Surrender to Me

Wicked Lovers, Book 4

By: Shayla Black

Narrated by: Lexi Maynard

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

A Navy SEAL accepts a hot proposition: share a buddy's girlfriend and fulfill her dream of a ménage. But after meeting Kata he needs more than one night. And he wants her all to himself - a guilty secret that becomes a dangerous fantasy.

©2011 Shelley Bradley, LLC (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This erotic tale has plenty of heat, touches on several sexual fantasies, explores the BDSM lifestyle, and has a suspense plot to boot." ( Romantic Times)

Well, you can't love EVERYTHING an author writes

Shayla Black's Wicked Lovers series is overall very good, but I just didn't like this one. The best parts were the cameos by previous characters in the series and the excellent narrator. The story itself was so unbelievable that I found myself rolling my eyes a lot and finally listening on double speed just to get through it so I could say I have listened to them all. I wanted to slap both main characters because Hunter was an insufferable bully, and Kata had no spine. I found very few redeeming qualities in either of them, and should have heeded the reviews I read on Amazon and skipped this one. Having said that, I still look forward to the next installments on Audible because the first 3 books were great, and I will listen to those again.

I admit, I haven't finished this book.

But I'm not happy with it at all at this point. I don't think it can be redeemed with only 2 hours left to go.

I've really enjoyed the previous 3 books for the most part. My biggest problem with this series has been a couple of constants. First, 'typical' submissive women are portrayed as spineless, sniveling, doormats. The strong, sharp tongued, bratty women who wind up as submissives in the series are way more typical of submissives I know. Second, the insistence of the men in the series that the woman of their choosing is really a submissive and she just doesn't know it and if only the big strong Dom would come in and show them, they will (or should) jump straight into the lifestyle with no qualms. Not only is this incredibly unrealistic, but also chauvinistic and insulting.

Having stated those two generalities, this book in particular has gone so far above and beyond the pushy Dom that it's moved into bullying. The woman only 'gives in to her submissive side' during sex and only after being pushed passed her 'no' point. Admittedly, she's written to really enjoy some of the aspects of submissiveness and she never uses her safe word. But, it's just too much for me and I've become frustrated to the point that I wish she'd kick him to the curb and find an actual caring, loving Dom who trusts her as much as she should trust him.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

Insufferable Angst!

What would have made Surrender to Me better?

A listener/reader can only take so much angst. Kata's constant "If I give in to him, then I'll lose myself, blah, blah blah . . ." gets tiresome after the first 100 times she says it or thinks it. After the 200th time she says it, you just have to start hitting the fast forward button. If the author pulled back from this even just a little, it might have saved this book.

What was most disappointing about Shayla Black’s story?

Kata's constant whining.

Which character – as performed by Lexi Maynard – was your favorite?

The only two characters I actually enjoyed listening to were Logan and his father.

Any additional comments?

Just tone down the back-and-forth "I want him, I don't want him." Listeners/Readers in general are not stupid. Authors don't need to kill a dead horse, resurrect it, and keep on killing it just to get a point across. After a while it just kills the story - not the horse.

OMG! No Black Didn't!!!!

WHAT! Ok... let me compose myself!!! WHAT!

The best book of the series soo far. Please Black, Please follow up with Hunter's brother..!!!

Ok.. I did not expect a book on Hunter.. I was so expecting the next book to be on Tyler... I was not disappointed though. Kata, however is a totally new character for me. I love the fact that she is a big girl. Go Hunter!!! Hunter like a little meat on his bones!! OMG!!! This book was sooo freakin good... She couldn't have been that big though, because Mr. Navy Seal was tossing Kata all over the place.. and he was a DOM!!!! He was more forceful than Jack! Kata however was not like Morgan... she was not going for that crap. Black has out done herself this time.

Ok. Ok. Ok.. What I love the most about this book was all the freakin action... !!!!! YES!!! I mean Hunter is a Seal so his life is pretty crazy and I like how Black made sure to let you know that Hunter is a bad ass dude without actually having to tell you... SOOOO GOOOD! Plus the smex in the book... was amazing... and it was sooo much compared to all her other books.

Now.. the foreshowding of the next book can go either way... either Tyler or Landon... Please Please be Landon... Landon has a dungon living room...!!!! Black please don't make me wait two books!!!

Maynard did great with this book. She actually changed her voice for Kata... I think because Kata was suppose to be hispanic, so Great Job!!!!

No means no.

