I seem to have read three books almost in a row about children/couples getting kidnapped and then having a non-conventional relationship after it. This one has 3 parts, and it seemed overlong, but entertaining and with decent love/sex scenes. ( )

[b:Dirtiest Secret|26150622|Dirtiest Secret (S.I.N., #1)|J. Kenner|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1453060351s/26150622.jpg|46106536] (S.I.N., #1) by [a:J. Kenner|6459302|J. Kenner|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1449167361p2/6459302.jpg]
An Adult Contemporay Romance.
Although I liked it, I didn't like it enough to worry about following this series. The whole thing is just too labyrinthine for me. I love a good twist and turn in my stories, but this one just didn't do it for me. ( )

Ok, so this was my first foray into social taboo romance and I have some issues.

But not about the social taboo - I actually found that quite easy to over come, it didn't really hinder the romance too much for me.

The parts that were insurmountable to me was that in at least one of the sex scenes there was a MAJOR LACK OF CONSENT - as in one of the characters was unconscious!!! Now I know that romance novels have a shaky history with consent in sex scenes, especially older ones, however this book is only a few years old. Not only that, but this book is aware of other important sex conversations, such as what constitutes sex (a very lgbtiqa friendly approach where penetration is not the be all and end all of sex) and a somewhat (?) positive attitude to erectile dysfuntion. So the fact that there seems to be such a flagrant disregard for consent is all the more disappointing. ( )

I have to preface this review with the fact that I don't have a lot of experience reading this genre, aside from 50 Shades. I was impressed by the story line that drove the tale forward, the history of the kidnapping of the two main characters, it wasn't sappy or contrived, and it made me want to keep reading.
The history of the couple is that they have been friends since childhood. When Jane was little, her no-good dad ended up doing the family dirty for the last time, driving Jane's mom into the arms of another man. A very wealthy, famous man. Around the same time, this man's ended up adopting his brother's son, Dallas, and bringing him into the family home. The housekeeper's son Liam rounded out the trio of children in the house, the three of them becoming fast friends as well as close as real family. Jane, Dallas and Liam grew up together in this wealthy family, however no one knew that Jane and Dallas were secretly falling in love with each other. Siblings by adoption, they were conflicted by their feelings. Society and law say their love is forbidden but they fight against their attraction every day.
When Dallas begins acting out their father attributing his poor behavior to his biological father's illegal tendencies, and by the time they hit their mid-teens, their father has had enough. Dallas gets shipped off to a boarding school in Europe, effectively separating the two lovebirds for a while. One fateful weekend, Jane sneaks away to visit Dallas at his school, and tragedy strikes, as the two are kidnapped while stealing a moment to themselves. Held captive for several weeks, Jane eventually is released, but Dallas is held by himself for 4 extra weeks. This time of captivity has shaped the lives of both Jane and Dallas ever since.
Fast forward 15 years, and Jane and Dallas are both yearning for each other. Though they hardly ever see each other, they both long to be together, both realizing their love is still forbidden.
Dallas has turned into a serial womanizer, oftentimes jumping from one woman to the next (seemingly without even showering in between), and Jane has been following the stories about Dallas throughout the years. This book doesn't really end so much, as sets up a sequel to pick up where this book left off.
There is definitely explicit language, this is not a book I would loan out to my mom. But I did enjoy the story and it was definitely more well-written than other books I've read in this genre. I won this copy via Library Thing. ( )

Actual rating: 3.5

While I did enjoy this book, reading it felt a bit like walking through syrup - it was slow going. And while this book is supposed to be a romance, to me, it seemed more like dark contemporary fiction. The romance was there, but felt awkward. What really moved this forward was Dallas' work with Deliverance, and trying to find out who kidnapped him and Jane seventeen years ago. After finishing this book, I quickly started on the next in the series, Hottest Mess - and that one moved a lot faster. I actually had a hard time putting Hottest Mess down, and the cliffhanger is big enough that I cannot wait for the third book. Considering this is book one in a trilogy, it is hard to judge this book by itself - I will probably have a better idea of my true feelings after having read all of them. ( )