Bonds of Courage

By: Lynda Aicher

Narrated by: Emily Cauldwell

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Pro hockey player Holden Hauke has kept his sexual needs buried for years. After a near miss over a picture of him bound to a spanking bench resulted in a midseason trade, he's kept his image clean. But with the season over, he's ready to surrender control. And he's found just the woman to help him - if only he can convince her to give him a chance.

Bending men to her will is nothing new for Vanessa Delcour, aka Mistress V - she's a full-time rep for pro athletes, a part-time owner of exclusive sex club The Den, and an experienced domme. But when Holden Hauke comes looking for a discreet partner, Vanessa's concerned about his motives. Touching his training-toned body during a scene wouldn't exactly be a hardship, but taking him on crosses barriers between work and play that she's had in place for years. From their first intense encounter in Mistress V's playroom, Hauke knows he can't let this chance slip away; he's found the woman he's always needed. Submissive or not, he's willing to push her every limit to prove how good they can be together.

©2014 Lynda Aicher (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

BDSM romance

I love this series. Each book tells the story of a different couple engaging in their kinky play.

Although Femdom isn’t my personal kink, I’ve enjoyed this book very much and I’m looking forward to more stories.

I also enjoyed the narration.

Sexy male sub story

I highly recommend to readers who enjoy stories of alternate lifestyles, BDSM and male submission.

Great writing, interesting story, wonderful character development, and very sexy erotic scenes.

My namesake was a hard nut to crack!

I can say that it was somewhat distracting to constantly hear my name, Vanessa, and nickname, V, in this book. My name isn’t that common so it hasn’t happened before.
Anyway, Vanessa’s character was somewhat a disappointment. She had a trauma in her past, I get that, but supposedly, she went to counseling for years and stated she was over her PTSD. That definitely was not the case. Actually, it was kind of scary that she was a trained Dominant, responsible for a submissive’s safety, and she wasn’t emotionally healthy, herself. I think the story should have addressed that and the fact that she was petrified to reveal her true self, even to her sister. IDK, maybe later books will show her growth, I hope so.
This book did address how crappy societies judgments are; specifically about Heterosexual males being Submissive. Unfortunately, I have serious doubts that their will be any great changes, in that area, anytime soon.
Despite my disappointment in the Heroine’s character and in the lack of resolution in some of the issues, I did enjoy the book. I definitely think it would have been worth a credit, although I got to enjoy it as part of the Romance package.
-V from Kansas

Not for me

I'm not a fan of a male submissive. The series as a whole is good.