I was introduced to the wonderful world of the Badass Brats thanks to my friend and reading buddy Shannon. She stumbled across a great series on Amazon and after she read the first book- The Dom with a Safeword, she quickly shared it with me and told me to read. Not when I get the chance or finish whatever book I was reading, but NOW. So, I did and I am SO HAPPY that I did! Co-authors Sorcha Black, Leia Shaw, and Cari Silverwood created a wonderful place with a great story, great characters, and a lot of great kink!

The Dom with a Safeword opens up with roommates and good friends Sabrina and Q as they are checking out what they think is an abandoned and haunted property. Sabrina is big on ghost hunting and Q is there because well, she has the hots for her very straight roommate. While searching the property, they stumble across Jude, a dominant, who’s renting the property for the summer before having to start med school at his father’s request.

After the little run-in between the three on Jude’s property, he runs into the two girls again at a heavy metal concert in the mosh pit, after Q hits the floor. As Jude is checking Q over, making sure she doesn’t have a concussion, he realizes just how attractive he finds both Sabrina and Q. As a way to keep Q from returning to the mosh pit area, he promises to allow Sabrina to come back to his house and check for paranormal activity. Of course, Sabrina jumps at this opportunity and says yes.

When Sabrina and Q find themselves back at Jude’s house for the second time, this is when things start getting interesting. The three of them get to know each other better and while Sabrina and Q are wandering around the upstairs of the house looking for paranormal activity, they stumble across Jude’s toys. Sabrina is a little more freaked out by this discovery than Q is then Jude finds the two girls. He has Sabrina bring him a pair of cuffs and puts them on her. Once that happens, she quickly slips into subspace and while Q watches on, she tells Jude he has to share Sabrina with her and this piques Jude interest, but refuses to do anything until Sabrina consents. After Sabrina says yes, Jude hands her over to Q.

After this brief scene, the three of them discuss the idea of being together during the summer. Jude would be dominant to both Sabrina and Q, and Q dominating Sabrina. Since Jude and Q both already have knowledge of the lifestyle and Sabrina not really knowing much of anything, so the three of them do a lot of talking and also fill out checklists to make sure everything is

Despite this being a summer-only thing, the platonic feelings that all three had for each other begin to turn into something more, something a lot more. Jude is regretting the promise he made to his father about attending medical school and both Sabrina and Q are questioning their feelings towards each other and wondering what’s going to happen to their relationship when the summer ends.

As Jude packs up the farmhouse, everyone is miserable. All three of them see their lives, loves, and happiness ending. Each one does what they think is the best way to cope, whether it’s the safe way to do so or not. Will Jude, Q, and Sabrina find their happiness once again or will their lives always be empty of love and joy being all together brought them?

There are several reasons why I love this story. One is the characters. All three, Jude, Sabrina, and Q are all so relatable. They all have their insecurities and fears and quirks, something that readers can relate to and they’re all so diverse. Two, the authors make sure to talk about checklists being done and limits being discussed, which sometimes gets brushed over in other books. The third reason, they’re writing about a poly relationship. This is something that just isn’t really written about and I love how they show the struggles of making a poly relationship work and how beneficial it can be if all parties involved are willing. Of course, there are some freaking hot scenes going on while Jude shows Q and Sabrina just who’s boss and Sabrina and Q make sure Jude know he’s bit outnumbered.

You can find Sorcha Black, Leia Shaw, and Cari Silverwood all on Facebook as well as the Badass Brats to keep up with all their shenanigans(and I promise you, there are a lot!)  You can buy The Dom with a Safeword on Amazon and on  Barnes and Noble in both physical and ebook forms.

Tequila R's Rating:

10/10 Paperback: 294  Pages Publisher: WC Press; 1 edition (October 25, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1483983730