No Surrender

No Regrets, Book 1

De: Nora Phoenix

Narrado por: Michael Dean

No matter what he feels for Wander, he’ll never surrender to him.

I’m in control of my life. That has become Burke’s mantra. He lost control somewhere along the way, descending into a downward spiral until he hit rock bottom. Now he’s back, sober, and determined to never be in that position again. Ever.

That’s why he loves being a dominant. He’s in charge. He can plan everything into detail. He’s in control.

Until he runs into Wander, a private security guy who volunteers to become Burke’s mentor in the club. Wander questions him, challenges him, pushes and prods and pokes until Burke stands with his back against the wall.

But he refuses to surrender, even when Wander evokes feelings in Burke he’s never experienced before. Apparently, he’s not quite as straight as he thought. Whatever. That still doesn’t mean he’ll give in…or that he’ll kneel.

No Surrender is an MM romance featuring a proud, stubborn man who’s hurting and an equally bull-headed man, who won’t stop until he’s discovered the truth. It’s the first book in the high heat No Regrets series, a spin off from the No Shame series that can be listened to on its own, and has a suspense sub plot without cliffhangers. Please check the trigger warnings in the front of the book.

©2021 Nora Phoenix (P)2023 Nora Phoenix

Better than expected

I really enjoyed this book. I was honestly worried going into it that it would turn into a poly romance like Indie's story. While I did end up liking the books Indie was part of, I just was not crazy about all the sharing. At a certain point, it felt like too much excess and was way over the top.
Wander and Burke were great together. Both of them had their own personal growth to work through, more Burke than Wander, but I found myself connecting a bit more with Wander in certain aspects. He had something extra that really drew me in and kept me invested.
My main issue was Wander's early obsession with Indie's group dynamic and his focus on that poly setup. It felt like way too much of a focal point for what he thought he wanted. It almost seemed like he was a little jealous of their dynamic, even though he did not wish them any ill will. It was just something he desperately wanted for himself.
There is a specific conversation where Burke asks Wander what happens if he realizes six months, a year, or five years down the road that Burke is not enough for him. Wander replies that they will tackle that problem when it arises and that people change, so he cannot guarantee his future needs. I honestly hated that response and wanted Burke to walk out right then and there. Wander had such an intense focus on that dynamic, even though it was obvious Burke would never be okay with sharing.
What saved it for me was that early on, Wander naturally stopped wanting to have sex or participate in scenes with other people. I was so relieved it did not turn into an over the top poly story that would make me roll my eyes until the very end. I also found it so refreshing that Burke never wavered on wanting monogamy.
My only other annoyance was whenever Wander spoke about it with other people, worrying if he could stay faithful or if monogamy was really what he wanted down the line. That part really bothered me because it made it feel like he was not as all in as he should have been.

I really enjoyed the narrator, talented man.

Figuring Your Life Out

Blake is overcoming so much. He feels like he hit rock bottom but then things sink lower. Wander is there to mentor but wants to figure things out. It was great to see Blake come to conclusions about himself but you also see Wander grow in new ways. And in the middle of all that is the danger and intrigue that comes with Wander’s job.

Found family

They're quite the kinky bunch! Dicks are getting whipped out all over the place! 🤭
But I digress.
Burke and Wander get off to a bit of a rocky start. Burke is determined to be in control and is sure of his Dom status. When Wander is tasked with continuing Burke's Dom training, he has a niggling scepticism of Burke's true motivation. Eventually a few home truths and revelations sees Burke come to terms with all the parts of himself.
With Wander and his gang (all of whom have various kinks going on) trying to solve the mystery of who is threatening the owner of a BDSM club, the relationship between Burke and Wander becomes more than mentor and student.

This story has great 'scenes', all are varied and some are actually quite emotional. So, if you like it spicy this is for you.

I would liked to have seen a slightly longer epilogue as I felt the story ended quite abruptly after the mystery was solved.
However, all the characters are well set up for the rest of the series and the narration was superb.

