Their Discovery
Author: Rebecca Grace
Reviewer: Jennifer
Rating: C+
What I’m Talking About:
Their Discovery is the third book in the Legally Bound series by Rebecca Grace and my first read by the author. I don’t usually start a series out of order even if each book could function as a stand-alone, but I choose to try Their Discovery because it focuses on a married couple who are having issues with their marriage.
As someone who has been married for 16 years, I know all too well there are ups and downs in marriage, and I enjoy reading about fictional marriages and what their problems are. YES, I read to escape real life, but from time to time I look for art imitating life.
I thought, for the most part, Their Discovery reflected some realistic problems a marriage can go through.
Was it possible to love your husband but hate your marriage? To love your kids but hate what motherhood had turned you into?
I personally have had similar thoughts that our heroine, Samantha (Sam) had about her marriage.
All she wanted was for him to share the load at home without her having to remind him about stuff all the time.
Sam and Brady are in a runt with their marriage and neither feels like the other one is seeing them. They fill like they have lost the romance they once had before they had children. She is always angry that he doesn’t do more to help with the house and the kids. He feels like she doesn’t like him anymore or possibility doesn’t love him anymore. They both know something needs to change, but they don’t know what that is.
Sam loves reading romance novels, especially ones where the woman is Dominant to the male submissive. Brady has craved to be dominated for years but feels he cannot tell Sam for fear she will see him as weak. After very little discussion between the two, they jump into a D/s role in their sex life. At first, it brings them back together sexually, but like all healthy relationships, sex is not the fix but a band-aid. One that only covers a big boo-boo. They get in way over their heads in the D/s play where they are back to not being happy and not giving or getting what they both need. Trust and honesty.
Their Discovery is more about Sam and Brady finding they need to opening up and honest with each other inside and outside of their bedroom. Once they figured that out they were well on their way to fixing their HEA that had been derailed for a few years. It was hopeful seeing a married couple working on marriage instead of giving up on it. They still had a love for each other, they just needed to figure out how to bring that love back to the front of their relationship.
While I enjoyed most of Their Discovery, I had a few issues with some of the characterizations. There are a few DNF reviews on Goodreads; some readers feel like there was “fat shaming”. I never got this, but clearly, a few things were triggers for some who read it. There were scenes where Sam remarked about her weight. She was thin before having two children. She put on weight during both pregnancies, as most of us do. She kept the weight on and thought that was the reason their sex life had halted. Brad had thoughts about Sam’s weight stating it never bothered her. He loved her no matter what size she was. She took the “baby weight” off and still had issues with eating healthy and going to the gym. I don’t see this as “fat shaming” because Brad never told Sam she needed to lose weight. He never remarked about her body negatively at all. BUT there was one scene early in the book I took issue with and it was a scene between Brad and one of his employees.
“You okay?”
Paul nodded, then doubled over to catch his breath. Dude obviously hadn’t exercised in a while. Most developers spent too much time on their asses. That’s why there was a gym in Helios’ basement: to keep the employees from turning into a mass of Jabba the Hutts.”
That scene, IMHO should have been left out. It didn’t add to the scene at all and it painted Brady as a major jerk. Which he was not (if you move past this to finish the book). I did read an eArc so maybe this scene was cut from the final draft (I really hope so!). That scene and the odd references to food through the book put me off. If I had not been invested in seeing if Brady and Sam could save their married I may have been one of the readers who DNF Their Discovery.
My Rating: C+ Liked It, but I had issues
Jennifer
About the Book:
Samantha Archer’s life has hit a wall. Her world is housework, homework and reminding her husband—the biggest kid in the family—to help out at home. Once she felt confident, powerful and sexy, but Brady doesn’t seem to notice her anymore, and now all she feels is invisible.
Brady has tried being the goofy guy who stole Sam’s heart, but it’s not working. He’s losing the woman he loves and doesn’t have a clue how to fix it. He’s keeping his darkest fantasies hidden too, sure they’re not what Sam wants, and his inability to please her cuts him deeper than she knows.
