I thought that this was a good story it was a bit slow in some parts I was glad that Linda was able to find happiness. I was also glad that Z and Jessica got married overall it was good. ( )

Cherise has topped herself with this one. I was curious going in how she would make a sadist a likeable character. After reading this Sam is now my new favorite character (yes that changes from book to book in the Shadowlands series) I absolutely loved that we got so much out of the club time with Sam and Linda. For me I felt that was important to show them as real people who regardless of what they needed sexually and emotionally that in the outside world they were just regular people who both had survived different traumatic experiences in their lives.

I absolutely loved loved loved this book and cannot wait for more. ( )

This one has to be my favorite in the series! ( )

The book title “This is Who I am” says it all. It is the personal acceptance of who you are. This is not a book about broken or damaged people who turn to the BDSM lifestyle to find themselves. This is a journey of love, acknowledgement, and acceptance of one’s self. This is two people who complement each other’s sexual tastes, desires and needs. This is a book about prejudice, and other people assumptions, a book where ones sexual taste defines them in the eyes of others.

What is sex, pleasure?
From a dictionary definition:

Sex: any act of touching intimately with stimulation giving excitement to a partner, male or female.

Pleasure describes the broad class of mental states that humans and other animals experience as positive, enjoyable, or worth seeking. It includes more specific mental states such as happiness, entertainment, enjoyment,ecstasy, and euphoria. In psychology, the pleasure principle describes pleasure as a positive feedback mechanism, motivating the organism to recreate in the future the situation which it has just found pleasurable

Seems simple enough to me, why wouldn’t everyone what that? How we get there is a question for each of us to personally deal with, and in my opinion, is not something that the community, family, friends or parties outside of the relationship need to be involved in.

Both Sam and Linda were good people, hard working, contributed to their communities, raised their children the best they could, were creative and caring. Cherise Sinclair did a great job giving us everyday normal people, people who would not normally stand out. Why should what we do in the bedroom (or chosen location) between consenting parties define who we are as people? Why we are not judged on our daily contributions to life and society?

If Linda had not been a victim of the human traffickers, had not testified, there would not have been any community, or family interest in her sexual life. For Linda this focus, made it difficult for her to come to terms with her personal desires and needs. I think Linda always knew there was something missing in her sexual life; she tried to ask her partners for more, but their shock, fear and un-acceptance of her requests lead them to label her as sick. It took a person like Sam, who enjoyed inflecting pain as part of the sexual act, to complement and free Linda of her fear that she was mentally damaged,dirty, or wired wrong.

Sam had come to terms with his sexual proclivities somewhere in his history, but had not resolved the emotional issues surrounding his ex wife, or his ability to verbally express love to those important to him. Sam’s relationship with Linda forced him to realize that there was emptiness in his life that she could fill. I actually had difficulty seeing Sam as a sadist, once the sex acts were completed, he was so warm, caring, and concerned for Linda, and others, he was just such a great guy!

The sexual scenes in this book are extremely tasteful, they are not crude, crass or thrown in for the shock value, they complemented the storyline and help us understand the needs and desires of both Sam and Linda. Although they may not be what we the reader experience in our journey to pleasure, I saw them as true to life practices that others may engage in.

Supporting Sam and Linda in their journey were our returning cast of characters from the Shadowlands, a few new trainees were added, but for the most part all characters are known to readers of the series. Interwoven into the main plot was the wedding of Z and Jessica, and a bit more on the aftermath of the human trafficking storyline from the previous book.

This was a difficult subject matter to have as a mainstream book, I applauded Cherise Sinclair , for her creative, artistic , and tasteful delivery of a beautiful love story, and journey to personal acceptance for our characters.

I enjoyed this book very much


( )

So we finally get Sam’s story. We have been waiting for this story for some time. I was surprised with this story. Samuel Davies has seemed so tough and self-reliant through all these stories. It was surprising to find that he was a tender and caring father and as well as a survivor of a very nasty and abusive relationship. Yes, men can be abused as well. I was pleased that Sam stayed true to his personality and isn't ashamed of being a sadist Dom. Finally you have to love a man that isn't afraid to say they messed up. There is so much more to Sam than we have read about in the other books. He is a farmer and rancher. He raises horses, citrus, a garden and he loves his dog. He is a caring father and a loyal friend. I loved that he wasn't afraid to take Linda’s kids to task for being so mean to her. As with all the other Masters of the Shadowlands he is protective of those he loves and those that he considers under his protection. Most of all I am glad that he didn't give up on Linda and he was smart enough to take Zachary’s advice.

Linda is the friend that Kim made while she was in slavery. She has been rescued and has been testifying against the despicable men that bought and sell women into slavery. Linda doesn't want to attempt that she is a submissive masochist. She just wants to be normal after all that she has been through. She is the daughter of a pastor and was raised to be obedient and vanilla. Her deceased husband never wanted any sex that was missionary and when Linda ask him for something different he accused her of being mentally ill. There is a problem though she has become antsy and irritable since her rescue. It doesn't take her long to admit that she needs what Sam gave her in TO COMMAND AND COLLAR. But she doesn't want Sam to beat her again. She is upset with him because he made her orgasm in front of everyone at the auction. When Raoul and Kim take Linda to the Shadowlands it isn't long before Sam steps in and shows Linda that she is a masochist. This begins a journey of discovery for Linda.

We also get Zachary and Jessica’s wedding in this book. It is so beautiful and heartwarming. The collaring ceremony was also very nice. Also we find out that Kari and Dan have had a baby boy. Everyone is thrilled with the new addition to the Shadowlands family. It was nice to see the other Masters and their submissives as well as the trainees. Finally the spotter for the Harvest Association is finally caught. It turns out that he is a serial killer.

This story is as intense as the previous book. Linda goes through much of the same stuff that Kim went through and to add to the stress she has a stalker that is painting nasty things on her house. If that wasn't bad enough she has a local reporter that is writing articles that are less than sympathetic to what she has been through. I will also warn all those readers that are new to BDSM books there is a lot of spanking, flogging and the use of nasty whips throughout this story. Sam is a sadist and Ms. Sinclair doesn't sugar coat that in any way. There is also the use of cramps, plugs, vibes and other things that sadist find for very fun to use. For those that love this genre this is a must read book. ( )