Exposed By Fate releases today
A sexy category romance from Entangled’s Brazen imprint…
He’ll train her to lure another man. She’ll lure him instead.
When interior designer Eliza Ballas accompanies a friend to New York’s premier BDSM club, she’s taken aback by the sheer want that overruns her body—especially when a sexy Brit assumes Eliza is adept at dark, sensual arts. If she’s going to play, she’ll need an erotic education, and she knows just the man to teach her how to submit…
Oliver Preston isn’t one to turn down pleasure, but Eliza’s his sister’s best friend, and he’s torn between a sense of duty and his rock-hard need to find out if she tastes as delicious as he’s dreamed. Unable to handle thought of another man owning her body, he draws Eliza deep into his world of exquisite pain and pleasure. He has three lessons to instruct her. Three lessons to drive them both to the brink of ecstasy. And three lessons before he must give her to another man…if he doesn’t lose himself first.
My review:
Exposed By Fate is the second book in author Tessa Bailey’s Serve series and follows Oliver Preston and Eliza Ballas, and let me just say…Tessa does it again. This book was insanely amazing.
Eliza Ballas had no idea she would be affected this way. When she stepped foot into New York’s hottest BDSM club, never in a million years did she think it would awaken some hidden desire within her. But that’s exactly what happened. It was almost at that same moment that she realized she was in away over her head and had no idea what this lifestyle truly involved. She needed a tutor of sorts. And fast. She was just about to dive head first into the scene with a sexy stranger when she realized she needed someone with expertise to show her the ropes (pun intended). What Eliza never suspected was that her best friend’s older brother, Oliver, would end up offering his know-how and volunteer to give her a few lessons. If she weren’t so completely caught off guard by his offer, and totally turned on, she would probably be laughing. Sure, she had been attracted to him since they first met years earlier but he thought of her as his sister’s best friend. Nothing more. Oh, Eliza couldn’t be more wrong about that and before she will realize it this teacher/student relationship will reach a whole new level…
Oliver Preston felt the surge of fierce protectiveness and ownership when he saw Eliza sidling up to one of Serve’s regulars and he new there was no way he would let her walk into a scene she knew nothing about. She was too precious to him. She is sister’s best friend, and the woman he’s lusted after for too long to remember. He was known as a carefree playboy to all of his friends and family, so she wouldn’t look too deep into things if he offered her some help in the BDSM department. He would aim to keep things unattached and strictly physical, but he knew the minute he dragged her out of the club that he would most likely fail and his attachment to her would no doubt grow. She could be the one to tame him and his playboy ways…if only she knew it.
What starts out as an innocent agreement for casual sex turns into something neither Oliver nor Eliza ever expected: a relationship they both wanted with a desire that was intense and all-consuming. Will they be able to admit their feelings for each other and make things permanent?
I said earlier that Tessa had done it again with this book. That isn’t true. There isn’t one character of hers that is like the others; so to say “she did it again” is almost an insult. With each book, Tessa gives us characters with depth and amazing facets and no two are alike. Characters that come alive from the pages. Oliver and Eliza were no exception. Oliver made his way into my heart from the very start of this book. On the outside, he is confident and sexy. Charming the ladies at every turn. On the inside, however, he has deep-seated feelings of inadequacy when it comes to his family and how they feel about him. He doesn’t feel like anyone takes him seriously and that he’s just known for being a charmer. And that hurts him deeply. But he’s always quick with a smile to make him, and others around him feel better, so he learned to shake off those feelings and push them down. That broke my heart and I simply loved him. Eliza is also amazing. She’s not afraid to live and she’s made her way in the world on her own terms. She’s strong and talented with a big heart. I loved her with Oliver. The chemistry between them is off the charts and they heat up the pages from the very beginning. Beyond that, though, they emotions that come out from both Eliza and Oliver really make this story special and beautiful to read. Oliver found what he never knew he was looking for and Eliza found what she had always wanted. It was truly an amazing journey for both of them.
So, whether you’re already a Tessa Bailey fan, or this is the first you’re hearing of her, get this book on your list. You will not be disappointed.
Before I go, I have to give a big thank you to Tessa for dedicating such an amazing story to me. I really have no words. So HHF and SBS and love ya, lady! (and that puts me at my feels quota for the month!)
Five Loves
About the author:
Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.
Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.
She now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband of seven years and three-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.