What can you expect from a series called Beards & Bondage? Unsubstantial BDSM smut, right? Wrong! Surprisingly, this was a lot more than just that.
It was a story of loss and grief, fighting your inner demons by sharing your pain with the only person who knows how you feel and comforting each other by any means necessary.

This was such a great blend of steam, romance and tragedy, it totally took me off guard.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THIS. BOOK. I don’t think I’ve ever rated a romance novel above four stars until now. Literally every single person on my Twitter and Goodreads timelines was raving about Haven, and I’m so, so glad I decided to pick it up (psstttt… it’s free on Netgalley right now. DON’T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY.). I was worried the romance would be problematic due to the nature of how Shep and Claudia met (he literally saved her life when he shot a crazy murderer who had been chasing her for hours and had already killed her brother), but the two of them worked through these complex feelings in a very understandable, healthy way. Overall, I thought Shep and Claudia’s relationship provided a great model for a healthy romantic and sexual relationship, which is something that the romance genre tends to lack. Haven does involve a dom/sub BDSM romance, but consent is always, always explicitly present. I am amazed at how the author was able to develop these characters so well in under three hundred pages. They were complex and, again, so realistic. Shep is an introverted mountain man, while Claudia is a badass Afro-Caribbean fashionista. The strength of Weatherspoon’s writing really impressed me, too, particularly her dialogue. The romance is sweet, and the sex is super hot. And I loved the mountain setting, of course. Overall, this book was refreshingly wonderful, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance, or who– like me– has been searching for the *right* romance for them. (BONUS: Dogs. Shep owns an adorable bear-dog named Titus.)

Haven is an interesting take on a BDSM relationship. Claudia and her brother Miles are camping when they come across a bunch of apparently psychotic killers who end up killing Miles and seriously injuring Claudia. She manages to escape and runs up the mountain and lands at Shep's doorstep, where he proceeds to kill the man who chased her. Their bond is formed at that one singular moment, where he killed to protect her. Claudia is obviously traumatized by what happened, and really grateful to the man who saved her. She's also inexplicably attracted to him, and can't get him out of her mind, so much that later, after she's healed (physically) and the investigation is done, she goes back to California from her home in New York, all so she can say thank you to the mountain man who saved her life.

They end up spending a week indulging in a kinky sex fest that involves a little bondage, a little domination and a whole lotta steaming up the sheets. They get to know each other and find that they aren't just connected through the incident that changed both their lives, but that they actually like each other and find each other interesting and funny. Their banter is probably my favorite part of Haven, it's sexy and snarky and sweet in a spicy way. "Took you f***ing long enough," I say as I stand. I want to cancel this stupid dinner and spend the rest of the night worshipping her body on my own dining room table. She fluffs her hair out and puts a hand on her hip. "Phsst whatever, bitch. You cannot rush perfection and you know I look good." "Keep going. I want to hear all about it. How you'd rather be looking at me with a board game between us than bouncing on my c**k." "Do you regret it?" "No," she pouts. "Your dick is magic. I just hate you for it."

But, all good things must come to an end, and Claudia and Shep aren't meant to be permanent. Not because the possibility isn't there, but because Claudia is messed up and hasn't really dealt with what happened to her and what happened to her brother. She was seeing a therapist, but didn't connect with her, so has been trying to deal on her own, and being very unsuccessful at it. And the sad thing is, she knows she's messed up and not really good for Shep right now, so she ends up hurting him badly when she leaves abruptly. "We can't pretend we didn't meet over my sliced scalp and the barrel of that blessed shotgun. We can't pretend that I didn't just sprint like a mad woman through the woods to get away from the ghost of my almost killer and maybe even Shep himself, not fifteen minutes before. I'm too f****d up for him. Too messy. He deserves better. Someone who can give him everything, a fresh start. Trauma free. I love him, but that will never be me."

