That's What I'm Talking About

Adam Kessler doesn’t want to be anyone’s hero, yet he finds himself as a part-time vigilante for hire, and one evening when out for a run, he rescues Olivia Hamilton from being mugged and raped. Afraid her desires for him are caused by the adrenaline of the moment, Adam rejects Olivia’s welcome arms the night of her attack, waiting to see if she’d call him after she comes to her senses.

Dr. Olivia Hamilton is a well-established psychologist and a very independent woman. She realizes her feelings for Adam are textbook knight-in-shining armor reactions, but somehow, she knows Adam means more to her than any man she’s meet before. Taking a chance, Olivia calls Adam and discovers a whole new side to herself in the process.

Primal is the second story in Ms. White’s Overwatch series featuring the owner and members of a private BDSM club. As the owner of Overwatch, Adam feels the need to protect each one of its members. His protective streak doesn’t end there, as witnessed by his drive to keep Olivia safe from harm after meeting her just once. Adam doesn’t view himself as the good guy, yet his every thought and action exudes his innate honor and high ethical code.

The book opens with a serious, albeit short, attack on Olivia, which honestly ends before it begins. While the scene is not difficult or graphic, the nature of the assault created some discomfort on my end when Olivia started coming on to Adam. Thankfully, Adam recognizes what is going on and backs away, leaving my concerns behind. I appreciate the author’s thoughtful handling of what could have been a major issue for me.

Adam and Olivia have an immediate, intense connection, full of steamy chemistry and smokin’ smex. The pair’s amazing rapport was carried throughout the book, both in and out of the bedroom, and I appreciated that both are smart, well-adjusted characters. Adam introduces Olivia to his Dominant side and the possibility of a D/s (Dominant/submissive) relationship. While this, and a couple of scenes at the club, classifies the title as “BDSM,” the nature of the play is BDSM-lite and suitable for anyone who may have an interest in the genre.

While Primal is not a long story and is relatively drama-free, there are a couple of small conflicts which cause some commotion for the pair. I like that the couple has a relatively straight-forward path to HFN, but when there is some difficulty, that they talk through the issues.

There are a couple of scenes that I felt detracted some from the flow of the story, the first being a play scene featuring Ronnie and Ian, the h/h from Unfettered. While the scene was actually pretty good, it’s the fact that it is told from Ronnie’s POV that bothered me. I believe it is the only time in the story that is NOT shared from either Olivia or Adam’s POV, which makes it stand out to me. In addition, there is an odd scene in the middle of the book that caused me great confusion for a bit. While it was later revealed to be a dream, there was no warning or indication of this fact heading into the scene. In addition, it is written in present tense narrative, which was extremely off-putting to me.

Overall, I enjoyed Primal and found Adam and Olivia to be a solid, sexy match. The story is extremely fast-paced with relatively little conflict. Both Olivia and Adam know what they want and go after it. The book is a happy, bdsm-lite love story that makes for a quick, enjoyable read.

My Rating: B, I liked it

Review copy provided by author

Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About