Claudia and Shep's relationship is complicated, but the rawness fits perfectly with these two damaged souls! Their emotional conflict isn't exactly in your face; instead the intricacies come out in small pieces. It's just enough to suck you in and hold your breath anticipating what will happen next. And there's a lot. Like enough to have me read this book in one sitting and still go..wow.

But the ending! Oy, the book had plenty of highs and lows, yet the last quarter was too quick and clean, if that makes any sense. After the obstacle course of feelings, I simply wasn't expecting the simplicity of the ending!

When I pick up a romance, I admit that I'm all about fluff and happy endings-with minimal drama in between. If I want reality, I'll watch the news. But sometimes a book comes along and catches my eye just because it's not my usual cup of tea. Haven is grittier than I'm used to reading but I'm happy I took a chance! Weatherspoon is a new author for me, but her prose spoke volumes-edgy, vulnerable, and just enough darkness to reach in and grab hold..sigh, this was such a good book! Definitely adding this author to my buy list!

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.

Julie-Alphas Do It Better Book Blog

I was intrigued by Haven's blurb and I must admit a little apprehensive to read it I don't know why but I'm happy to say that I absolutely adored this book. I loved both main characters and how the author developed their relationship. As for the sex I loved, loved it. It was so hot.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading more in this series and from this author.

WOW! Such a wonderful story. Good writing. Totally had me hooked.

3/5

An eARC of this book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Honestly, I’m not much of a “sub/dom novel” kind of person. I like romances with actual romance, including everything in a romance – namely sex. But the “sub/dom” scenario doesn’t feel genuine in some books, and this is one of them. Just so you don’t think I don’t like any kind of book with this theme, the American Queen series by Sierra Simone is one of my favorites.

Synopsis: “A week-long getaway…

City girl Claudia Cade’s carefree life is plunged into chaos when a camping trip with her brother in the national forests of Northern California turns into a deadly dash for her survival. A solitary world turned upside down… Nature photographer Shepard Olsen has resigned himself to a quiet existence, with only his dog by his side, until a woman in need of his protection shows up on his doorstep and throws his universe into disarray.

Two lives linked by tragedy…

Claudia is desperate to heal from her traumatic loss, but can’t stop thinking about her run-in with evil….or the grizzled mountain man whose quick thinking and good aim saved her life. When she shows up on Shep’s doorstep again, she finds she isn’t the only one who can’t move on.

…saved by bliss.

The two begin an intense, passionate relationship of Dominance and submission, pleasure and pain, but with dark memories haunting them and decisions about the future rapidly approaching, Claudia can’t help but wonder…how long can they be each other’s haven?”

This is more of a mild Fifty Shades of Gray kind of book. The sex scenes didn’t feel convincing – like actual sex scenes – they were more like porn sex, as in forced and not enjoyable.

And it’s strange how they are coping with the grief – Claudia – and the shock – Shep – without talking it out. Sure they have a system of “ask, answer” but they are keeping things from each other.

It doesn’t really matter that the book was incredibly well written when the story sounds so fake. “It’s a book!” you might say. Yes, it is. But I have rarely encountered a book in which I didn’t feel part of, or felt as if it were a real world. A book is supposed to take you away, and make its world yours.

This book felt like a lie from the second chapter onwards. The first chapter made me feel as if I were inside the house, running… it felt like I was inside the story. Then comes the second chapter, and I feel as if I’m watching a badly filmed movie. As if I’m watching everything from behind a glass panel and with ear mufflers. I can’t feel, hear… I’m senseless.

This isn’t normal for a person that spends almost 15 hours a day reading. An actual reader loses themselves inside the books and forget the world exists. This book wasn’t what it could have been. It didn’t have spirit. It was a shell of an actual story.

This is my opinion, but you can think otherwise when you read it. So go on and buy it.

Perfect read. I was hooked after the first few pages, and was in love with Shep by the end of the book. Shep was a complex and developed character but he wasn't flawed. Claudia wasn't complex at all but she had some flaws or issues to workout, together they made a good couple. This book is written differently from most, this book is a series of interactions and conversations, time is not wasted on page long internal monologues the characters talk or they don't which I loved. The story also felt complete to me even though you really don't know what will happen, I believe a decision was made about their future that would make both characters happy.