I really like Shep, he's a sweet, caring man. He's dominant, but not in a controlling, cruel way. He has so much to offer someone, someone who is right for him, who gets him. And Claudia could be that woman, if she'd just get her head on straight. I was hoping she'd come back to Shep, and when she did, I was happy, but at that point, I kind of felt it was too little too late. She had really hurt him, and hadn't made any effort to reach out and explain, then she waltzed back and just expected him to fall in line with what she wanted. Hm, if I'd been him, I wouldn't have just taken her back like that. I'd have made her work for it much more than Shep did. But, then again, he's much nicer than I am.

Haven is sexy with two interesting, realistic characters, but there are two reasons I didn't give it a 5 star review. One is because the ending is really rushed, much too abrupt. I would have liked an epilogue. And two is because the connection between Claudia and Shep wasn't as deep as I had been expecting. I felt as if some details were left out. I was expecting a really deep, sort of emotional read and what I got was sexy with a little bit of emotion. Things were glossed over that would have helped deepen the story. Things like Claudia's therapy, there was only one scene with her therapist, and it was really short and didn't amount to much. She said she went to a therapist at the end, but there were no details about it. Also, the whole incident that brought Claudia and Shep together was sort of rushed and not given much detail. If it had been fleshed out much more, I think I would have felt their connection that much more. Other than these two things, though, I like Haven and appreciated its out of the box premise.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Claudia is attacked and fighting for her life when Shep saves her. She finds herself attracted to him but is it because he rescued her or is it genuine? Shep is complicated and a Dom but can Claudia be his perfect Sub?

I haven't read a book like this, 50 shades doesn't come close! I really enjoyed the story and the blossoming relationship

There is so much to love here.

- Representation and diversity done well, written by a woman of color. I am and will forever be here for this.

- Also - interracial romance! Huzzah!

- While having a dominant man employing blindfolds and floggers may be a fantasy the characters are wholly based in reality. Check out our hero:

"My dick isn't a magic wand. I wasn't going to save her. I wasn't going to heal her with my kisses... and I sure as fuck wasn't going to fix myself."

And some girl talk:

"I know you probably had a carrot and some champagne today and I know there's an image [to maintain], but we are both thick women and we are beautiful that way."

"Amen," I say. "Extra pepperoni, please."

- The hero and heroine have their head on their shoulders and know what they want, even if they're not sure how to go about getting it. Misunderstandings are one of my biggest romance pet peeves and there's not even a whiff of a Big Mis here.

- People have problems - you could probably say they're "damaged" - but there's no wallowing. It's refreshing.

- The story itself moves along nicely and kept my interest.

This was my first book by Weatherspoon and I'm thoroughly impressed. A recommend for erotic romance fans, even if a side of bondage isn't usually your thing.

Goodreads
Serial killers on the loose doesn't make a great jumping off point for romance. The scene in the hospital talking (joking) about clowns fell flat and was totally weird! I liked Shep, Claudia -- not so much and Claudia's friend, Liz -- not at all. Her friend was too over the top with her protectiveness and then wanting to know all the sex details of Claudia's time with Shep. And, Claudia telling her the details including their BDSM play, crossed a line. The banter at the end between Shep and Claudia is the only thing that saved this story.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1989178745

Amazon
It was very difficult for me to get past what happened to the heroine and her brother. The story was very dark and while I liked the premise of the mountain man and the city woman finding comfort in one another -- the actual story didn't live up to the synopsis. All in all, I would definitely read more mountain men stories from this author. Received ARC via Netgalley.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1Y81YGCX6H68O?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl

2.5 stars rounded to 3 stars

With a name like Beards & Bondage, sexy book cover, and a blurb promising us an intense romance between two people who shared traumatic experience, this book had all the makings of being a great read. I had high expectations for this book, but unfortunately I was left unsatisfied.
Haven: Beards & Bondage is marketed as an erotic/BDSM romance but it lacks the intensity and the power play that you would expect from D/s relationship in this type of book. The hero, Shep, doesn't come across as an experienced Dom who knows what he is doing. The main heroine, Claudia, is not that interesting either. The sex scenes are underwhelming and rather tepid. I certainly wasn't feeling all hot and tingly while reading sex scenes, and my Kindle didn't catch fire.
Another reason I didn't enjoy this book is it has my least favorite type of narration - first person present tense. I rarely enjoy stories written in present tense.
This book could've been a psychological novel that explores an aftermath of trauma, it could've been an intense erotic BDSM story, it could've been a great romance between a raged, bearded mountain man and a city girl. Or it could've been all three, but unfortunately it fell short on all counts.

