Review: At His Mercy

At His Mercy by Shelly Bell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Awkward when your one night stand turns out to be your professor at college. This story was odd for me. It felt like it was going several different directions. My guess is to make the story a bit more complex with layers, there are several subplots going on. For me, they were not integrated that well and felt a bit klunky. I liked how this story started. Isabella has overcome a terrible trauma in her life and is going to live a little. Intrigued by BDSM, she hits up a club and somehow finds a dominant who takes her for a wild one night stand. Not particularly realistic, but it is erotic and I enjoyed the scene. With a memorable experience, she heads off to university with a light heart. This comes to a screeching halt when her professor whom she also will TA for is the man she slept with. Now from here, I'm expecting some naughty kinky professor/student sex. Whilst there is a bit and it is quite hot, there is a "single white female" and "fatal attraction" thing going on too.

These two other subplots made the story a bit messy. It was still easy to follow and anticipate what was going to happen. What happens is a complete train wreck and a bit crazy out there. I felt badly for Isabella because all roads lead to her, even Tristan's crazy ex-wife leads back to her. There are several "what just happened" moments for Isabella and the reader. Still, Isabella is a sweet girl with delicious submissive tendencies. The kink in this story is what saved the book for me. The power exchange between Tristan and Isabella is lovely to watch. The kinky scenes are happily realistic and fun. The erotic parts are written well and keep the book in a nice simmering arousal.

This erotica romance is recommended to kinky readers who enjoy a bit of taboo between teacher and student.

*provided by NetGalley