This book gripped me from the very first page and didn't let up.
Right away we are thrust into a bloody scene: Claudia suffers through a horrible nightmare of a camping trip that includes a murder and a self defence killing. What I found interesting was that the book didn't focus on the actual incident at all. Instead, the story begins as the ordeal comes to an end.
The book then weaves a heart wrenching tale of surviving loss and finding love. There are some very intense sex scenes, and while bondage isn't my kink, I wasn't turned off. It was written tastefully from both POVs and the emotions were raw.
I like to include pros and cons in my reviews, but honestly there weren't many cons at all as far as I'm concerned. I really liked the flow of the story, how the emotions of both characters seemed to leap off the page. It was even well written, which can be a deal breaker for me.
A strong 4.5 stars overall. Recommended.

Felt this story was dull. The author seemed to drag the development of the characters and beat each point to death.

The first few lines didn't set the best picture for this story for me. Although at the end I enjoyed the book I think the reader should've been eased into the subject rather than thrown in. I think the relationship was a little rushed and some of the behaviours just didn't seem believable to me.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I had really high expectations for this book because of what I heard from authors and readers. Maybe they were too high because I didn't quite get what I expected.
I liked the book a lot. The setting was great and the side characters real. Though, while the story of the main characters was engaging and real, I always felt something was missing.
Maybe the problem was that most of the deep digging and exploring happened in the first part that the second part just felt too shallow. I would have loved to see more.

Can you say steaming hot? I didn't really know what to think of this book at first. Just that this had come highly recommend by a lot of people I follow on Twitter. This story starts out right in the action. It's kind of confusing at first, but pretty quickly, we meet Claudia, a girl screaming and stumbling out of the woods surrounding Shep's home, with a man chasing after her. What happens next changes, and links their lives together forever.

Claudia's been through a lot. What was supposed to be a nice vacation out to see her brother in California turns into a tragedy, and she has the emotional scars and prove it. The one man to show her kindness, and she can't stop thinking about it. But unlike what I expected, that this would turn into an insta-love situation of some sort, the characters spend quite a bit of time away from one another. Claudia returns home to New York and Shep is still living in his mountain home, secluded from most of the outside world with his closest neighbors about two miles away.

Claudia returns eventually to the place that continues to haunt her nightmares. She longs to see Shep and they're both coping, in a way. The events of that night had changed them. They know that the tragedy couldn't be the foundation of their relationship. It's not healthy. But the way the relationship builds over the course of the story, with trust and consent, I think the relationship works. This isn't a situation where the relationship is toxic. There's an understanding between the two grown-up parties and they take everything in stride.

I think that the sex scenes were hot, but they weren't exactly my cup of tea at times. Sometimes, yes, but then other times, no . It's really all personal preference at this point, so the BDSM will work for some readers and not for others, I think.

I felt like there were a lot more instances of both character's POV, where there was just a lot more telling of what was happening in a scene, than showing what was happening in the scene. I'm not personally a fan of this, since it takes me out of the story when this happens the entire book.

This book was shocking and enthralling to read. I just really didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by the story and the themes within. It's a lovely wilderness/nature book setting, and deals with trauma and takes a good look into how someone needs to deal with that in a healthy way. I love that this has a Caribbean, black heroine! I was hooked into the story and this is a fairly quick, sexy read. I look forward to reading future books in this Beards & Bondage series by Rebekah Weatherspoon!

***Thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op and the author for providing a copy of this book on NetGalley***

Haven had a really promising start but it lost me about halfway through - pretty much when all the hot sex started - and it went downhill from there.

I was digging the idea that Claudia and Shep felt a strong connection as a result of the events of that horrific night, and I was all on board when they agreed to comfort each other with some really kinky sex. Yes, they were refreshingly honest and upfront in coming to their agreement (the D/s relationship kinda requires it) but I couldn’t help but be left feeling cold with the perfunctory way they approached it. The sex scenes that started off really hot eventually became a turn off and I started skimming past them. Which is a shame because kink or no kink, I adore a well-written sex scene, especially if they're emotionally charged. I just wasn't feeling a deeper connection, especially on Claudia's part, and it started to feel very much like she was in the throes of magic dick syndrome.

At the start of the book I'd got the impression that Shep was a proper Dom, but except for ordering Claudia around (and ordering stuff online), I didn’t really see that in the execution. It felt to me like the author tried to make the kink light and playful, which usually makes for a great fun time, but when there’s real trauma involved and real wounds they’re trying to heal (that was the purpose of this entire week together, after all), it defeats the purpose and I felt that their D/s connection lost a lot of its substance.

