Broken Dolls by Kitty Thomas

 

I didn't realize this was the sequel to GUILTY PLEASURES because if I had, I wouldn't have gotten it. But maybe that's a good thing because I actually enjoyed BROKEN DOLLS. This is the story of Mina, who has been horribly abused by all her Doms and now has scars all over her body. Her shady therapist, Dr. Lindsay, claims that he knows how to fix her (red flag): by selling her to a good Dom who will respect her.

Spoiler: Dr. Lindsay is actually kind of fucked up. When he's not therapisting, he's selling women as full-time slaves to other Doms, and living his best life in a compound called the Dome, which is where the hero, Brian, works. Brian is also the victim of abuse and every woman he "punishes" for Dr. Lindsay is a proxy for the one who hurt him most. But when he lays eyes on Mina and sees that he's as damaged as he is, for the first time in his life, he wants to put something back together instead of destroying it-- and that fucking terrifies him.

So I liked this book. It's not my favorite kind of story (I'm not personally a big fan of slavefic), but I think Kitty Thomas told it better than like 99% of any other author could. Also, a solid star is because this dude went after her abusers and brought them back in trash bags. That's the kind of unhinged chaos that I read dark romance for. Nobody does morally black like Kitty. The ending was a little abrupt but the core story was good. Yay for fucked up HEAs.

If you liked Zsadist from Black Dagger Brotherhood but wished he'd been a little more psychotic and cruel, you'll enjoy BROKEN DOLLS.

2.5 to 3 out of 5 stars