There is no erotic power exchange here. Absolutely no trust or communication either. Instead, it's an impulsive male being a cock tease. In this case, Syn is a pussy tease. It's all very bizarre. Second, Syn's behaviour does not lend credence to his ability to run a multibillion dollar enterprise. He is erratic, illogical and demonstrates no redeeming qualities. He is emotionally exhausting. Lastly, is this a romance, an erotic awakening or a warning regarding despicable females?

The conflicts in this story are difficult to explain. It comes out of nowhere with women all physically resembling Syn's mother out to get him. This is both in his business and personal life. It makes a person become paranoid when meeting a brunette with green eyes. Based on this story, all but one are cruel, petty, jealous and money grubbing bitches.

The issues in the story is not what I've come to expect from Ms. Boyett-Compo. Her character building in this story is inconsistent. Her conflicts come out of left field. She is consistent in the atrocities females perpetrate on males. There is no in between for the female characters. Either they are wholesome good are the most vile creature. It's an interesting dichotomy which is telling about an author.

There is no domination in this book. The little bit of BDSM at the end made little to no sense. The sex in the book is mostly a cock tease with an anti-climactic cherry popping. This book left me saddened for Syn and hoping he goes to both individual and couples therapy. His inability to communicate effectively is a problem. Which once again doesn't make sense in how he is such a successful businessman. This story while grammatically and technically well written, didn't flow well for me. The conflicts were jarring and the sexual interlude abrupt.

*provided by BDSM Book Reviews


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