I’m only a few hours into this but let’s say this review is for the series thus far. It drives me CRAZY that the men in this series think they know better. They think they know what “their women” need and really want, regardless of whether they say the opposite. It was kind of okay and made sense in the first two books because frankly the main female characters were simpering fools without minds of their own. Honestly, I almost stopped reading after the first book. The third book (the one before this), however, went too far. The scene where Luc, the HERO, almost forced Alyssa (who was not a simpering fool) to have sex with him and literally tied her down despite her screaming no and crying was disgusting and offensive. It wasn’t until she had to bite him that he stopped. That is in addition to the fact that he KNEW she was not only a rape victim but had recently been sexually assaulted again. He wasn’t even supposed to be a dom. And THEN he barely had to grovel to win her back??? I don’t think so. I realize the book is a few years old, but in light of recent sexual assault allegations against a myriad of high profile and powerful men by women who felt helpless to say anything until now is especially disconcerting. NO. MEANS. NO. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

To be honest I’m not even sure why I continued with this book. So far, Hunter has taken advantage of a drunk woman and married her, and THEN taken further advantage of her vulnerability in a dangerous situation to essentially lock her away to “show her” that she is submissive. Even after she tells him why submitting to someone is extremely difficult for her, he confines to tell her why this is what she is and that she’s wrong to feel the doubts and fears she does. I don’t care that he feels he doesn’t have enough time - if someone is already reluctant about entering into a submissive role, forcing them into it without doing anything to earn her trust is NOT OKAY. Again, he is taking advantage of an emotionally vulnerable woman. She may or may not be “naturally submissive” (which I personally think is bullshit - he is the ultimate mansplainer) but he needs to be much more careful and less selfish in trying to get her to submit. How does he know after 3 minutes of meeting her what her fantasies and true desires are? He doesn’t know anything about her, and surprise, she has a reason to distrust a dominate male for GOOD REASON. That’s not romantic, it’s creepy and presumptive. Frankly, he comes off as a guy who desperately needs validation by remaining in control. Also, how dare he question why she’s on birth control. The amount of emotional manipulation he has already dumped on Kata in this book is unreal, and it’s like he knows he’s doing it but because he believes he is correct and superior, he is in the right. Why should he have to take a look inward and understand why he NEEDS to have ultimate control and power over someone? Let’s just gloss over that. It takes a lot for me to not finish a book, but I’m not sure how much more of this I can take. Regardless, I will not be downloading any more of this series or likely any more of Shayla Black’s solo books. The sole reason this got 1 overall star is because the narrator is okay. I wanted to give the story zero stars but that’s not allowed apparently.

I’ve read many other dom/sub type of books where the dom does not come off as such an asshat. I get what Black is trying to do here - to show that D/s is misunderstood and that it’s not really abuse, blah blah. That is a VERY delicate line and frankly this book and the previous book absolutely and completely fail in that. The previous book wasn’t even about a D/s relationship, so it honestly has even less of an excuse. Alyssa didn’t even have a safe word. It surprises me that Lexi Blake, who I think portrays the D/reluctant s thing pretty well, collaborates with Shayla Black. Their individual books are WORLDS apart. I think the worst part is that the men in this series continue to act terribly towards their women and the woman is just so consumed by lust he gets away with it. That’s not how life works. Women are not brainless sex addicts who will let a man do or say anything as long as he gives her a good orgasm. Again, I kind of see that Black is trying to infer that these alpha men are somehow affected too and learning, but that falls completely flat. They are constantly telling the women how to feel and what they supposedly truly think. No thanks. I’ll take a strong heroine who stands her ground in my romance, not this antiquated bullshit where women are portrayed as not having minds of their own. This sets a terrible example for young girls and women in general.

Once again, NO. MEANS. NO. I shouldn’t have to reiterate that after reading a romance novel.

I Like

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it was not my favorite in this series, but whats not to like about a hot dominate man falling instantly in love with a woman when he first laid eyes on her. I don't want to ruin the story, but to me it was worth the listen.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hunter, he is so madly in love.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I loved all the Wicked Lovers Series!!

Best In The Series!

Would you listen to Surrender to Me again? Why?

I have listened to this book a few times already! I love it! So far I would say it is the best in the series!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hunter!

Which scene was your favorite?

I know this may sound weird, but I loved the scene where Hunter is leaving to return to active duty believing that he will be divorced by the time he returns (or I should say IF since he is sure he isn't going to return alive) to the US. The lengths he goes to in order to make sure that Kata is taken care regardless just goes to show that you can be a bad ass and still speak love with your every action!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I really hated to see this book come to end, but the ending itself is awesome! I laughed, cried, got mad, got upset, and of course got turned on!

Any additional comments?

Keep this series coming!

The best yet of this series

The sex is so hot. Shayla writes so that you really care about the characters. I love, love this series. How long do we have to wait for Book 5 to come out in audio?

UNEXPECTED ! One of my favorites of this series..

What was one of the most memorable moments of Surrender to Me?

There was so many I can't possibly pick one.

Have you listened to any of Lexi Maynard’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

She is awesome ! Loved her accent.

Any additional comments?

Although I was really surprised at Hunter's personality, not as rough ,bad ass, or as dominant as I thought he would be. He had a hidden side, as did Kata. Loved her ...such a strong woman. Can't wait for the next book on Audio!!!

Well..........YUM!!!!

Loved the first book and now this one is running a close second!!! I've got toothpicks in my eyes because I couldn't stop listening!!! Looking forward to the 5th one being available on Audible soon.