Review of Zane's Choice by Mardi Maxwell

Zane's Choice by Mardi Maxwell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Zane’s Choice proved to be quite the action-packed thrill ride as Zane wars with himself over his professional obligations and his love of a woman who may be guilty of some rather egregious crimes. That Ravyn is a feisty woman who has cultivated a take-no-prisoners personality to protect herself from the world her father and husband thrust her into just means that the sparks are flying. Of course no Ramsey courtship would be complete without Addison’s meddling, so we are treated to plenty of her shenanigans as she does her part to see Zane find his happily ever after.

I think I finally figured out what’s missing from this series that is keeping it from being a 5-star read for me. There seems to be very little attention paid to teaching the ladies about the D/s lifestyle. Granted, it has been a while since I read the first two books in the series, but as I recall all of the heroines have little to no experience with the D/s lifestyle. While they had a tendency to be submissive (in the bedroom, at least), none of them were experienced subs yet they were all expected to act accordingly. As such, the Ramsey brothers come off as demanding men rather than commanding Doms. While this may seem like semantics, it’s a missing ingredient for me that causes them to be good books rather than great books. Zane is no different in this respect from his brothers and it is his desire for a Master/slave relationship that was the “light bulb moment” for me. I do believe that Zane says they’ve talked about what he wanted in an M/s relationship, but there was little more beyond that discussion-wise. Ravyn seemed to be expected to know what Zane wanted from her. Not including the negotiation and “training” scenes is most likely why I’ve found the D/s relationships lacking in this series.

That said, Ms. Maxwell clearly made up for that with the amount of action, romance, and suspense she includes in this installment. Ravyn proves herself to be a strong character with her refusal to take the easy way out. Fortunately for her, the Ramseys are a protective lot once they’ve claimed someone, so Ravyn gets the helps she needs without asking for it. The twists and turns are aplenty and the level of suspense is what made Zane’s Choice such an enjoyable read for me. And I just gotta say, THAT was an unexpected bomb dropped at the end of the book! I can’t say I saw it coming either, but it certainly bodes well for the next book in the series as do the numerous new characters that were introduced. Let the stalking for book five begin.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

Check out the Zane's Choice by Mardi Maxwell blog post on Crystal's Many Reviewers.


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