Forever Enslaved By: Ann Jacobs Series: Black Gold Book Number: 5 Star Rating: Sensuality Rating:

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Synopsis

Shana and Dahoud "Bear" el Rashid have been married for ten years, but his demanding work schedule and frequent, dangerous jaunts into the Iraqi desert in search of his cousin, Jamil, missing since the Gulf War, have Shana feeling frightened and lonely. Frustrated by her inability to get Bear to take her concerns seriously, Shana leaves him and their home in Kuwait to return to her family in Houston. In spite of the miles between them, their hearts and bodies still yearn for each other, a longing which they know only the other can fulfill. Bear is determined to win Shana back by reminding her of the time when they fell in love and proving once and for all that she is still his houri and they are both forever enslaved by their love for one another.

Review

Forever Enslaved continued the story of Bear and Shana that began in the first novella of the Black Gold series, Love Slave. The couple has been married for ten years and things have become rather rocky between them, causing Shana to leave Bear. Romances about married couples are rather rare, so I really enjoyed this aspect of the story, not to mention getting to read more about Bear and Shana was a treat. Having them still madly in love and so hot for each other after a decade and in spite of their differences was wonderful. I absolutely adore Bear. He's willing to play the dominating hero, but all of his actions toward Shana are filled with tenderness and love. I thoroughly enjoyed his willingness to gift Shana with every sexual fantasy she had ever expressed to him in order to prove his love and devotion to her. As with the first novella, I wasn't entirely into the menage scene, but I at least understood the reasons behind it. I was quite happy though that Bear was jealous enough to have trouble going through with it and that Shana had a last-minute epiphany about Bear being the only man she would ever need to satisfy her. The marital issues which made Shana leave Bear aren't explored in a lot of depth, but as the underlying cause is a pretty common problem, I could fully understand her feelings. I was also pleased to see that both of them realized that they were soul mates who simply couldn't live without each other and were willing to compromise to make things work in the future.

As one might expect with an erotic novella, it is primarily about the sex, and it was some of the most scrumptious sex I've ever read. In my opinion, the love scenes were laden with emotion while still being a bit kinky and full of intense passion. I was also thrilled to finally find an erotic author who knows how to write back-door lovin' with patience and gentleness, avoiding the "ouch" factor. There was also lots of variety in the love scenes with each one being completely different than the last which kept the sex from becoming too boring. Overall, this was another sweet, steamy, enjoyable read from Ms. Jacobs. Forever Enslaved is the second story in the Black Gold series. It makes mention of Bear's cousin, Jamil, who has been missing in action for the ten years since the Gulf War ended. He becomes the hero of the fourth story in series, Entrapped, which I'm really looking forward to reading soon. Forever Enslaved can be purchased as a separate e-book, and can also be found in the Sandstorms anthology.

Note: This novella contains explicit language and sexual situations which some readers may find offensive including bondage, anal sex, and a brief m/m/f/m menage.

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Ann Jacobs