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Bound  By  cover art

Bound

By: Lorelei James
Narrated by: Rachel Vivette,Luke Daniels
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Publisher's summary

In the Mastered Series by New York Times bestselling author Lorelei James, a woman's desire to shatter her inhibitions leaves her unprepared for where that erotic journey will take her…Former small-town girl Amery Hardwick is living her dream as a graphic designer in Denver, Colorado. She's focused on building her business, which leaves little time for dating - not that she needs a romantic entanglement to fulfill her. When her friend signs up for a self-defense class as part of her recovery after an attack, Amery joins her for support. That's where she meets him. Ronin Black, owner of the dojo, is so drawn to Amery that he takes over her training - in public and in private. The enigmatic Ronin pushes Amery's boundaries from the start, and with each new tryst, Amery becomes addicted to the pleasure and to him. But when Amery senses Ronin is hiding something, she questions her total trust in him, despite the undeniable thrill of his possession…

©2014 LJLA, Inc. (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

What listeners say about Bound

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I need some ice and ropes!

The ice to cool my overheated body and ropes to join in on the fun!

This book was amazing! Ok.. first, this I s not really dual narration which I loved because I hate dual narration... the book is read by Vivette until the very last chapter which is told from Ronin POV and read by Daniels...

The sexual chemistry between Ronin and Amstry is WOWAH..KAZAWA! Being a sensei and 8th degree black belt only add to Ronin's sex appeal... but the rope master kicked it up like 4 more degrees...The first scene in the dojo with Ronin and the pants was so cute and smexy at the same time...

Amstry was the perfect female for Ronin, strong and smart but somewhat submissive when she needed to be... great great...

I have to say Ronin was so secretive, I was a bit shocked like Amstry when only a small part of his background was reviled...

The smex was hot and tingly which double checked all my boxes, and the story kept me entertained... when it ended I was surprised and actually looked at my K. FIRE like it had brokenen down...

Well worth the credit...it's a bit pricey... but so worth it... there has to be a book 2, which from the last chapter implies will be from Ronin's POV...

Narration was great... I hope book 2 is read by Vivette... she was actually better than Daniels.. both narrators was still great though... Great book...great story, great drama... a credit well spent!

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Satisfy Your Craving with Bound by Lorelei James

4.25 Stars Quick Descriptions: BDSM/Bondage- Alpha Male- Female learning to be strong- Erotic Romance- Hot sex scenes- Cliff Hanger Series- Silent Hero (The ending is a cliffhanger leading to the next book in the series but it leaves off in an appropriate spot.)

Bound is the inaugural book in Lorelei James' new series, Mastered.
If you haven't read Lorelei James’ Rough Riders series start immediately! I had read them years ago when they came out and loved them.

Ronin is a strong sexual alpha that keeps himself completely closed off from everyone. He’s very secretive and this causes the obvious issues within their relationship.
Amery is a slight doormat that wants to be a strong female. They both have ex's that did a number on them. Amery has the added benefit of having a strict religious upbringing. She struggles with the feeling of being 'dirty' and unworthy when it comes to certain things specifically sex.
Side cast: Amery's so called friends didn't seem like very good friends to me and more often than not pissed me right the hell off! They got mad if she suggested a change in venue for their night out and all but attacked her about Ronin. Not cool! However Ronin's friends were what you would expect from a strong silent hero.

BDSM/bondage has been done redone and done again. Reading Bound was a more refreshing version to an old tune. His big secret seemed obvious to me but I didn't expect the twist, very nice.

They stared at each other, the attraction between them getting stronger each time they were together "you think it’s a good idea for us to be alone in your penthouse?" "Yes, because the first time I fuck you I'll need more than an hour."

A nice build-up of sexual tension in the beginning then BAM they combust into a hot sexual meeting that curled my toes. There was the right amount of sex to keep you hot and bothered but not detract from the story.

"The other reason I like your hair down is that I've fantasized about having these silken tresses wrapped around my fist as I'm fucking you"

The ending is a bit of a letdown but I have some hope the story will redeem itself since there is a sequel Unwound. This kept it from being a higher rated read for me. It's hard for me to pinpoint what it was that frustrated me about the ending. Maybe the way she approached him about it, I'm just not sure and can't hash it out without giving away too much of the story.

Bottom line if you enjoy hot alpha-BDSM/bondage-romance books then this will satisfy your craving!

I listened to the Audible.com version. Narrator: 4 stars very well done!

