Read my reviews of the previous books in the Trophy Doms Social Club series:
Humbled (#1) | Edged (#2) | Praised (#3)
Now that the happily paired-off members of the Trophy Doms Social Club outnumber the single guys, the level of well-intentioned meddling between these friends gets turned up to 11. Little do they know, however, that Dalton is already among their number. Unfortunately, Dalton doesn’t know this either, leading to an intriguing second-chance relationship, except it’s less of a second chance and more of an “oops, we hooked up once and accidentally got married and then forgot about it.” Add a dash of the fake relationship trope and this all sounds overly complicated, but Hawthorne handles the variables and emotions with her usual deft storytelling. The kink dynamic between Dalton and Ivey, at its core, is probably one of the most typical D/s dynamics I’ve ever seen from Hawthorne, and yet her understanding of power exchange means that it’s still so far from cliché. Only one of those reasons is that the unique arc of this book reads like a kink romance speed run—in reverse.
The tension between Dalton and Ivey is strong no matter what time period we see them in. Hawthorne does give us scenes that depict how they got to this point in their present, with the two men first connecting after the shared trauma of an abusive ex. Hawthorne presents a good examination of the trauma bond that initially develops between them (and sends them fleeing to Las Vegas in the first place) without necessarily keeping the focus on why that trauma exists in the first place.
Both men have grown up since those first college connections, but the connection between them remains. If anything, that draw makes Dalton’s attempt at posing as the dutiful husband in New York City even more dramatic. Unfortunately, the distance doesn’t relieve Dalton of any of the pressure of developing a relationship away from the influence and opinion of his friends. No character exists in a vacuum, and he faces the NYC chapter of the Trophy Doms Social Club who are particularly overprotective of submissive Ivey. A more significant hurdle to Dalton and Ivey’s happily ever after, however, is the simple logistics of their lives on opposite sides of the country. When the stars eventually align, Hawthorne has done such excellent character work that the final decisions on both ends feel natural rather than contrived. While I didn’t cry while reading this book, rest assured that Hawthorne still packs it with plenty of feels. In this case, however, the angst is more of a running chronic ache than any specific hits.
Since I’m the lucky brat who’s already read all five books in this series (and you absolutely won’t want to miss Shared), I can officially say that while I adore all of them, Bound and Humbled are at a tie for first place because of the different things I adore about both.
Disclaimer: I received a digital review copy of this book from the author.