Master by Fate

*3.75Review for all 3 booksI decided to review this as a whole because, though split into three (3) parts or five (5), counting the prequel [b:Family by Fate 42989897 Family by Fate (The Accidental Master #0.5) M.A. Innes https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543529102l/42989897.SY75.jpg 66823990] and Orlando, a sort of extended epilogue included in the AB of the complete series, it's one story. This another of [a:M.A. Innes 15179896 M.A. Innes https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1612039247p2/15179896.jpg]'s vanilla-kink stories that hits the spot when you want sweet with a nod & wink towards kink, like right now. [a:Kenneth Obi 17596815 Kenneth Obi https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s delivery is the necessary cream on top. Cooper and Sawyer are two boys who, after graduating from high school, found themselves discarded by their families. Four years down the road they've made themselves into their own family of two and along the way have embraced their preferred kink: puppyhood. The only hitch is that they're both subs and need/want a Master. After a screw-up with an ad they come into contact with Jackson a forty-something who owns an actual dog training business. One things leads to another and they find they're each what the other needs, even what they didn't know they wanted As usual with this author, she gives us a story with a kink or composition that can quite frankly be weird or taboo and render it like a mainstream contemporary MM romance complete with HEA and more loving than angst. Not an easy feat. She gives us believable romance and credible insight into the why of a preferred lifestyle all wrapped up with good intentions & humor. In the Innes world there are more good than bad people in the world, even when they express themselves inartful ways. I agree. Cooper, Sawyer, and Jackson complement each other's empty spaces and I was okay with that. Probably my favorite of them was Sawer, who thinks and deliberates his actions, Cooper is more of an eternal optimist who always sees the glass as half full, which is nice, but he's also hopped up on boundless energy which I'd find exhausting in RL and I felt he's sometimes portrayed as a bit infantile. I get a D/s relationship but IMO subs need to be able to function like rational, grown-up adults without having a constant minder. Jackson was this perfect Dom, all patience, caring, without a sadistic bone in his body, and the perfect family to boot. I liked him very much but had to add some goodwill to accept how quickly he fell into Dom mode. We're told he's always been a bit domineering in his past relationships, and he does do his research into the lifestyle, but it still felt too easy to me. Not the falling in love, which is fast, but Jackson's ALL IN to Dom mode in the wink of an eye. It felt only romanclandia true. I also would've liked to see Sawyer & Cooper deal or resolve the issues with their blood relatives. Cooper's are swept into the “all will be well in time” folder and Sawyer seems to have no family. It happens but ... odd. I'd still recommend this, particularly when you just want to be distracted or wrapped up in an eiderdown comforter, however it's probably better to parcel out the parts and not do it in one go as I did. It's 20.5 hours and many of those are dedicated to sex which YIKES can get repetitive? Yup.