Crave (Bonds) Paperback – Illustrated, May 30, 2014

This book is the first in the Bonds series by Sierra Cartwright. Again, as with the Donovan Dynasty series that I previously read, the first book in this series is truly awesome. Once again, Ms. Cartwright has written a novel that is not just an excellent erotic romance but she has demonstrated that she truly understands all the elements of the BDSM lifestyle.I have read a significant number of novels that purport to be "BDSM-based" books. Very few genuinely understand the true elements of the lifestyle. Many books insert elements of "kinky sex" into the stories and assume that that is enough to give the reader an accurate sense of the BDSM lifestyle. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Ms. Cartwright has proven that she understands the lifestyle from the "ground floor to the top." BDSM has, at its very heart and soul, the need for complete and total honesty and integral communication between the parties in the relationship as well as the understanding of the power exchange between the Dominant and submissive partners. Ms. Cartwright not only understands this but she weaves this understanding of the D/s and M/s dynamic throughout her books. It isn't just the eroticism or the "kinky sex" that make her books fantastic. It is her true understanding of the D/s and/or M/s dynamics and the other elements of the lifestyle that elevate her books from mere erotic romances to true works of literature.Crave is yet another example of Ms. Cartwright's ability to take an ordinary romantic situation, weave the basics of BDSM into the storyline, add a genuine eroticism between the characters and tell the story from multiple characters' points of view to achieve an incredible novel. I have yet to read one of her books, either co-written with another author or one of her solo efforts, that I haven't absolutely loved. I would highly recommend Crave, particularly if you are genuinely interested in the truth behind real BDSM relationships and an interesting and engaging storyline that will keep you engrossed from start to finish.

I do so enjoy reading spicy romance with a sexy story and engaging characters. In Crave, Cartwright crafted a story that was very sexy, but drew you into not for its sexiness alone but for the compelling story unfolding between the characters. Reece and Sarah were completely likeable and you just wanted to see them happy together.Two years after fleeing her life with Reece, a stronger and more confident Sarah wants to gain closure and expunge him from her thoughts. But Reece isn't in so much of a forgiving mood. Sarah's departure stole the love of his life and eviscerated his heart. The Reece Sarah encounters now is far less open than the warm and loving man she left behind. But Sarah is desperate. She wants one weekend with Reece to gain closure so she can move on with her life. Reece agrees but he makes it painfully clear that he will exact some sexy revenge on Sarah, but that she will never gain his forgiveness. Little do either of them recognize that their best laid plans are about to be blown to bits. The fiery passion between them is as strong as it ever was and they both discover that their hearts are still as intertwined too. But finding their forever still requires them to deal with the sins of their past.This story contained BDSM elements but they did not overwhelm the story and they were tastefully throughout it to entice and thrill. You can't help but to fan your face a time or nine while reading this one. I love the world that Cartwright has created with Julien Bonds being the nexus of the series. Book 2, Claim, is already downloaded and ready to read!

This isn't the first book I've read by Sierra Cartwright, but I was unaware of that when I grabbed this book from Amazon. This is a very well written, and well edited, story of Reece and Sarah, who'd once had a D/s relationship but Reece had failed to communicate his true needs within it to Sarah. When Sarah had seen what Reece needed, she'd run, fear being the only thing she understood at that time. Over two years, they are apart, until Sarah begs one of his friends into arranging a meeting between the two. Sarah tells herself that it will be so she can get over him, once and for all. Reece tells himself he agrees because he wants to see her punished and tested for what she'd done to him. Neither one of the knows what is about to happen. And I can't tell you any more because I want you to read the book yourself. Do I recommend it? Oh yes. This story is about a couple who is public about their D/s within their circle of friends, and it is a VERY well written story of what a D/s relationship is and what it could be, and what it shouldn't be. Kudos to Ms. Cartwright, and I intend on reading every one of her books now. And by the way, this falls well within my parameters of ROMANCE with my D/s. These two are so utterly giving to each other, you can't call it anything BUT romance.

I liked Crave. It was well written and a fairly quick and easy read. Definitely worth spending an evening with. I only have two gripes and they're not huge. One, I found Sarah's reason for seeking Reece out both a bit of a stretch in terms of believability and some what uninteresting.Two, the description begins with "Rich, powerful, eccentric, Julien Bonds knows what each of his friends needs, and he's determined to see they get it." I liked this idea as a premise for a series of books and was expecting Julien to be the one setting up his friend, manipulating things, etc. But from the very beginning it's Sarah that seeks Julien out. Again, not a big thing but it took me a few minutes to mentally shift gears.Now, as for the BDSM, this book is definitely worth a read. If you're like me and enjoy reading books with women who ENJOY kink and aren't ashamed to admit it then you'll like Crave. The scenes are well-crafted, tasteful, and not a single crop was used. If you had issues with how 50 Shades portrayed kink, Crave is definitely an improvement.

This story was absolutely amazing...I read it from start to finished and could not put it down. It you want a heartfelt story this is it...

Crave book 1 in the Bond seriesReece and Sarah.Sarah is in a relationship with Reece when she finds a collar hidden away in his draw. Sarah panics and runs away not telling anyone whereshe is or why she has gone. Reece has no idea why she has gone.Two years later Sarah gets a mutual friend to set up a meeting (Reece doesn't know she will be there) .Sarah can't get Reece out of her mindand thinks if she sees him again she will get over him.Reece is understandably shocked to see the woman he loves kneeling for him.I loved this story, how they worked through everything, learned how to communicate to each other and how to trust each other again. Well worth a read and a great start to a new series.

Awesome

Another great reed from sierra can't wait for the next one

review I began this story and quickly found myself making a judgement value on the main female character Sarah, she had walked out on Reece during a serious BDSM relationship, had walked and never left a message as to where she was or worse why she walked. For all Reece knew she may have been taken or killed. His emotional damage was traumatic, he hadn't been able to move on to other relationships and worse his trust of women totally compromised.As Sarah then reappears and inveigled herself with Reece's protective friends in order to enable a meeting so that SHE can move one, and put him behind her, well, I disliked her even more. I hoped Reece would show her the harm she'd done, with a just punishment, and it would have served her right if she had had a taste of her own medicine...so straight away I'm thinking I can't accept nor understand why Sierra Cartwright would write of such a pathetic specimen of the female gender that I would be ashamed to be identified with in any way at all. My potential star rating dropped significantly. I even thought it would be a DNF.Then I thought, the stories I've read of Sierra's have all had purpose, means to a relationship and I have liked the characters she introduced us to in story...so why this one and I read on.I'm glad I didn't skim read and completed as my opinion changed significantly. I won't say I found Sarah lovely, I didn't, and still find what she did unforgivably damaging and selfish. However, Sierra Cartwright explored the theme of cowardice v real fear and built a case for understanding more why she did what she did. In fact, it was almost at the end and comments that Reece's mother had made that led to my understanding of this.The erotica and BDSM scenes are good, quite arousing, and the character of Reece will have many a woman wishing for one like him at some time in their lives.His friends are of interest, especially Julien and I would love to read of him meeting his match.I had to add another star back on after reading on and the conclusion, and I'm glad I actually read it and digested all carefully, and as such just 4 stars...as I still think the Sarah's of the world would be lucky for such an ending as Sierra gave.