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Just Not Well-done - Could Not Finish!

I'm sorry to have to say that there is nothing that I found good or well-done about this book. I read many, many books. And I listen to many more. I am open minded and read a wide variety of books, authors with different styles. Some may be written a little better than others, but I enjoy most every book. It takes a lot for me to abandon one, it has to be pretty bad. Well, this one qualifies. This is only the second, or at most the third, audiobook I have "quit" on in five-plus years and 500 hundred audiobooks total in my library. All of the following were annoying and poorly-done: The writing, the characters, the "love" scenes, (which are unappealing, un-sexy, and awkward with cheesy dialogue and terminology), the dialogue (mainly sniping and bickering between the characters), and the pace of the story, flow of events from one scene to another. Go ahead and give this one a miss, you will not be missing anything good. I will be returning it for a refund.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A Decent Book with A Splash of Kink

Would you consider the audio edition of Bound to be better than the print version?

I enjoyed the narrator's take on the voices, so I'm sure I'd actually enjoy the audio version better. I've read some mixed reviews for the narrator, but she did a pretty good job in my opinion.

Which character – as performed by Rachel Vivette and Luke Daniels – was your favorite?

You know, I have to be honest. I really didn't have a favorite character. This book is just so neutral to me that I have no opinion one way or another. The characters just seemed like vessels to move the story along while not really leaving a lasting impression on the reader. It's still a mildly fun ride, so I don't regret spending my credit here.

Any additional comments?

This book reminded me - a lot - of 50 Shades of Gray. What I can say about this is that, though the subject matter did seem similar (strong male lead with need for sexual control, docile female lead willing to meet those needs), the characters were far less flipping annoying in this book. Oh, the female lead didn't make me want to gouge my eyes out with a rolled up feminist magazine either, which was a major plus..

As for notable negatives -- There is a lot of sex in this book. I'm not a prude, I swear, but I would have loved to have more plot. Also, there is a lot of graphic language, and before you say "Well, duh", what I mean is that most books like this will use cutesy words to mask the nitty gritty. This book doesn't have a problem letting you know EXACTLY what is happening while using a colorful vocabulary. If that makes you uncomfortable, you'll want to skip this for sure.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

CRAP

Would you try another book from Lorelei James and/or Rachel Vivette and Luke Daniels ?

The story/plot was absurd and juvenile. A "church mouse" meets "samurai". The hero's name was actually "Ronin" SERIOUSLY??? The narration was awful; sooo "Fargo" - the North Dakota/Minnesota dialect is fine, yet, NOT particularly sexy! Yuck. I think it is also misleading to state that this is a "dual" narration (i.e. Rachel Vivette and Luke Daniels). I love Luke Daniels narrations and was really looking forward to hearing it; however, he only narrates the last 6 minutes of the book. Well, THAT sucked.

What was most disappointing about Lorelei James’s story?

She should stick to her "cowboy" crap stories.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I was spellBOUND!

I REEEAALLLLY enjoyed this book! Ronin Black was some kind of man indeed--mysterious, sexy, dominant, and I wanted to melt on demand when he would tap into that tender side. This was a great story that teeters on the edge of dom/sub but not in the way some other stories have portrayed this lifestyle. Amery is sassy and coming into her own after living a very vanilla life, when she meets Ronin, who rocks the living daylights out of her world!

Sometimes erotic romance novels don't have a really well developed plot, but, this was quite the opposite in my opinion. I couldn't stop listening. I was intrigued by both Ronin and Amery, and oddly, Rachel Vivette's interesting narration. She has a different type of voice and even the pace of her narration is different than most, but it really worked for both the female and male leads.

I'm so glad I got this book, it was my first Lorelei James purchase and I was thoroughly impressed; I'm starting book 2 as we speak...

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Left me cold.

I know this story appeals to many -- you only have to look at the ratings and reviews to know that! But for me, this book made me drift off to just about any other distraction I could find. I've tried several times to get into it, but it just doesn't have what I need from any novel, much less an erotica novel, which I believe are the most difficult books to write because they must have that indefinable emotional truth in order to appeal to our most primal selves.

Ronin Black and his sex appeal is all told rather than shown. We know he is hot because he owns a dogo. We know he is powerful because the men and women at the dogo respect him. But there is nothing revealed, by word or deed, that made me feel those things about him. He is as stoically silent as a mannequin; he is a stick figure with muscles. He is a bore.