Speaking of trauma, I almost feel like the fact that Claudia was jumped in the woods by strangers and ran barefoot for two miles in the pitch dark while being hunted down was... sort of glossed over. I meant, don't get me wrong, I know she had the physical wounds to show for the horrific events, and yes, it's obvious she's in deep mourning from losing her brother, and that she's got... some emotional scarring, that was there, and kinda vague, and never really discussed. I guess I'm saying that if this had happened to me, I'd probably be too afraid to leave my apartment or sleep with my lights off - never mind go traipsing back across the country and into those very same woods. I know every person mourns differently, and that fear or anxiety manifests (or doesn’t manifest) itself differently as well, but at times I felt like her brother could’ve just as well have been killed in a remote car crash somewhere, as opposed to at the violent hands of two serial killers who nearly got her, too. I did see more of her PTSD surface towards the end of the book, but that's when things got super confusing and she ran and then somehow (off-page) got herself sorted enough to come crawling back to Shep. I was not convinced, and I was not a fan of the way she waltzed back into his life (this life was turned upside down too, by the way, thank you very much)

If I didn’t think about it too hard or dig too deep, Haven was a light and sexy erotica. I enjoyed that it was written in dual POV (I don’t read much m/f romance anymore, but back when I did, the POV was almost always female, so the M/F POV was nice). I do wish Claudia's character described him more though, or showed more appreciation for him physically beyond his massive dick (by what little I could gather, he was an impressive specimen but all she kept talking about was his peen - come on, at least describe his eyes or his hands or his forearms or something). Just more appreciation of his character in general would've been nice really. His POV on the other hand constantly described how beautiful she was. So yeah, I guess I thought Shep deserved better.

I loved this so much! Everything I was looking for. A quality read that is hot and unique.

I completely loved this book and would definitely recommend it to my Adult-literature-loving friends!
I'm not one to read books with BDSM in them, mostly because my favorite books are in the Young Adult category. Also, I have to admit that the whole Fifty Shades hype ruined the whole genre for me, but I am very happy that I gave this book a chance because it is everything one could ever ask for a book of this kind.

Consensual and SAFE sex between adults who have a dark past and make somehow, make each other better..

4.5/5 stars - Full review will be coming soon!

I've never read Weatherspoon... I'll be changing that in moments as I prepare to buy all the books because, whoa.

This was a freaking awesome book. I loved the prose, the honesty of the characters, the raw feelings that were so genuine, the hot af sex, and the quiet peace throughout. I loved the instant jump into the story, the way it moved with ease, and dug itself into me, not letting my mind go.

If I have anything to wish for it would be for the last chapters to not feel so rushed. I wanted more from the characters because in the end it all felt a little too neat and tidy. But perhaps that is where we'll pick up in the next book? This is listed as a #1, so I'm assuming there will be more... I just hope it's more with Claudia and Shep.

Recommended.

How can I pass up a series titled, Beards & Bondage?? What I liked most about this story is while it is erotic, and there is a beard, and there is some bondage, their courtship is presented so well. And the trauma and recovery the heroine goes through in this book felt so realistic.

Claudia is from the city but goes on a camping trip with her brother but they run into big trouble. Two men attack them, killing her brother and severely wounding her. The only reason she is alive is because she ran to a cabin, and directly into Shepherd Olsen, or just Shep. He lives in this remote cabin and is a nature photographer. He takes one look at the bloody woman, sees her attacker and after a brief warning, shoots. He rushes her to the hospital and answers all of the police questions. He feels protective over Claudia, as her parents are dead and she just lost her beloved brother.

Shep is single, after his last girlfriend didn’t understand his dominate needs. He now spends one week a year at a BDSM club in LA, where he can act out his dominate fantasies, before retreating into the woods for the rest of the year. As Claudia slowly recovers in the hospital, he spends time with her and gives her the comfort she is craving. And then she goes back to the city and to her life.

Claudia has a hard time adjusting back to her life. She is grieving her brother, she dumps her boyfriend and quits her job. She is lost – and after a few months, finds herself going back to that mountain in search of Shep.

Before she makes that journey, the reader has a glimpse into Claudia’s life after she goes back home. I think about four to six months pass as the author allows you to see how Claudia is living.

