Review & Excerpt ~*~ Re/Bound & Re/Paired by Michele Zurlo

I am going to start this post off with an apology to Michele Zurlo!!!!

Re/Bound & Re/Paired has been on my TBR list for about 3 months and sadly, 

it kept getting pushed back due to personal issues and other commitments. 

Please check out both reviews & excerpts on this page as both books

are absolutely fabulous!  If you follow my Facebook page, you may have seen me mention 

Michele a few weeks ago!  I seriously hit the 20-25% percent mark in the first book, 

Re/Bound and felt like I had been living under a rock since I haven't read 

or heard about Michele Zurlo before now! 

Re/Bound

Picking herself up after the devastating loss of her master is more difficult than Darcy anticipated. Just when she needs someone the most, a handsome dom steps in and helps her out. Theo is thoughtful, dominant, and demanding -- everything she needs. He pushes her boundaries, tests her limits, and takes her to new heights. With him, she remembers what it is to feel joy and love and a firm hand on her ass.

Agent Malcolm Legato is after a corrupt businessman, and Darcy is his ticket into the upper echelon of Snyder Corp. As "Theo," he makes contact with her and cultivates her as an asset. Since she's also a suspect in her master's disappearance, he can't reveal himself to her, even when he realizes she's another of Snyder's victims. He falls hard for this feisty submissive, and he knows he'll break her heart the moment she finds out he's been lying to her all along.

When it all falls apart, will Darcy be able to find the strength to forgive Malcolm so they can build a life together and the courage to bring justice to the man she loved and lost?

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: anal play/intercourse, BDSM theme and elements, spanking.

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Excerpt from Re/Bound~
Darcy riffled through the sheaf of papers on the counter in the elegant ladies’ room. Baskets of silk flowers brightened the spaces between each basin and brought out the floral pattern on the wallpaper. On a normal day, she would have appreciated the care someone had put into making a restroom a more pleasant place to be.

Friday evening meant most of the convention’s attendees were arriving. Tonight’s audience would probably be half empty because the speech took place before dinner. While the majority of people would make it in time for dinner, not as many would rush to see her speak. Sunday morning, the format would be informal, with her camouflaged among the panel of people, any of whom could field the questions. Of course, she would still need to make a short speech introducing herself and justifying her presence on the panel, and she would have to answer any questions asked of her directly. Her colleagues would depend on her to chime in when she saw them struggle for ideas.

Looking up, she caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror. At least the turmoil tearing apart her insides hadn’t ravaged her appearance. To outsiders she would appear cool and confident, put together just like she would have actually been if Scott had been there with her. But those little lines around her eyes and mouth only showed up during periods of intense stress.

The success of her company depended on her ability to get the word out about the services she offered. Conventions meant exposure, but they also meant public speaking.

She hated public speaking.

The majority of her responsibilities included writing grants and organizing charity divisions for larger companies. They ended up with some huge write-offs and tax breaks, and so many worthwhile charities benefited. She loved seeing the impact of her work on places and people who badly need help.

Before Scott had disappeared, public speaking hadn’t fazed her like this. He had a special way of calming her down. When he used that Dom voice, the tension threatening to turn her to stone melted away. Sometimes he would drape her over his knees and turn her bottom pink with the flat of his hand. Other times he would order her to her knees, and she would luxuriate in the caress of her favorite flogger.

After the speech, he would reward her for a job well done.

But now he was gone. Victor, her major client for the past several years, had clucked sympathetically and assured her that sometimes men just left. It wasn’t the right thing to say, but she knew his heart was in the right place. The police had interrogated her like a suspect when nobody could find him. Darcy knew something bad had happened. She knew he was gone for good, but not by choice. He never would have voluntarily left her.

Hot tears pricked the back of her eyelids, but she blinked them back. No matter what anyone else said, she knew her Master had loved her. They had planned to be married, and they had purchased a home together. Two weeks after they moved into their dream house, he had disappeared.

Eight months had elapsed, and she kept moving forward because she didn’t know what else to do. Her parents and her friends had never truly understood the turn her relationship with Scott had taken. They didn’t understand how badly she needed a Dom in her life, and not just any Dom. Scott was special. Scott had loved her, and she loved him.

The masochist in her loved pain, but not the emotional kind. She smoothed her skirt and reminded herself that he was gone. She would have to do this on her own. He would be so proud of her if he could see her now.

Darcy wiped her face and took a deep breath. She could do this.

Review ~
Re/Bound is one of my top 5 books of the year.  I started it and before I was done with Chapter 1, I was rescheduling my day so I could just sit and finish it.  When my husband came home I hushed him ~ in the nicest way possible ~ and kept reading.

Darcy is an amazing character.  While not always a good judge of other people, she is so down to earth, realistic and likable that I was on the edge of my seat at times waiting for what she would put herself through next.  In so many ways, Darcy is me and that made the character absolutely lovable.  Darcy knows what she likes, but sadly her master disappeared awhile ago and she has had to pick up the pieces and move on alone.

