Review: Never Let You Down

Never Let You Down by Joely Sue Burkhart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Ms. Burkhart certainly never lets a reader down with her deliciously erotic stories. In this fourth book in the series, I'm caught off guard. I never thought there would be another book in this series. To now have a book focused on the dominant who influenced the Connaghers brothers and sister, it is sublime. Virginia is the mother of three strong dominants. She herself is a sadist who sexually tortured her husband as he erotically pleased her with his masochism. Unfortunately for Virginia, she's been without a husband, lover and masochist for twelve years. Since her beloved Tyrell passed away, Virginia's been alone.

This is a fabulous story of love reunited. Ms. Burkhart does a lovely job in bringing out different types of love and needs in this story. Her characters, Virginia and Jebadiah are wonderful. I love Jeb and his unrequited love moves me. His desire and need to serve as a submissive is breathtaking as it hits home to readers who yearn to service in the same manner. Ms. Burkhart captures this unsatisfied need so well, it hurts to read about it.

A clever little writing device Ms. Burkhart uses is creating Jeb as a BDSM writer. He writes stories with strong submissive males. His latest story is one which incorporates his own experiences with Virginia and Tyrell. Ms. Burkhart alternates between reality and the fictional story within a story. I like it! I must say, I wish the story would be written and published as a short story spin off. Similar to how Robert Rodriguez created Machete off a poster and trailer in a previous movie of his, Grindhouse.

What I really enjoyed about this story is second chances. I liked that both Virginia and Jeb are older. The flashbacks between current and past is smoothly done. It helps flesh the characters out as well as provide information on past pains and history. I'm also very pleased to see a femdom where the woman is sadistically loving just as the man is strongly submissive. Jeb is no doormat and Virginia is no viperous castrating bitch. Touching upon the concerns of a brawny male exposed as a submissive on his knees, Ms. Burkhart shows the strength a male submissive must go through. The misconceptions and the prejudice against male submissive is frustrating and a hot button for me. Fortunately, Ms. Burkhart does a great job of explaining it. This kinky romance is highly recommended to those who love friends to lovers happily ever after, no matter how long it takes.

*provided by NetGalley



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