My brother is gone. After weeks and weeks of being told to be patient. I can’t even do the weird things I’ve been dreaming of like squeezing his hand one more time or kissing his forehead and telling him I’m comforted by the fact that he’s with our parents again. I’m not looking at my brother. I’m looking at a slashed and gutted husk sutured back together again, a grotesque monster movie version of what my brother used to be. The pain rises in my chest again. The crashing is back in my ears. I can hear his screams, mixing with the sounds of the brush crunching under my feet. The sounds of that man chasing me. I’ve tried to cope without my brother these last few months, but when I see him, we are back in those woods again.

Her grief felt so real to me. I’m so glad the author took her time in showing us that Claudia is grieving and feeling lost.

Besides the realistic nature of Claudia’s traumatic experience and how she has a hard time coping afterwards, I also loved how these two communicate and are honest with each other. If every romantic couple could do this, it would erase so many unnecessary fights. It’s scary to be honest, but Claudia is at a point where it’s either be honest or live in a black hole for the rest of her bleak life.

“Option two is I come here and I tell you that I’ve been wanting to see you in this very specific, weird way. I think it’s some sort of survivor’s thing. I mean I know it is. But I don’t know how you enter into any interpersonal relationship that way. Like this super fucked up thing happened and we were both there. Wanna be friends?”

When they are reunited, it’s a little awkward but it’s also hopeful. Shep tells her what he likes out of a physical relationship, and while Claudia is not that well versed in BDSM, she wants to try it. She wants to be there for his fantasies, all the while hoping it will help her find what she is looking for – and it does. They are both a little lost in life, Shep trying to recover from the messy situation of breaking up with his last girlfriend and the remote life he leads.

“Not a complete mountain man, are you? I thought you were gonna teach me how to whittle wood into the shape of a deer while we stared at the fire and you told me about the old days before indoor plumbing.” She freezes then looks up at me. “Shit. You do have indoor plumbing right?”

“Yes. And I don’t know how to whittle.”

“Shame.”

They give themselves one week to explore each other and what the other needs and they take on life together for that week. It’s scary for them at first to open up and allow the other to see their vulnerabilities and wants and desires. But they trust each other and realize their feelings run deep.

And it’s mighty sexy. And verra dirty and erotic.

She’s looking at me. Waiting. I flip the switch.

And they are off. Hold on tight Claudia.

Very much looking forward to more in this series.

Grade: B+

***4.5 Stars***

Strong heroine + introverted, kinky, dominant mountain man = LOTS of great sex in the mountains y'all!!!!

The blurb for the book gives you all the information you need for the plot PERFECTLY...but let me add to that and tell you what else you're going to get.

Anyone who knows me or reads my reviews knows that I'm pretty hard on my heroines. And I gotta tell you...I've got an epic girl crush on Claudia! Her strength and honesty throughout this book is amazing! She's been through a very traumatic event and she's trying to navigate through her emotions in this new version of herself...the version that has survived a brutal attack, lost her brother, and is drawn to the touch of a stranger.

Her vulnerabilities were palpable throughout this whole book, but so was her confidence. She's a woman who knows her body, knows her wants, her needs....and she isn't afraid to ask for any of it.

"I want you to hurt me. I want you to degrade me. I want you to turn me into a nothing little slut and then build me back up again. I want to feel something that isn't THIS for as long as possible. I need something to break. I need something in me to finally shatter. I couldn't get myself there at home and everyone around me was all about me pushing forward, but you can give me this. I know you can."


Claudia owned her sexuality. I can't get over how sex positive this book is. There was no shyness about her body, or hiding the fact that she enjoyed a good, hard fuck, or the fact that she loved the power of being down on her knees for a man.

I'm telling you...serious girl crush. Claudia did not play around.

"I quit my job. And I dumped my boyfriend."

"Because of the nightmares."

"Because neither was making me feel better when I was awake."


Let's turn our attention to Shep, shall we?

Oh what a leading man he was! Who would have thought to come up with an introverted Dominant? Rebekah Weatherspoon, that's who! Shep was quiet and thoughtful and liked his isolated world on the mountaintop. He also likes control and the sound a flogger makes against a woman's body.

Even though he's dealing with his own aftereffects from their initial meeting, he took such care of Claudia...she came first. He saw she was struggling emotionally, and he would do whatever he could to give her the comfort she was searching for....that they both were searching for.

