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After reading the previous book, Mistaken by Fate, I was excited to read about Garrett's sexy and in control twin brother Will. We also meet Penelope, who turns out to be one of Will's biggest competitors in their line of work. She insinuated her and Will had a past, so I thought this novel was going to go in a slightly different direction than it did.

 

Will and Pen are both Dominants, so their paths have not really crossed except in the business sphere, where Will thinks Pen steals his clients right out from under him. This causes some tension between them, as both are incredibly dedicated to their companies and want to succeed. Vying for the same client, both of them think they will land the account, so they make a bet for the loser to play submissive to the winner for one week. No matter the loser, they are dominants for a reason- relinquishing control is going to be quite the challenge, as losing that control brings out vulnerabilities and insecurities they fight to keep buried.

 

Where the last book didn't venture quite so far into BDSM territory, this one did. While the scenes between Will and Penelope were quite steamy and hot, I felt I had trouble connecting with them and the story in general, as it lacked the emotional depth I was looking for. Will was a hard character to like because of his need to dominate and exert control is all things. He is dubbed The Ice King and that title is very fitting for his personality. Having been abandoned by his mother certainly plays a role in his coldness, as he feels relationships change people and end up disappointing you in the end. He feels himself falling deeper into this thing with Penelope than he knows he should, so naturally he pulls away and tries to distance himself from his feelings for her. He does so too late, thus really hurting her in the process. Penelope has worked hard to get where she is and she doesn't want to let her father or her company down. Will muddles things for her, distracts her from what she should be focusing on: work. She knows she needs to take a step back, as her heart is already getting too involved in a temporary arrangement.

 

This book is also heavily set at Serve, so we get to see a lot of different scenes play out and see just how far Will and Pen are willing to push one another. They walk a fine line, where even the slightest misstep can really break the other. This lifestyle is all about trust because it's a complete surrender to the other person. The submissive has to trust the dominant will not take them farther than they can go and meet their every need, and the dominant has to trust the submissive will communicate with them when things are not feeling as they should. It's definitely interesting to venture so deeply into Serve and witness some of the more adventurous scenes.

 

Overall, while this wasn't my favorite of the Serve books, I did still enjoy the short, sexy read. Had I felt a bit more connected to my characters and seen more of their emotional development, this would have worked a bit more for me. I am excited to get Garrett and Will's sister's story. I am even more curious about her now, as Will is concerned about the job she does and her cold attitude during the family dinner is quite intriguing. I have no doubts Robert will once again bring the steam and I'm hoping I'll connect to Sara's story a bit more than I did Will's.