The concept of this interracial m/f romance is appealing -- two people who experience a traumatic event and are drawn together as a result. I also love reading about couples who discuss and consent to all the steamy sex they engage in. However, I found the progression of the week-long relationship frustrating, as the development from jumping into kinky sex to confessions of love seemed unearned and unbelievable. The characters' shared trauma also seemed to be hand-waved in the book's resolution. I've enjoyed other books by this author, and will try her again, but this one did not connect for me.

While I did like Shep and Claudia, and hoped for their HEA, at times I kept thinking how they really didn't know each other very well, and couldn't see this as a long term relationship. It starts out with him killing a man chasing her through the woods, and ends up with them in a bondage "fling". There are a lot of outside influences that seem out of place. For example, her brother's supposed fiance, or his ex-girlfriend. I wish they would have been explained more, or shown less, as they distracted at times. I liked the book, and do recommend it, but it could have been stronger.

I didn't DISlike this story, but I found it disappointing. Unfulfilled. It had the chance to be bigger than it was - but a lot of Claudia's choices were baffling and therefore either made her seem flighty, lacking in depth, or just written in such a way that you couldn't empathize. Shep was a little better filled out - but still, a lot of choices made you scratch your head. Then - and here's my major disappointment - her job offer came up, she left early, and all the kinkery that was planned/promised never came to anything, really. The author just cut off her nose despite her face. It made no sense. All the build-up.... then, nada. HEA rolls around, she runs back to him and he just takes her back. Head scratch. That's an unsatisfactory note to leave your reader on, ensuring that your book is immediately forgettable.

3.5 Stars Haven is the first book I have read by Rebekah Weatherspoon and I look forward to reading more.

I loved Shep and his dog and Claudia was a strong heroine which is always a bonus. The storyline lost me a little around the third quarter but didn’t detract me enough to put it down and it recovered soon after. These characters had a strong connection, I did feel Claudia let Shep down a bit however, she tried to do the right thing and not everything goes as we expect.

This book generated quite a buzz on my twitter and goodreads timelines so I decided to check it out. I haven't read this author before.

Haven starts out with a very impactful scene of a young woman on the run from an attacker. It's a good thing she stumbles upon Shep's cabin. There's a nice romantic suspense feel to this part of the book that I really liked.

In the aftermath of Claudia's attack and rescue, she and Shep both gravitate back to each other. I really liked the dynamic between these two and totally got why they were drawn together. And they are great together, too. I really got the feeling that these two were never going to be better than they were together. The sparks are there no matter what they are doing.

Complications arise when their relationship-with-an-expiration-date hits a rough patch. Claudia and Shep still have a lot to process regarding the way they met, and even though they communicate well, it's at this critical moment they can't talk to each other. I look a good heart-ripping-moment in a romance, and this one was pretty darn good. It only makes the reunion sweeter.

Yeah, I really liked this book. The BDSM elements were very hot and gave the story just the right amount of spice. Shep had just enough vulnerability to balance his dominance, and Claudia had enough sass to complement her submission.

There's a ton of feels when it comes to Shep and Claudia, both characters grabbed my attention right away and the story was perfectly paced to keep me coming back to this whenever I had a free moment. I will definitely have this author on my radar now.

ARC provided for review.

I enjoyed reading my first book by this author.

The books started fast and kept me entertained throughout. I would have liked to have heard a bit more about the beginning of the story in regards to Claudia and her brother being attacked. I liked Shep, a nice strong character. The story was full of sex along with loss and grief. Overall a good read.

