I bought this book because I’d met the author and wanted to sample what she was writing. I finished it because I could not put it down. Kink is usually not my first choice for fun reading, but the layers and intricacies of BDSM are expertly and sensitively handled in this ultimately tender story of trauma and healing, for both the hero and the heroine. Brilliant.

Kate Landry, the daughter of an overzealous preacher, trusted her heart and body to the wrong person. This man took advantage of her insecurities and vulnerable self-image only to use her and leave when she became pregnant. Years later with her daughter grown, Kate is still unable to forget about the past. Liam St James was just passing through town looking for temporary work in Kate’s bar. He was a dominate and exactly what Kate needed. When Liam pushed Kate to do things that were outside her comfort zone Kate was at first scared but eventually gave into him. Liam was adamant that this was helping Kate only and nothing more. He was running from problems with his past and could not see someone like Kate ever falling in love with a broken man like him. Kate’s insecurities about the past kept her from admitting her true feelings about Liam. Would this couple ever be able to overcome their past and find a future with each other? This was a good story and the sex had a slow build but was very intense. The romance unfolded naturally and there was never a rush to it.

SHATTERED TRUST is a beautiful BDSM themed romance with two characters that I grew fond of very quickly. It’s a nice and refreshing touch that both characters are not in their twenties anymore – Kate, the heroine, is forty-two and Liam, the hero, is in the beginning of his thirties.

A long time ago Kate Landry, daughter of an overzealous minister, gave her heart – and body – to the wrong man. He took advantage of her, used her insecurities against her, abused her – and left her shattered, broken and alone when she became pregnant.
More than twenty years later she has a wonderful grown-up daughter and runs a successful bar in a small town, but she is closed off, unable to date any man or to forget her past and vehemently against the slightest changes in her life.
When she comes back from a holiday she took not so voluntarily and finds a new employee behind her bar, she sees her stagnated everyday life in danger and promptly fires him. …only to bring him back shortly after, after to do exactly what she fears: To break through her tough walls and set the hedonistic woman hiding deep inside free.

This book is about BDSM relationships and what can happen to a Sub in this lifestyle that has given their trust to the wrong Domme.  This was a gripping story of one woman who does just that and has her trust in people literally shattered, and not just from a bad relationship, but from all those who should have cared and loved her as a young girl growing up into a woman.  At times the story really touched me and it really made you think of what could happen when things go wrong and how much damage that can be inflicted on a persons psyche.

I truly loved Kates character, she has been broken down but at the same time this is what defines her and makes her a stronger person.  She is a tough woman on the outside, but is very vulnerable and how she trusts no one.  Liam and her meeting each other is strictly an act of fate, and the role he plays in helping her learn to not only trust herself but other people is one of the most unselfish acts I think someone in his position could do.  The chemistry between the two is amazing and their story is one that really made you feel connected to them.  I admire how Liam treated Kate through everything and helped her work on how not only to trust but to truly love again.   Theirs is a story of true love in the making.  While Kate learns how to overcome her past, Liam also learns that he can’t live the life he has been living and gives him a glimpse at what he has been missing.  

I thought the story was well written, Overall, I have to say that this was a great book, and if you are at all interested in the BDSM genre it is worth reading and it’s different.  There is depth in the writing and the characters feel real, interesting, and ultimately flawed in all the right ways. There is a lot of thought that goes into merging the characters past and their present lives, but as a reader I never got lost within the story, but completely sucked in to the plot and invested in the characters and the story.  I really enjoyed it, and I am sure you will too!