Louise H
A really good follow up to Security Binds Her The first thing I will say is that Striking a Balance must be read after reading Security Binds Her . This book really won't make any sense without an indepth knowledge of the events that occur in Book #1. Whilst the first book is a very dark read, this was much more of a contemporary BDSM romance read, though I do believe the next book edgers into darker territory. Having read and loved SBH , I very much wanted to continue on this journey with Thalia. Although the story didn't quite proceed in the way I imagined it would, it is still a very captivating and engaging read. In fact I thoroughly enjoyed it, loving how it was more about getting to know James, the hero, and to understand the dynamic between he and Thalia This picks up from where SBH ends, with Thalia setting off to begin her new life with James. At one point (and this was a fair chunk into the book) I began to wonder why Thalia wasn't receiving more help following her captivity, rape and torture. I got that letting the authorities know what had happened would put James in the firing line, but with his resources he should have been able to get her some type of support. It was almost enough to reduce my enjoyment of the book, until it wasn't. Stick with it because, just as I reached that point, we get a very unexpected twist that leads to truths being revealed and a total change in direction of the book. Most of the time it felt as though Thalia still remained a captive, captive in a different way but still not truly free. This gave a much needed edge to the book and kept me reading. She is so totally lost that at times it was difficult to 'get' her character, but that is the whole point. I felt that the author did an amazing job of portraying how very broken Thalia is. Written in third person the book also allowed me to get a very good feel for James, both as a character and also as a Dom. There were times I wanted to shake the arrogance from him, thankfully Thalia did a damn good job of doing just that when her confession pulled the rug out from under his feet. He has a selfish streak, that was shown by the fact that he watched footage of Thalia, knowing the girl wasn't a willing trainee slave. But I liked how it made him fallible and human, so much more believable as a 'hero'. Finally, and oh my word, that cliffhanger - the only reason I'm not cursing the author is because book #3 is already available, lol. I'm off to read that one now!
Michele Battista
James helps Thalia to be his sub This is my 2nd book by Jennifer, and the 2nd in this series. I love an author who writes in dual point of view. After James leaves the auction with Thalia, he explains how he wanted to get her out of Marcus and Anthony’s clutches sooner. James is frustrated with the dynamic between them, so he takes Thalia to his friend Kalen who runs Purgatory. Thalia struggles to learn to be the submissive that James needs, but the overall program works on Thalia’s issues. You will enjoy Thalia’s times with the other women in training, and especially the steamy scenes with James and Kalen. It ends on a cliffhanger, but thankfully the 3rd book in the series is available.
Leslie OBrien
Oh boy, is it hot in here because…wow. I so loved the continuation of Thalia and James’ story. The gradual transition from what was an incredibly dark story in “Security Binds Her” to “Striking a Balance”, so much happens as Thalia fights to figure out who she is and where she belongs. *Spoiler alert: She belongs with James. I LOVED Purgatory (Okay, as an ex-catholic that sounds weird). I loved reading about the other doms and subs at the school. It was an amazing way to draw out the turmoil going on inside Thalia’s head as she fights with her inner demons. So, good.
