Hostile Takeover is a story within the Knights of the Board Room series.

Marcie had loved Ben since she was a teen, but Ben's only seen her as a kid sister. Nine years his junior, they are close family friends. Marcie's keen observance of her sister Cass, her husband Lucas and his close friends-including Ben-reveals their adherence to a BDSM lifestyle. The lifestyle makes sense to Marcie who knows she's a 24/7 submissive, and wants more than anything to be claimed by Ben.

Ben's past experiences-some of them stark and brutal-have molded him into the person he is today, which includes some pretty extreme proclivities. He sates his desires at fetish clubs in the area, satisfied to leave the club without the burden of a full-time sub. Marci is nothing if not relentless. She's spent years learning Ben's likes and dislikes and now she wants to surrender to him completely. Ben's afraid to take a chance on love. In fact, he doesn't know if he's even capable. He believes he'll hurt Marcie if he involves himself with her beyond their friendship. But when Marcie won't give up on him, he may have to show her once and for all that he's not worthy of her submission.

Hostile Takeover is perhaps the best book I've read all year, bar none. I felt such an affinity for Marcie: chronologically young but with such an intuitive, articulate and old soul that she often left me without words. Ben is the epitome of the tortured anti-hero. His childhood was skewered by tragedy and circumstance. But he managed to turn himself into the stellar attorney he is today. The only thing he hasn't done is exorcise the demons that prevent him from truly opening himself to another. Marcy is the perfect yin to his yang as she makes him confront who he is...as a Master, and as a man.

Interestingly enough, Marcie's had her own share of tragedies and drama throughout her young life. But those events seem to have made her more determined to create a life for herself that includes love and submission-to Ben. The intimacy and sex with this couple is combustible to the digital pages. While some of the BDSM scenes are hardcore, and not for everyone, they served to bring me more fully into the subspace and Domspace that this couple created during their scenes. There are a couple of scenes with mild female/female sensuality and Marcie being touched by the other men in their circle of Masters, but these scenes add to the sensuality rather than detract. The secondary characters, if possible, make the story even more lush and robust. Read this story! You'll laugh, cry, moan with arousal, get fiercely angry and vociferously cheer when the Ben and Marcie slide into their happily ever after. A wholeheartedly Recommended Read.

Reviewed by: Bella