Release Me (Stark Trilogy #1) by J. Kenner

For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You comes an erotic, emotionally charged romance between a powerful man who’s never heard “no” and a fiery woman who says “yes” on her own terms.

He was the one man I couldn’t avoid. And the one man I couldn’t resist.

Damien Stark could have his way with any woman. He was sexy, confident, and commanding: Anything he wanted, he got. And what he wanted was me.

Our attraction was unmistakable, almost beyond control, but as much as I ached to be his, I feared the pressures of his demands. Submitting to Damien meant I had to bare the darkest truth about my past—and risk breaking us apart.

But Damien was haunted, too. And as our passion came to obsess us both, his secrets threatened to destroy him—and us—forever.

Release Me is an erotic romance intended for mature audiences.

3 1/2 stars
I received a copy of Release Me courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher

Nikki is new to LA, and one of her first assignments of her new job is to snag Damien Stark's interest in helping fund her company's new product. Although Nikki had a brief encounter with Damien 6 yrs ago, she's sure he doesn't remember her, but oh does she remember him. How could she not?! She describes him as a Roman God, and the images popping thru my head were along the lines of the same men I pictured as Christian Grey! Yowza! Lucky for Nikki, Mr Stark is very interested, at least in her. The two explore their passion, as well as open up to each other with some of their deep, dark, buried secrets.

Release Me has been compared to Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You, and for good reason! I was a little hesitant to start this trilogy, because I wasn't sure I wanted to read another copy cat book, with just the characters names changed. And although there are similarities between the books, Release Me holds its own! I want to find out Damien's big bad secret (although I'm pretty sure I know what some of it is) and see where Nikki and Damien grow. When we leave Release Me, the two are enjoying the carnal attentions of the other, but a new threat looms just as the closing music cues. (yes, I sometimes get closing music in my head when I know I'm at the end of a book. Blame the audio books for that one) I can't wait to read the next book!

~Mandy