This is the most I’ve learned about BDSM in a fictional book. It was eye opening. And I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t a little bit interested to learn more.

The beginning dove right in, like from the very first page it was clear what this book was about. I kinda dug that because some people tend to get twitchy with these kinds of books. You read the first page and know if you want to continue or not. Saves people who are on the fence time. I appreciated that.

The sexual parts were graphic without feeling like an info dump or manual. Their chemistry was pretty hot. The only thing I will say is I didn’t quite understand how fast they fell. It could have been a bit more deep in that aspect. Much of their relationship was rooted in trauma and sex so you knew they were gonna have strong chemistry. I just wish we could have moved passed the surface feelings in a more detailed way. The author kinda skimmed over the tough emotional parts of the relationship. And while they did address most of the reasoning behind their attraction, the way they went about pursuing the relationship was sub-par for me, especially in the end. Which is why I knocked off a star.

Other than that, I enjoyed how realistic is was. They were not perfect, in fact, I wanted to slap both Shep and Claudia multiple times throughout. But that was what intrigued me in the first place. I believed this could happen IRL. I didn’t know this was a series when I requested it. Not that I’m complaining, but y’all know I’m doing a series challenge and now this is just one more to add to my list.

I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest/unbiased review.

5 "in love with this author" stars.
This was a really unexpected book for me. I found myself caught up in Claudia and Shep's story immediately and even though this is a hugely sexy and erotic book the storyline is what had me absolutely riveted to reading it.
I totally loved this book and finally had to put it down at 2 am last night with 20% left and I finished the rest this morning with my coffee.
This is an addictive, sexy and well written book that deals with a traumatic event that forever alters two people and it is a great romance story too. I will be looking for more books by this author.
ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Having gobbled up Rebekah Weatherspoon's "fit" trilogy, I was really glad to see on twitter this was coming. There was a lot of positivity about her writing and the plot. It lived up to the hype. A little point to note, this started and continued to be a lot "darker" than what I thought it would be. Not that we aren't warned, it's just darker (view spoiler) so keep that in mind. I was surprised by its darker element.

This novel is so sex-positive, so refreshing. The frankness in which they discuss needs, wants and desires is so stimulating. The two MCs were liable, strong willed and I loved their interactions. Such good chemistry. A hairy mountain man YES YES YES.Introverted dom tendencies YES YES YES.

With any of Weatherspoon's novel, I definitely felt the ending again felt rushed and undone. I would have liked more of detailed ending with perhaps an epilogue, But as this is book one its might not be the last time we see these characters.

Nice start to a series 4 stars.

Lordy, lordy, lordy. I believe I have found a new suspense/sexy/thriller/erotic author!

Let me start off with saying that Haven's series is titled Beards & Bondage: that's two checks for this girl right here *raises hand and waves*. Then we're given this jaw-droppingly sexy blurb that just says it ALL! I knew I needed to read this the moment I finished the blurb.

Now that we've laid the groundwork for an amazing story to be told... I love Shep Olsen. A secluded and introvert mountain man with a kink for..kink. SIGN ME UP! I love that this story starts you right in the action and drama of a killer on the loose and a woman desperate for help.

Shep and Claudia have this instant attraction that simmers just below the surface despite being thrown together in the midst of tragedy. I loved getting to see these two interact not only upon meeting one another (and Shep saving her) but also when Claudia can't stay away and comes back to see Shep. There's a bond between them that there isn't a term for. And they both seem hesitant to fell to it but the trust is there and they go for it!

With the drama of the small town getting to them and each of their pasts coming to the surface... this made for just one fantastic read! I devoured it in a handful of hours and I sincerely hope that there will be more to come!

I loved every single thing about this book. Shep and Claudia were amazing. I loved that he could be a dom without being a jerk. I loved that Claudia could submit and still be strong and full of sass and humor. I just loved it. The perfect mix of humor and suspense and drama. I can't wait to read it again! Would recommend this book. Also sorry for late review was in hospital and trying to catch up on my reviews which your book help me get through my stay so thanks very much and left review on Amazon.uk