The big scene, the one where he reveals himself to Amery as a dominant, should have been a powerful one, but instead it made me cringed. He takes her to his SM play room so she can see what she is in for, but instead of taking control, he instead turns into a tentative little boy, anxious to please. It's an odd moment, and it made me feel sorry for Amery. Like a bad one night stand, (one in which each party tries to fake their way through it, so as not to embarrass the other), they go through the motions without any real passion in the encounter. What should be a hot moment results in her leaving. (If he's so hot, why is she so cold?)

In my opinion, James writing has all the sexiness of a little girl playing with Barbie dolls. ("Oh Ken, you're so sexy! Oh Barbie, be my girlfriend! Kiss, kiss!)

You can't just write that a character is strong, powerful and sexy, then write scenes like that to undermine him completely. You have to show by action and dialogue that he is dominant if you want me to believe it. And you have to sell it so that the attraction between them is believable. It isn't enough that we are told that Amery wants him -- the writer has to make you feel her wanting him, but all I heard was her himming and hawing about the whole thing. All of the need, want and desire that should be there, is missing. Even the characters are lukewarm.

Does the book improve from that scene onward? I read a few more chapters but I couldn't get past my initial weak impression of Ronin, so I don't know. Maybe I'm missing out on a masterpiece, but I doubt it. Sprinkled among the 5 star ratings are other reviews like mine by people who found the whole thing as underwhelming as I did.

Besides, there are so many good to great erotica novels on Audible. Stories and characters that have swept me away, taken me in, and given me vicarious pleasure. And I am always looking to add to my collection.

Unfortunately, I've yet to find a good one that was written by Lorelei James.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Sinfully Sexy Under $10

I must say, Bound by Lorelei James is an unexpected surprise and a wonderful beginning to a new series. When I picked up this book, I was under the impression that it was going to be just another story with a predictable plot with overly dramatic & dark undertones (this seems to be the theme in contemporary erotic romances as of lately). But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this was NOT the case with Bound.

The main characters in the story are addicting, and in my opinion, very well thought out. The conflict between Emery and Ronin Black is suspenseful, but thankfully not cliche. I love that Lorelei James created a character, like Emery, who throughout the book gradually learns to explore and embrace her sexuality. Not only did I find it believe because of her sexually repressed Christian background, but I found it refreshing. I think people often forget the power in embracing your own sexuality, but Lorelei James hits it on the mark.

The juxtapose position of Ronin's background and Emery's is intriguing. Ronin really helps her embrace herself and her femininity. Personally, it's what really makes me love him as a character. Yes, he is a bit of a complex and secretive character who's obviously hiding a piece of himself, but it's not cliche. His problems, in a way, are actually a lot more down-to-earth than expected. Or at least a lot more understandable.

I really enjoyed the slow build of Emery and Ronin's relationship. The banter between them was fun to read and I loved that Ronin brought out Emery's boldness in her character. Throughout the story you begin to see this slow progression of Emery's character in bloom, but it isn't until the end when you see her stick up for herself that you realize she's grown into her own skin.

While I'm not overly happy that Ms. James left us on a cliffhanger at the end, I'm not mad either. The end of the book did have a great stopping point and it did leave us with an interesting last chapter which is told in Ronin's point-of-view. I'm very excited to see what happens next in Unwound, and I am happy that readers and Ronin fans won't have to wait too long to see what happens next

Rachel Vivette , Luke Daniels were excellent with the delivery of the story.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

narrator inflection made me want to stop listening

Would you try another book from Lorelei James and/or Rachel Vivette and Luke Daniels ?

The author maybe but I will avoid the narrator, Rachel. I didn't hear enough of Lukes to make a decision.

What could Lorelei James have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I didn't like the story line at all.

Would you be willing to try another one of Rachel Vivette and Luke Daniels ’s performances?

maybe but doubtful.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Bound?

I have no idea. I am not an editor and never want to ber one

Any additional comments?

none

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Dragged

It wasn't until the last 15 minutes that there was actually some story and then ended with a cliffhanger so that was irritating. I kept listening because I thought it would get better since it had a lot of good reviews but there was very little story line until the end. When there was nothing but sex on the wall, sex on the floor, sex in the shower, sex in the car, sex on the roof, sex at the office, and even some sex in a bed it got kind of boring after a while, if you can believe it. Now, I'm irritated that I would actually consider the next book just to find out what happens and I'm hoping I'll get past that by the time it is released.

The narrator wasn't horrible but I have heard better. She needs a little practice with her timing. Ugh about sums it all up.

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