Cover Image: Becoming

Becoming

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Member Reviews

The combination of humiliation and bullying Rebecca experienced from both her roommate and potential love interest made this a book that I did not enjoy.

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Rebecca is a marketing student and her teacher recommends her to go apply for a job but when she gets there she’s not sure she really wants the job due to the type of business it is.

In the beginning I felt Rebecca was a strong woman but after reading a few chapters she did a 180 then after a few more chapters a 180 turn again.

Although I liked parts of it, the story was very hard to read, not because of the graphic abuse but it was a little hard to follow.

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I was provided a copy for review purposes.

When the tour host asked if I wanted to read a FF book I told her I had never read on before but I would give it a try. From page one I was drawn into the characters. There was a few moments that the story felt a little slow or where I felt like I could use more than just an overview, but overall it kept my attention and was a fast read. I liked the drama and how the new relationship brought Rebecca back from a dark place. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to more ff stories as well as more from the author.

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I didn't know that this book was linked a series; I read it only this book. So I missed out on a lot of the secondary characters' backgrounds and I felt a bit lost at times.

Rebecca Cuinn was raised by her Aunt Willamena, or Wills, after her parents died in a car accident when she was a little girl. Wills is only 10 years older than Becca, so instead of a motherly relationship, they become more like sisters. Wills is a very prominent and successful psychiatrist in her field. When Becca is in her senior year of college, her business professor offers her an opportunity to work for a company that could really use her brain and business skills to get them afloat. She agrees to go to the interview, not knowing that it will change the test of her life profoundly.

She meets Samantha, a Dominant, also the owner of the club. Rebecca is a bit disgusted by her and fascinated as well. She treats her staff and basically everyone like trash, including Rebecca. By the second month she's working for her, she's her sub. A year later, she NO longer is allowed at the club, Sam has found a new love of drugs, she used Rebecca as a violent outlet. Yet she doesn't know why she can't leave her. Becca has long since stopped talking to her aunt, knowing that she will be on the next plane of she hears her voice.

One night Sam comes home stoned and beats Rebecca, then gets high. Then she starts again, but collapses, begging her for help. Rebecca hesitates, all those years of beatings when she begged for help and she just laughed and kept going on. So Rebecca waited, and Sam died of a heartattack. Before Rebecca passed out of her own injuries, she texted her friend. When she woke up she was safe. Sam left injuries that were permanently physically, mentally, and emotionally. So the sun becomes a Dominant, and the Mistress is born.

Now she's running the club full time, only behind a leather mask. No one has seen her face. The only scars that are bad are on her back, Dr. Hunter Vale did a great job fixing her face, but Rebecca is self conscious. She dominated subs both men and women for a few years in her own private room until she got bored and closed down the room. Her clients were very upset, but she didn't care. She was never intimate with anyone there were no emotional connections made.

One night while watching through her office window above the club, she sees a beautiful woman with a private party. She does the unthinkable and breaks her own rules.

Cass Giles hates authority, so coming to a BDSM club for her best friend's bachelorette party is out of her comfort zone. When she receives a drink, followed by a pink invitation card she's curious; especially when the waitress who handed her the card whispers to her that she thought "they were a myth. "
What Cass doesn't expect when she enters the pink room, that she would enjoy the experience so much. She wants more with the Mistress, or the person behind the Mistress. When the Mistress disappeared for 2 months for business, it devastated Cass. She showed up every night looking for her.

Rebecca found herself becoming too attached to Cass after just 2 scenes. So she took a job for 2 months in NY for Eve. But all she could think about was the young woman. They are 16 years apart in age. That's the biggest problem.

When she comes back to LA she accidentally runs in to Cass and they talk about everything.

When outside sources try to come between the couple combined with insecurities on both sides, will they make it??

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I loved Becoming. It was great to read about Rebecca and Cass meeting and falling in Love. I liked Rebecca’s transformation and how she let Cassidy in to her life. I felt both characters grew a lot and showed each other that they can balance each other. It was interesting to see how Cass reacted at first to the introduction of some submission to the Mistress and how she grew to like it. The characters are very strong in Becoming. I loved it so much that I reread it over already. It’s definitely a great book to check out and I highly recommend it.

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When I first heard this book was coming out, I was really excited and to a point dreaded knowing a bit more of Rebecca’s last, so when I realized that we were also going to see more of Cass and Rebecca’s relationship I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Above all this was a good book, it was enjoyable and to a certain point believable. I would be lying if I said that I read it only once, because in reality I read it three times and am still captivated by it.

One of the things I did not enjoy, was that if you read the novella that came out previously, you can practically skip at least one of the first chapters, it just seemed repetitive. Another thing I disliked was the lack of depth when it came to the drama. I expected more aggressiveness when Rebecca confronts Cass’s friend near the end, her treat seemed to be lacking passion and that certain something that would have made Rebecca way more attractive than what she already is.

One last thing I would have changed, was that when the “roles” were reversed, we did not get to see a scene with Cass being dominant. To me, that would have added vulnerability to both characters and would have taken them to another level.

Above all, I am glad that I was fortunate enough to have read this book ahead of its publication date.

Will read more of this author, and certainly hope to read more content involving these two characters that I have grown to adore.