When Sam lands a new job at a law firm, Brady still won’t pick up the slack, and one night giving him orders unexpectedly reignites their missing spark. Sam discovers the Femdomme she didn’t know she was, kindling Brady’s submissive desires.
But while things heat up inside the bedroom, life outside it starts unraveling. Brady’s need to call the shots at work complicates his hunger to kneel for his wife, and Sam has longed to experiment in more ways than one. Their exploration of dominance and submission goes a step too far when they invite Sam’s sultry switch coworker into their bed, and the fallout could cost them everything.
Warning: contains a six-foot-five, ex-football player geek and a ballsy, badass redhead who’s learning to unleash her inner Domme. Scenes depicting humiliation, pegging and threesomes could disturb, or stimulate a thirst for adventure.
Release Date: April 29th 2019
Publisher: self-published
Series: Legally Bound #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance, BDSM, D/s
Format(s): e-book
Book Source: Author
Purchase Info:
Amazon
Exclusive Excerpt:
“I have something to show you.”
“Okay.”
She turned, knowing he would follow. When they stepped inside the bedroom, Sam swiped to unlock the iPad she’d left on the bed, putting it back down so Brady could see the site she’d left it open to.
“Sex toys?” he asked.
“Very specific ones.”
They were all BDSM toys, things she’d read about but only imagined using. But Brady remained immobile, staring at the bed, quiet as he fiddled with his wedding ring.
“Does this make you uncomfortable?” she asked.
He shrugged.
“What does it make you?”
“Horny,” he replied, then laughed. But that ring was still turning.
Brady barely talked most of the time, when he wasn’t cracking a joke. Now he seemed almost mute. Not that she could blame him. She hadn’t done things correctly. Half because she wanted to soothe him, and half because she wanted to touch, Sam came up next to him and ran her palm along his back. He responded with a short, sharp inhale.
“I know we moved too fast last night,” she said softly. “We didn’t talk about safewords. You know what those are?”
“Yes.” How he knew, she didn’t ask. Maybe he’d read more of her books than he let on.
“That was my mistake. I was too wrapped up in this. In you.” Slipping her hand under his shirt, she scratched lightly. “Forgive me?”
Brady shivered and nodded. “Of course.”
“Thank you,” Sam said. “Now, go. Look. Show me what you like.”
He inhaled again, this time longer, but still shakily. “Okay.”
They settled into bed, the iPad between them, and Brady leaned over it, swiped and tapped. Instead of watching the screen, she watched his hand, his buffed nails and strong fingers. There was so much she liked about his body—the fine hair on his arms, the dip between his shoulder and neck. Why didn’t she ever tell him that? She glanced up at his hairline, at the scar that was still beneath it, and gave it a kiss.
He leaned into her. “This is weird.”
“What is?”
“Looking at this with you.”
She didn’t like that, but she didn’t stop nuzzling. “I don’t want it to be.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched his fingers pinch in and spread out. What did he need? What would make him comfortable? She nuzzled lower, bit lightly at his earlobe. Brady sucked in a breath.
“Are you nervous, pet?”
He nodded. Heat spun off his cheeks. She kissed his neck. “You don’t need to be. As a matter of fact, you’re exactly what you should be.”
“And what’s that?”
She put her lips to his ear. “A submissive, showing his Domme what he wants.”
His grunt was low and dirty. “It’s insane hearing you say that word.”
“Submissive?” she asked. Brady groaned and nodded again. “That’s what you are, isn’t it?”
Another deep inhale. An even deeper exhale. “Yes.”
About the Author:
Rebecca Grace Allen holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with a double concentration in Creative Writing and Literary Comparison as well as of Master of Science degree in Elementary Education, both of which seemed like good ideas at the time. After stumbling through careers in entertainment, publishing, law and teaching, she’s returned to her first love: writing. A self-admitted caffeine addict & gym rat, she currently lives in upstate New York with her husband, two parakeets, and a cat with a very unusual foot fetish.
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