Shattered Trust by Lynda Bailey with Review

What I enjoyed most about SHATTERED TRUST is that the hero wasn't a billionaire alpha playboy that is popular in so many romances right now. In this one we get Liam St. James who is basically a drifter and never stays in one place long enough to set down roots and develop long term relationships. Liam is in his 30's with no intention of staying in the small town of Trustworthy, Texas. Liam only planned on staying as long as it took to make enough money to move along to the next larger city. Liam is a Dom, but he's also been running from a painful past that has kept him from forming any lasting relationships with women. The only connections that he has allowed himself over the years have been very temporary ones with random submissives. 

Kate Landry is a forty two year old woman who has allowed her traumatic past to turn her into a defensive and standoffish woman. The only relationship that she has allowed herself over the years is with her daughter and even that one isn't all that it should be. Kate loves her daughter but there's a lot that she has kept from her and the past will eventually come to light. After an incident that triggers a panic attack in front of Liam, Kate convinces Liam that he may be the key to her working through some of her issues. With Liam's help Kate hopes to move forward and have a "normal" relationship with a man. Liam truly wants to help Kate and show her what a good Dom is,  and because of that he doesn't jump straight to full on sex with Kate. Liam gradually gains her trust through a LOT of patience. Kate is stubborn, snippy, and generally disagreeable as a means of protecting herself and it takes a lot for her to give her trust to Liam. 

Kate and Liam soon discover that their simple agreement quickly becomes much more complicated than they expected. Kate has to learn to trust a man again and Liam has to decide if he's ready to stop running from his past and begin creating a real future. SHATTERED TRUST is a quick read and a nice diversion from the status quo. 

Happy Reading!

Monica

Learning to love is the easy part… As a young woman, Kate Landry trusted the wrong man, and she paid dearly for her naiveté. Alone, pregnant and destitute, she survived by the sheer force of her will. Now forty-two, Kate has made a good living for herself and her daughter as the owner of the Bluebird Saloon. But she’s forgotten how to live. That is until he comes into her bar… Liam St. James loved a girl once. And only once. After an accident paralyzed her, she didn’t trust he would continue to love her. Brokenhearted, Liam left and soon discovered a world where women did trust him—to be their sexual Dominant. He plays out the scenes masterfully, but the unexpected request from the stoic bar owner will pose his greatest challenge yet… Kate and Liam embark on a journey to uncover repressed urges and, in the process, they discover new desires. They also fall in love with one another. But when you’ve been shattered as badly as they have by mistrust, deceit and abuse, loving is easy. Trusting is harder, if not impossible, especially when the heart is involved… Shattered Trust is a BDSM romance. It contains explicit language and graphic love scenes, including bondage, domination, spanking, whipping and multiple partners. It is intended for mature readers only.

   

 For years—years—she’d fought her internal opinion that she was a slut. A whore. She wasn’t. She was a good person. A person worthy of love and respect. But was she? Stripping for Liam, a man she barely knew, didn’t classify her as admirable. Tears filled her eyes. She wrapped her arms across her breasts, her head bowed. “Why did you stop?” Liam’s question echoed in the quiet room. “I…I can’t do this.” “Why not?” She sniffled. “I just can’t.” “That’s the answer a child would give.” Censure hardened his voice. “Look at me.” Shuffling her feet, she turned. He sat forward in the chair, his elbows braced on his knees. Tension crackled the air as his reproachful gaze bore into hers. She shook so hard, it was a wonder she stayed standing. “Part of your problem is that you’re thinking too much.” His words stung like ice chips. “It’s not your job to think, but to do. To do as I say. I’m here because of you. If you want this to stop, if you don’t trust me, you know what to say. I’ll leave and we’ll be done. Otherwise, uncross your arms and continue.” Fear clutched her heart. Fear of continuing? No. Fear that all…this would end. She’d only just begun…could she so easily abandon her pursuit for some semblance of normalcy in her life? Or was she prepared to spend the rest of her days alone? Like dead weight, her arms fell to her sides.

  

  

 Lynda has always loved stories, especially romances. For her the only thing better than reading a romance is writing one. That and drinking red wine while eating dark chocolate. Her romances are full of passion, with heat levels that range from hot to sizzling! She’s proud to have been a 2010 finalist in the prestigious Golden Heart®. Please join Lynda for laughter and love, and where the good guys always win in the end. Lynda lives in Reno with her husband of thirty+ years and their two pampered pooches.

 

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