Willing Victim: Willing or Not?

Making the Grade: B+

For My Thoughts


I decided to read Willing Victim by Cara McKenna because there was a lot of Twitter talk about this book and I wanted to see what all the hoop-la was about. I guess the fact that this book contained some questionable practices in the bedroom (read rape fantasy role playing) was cause for some concern. Color me intrigued and since E-books are only a click away…I clicked it right onto my Itouch (yes it is much too easy to purchase any book at any time with just the click of my mouse).

I thought when I started this book it was going to be all about raunchy, dark, kinky action behind closed doors (mmmm what does that say about me?). Well I was pleasantly surprised - oh don’t get me wrong it had all of the above but it had a story too.

Flynn comes across a bit brash and rough around the edges and he’s definitely a man of few words, but those he does say in his cute Bawston accent are honest and straightforward. Construction worker by day, a fighter in a some underground gym by night, Flynn pulls no punches in the bedroom - he’s a big, bad Alpha all the way.

Laurel was intrigued by Flynn (as was I) from the first moment she laid eyes on him, proceeded to follow him to a sub-shop and join him for lunch. Some light flirting ensued and Flynn tried to warn Laurel or Sub-Shop girl as he nicknamed her ( and I loved it every time he called her that - so cute) that he was not the guy for her. Good thing she didn’t heed his warning.

When these two finally hook-up there are no misconceptions about what Flynn likes and expects in the bedroom. I didn’t have a problem with his proclivities behind closed doors and the fact that he likes his sex rough including a little bondage and some struggling on the woman’s part - call it rape fantasy if you will, but no one got hurt (only in a good way) and everyone had their needs met and exceeded. Fun and games in the bedroom by two 100% consenting adults is totally ok in my book and what happens in Vegas the bedroom…stays in the bedroom.

The surprising part of this story was to see the growth in Laurel and Flynn’s relationship outside the bedroom…yes this book was more than just about the sex. Flynn went from being the kind of guy who was a take me or leave me, I won’t be chasing you or calling you , if you liked what we did in the bedroom kind of guy, then you better be calling me back to actually looking forward to seeing Laurel at the gym on fight night and having her cook for him and even enjoyed her fussing over him after a boxing injury.

Flynn was a cool cat, down to earth, all around good guy and was just the guy Laurel needed to broaden her horizons in and out of the bedroom where she was wallowing in a dead-end job as a waitress instead of using her engineering degree.

If you’re looking for a good exotic read and the blurb or any of the reviews don’t scare you away, then you are sure to be a enjoy Willing Victim.


From Goodreads:

For the past couple years Laurel’s been coasting, hiding in the backseat while her life drifts off course. Then one summer afternoon a tall, built bruiser named Flynn strides in and steers her straight into an infatuation she never saw coming.

Flynn introduces Laurel to things she’s never imagined—to the violent but exciting realm of the underground boxing circuit, to rough sex and even rougher role-playing, and to an attraction she craves even as it intimidates her. As Flynn invites her deeper into his world and his life, Laurel has to make a choice—let fear keep her holed up where it’s safe, or take a chance and fight for the man who makes her feel more alive than she’d dreamed possible.

Reader Advisory: Although all sex acts are 100-percent consensual, Willing Victim contains role-playing scenarios that may upset some readers who are sensitive about rape, even in a simulated capacity