‘Blind and Free’ by Kelanie Black —BOOK REVIEW

About ‘Blind and Free (The Red Lair Book 3)’ by Kelanie Black::

Genre: Erotica; Romance; BDSM; Drama

Mistress Jakita runs The Red Lair, the hottest BDSM club in Columbus, Ohio, while managing her own stable of compliant submissives with an iron fist. She is hot, sexy, and always in control.

Joseph Riles dreams of escaping from his alcoholic father and an abusive home life. Could the woman who stares at him from The Red Lair’s website hold the key to his freedom?

When a vicious assault robs Mistress Jakita of her sight, her entire life is thrown into turmoil. No more the controlling dominatrix, she must rely on strangers to help her eat, dress, and even use her phone. Joseph saves her from the attack and sees the brilliant woman Jakita can still be. He can prove to her that she is the dominatrix he needs and loves, if only she can open herself before it’s too late.

WARNING: This book contains depictions of violence and mentions alcoholism. Mature audience required.

I have also reviewed these other titles by Kelanie Black:
Blindly in Love (The Red Lair Book 1)
Blind and Bound (The Red Lair Book 2)

I have been loving this series. All of them are great, but this is definitely my favorite so far! The author has introduced several characters in this series who are already blind, either from birth or some other reason. In ‘Blind and Free,’ a side character from the other two books is brought into focus as a violent turn of fate takes her sight away.

Jakita, the head Mistress of The Red Lair, is a fierce dominatrix with many subs. After her accident, she struggles with keeping that same powerful visage and independence. Her journey is an incredible example of human experience because there are just so many sides to it. A dominant with trouble getting emotionally close to people who is also actually a very caring person; a woman who goes from powerful in every regard to having to rely on others for help; how to cope with something that she sees as ruining, but that’s also something so many deal with on the daily; how to regain her identity and comfort…

Her side of the story is so emotional- up, down, and every which way- but without Joseph’s part, it wouldn’t quite have the same impact. Joseph is a great guy who sees the strength that Jakita possesses even when she is at her most vulnerable. His own story is heart breaking and yet, you put both these people together and the story is simply beautiful.

The entire Red Lair series so far has dealt with both the sub’s and the dominant’s mindset, but the submissive role in this one is my favorite. I really enjoyed the play between dominatrix Jakita and the submissives. It was actually some of the stuff I enjoy doing IRL myself. The sexual, non sexual, and sweet parts of it were perfect.

I believe I’ve said it in a past review, but I’ll say it again: the author’s portrayal of the realities of the BDSM lifestyle is totally on point. Not just the safe words, after care, etc. She also really delves into the minds of what it means to be a sub and a dom, how it doesn’t mean one is more powerful than the other, and how being sexually dom/sub does not mean you are always dominant/submissive in other aspects of your life.

Another thing I wanted to point out was that Joseph was one of Dante’s friends in the first book and in this one, the author checks back in on what is going on with Dante and Cassidi. Won’t say if it was going well or poorly, but it was great to see what was happening in their lives.

Hands down, Kelanie Black puts ’50 Shades of Gray’ to shame.

Get the ebook on Amazon Kindle!

Get the paperback on Amazon!

You can find Kelanie Black on:
Twitter @BlackKelanie
Facebook
Instagram @kelanie_black
Goodreads
Amazon
Author Website

((Reviews have been submitted to Amazon and Goodreads))

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~Sahreth ‘Baphy’ Bowden

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