Book Review: Personal Geography by Tamsen Parker

Personal Geography by Tamsen ParkerTitle: Personal Geography
Series: The Compass, Book 1
Author: Tamsen Parker
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy provided by author
Published: December 1, 2014 (self-published)

Powerhouse consultant India Burke is notorious for her razor-sharp mind, her incisive tongue, and for always being in control. But during her “lost weekends”—out-of-town, one-and-done, anonymous rendezvous solely for the purpose of kinky sex—she craves a submissive role.

Cris Ardmore, India’s latest tryst, is a Dominant who calls an isolated Hawaiian paradise home. India’s expecting forty-eight hours of contractually defined sex, but instead of serving as just another BDSM Band-Aid, Cris wants to know the real India Burke. Despite her aversion to anything approaching intimacy, India is hooked by their incredible sexual chemistry.

With tension ratcheting up in her professional life, India needs the release Cris offers more than ever, but her repeated visits come with their own risks. No matter how strong their attraction, India is determined to maintain her boundaries in order to keep her life whole after her first love blew it apart. She must choose between taking a chance and handing Cris the road map to her heart or locking down her borders before he does any more damage.

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Reviewed by: Crissy

Why I Read This Book: I don’t read a lot of m/f books, but some tend to jump out me. I like them dirty and I like a struggle. The blurb let me know that this book would be both of those. I was not disappointed.

The Setup: India Burke needs to get off and the only way to do so is to find another temporary Dominant she’s never tried before. It seems that each one she’s tried in the past has had some sort of shortcoming. Enter Cris Ardmore—via India’s best friend and broker, Rey. Cris is strong and competent and sexy, but he wants to get to know her and that makes India hesitant. One weekend is all it’s supposed to be. Until it turns into more.

What I Liked: I have to be honest here, I sometimes have a hard time with overly aggressive heroines in books. I think there’s a fine line between a strong, confident woman and an out-and-out bitch. India begins as the latter and it took me a while to warm up to her. She’s aggressive and single-minded in her everyday life. I was set to not like her at all, but then she turns a corner when she becomes Kit, her submissive identity, for Cris. And I’m pretty sure the Kit she is with Cris as opposed to the Kit she has been in the past with other Doms. What I like most about her is that there are reasons behind her cold, hard exterior and as much as she tries to hide them from Cris, he seems to ply them out of her one by one. She’s a complex character with layer after layer of issues, yet they work well for who she is and why she is who she is.

What I Also Liked: You can’t not like Cris. Even as the Dominant of this story, he’s the softer of the two. Not in his Dom-mode, but definitely personality wise. He’s open and sweet. He gives and gives and gives while India simply takes from him. Even when she shuts him down at every turn, Cris never gives up. I like this turn on H/h. All too often the man is the aggressor and begins a story as the character I like the least. Here Cris is strong, and maybe a little less confident, but he’s also an open book. What you see is what you get. He’s the softness of this story.

The BDSM scenes in this book are fantastic and completely hot. The give and take are well balanced, and even engrossed in their scenes, I found India (Kit) and Cris to hold their roles well. And in the studio, there is definitely give and take between them. When India needs something, she asks for it and Cris delivers. Same thing in reverse. That’s when you begin to see the relationship between them grow and become more than India ever expected or wanted.

I’m not sure whether to add this to likes or dislikes, because I am not a fan of splitting stories or cliffhangers, but on the other hand, the second book was already out when I took this one on, so I do plan on reading it. What I can say is the ending is emotional, tension-filled, and full of struggle. It’s one hell of a cliffhanger and definitely left things up in the air and me wanting more.

What I Didn’t Like: Present tense is not my favorite, so needless to say, this book started out a little rough for me, not to mention there are several instances where I noticed a mixture of present and past tense. And that came well enough into the story that I was finally getting a rhythm so by the time I saw it, I was thrown out of the story to try and figure out what was going on instead of finding myself engrossed in it. It was a little frustrating.

In My Opinion: This author does a wonderful job creating characters that are three-dimensional and (eventually) likable. I’ll even go as far as to say relatable. The story is gripping and the heat sweltering. I liked this story a lot and now I must read the second book to find out what happens. And also, I’m crossing my fingers that someday, someday this author will write Rey’s story. Personal Geography is definitely a story I’d recommend.

Memorable Moments:

You know that whole intimacy thing you’ve been offering on tap like you’ve got kegs of it to spare? I’ve actually been sneaking sips of it when you weren’t paying attention, and it’s really fucking good.

Crissy’s Rating:
4 Frogs

About Brianna: Supermom by day, naughty reader by night. Addicted to chocolate, Twitter, her iPad, her Kindle, and 99¢ Kindle deals. You can follow Brianna on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Instagram.

1 comment:

  1. Ooh..this sounds interesting. Definitely adding it to my TBR list.

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