Yes and no?

3.5✨️ rounded up to 4 cuz 3 I feel is not ok either.

Hmm... this is my 3rd Nora Phoenix book and while it was better than the first 2 books in the Irresistible Omega series, it wasn't a 5✨️ either. I was entertained and I will continue the series because now I wanna know about everyone else too, but... idk, there is always something that doesn't sit well with me when it comes to Nora's books. I love some other things, but there is one thing in particular that pisses me off to no end... her need to always have one of the characters be the TOP Alpha male when it is not even needed. This happened in Irresistible Omega's and I thought it was a fluke cuz that was omegaverse, but apparently she does this in other books too.

Wander... while dominant, I don't think he needed to be the top dog. I think him being a Dom would've suffice, but no... apparently he needed to be THE top dog. I swear this is the authors k!nk or something.

We start the book with Burke training to become a Dom and we end up with him being an extreme submissive. Why? To be honest I felt like the author forced that on him for no reason. I think Burke would've functioned better as a vers, for himself and for the sake of the story she's trying to tell here. Idk why she called this one "No surrender" when Burke indeed surrendered and became something he really wasn't.

For some reason she made me feel like Burke was not enough for Wander long term with all those discussions about exclusivity, and while I don't mind poly relationship ( I actually love them ) I felt like she left me with this nagging feeling that at some point Wonder will need other men. Why? Especially since you bent over backwards to make Burke a sub. Why not let him be a verse and that way the possibility of having play partners in the future for both of them would've seem more plausible without feeling like they're not enough for each other?

Burke is not a full Dom, we could all see that, but vers would've fit him best. I felt like with this redeeming story for him she felt the need to make him as small as possible and break him to the core. Again, why?

I am glad that Burke stood up for himself with his brothers in the end. What the heck was that sht with "I will prioritize my relationship with the other brother over you" when Burke was literally a recovering alcoholic that was also homeless on top of that?

I haven't read the other series so idk all the details, but the way they treated Burke made me so angry... like they have the moral high ground to treat him like he's disposable. I would've said F you and never look back. His brothers behavior was so problematic and insensitive... that could've driven Burke to fall back into drinking so fast. No. Just no. I hate his brothers.

Wander... he is sweet, I really liked him, but... I still can't pinpoint what kind of Dom he is. Is he a pleasure Dom, soft Dom, which one is it? It is important to know this imho. The plot was nice, and the background story with Jesse was super nice. It set up the tone for why they're all be there but... do we get a Jesse book? Cuz I don't see one in this series.

I felt like we didn't get enough time with Burke and Wander as a couple and the connection... while I felt something, it wasn't THAT connection you read about it other books. This is apparently another thing Nora struggles with. In Irresistible Omega's I felt that connection between two of the character in that poly relationship and they weren't even the "main ones". I think she writes good chemistry and build up if the characters are not front and center. I felt more of a connection between Alex & Ryan in those 3-4 instances we got to see a glimpse that I did between W and B... strange, right?

I know that this might sound like an overly critical review, not my intention, since I did enjoy it and plan to read the rest, but I also can't ignore the problematic things either. I read romance books for the romance, the spice is just extra, not the other way around, and this one was definitely not the romance over spice.

I am curious to see how this will go and where Wander and Burke will fall into the other books, but I can't shake that feeling that Burke is not enough and the author will make him accept that Wander wants other men... which tbh did not felt like something the character wanted necessarily, it felt in the writing that the author was forcing that upon them somehow, if it makes sense.

Overall I enjoyed the audiobook, I do recommend it to some degree, but I can't say OMG, this is a must read. No, you can definitely live without reading this book and not have FOMO over it. 3.5✨️ for the plot, the anticipation of seeing the others and for Wander's sweetness and Burke's resilience.

Great story!!

I love that we get to hear about characters of her other books. This was a really great story different from the typical mm romance.
Overall I'd give this book a
4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
spice 2.5/5 🌶🌶.5
narrator 4/5 🎧🎧🎧🎧