And that brings me to one of my favorite things about this book....SEX DIDN'T SOLVE THEIR ISSUES! Yep, you read that right. Magic peen didn't give Claudia the a-ha moment where everything was magically okay. And Shep didn't wake up one morning thinking that he didn't need his flogger or his mountain.

This is a story about two people who were brought together by horrible circumstances and find a comfort in each other because of that shared experience. That event bonded them, but their honesty and openness is what made their relationship evolve into so much more.

That brings me to my next favorite thing...THE BANTER!! Oh man, it's great! I'm not even going to say anything...I'm just gonna give you a few snippets of my highlights (and I highlighted the crap out of this book!)

"I can't remember the last time I came that hard."

"I try not to oversell it."


It's not all serious folks. This book has its emotional moments, but it's not weighed down by this big dark cloud of a tragedy floating above the MC's heads. There's humor and sass and lighthearted moments of Netflix watching...it's two people getting to know each other and everything that comes with that.

"Took you fucking long enough," I say as I stand. I want to cancel this stupid dinner and spend the rest of the night worshiping her body on my own dining room table.

"Phsst whatever, bitch. You cannot rush perfection and you know I look good."

"You look amazing."

"I would be a jerk and say something smart about how you're not that cute, but you're sexy as hell and I want you to do all kinds of things to me right now."

"When we get back. I'll do things."

"What kind of things?"

"Kind of fucked up things."

"I like that."


See? The banter - great! Claudia - Awesome!

I do have to give one tiny disclaimer...the author's writing style does take some getting used to (at least it did for me). It's a bit choppy at times and can lack contractions. I know this may not bother some, but for me it made me stumble in my reading. The delivery is straighforward in a way that I'm not accustomed to.

My only other niggle is a bit of a rushed ending and I'm not the biggest fan of time jumps. I would have liked more elaboration of what happened during that time. Even with my bit of issues, I'm still very satisfied with the ending (even though I'd classify it as more of a HFN - though I have no doubts that these two are coasting towards an HEA).

I'm not sure who the next book in this series is about (I'm hoping it's Claudia's BFF, Liz - she was just as awesome...and let me add "positive and supportive female friendships" to my big ol' PRO column for this book!). Whatever and whoever it's about...I know I'll be reading it.

Rebekah Weatherspoon is a new-to-me author that I'm so happy was recommended to me. If this book is anything to go by, I'm about to do some serious damage to my bank account and fatten up my kindle. Off to buy her entire backlist...

Cranky mountain men are THE BEST. Seriously. I adore all their grumbling and groaning and how they end up doing the right thing even as they're fighting against it. Throw in a city girl in a bad situation (seriously, Claudia's introduction to Shep's mountain is nothing short of deeply traumatic) and it's fantastic.

Not that Claudia's trauma was good, mind you, but it put her in Shep's orbit and they took it from there. Eventually. They both had things they had to come to terms with before they found their happily ever after (death and mayhem will do that to a person's psyche, you know), but they worked through them.

Between the gorgeous cover and the sexy times with an experienced Dom (it's been a while since I read one of these books, btw, and I totally remember why I dig a well-written one!), I was hooked. I'm very curious who the next book is going to be about. Verra curious.

I am not that big a fan on romance erotica, so I was a little worried when I started this book thinking it was going to be your typical "over the top" sex scenes with awful description and no connection whatsoever between the MCs... I could not have been more wrong. I have read some pretty bad smut, but the smut presented here is really good. I felt it was real and it portrayed an important aspect when doing roleplaying( BDSM) which is consent. I love how the MC both look after each other, the sassiness they showed, the chemistry they both had even though they hardly knew each other. The author wrote them so beautifully you could FEEL that chemistry. I gave this book 5 stars and it's a must recommend.

I liked this book until the end and would have given it 5 stars if it wasn't for the ending.

It went at a great pace that was realistic and not insta-love. Then I hit about 87% and everything happened at once and it just jumped time with no real explanation. I liked Shep and I felt sorry for him that he had to deal with the small minded people that lived in his town. He was done so wrong and he was sweet. Sexy too, a tad too much kink for me, but fit him. I like Claudia at first then she pissed me off. Shep was trying to help and she just did him wrong just like the other women in his life. I can't say much because it will give it away.... but I didn't like what she did and it ruined the story to the point where I didn't like her anymore.

Maybe I am just picky, but it was soooo good then yuk 😔

Received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I probably should not have requested this book, because it is just not my cup of tea. This is in no way a knock to the author or her writing. There is just more BDSM than I realized.