Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Book Tour for Master Class by Cassandra Carr (Review & GIVEAWAY)


One of my favorite Queens of Steam is here today to show off her new BDSM romance, Master Class.  The book is a nice blend of romance and that intense yet playful side that BDSM can sometimes bring to the table when presented well as Ms. Cassandra Carr does here. You can also learn even more about this book by visiting the other blogs hosting this tour which are listed here.  Before you leave don't forget to sign up for the giveaway where you can win a gift card to buy this book for yourself.....

Ryan Tomasi feels like a failure. His marriage is officially over; the ink dried on the divorce decree. His friend Jack introduces him to BDSM and he agrees to attend a Halloween party at a club. A submissive approaches him, offering herself, and how can he refuse the kneeling beauty? They do a whirlwind scene and Ryan is addicted—both to dominance and to her.
Lisette Rinaldo is returning to the BDSM club for the first time since ending a bad relationship with her former master. She spots Ryan and is taken by the combination of self-assurance and nervousness the man displays as he takes in his surroundings. And after he gives her an incredible re-introduction to the lifestyle, she knows she needs to see the man again.
Ryan and Lisette explore each other and the lifestyle, but what started out as playtime quickly evolves into something more. The problem? Ryan isn’t ready to get serious again and Lisette doesn’t want to fall in love with a guy who can’t give all of himself to her. Both of them are going to have to break out of the bonds holding them back from happiness.

EXCERPT:

Ryan imagined it wouldn’t be cool if a Dom came in his pants before the scene even began. Bending, he grabbed the ruler paddle from his toy bag and then rooted through the other stuff until he found a larger leather paddle. He liked using paddles. They seemed to be the easiest implements for him to control, and when he’d seen the ruler paddle online, he knew he had to get it, given his day job.
Obviously he would never even consider using corporal punishment on his students, but some of the faux-Victorian spanking porn he’d watched had been pretty hot. He was happy to indulge this fantasy of Lisette’s.
Stepping closer, he dropped the leather paddle on top of his bag for later and reached out. Hooking his thumbs in the waistband of her gauzy pants, he pulled them down to her knees with suddenly trembling hands. As he’d suspected, she was bare underneath. He could’ve happily done a swan dive into her pussy with his face, but he knew he had to stay in character, so he tamped down on his own desire.
“What a naughty girl. Not even wearing panties to class.” He patted her ass with the paddle, then moved it away. Reaching with his free hand, he ran his fingers through her soaked folds. “And it appears someone’s excited.” Her pussy wasn’t shaved bare but rather was neatly trimmed, which was fine with him, as a bare pussy frankly did nothing for him.
“Yes, sir.” Lisette answered in a meek tone.
“Let’s see what we can do about your inability to turn in assignments on time.” Moving to her left, he took a couple of practice swings, then brought the paddle to about shoulder height and laid on the first stroke, following it immediately with a caress of his left hand. “Okay?”
“Green, sir.”
As soon as she spoke, he gave her another stroke, right on the fleshiest part of her bared ass. Her breath caught, but she remained silent. “Are you learning, girl?”
“Yes, sir. I won’t do it anymore, sir.”
“I’m not sure I believe you.” He gave her three more strokes, moving down her bottom a little on each stroke so that the last one landed right where her ass and thighs met. Soothing the skin with his left hand as she attempted to wiggle into his touch, he continued, really getting into his role and saying all the things he wished he could say to his real students. “When you don’t turn in your assignments on time, you’re disrespecting me and my class.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“You’re going to be.”
She seemed to be adequately warmed up, and he spanked her steadily for a few moments, covering her ass from near the top to a little on her thighs. As the area blushed from light pink to a darker shade, he positioned himself where he could see her expression.

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Cassandra Carr has written a story that perfectly blends romance and the intense world of BDSM and wraps it up with a sweet yet playfully natured bow.  It's not very often that I feel a story really understands and conveys what draws people to BDSM, but Master Class has done so masterfully.

Joining this world of BDSM after getting divorced and losing self confidence is sweet and sexy college professor Ryan.  After being made to feel as if his sexual desires were wrong by his ex-wife he's finally getting to experiment and his nervousness is apparent at first but soon morphs into a true Master.  I found his early nervousness endearing and believable considering his newbie status.  I liked him even more when he admitted such to the woman who chooses him to play with.  That woman is Lisette who left the scene after a bad Master/sub relationship and on her first night back chooses Ryan.  She's clearly more comfortable with the scene than he is as she subtly encourages him throughout the night.  This mentoring felt right and showed she was nothing like his ex as she wanted to build him up not take him down.  Their relationship evolves slowly with play dates at the club followed by a real date which quickly evolves into something more permanent, a HEA with a twist.

The sexual encounters in this story are intensely erotic and show BDSM in a positive light.  Types of play are explained fully but not in a clinical way.  These scenes always maintain their eroticism and after the release there's always a sweet moment to remind the reader that this kind of play is merely an expression of love no matter how others see it.

Ryan and Lisette are a wonderful couple whose relationship evolves in a believable way.  The few issues they have are quickly resolved so no irritating Big Misunderstandings occur which made me appreciate this story even more.  These two are mature adults who act in mature ways with no juvenile actions getting in the way of their HEA.  Along with a wonderful main couple comes Ryan's friend and mentor Jack, who with his sub Callie, present another positive view of a BDSM couple.  They're extremely likable with their loving yet kinky sides and I would love to read more about them as their enticing backstory is alluded to in passing.

From start to finish I became fully immersed in this new world and relationship Ryan has found himself in and was rooting for him and Lisette every step of the way. Their relationship was intensely erotic and loving with super steamy interludes nicely spaced throughout the story to not become overwhelming.  Cassandra Carr has told a masterfully entertaining and satisfying story and I look forward to the next story in her repertoire.

My rating for this is an A.

*I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

BUY AT:


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cassandra Carr is a multi-published, award-winning erotic romance writer with Ellora's Cave, Siren, Sybarite Seductions and Loose Id who lives in Western New York with her husband, Inspiration, and her daughter, Too Cute for Words. When not writing she enjoys watching hockey and hanging out on Twitter. Cassandra's book Caught was recently named Best BDSM Book 2011 by LoveRomancesCafe and Impact was named BDSM Book of the Month for May 2012 by BDSM Book Reviews.

For more information about Cassandra, check out her website at http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com, “like” her Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraCarr or follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Cassandra_Carr.

**********GIVEAWAY**********

a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Must be age 18 or older to enter.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for having me and for the great review! Jack and Callie's book is Caught, which released in December 2011 and won Best BDSM Book 2011 from LoveRomancesCafe. Funny enough, it's also up for BDSM Book of the Year for 2012 from The Romance Studio since their eligibility period is November to November. ;-)

    I hope everyone likes Master Class!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So happy to have you back at my blog, Cassandra! And I had a feeling that they had a story before and am glad you confirmed that for me. Now I'll have to go get that book since my curiosity is peaked.

      Delete