Initial Thoughts Hmmm....still deciding between 3 and 3.5 stars. I still had the deja lu feeling, but much better written than the other series it has been compared to. I did like this book more than Release Me. The Review OK. I wasn’t too impressed with Release Me. Maybe I was cranky the day that I read it, maybe it just had that “wait a minute – I’ve already read this” feeling to it. Currently, there are so many books in Romancelandia that are trying to capitalize on the kinky billionaire. Our blog even did a post on the topic and if you are interested it’s in our Tropes From Hell post. Actually, this series prompted me to look up billionaires on the Forbes list to see if any were in their thirties. Nope. Didn’t see any thirty-somethings on that list. An even better list is Forbes list of Fictional Billionaires. Click on that link - you know you want to. Interestingly enough, there is a Stark on that list, just not Damien Stark. Back to our book. Basically there’s a formula – not that there is anything wrong with that: Gorgeous billionaire with a damaged past hooks up with a young woman of no or little sexual experience. She may also have some issues from her past. Kinky sex ensues – toys, knots, a little exhibitionism, some sort of control thing. The billionaire has beautiful homes, fancy cars, and sometimes even a helicopter and/or private jet. The hunk of a man lavishes our gal with lots of expensive gifts. He’ll buy her anything. Then something happens to threaten our happy couple’s existence but their relationship prevails and there is some sort of happily ever after. There’s nothing wrong with this. I enjoy some fantasy with my romance.For the first 100 or so pages of Claim Me, I kept thinking about how this felt like those other books. I kept commenting to my husband that I’ve read this before. BUT – I do like Ms. Kenner’s writing style and having read other books by this author, I persevered. I’m glad that I did because I DID enjoy this book. I liked the witty banter between Nikki and Damien. Nikki’s jokes about how the financial markets would suffer if Damien took a day off from work made me laugh. These two characters together are sizzling hot AND there is an actual story that goes with all those sexy moments. Chocolate fondue now has a totally different meaning now, if you get my drift. And I’ve found another character that is awfully handy with those knot tying skills. Nikki’s character surprised me. Scarred physically and emotionally from her years on the pageant circles, Nikki craves pain and had been cutting herself. Even though she is beautiful, she suffers from body image issues. Her mother is at the root of her problems, constantly judging Nikki. Despite her issues, Nikki copes rather well, using her pageant training to mask her emotions. More information is revealed about Damien, going back to his child tennis star days. The supporting characters were great, too. Jaime, a wannabe actress and Nikki’s roommate was interesting. I adored Evelyn, who seemed to have all the best friends and connections – and the best gossip.Claim Me was a guilty pleasure read for me. While parts of the book made me roll my eyes, I did enjoy this book. I’m glad that I gave this series another chance and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for a review copy of this book. Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.
