**I received a copy of Taking the Lead from Net Galley and the author in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. My opinions are mine and not solicited in any way.**

Taking the Lead by Tara Eldana is what I think will be a series if the ending blurb which hinted to Ryan and Kristin story. Ms. Eldana is a new author for me and even though I don't read a lot of BDSM this book is well worth the 4 stars I gave it.

Jessa Andrews is a top reporter at Dateline Detroit but recent debilitating headaches has her wanting to know her genetic history as she never knew her dad. Enter twin brothers Ryan and Reece Boynton and their PI investigation agency. When she's attracted to both of them can she make a choice or will the share. Both men will introduce her to Kink link their club where she'll find out who she is with both Ryan and Reece's help.

When she find her father will she be able to approach him? When her headaches become worse the brothers will find the best neurosurgeon in Chicago for her hoping that he'll be able to get all of the cyst. Will she be able to chose between them or can Jessa best friend Kristin be the Dom that Ryan needs?

The story took a wrong turn for me.

I was really liking this until the main storyline took an unexpected turn and I just couldn’t get into it after that. This was a good primer on BDSM and D/s, and I thought it was hot. But there were several things about it that I didn’t like. There were also things that I did like, so it isn’t a complete waste of time.

This is the story of a reporter named Jessa. There are several storylines but the main one was about her falling for two private investigators she hires to find her birth father. Reece and Ryan are identical twins and they are into Kink. They like to share women and are members of a local BDSM club.

Jessa’s best friend Kristin is a member of the same club and she is learning to be a Dom. Kristin wants to bring Jessa to the club to get her out of her shell. Jessa’s mother recently died of pancreatic cancer and Jessa is having some medical issues (headaches and dizziness). Her mother never told her about her birth father before she died, so Jessa only has a name, but she wants the medical history on her fathers side to see if what she is experiencing could be genetic.

Jessa is already attracted to the twins voices after working with them over the phone on one of her articles for her job as a reporter. When she meets them to hire them she is even more so, and they are attracted to her as well. Reece and Ryan see Jessa at the BDSM club when she goes as Kristin’s guest and they both decide they want her.

Reece and Ryan are into kink and Reece is definitely a Dom, they had a thing with their office assistant prior to meeting Jessa. As Jessa watches a D/s scene with them at the club they explain to her what is going on through the whole scene. Jessa is turned on and wants to explore a relationship with the twins. However, at one point Ryan talks to his college buddy Frank, about BDSM and D/s and one of the issues I have with the book is the fact that when Reece is with Jessa the first time, he keeps thinking of all the things Frank said.

I think Frank was just a character used as a device for Reece’s thoughts to teach the reader more about D/s, but it didn’t make sense if the twins have belonged to the club for a while and had other relationships like that. I would think Reece should know all that stuff and not be referring to the fact that Frank said aftercare was important and all the other things he refers to in his mind. Reece had already explained to Jessa about aftercare that time in the club. I just thought it was odd and didn’t really make sense.

I won’t go into the main plot and the change in direction that turned me off, because I don’t want to give away anything and it could just be me that didn’t like it. Though there are a few other things that didn’t flow the best. Like the fact that Jessa is covering a trial for her newspaper and someone involved with the trial leaves a note on her car windshield at home.

It is taken as a sort of threat and seemed like just a plot device to have Reece and Ryan stay with her. It is never explained who wrote the note and why. Though later some meth addict threatens her and again it isn’t clear why or if he was the one that left the note. I was interested in the trial, there was a neighbor to the couple on trial that keeps talking to Jessa and I couldn’t figure out why he was even there.

The last thing that bothered me is after we know that there is going to be a Happily Ever After, the book seems to go on for too long, almost like a bunch of chapters are epilogues, and they all included some steamy scenes which at that point I didn’t really care about. The book had been really steamy all along, so by the time I know they are happy, I pretty much just want the book to end unless there is another twist.

Like I said, the romance is really steamy and the part about Jessa looking for her birth father, and her medical issues was great. So the book did not completely disappoint me. I will give it a heat index of 4 out of 5 flames for how hot and steamy it was 🔥🔥🔥🔥. As for my rating, I think probably 3 out of 5 because of the issues I had.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.