♦ New Release! Tuesday, February 5th, 2013: BREAKING SKYE is out! Available now on Amazon and Smashwords, and coming soon to B&N and other online retailers!
♦ Online Appearance! Tuesday, February 5th, 2013: Eden is on the Smutketeers blog to celebrate the release of BREAKING SKYE with an excerpt & a contest!
♦ Online Appearance! Wednesday, February 6th, 2013: Eden will be on Scorching Book Reviews to promote the release of BREAKING SKYE, with an excerpt & a contest!
♦ Online Appearance! Saturday, February 9th 2013: Eden will be on best-selling author Melissa Schroeder’s blog talking about BREAKING SKYE & having a giveaway!
The Dark Garden Review
Let me begin this review by stating that this book was originally published back in 2007, WAY before the advent of 50 Shades.
Rowan Cassidy, a self-proclaimed Top, or Domme, is finding her life unsatisfying. She’s got a job she loves, a richly decorated home and a sleek car to boot. Yet, something is missing, something is lacking in her life but she just can’t put her finger on what it is. Rowan doesn’t need a man to satisfy her, unless he is below her as her submissive. She does not need, or require attachments and in her mind, she is in complete control of her desires which is something she lacked as a child living with her domineering mother.
So why is it that a man named Christian Thorne, an old member of Club Prive’, (a popular BDSM club), but a new face to Rowan, igniting feelings inside Rowan that she can’t quite make sense of? Christian is a Domme in every way, that’s obvious to anyone who looks at him, but Rowan is a Domme as well. They’d never work.
Christian Thorne is a cultured, well-traveled artist who has lived all over the world. He has come back to the States to set down roots. Mr. Thorne continues to paint, draw and sculpt in his lavishly decorated Venice Beach home. He seems content, satisfied with his decisions to date, but there was something about the mysterious Rowan that has Christian intrigued. Rowan insists she is a true dominate, but Christian senses otherwise. His goal now is to get Rowan to acknowledge this as well.
Both are stuck, they can’t stop thinking about each other. Something must be done. So Christian approaches Rowan with a proposition. For thirty days, Rowan must submit to Christians desires and at the end of those thirty days she can walk away if she still believes she is a true dominant.
And here is where the story really picks up.
Rowan struggles with her past. Her mother was a domineering lawyer who demanded control. Her ex, Danny, scarred her emotionally. Yet, her desire to submit to Christian is intense and overwhelming…and completely against everything she stands for. Rowan writes about a couple in a similar situation as her own, Ashlyn and Gabriel. She self-imposes her own doubts, fears and desires onto these characters hoping to make sense of her own life or at least live vicariously through them.
Luckily, Rowan has the support of her best friend, April, who is also struggling to make sense of her own relationship with Decker. A notorious bachelor who is known to fuck ‘em and leave ‘em, He has no desire for a relationship but April offers his heart and mind a challenge.
Rowan and Christian’s 30 days progresses and digresses several times before everything comes to a head. Hearts need to heal, decisions need to be made for Rowan and Christian, April and Decker as well.
Will love conquer all?
The Dark Garden is much more than steamy, erotic sexual encounters, although readers will definitely enjoy said encounters. It’s more than just BDSM. It’s about the journey these souls take to find themselves true happiness and trust in another person. It’s about experiencing the sensual passion and true love you can only have with your soul mate, someone who allows your personality to shine through and supports your true sexual nature.
I truly enjoyed The Dark Garden. It was a true lesson in love, lust, passion, and some deliciously descriptive sex as well.