Enter Malcolm (Theo) and his innate ability to recognize who and what Darcy is.  It amazes me how some doms can sense this but I digress!!  Malcolm is trying to catch a corrupt businessman, but his investigation leads him to figure out what happened to Darcy's master as well and hopefully help her move forward.

The emotions in Re/Bound are incomparable as Darcy learns to trust again.  Malcolm introduces Darcy to new pieces of herself and new experiences ~ some she has craved but never gotten, others that terrify yet excite her. Michele Zurlo is a superb story-teller in that she crates characters you can love and hate while telling a detailed story without ever losing her readers.  I never skimmed a section, I was engrossed with each and every word as I waited to see what might happen next.  There is a lot of tension, passion, hatred, love, and so much more filling this story.


Re/Paired
Genre: BDSM & Fetish
Previous Book: Re/Bound

Keith Rossetti grew up the hard way--fleeing from his older sister's fists and finding addiction at a young age. It's a miracle he was able to make it into the FBI, and he fiercely guards his relationships with a handful of close friends.

When Katrina Legato's brother brought home his Marine buddy all those years ago, she fell head-over-heels in love. Ten years have elapsed, and she hasn't forgotten that toe-curling kiss he gave her for her eighteenth birthday. She knows he's a demanding Dom who doesn't respect his submissives or keep them for long, but if that's all she can have of him, then she'll take it.

When refusing Kat sends her to another Dom, Keith rethinks his decision. He plans to show her exactly why he's not a suitable life partner for anybody. But Kat, one of the only women he's allowed into his heart, isn't what he expected. She's no pushover. She demands more from him than anybody ever has, and he finds himself wanting to be the man she thinks he is.

As she repairs his damaged soul, a stalker targets her. When she's kidnapped, he'll stop at nothing to get her back.

~ Buy Links ~

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Excerpt from Re/Paired~

That Darcy wasn’t a fragile woman who lacked confidence and a backbone had attracted Katrina’s older brother and made her instantly likeable to the rest of the family. “I don’t think Malcolm’s ever been that afraid before. Give it some time. I bet Keith will have him at least talking before the party’s over.”

“I hope you’re right. Your brother is one stubborn man.”

Katrina didn’t delve into the reason behind Darcy’s smile. She had no desire to know why her brother’s stubborn nature appealed to his fiancée. They chatted about other things while Layla opened presents.

She knew the moment Layla opened Keith’s gift. Her blonde curls bounced, and her pixie smile turned downright evil. She lifted the super-size squirt gun from the box and aimed it at Malcolm. “I love that you fill these up before you wrap them.”

Malcolm held up his hand and put on his most forbidding expression. “That’s not from me, and you should never point a gun at someone you’re not planning to shoot.”

Layla stood up. “I know it’s not from you, and who says I’m not planning to shoot you?” She pulled the trigger as she said “shoot” and let loose a long stream of water that hit Malcolm squarely in the chest.

All hell broke loose. The hidden water balloons suddenly materialized, and more squirt guns appeared from nowhere. Well aware that hiding would prove useless, Katrina dived into the fight. Keith came through with a gun for her, so she was set offensively, but it also painted a big neon target on her body.

By the time things wound down a good hour later, Katrina’s light blue shirt, now transparent in some places, clung to her skin, and the denim of her jean shorts chafed uncomfortably. How had she rationalized not bringing a change of clothes? Oh yeah, she’d thought Keith wouldn’t want to piss off Malcolm even more.

Review ~
Ok, I delved right into Re/Paired as soon as I finished Re/Bound!  I was so excited when I finished one that I had to continue, and now I have to wait for the next book Re/Imagined. . . But Michele has other books I can read!

Re/Paired wasn't quite as intense as Re/Bound for me, but I still loved it.  We have Kat and Keith who have very strong personalities that end up working well together, but it is going to take some work for them to get there. Kat is a submissive with no experience.  She only wants Keith, but Keith won't mess with his best friend's sister and he is not up for a relationship ~ he's a love 'em and leave 'em type of guy.  Keith is a very demanding dom that has strict rules and protocols, while Kat is willing to try and be what Keith thinks he wants, she has seen his other sides that he doesn't usually share.

These two are combustable together and each facing new experiences as they explore boundaries, limits and work together to form something that might last well into the future. I will admit I thought the ending felt a little rushed in this one.  But it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story.  Kat and Keith are a unique couple that Michele Zurlo explores and shares their fetishes in a very sexy way.  Highly recommended!!

Bio ~

I'm Michele Zurlo, author of over 20 romance novels. I write contemporary and paranormal, BDSM and mainstream--whatever it takes to give my characters the happy endings they deserve.

I'm not half as interesting as my characters. My childhood dreams tended to stretch no further than the next book in my to-be-read pile, and I aspired to be a librarian so I could read all day. I ended up teaching middle school, so that fulfilled part of my dream. Some words of wisdom from an inspiring lady had me tapping out stories on my first laptop, so in the evenings, romantic tales flow from my fingertips.

I'm pretty impulsive when it comes to big decisions, especially when it's something I've never done before. Writing is just one in a long line of impulsive decisions that turned out to showcase my great instincts. Find out more at www.michelezurloauthor.com or @MZurloAuthor.