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I received this book in exchange from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. This was the first book I read from Jourdyn Kelly. I liked the perspective from the Domme's view. I did struggle with how quickly the intensity and longing happened, but it is believable.

It is a novella but it is a beautiful love story.

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This is the first book of Jourdyn Kelly's I have read. I liked it a lot, and already it is not the only book of the author’s I have read.
I found the main characters, Rebecca and Cass, to be complex but engaging people. Their attraction to each other is genuine but obviously comes with personal challenges. Rebecca’s backstory is tough but sets up the rest of the story well. The romance develops at a nice pace, with the expected ups and downs, and the erotic scenes are hot but completely appropriate. There are some good secondary characters that really help the story.
At the end of the book I found myself wishing to find out more about all the characters and their stories, and overall, I can say I enjoyed it very much.

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I didn’t read the novella that this book is based on, and it’s my first Jourdyn Kelly book. I liked the characters and the story, but I felt like the book could’ve been better edited. It felt long for the amount of story involved. I love age gap romances and this one had a little “melting the ice queen” as well. Nice job with character development of the two main characters, Rebecca and Cassidy.

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Thank you NetGalley and Jourdyn Kelly for this early release copy.
I had trouble figuring out how to rate this book.
The instant lust between Cassidy and Rebecca is completely believable and kinda even expected given the book genre. I had a bit more trouble coming to terms with the desperate longing and inclinations of love after less than 3 interactions...all of which had nothing but sex involved in those interactions.
I think it was more difficult to get wrapped up in the insta love between Cassidy and Rebecca since the initial relationship Rebecca had with Samantha seemed so much more developed. That Samantha & Rebecca took so much time to move to fruition and even more time to degrade made it a little disappointing when Cassidy and Rebecca got so absorbed in each other so quickly.
There was a lot of drama thrown in here so you do get sucked up into the story despite all that and it helped that the author even mentions later on how crazy it was for them to be falling in love so fast. I mean at least they were aware how ridiculous it was.
The supporting characters were really entertaining and a welcome addition to the story.
I especially enjoyed Aunt Wills.

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When I read ‘Fifty Shades of Pink’ six months ago I thought it was a fantastic erotic novella but I had wanted more because I liked the characters and much more depth was hinted at. Well, ‘Becoming’ is the ‘more’ I wanted. Where ‘Fifty Shades of Pink’ was sexy with a connection, ‘Becoming’ encases that period in time with their backstories and the negotiating of a relationship around some fairly simple obstacles like an age difference to dealing with years of abuse.

Rebecca is a brilliant college student undertaking a double degree in business when she meets Samantha, owner of a BDSM club, in order to assist in making the club profitable. Samantha is charismatic but also unstable and abusive. Years later, Cass finds herself in the club because her best friend has decided to have her bachelorette’s party there. She finds herself invited to the pink room by the mistress and curiosity motivates her to go even though kink is not her thing. This is when ‘Fifty Shades of Pink’ is set. There is a bit of repetition here but there is so much more that follows. Cass is the first person in years that Rebecca has been intrigue by but much as she tries to stay away, she is constantly drawn to her.

If you want a quick, erotic read with some BDSM then ‘Fifty Shades of Pink’ is a great read. If you want a romance with some angst, some exploration into the sexual power exchange, relationship development, engagement with numerous secondary characters and a lot of sizzling chemistry then ‘Becoming’ is just as good. I can easily recommend reading both but not back to back because of the repetition. It didn’t bother me at all because of the time and number of books I read in between the two.

Book received from Netgalley and Jourdyn Kelly for an honest review.

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Ive read a couple of other books in the LA Lovers series including the short novella on which this full book is based.

Whats to like? The story is unusual, yet with little drama going on. There was some serious drama towards the very end but that too was taken care of quickly.
Another aspect i liked was how quickly it moved showing the relationship moving forward. The author doesnt fast forward everything though. We stick around for some of the erotic / adult scenes but even those were done well.

What I didnt like? The subject matter itself (domestic abuse) left a lot to be desired. Also, I didnt really get the feel of Cass's character and how she helps brings out Rebecca from her shell. Besides the hotness and I miss yous, there didnt really seem to be anything real between them. I would have liked the pace to slow down in their downtime (when they werent being intimate) so I could understand the characters better.

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Awesone! Wow Jourdyn Kelly is a great author! Last year I read Coming Out and Fifty Shades Of Pink, and I loved both books. This book started off outlining Rebecca’s background. After reading the other books, I knew that Rebecca was a complex character with a difficult past, but reading her side, was....tough.. Ms Kelly did a great job with the writing and handled it well. To get Rebecca’s side to her first few encounters with Cass was fantastic. Then the book switched to encorporating both characters’ sides. This was a really excellent book. I absolutely love both Rebecca and Cass. Their relationship is wonderfully sweet and downright hot!! The book interwove Eve and Lainey and Hunter and Ellie which was an added bonus I highly highly recommend this book!!

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I was a fan of novella, and I’m also a fan of the novel. What I also like is Rebecca’s point of view in the novel, which perfectly complements Cassidy’s one in the “Fifty Shades of Pink”. Now, somehow, the story is complete. I liked the scenes and I like Rebecca as a character a lot.

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