Review: Endings and Beginnings by KC Wells and Parker Williams

Authors: KC Wells and Parker Williams

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Length: 350 Pages

Category: Contemporary, BDSM

At a Glance: This book puts a period on what is an amazing series. Well done!

Reviewed By: Carrie

Blurb: In all his relationships, Darren Fielding never found the level of intimacy he witnessed between Thomas Williams and his sub, Peter, the day of Peter’s “rebirth.” Not only that, he never realized such intimacy was possible. For two years, Thomas’s business card has been burning a hole in his wallet. When Darren’s lover moves on, maybe it’s finally time to see where that card takes him.

Collars & Cuffs’ new barman, JJ Taylor, is really conflicted right now. He went to the club with a very specific purpose, already convinced of what he’d find there. Except it’s not what he expected at all. He certainly didn’t anticipate finding himself drawn to the new wannabe Dom. Nor could he have guessed the direction that attraction would lead him.

Old love, new love, vows, pain, rage, moving in, moving on…. The members of Collars & Cuffs face an event that touches some of them deeply, but it will only reinforce what they already know: together they are stronger, and some bonds cannot be broken.

Review: Sniffs. It’s over. Sniffs. I loved this series. But… Yay! Cannot wait for the men of Secrets who will tell their tales beginning next year (insert fan girl squeal here).

It all began with An Unlocked Heart, and an incredible series full of depth and emotion began. Endings and Beginnings is book eight in this series, and the final book in our journey through the lives of the men who call Collars & Cuffs BDSM Club home. This series has covered so many aspects of the BDSM lifestyle and has never shied away from telling the hard emotional tales these men have. Usually in a series you know which books you liked best over the others (and I definitely have my favorites), but in this case I can say that I have truly enjoyed all the books in this series. KC Wells and Parker Williams have a writing style that is spot-on and character driven, which makes each of these books an individual treat. While there is an overall arc and backstory, each of these books is a standalone in its own right—except for this last one—which ties up several storylines and therefore, may be confusing if you have not read the books these men were featured in. I am so glad that this series didn’t stop after the first three, as the authors originally intended. This book does skip around a bit, trying to tie up loose ends for all the different couples, and to set you up for the new series coming, and I have to say that I understand why they wrote it that way, but I wish there had been more of just Darren and JJ. I feel like their relationship together, after the establishment of trust, wasn’t fully explored.

Darren Fielding owns the salon that many of the local Doms bring their boys to. He has seen first-hand the kind of intimacy and connection these men have together and craves that same connection for himself. He’s not a Dom, even though he has always had domineering tendencies and likes his sex on the rougher side. He’s a newbie, checking out the club and seeing if it fits with the direction he wants his life to go in. Walking into the club feels like coming home for him—but taking on the responsibility of a submissive is huge and Darren, while anticipating it, is still apprehensive. However, he cannot ignore the instant chemistry and connection he feels toward the bartender at the club.

“And the idea that one day Darren could find someone to depend on him, to gaze at him with the overwhelming intensity that Peter had when he and Thomas were together? Yes, he wanted that. More than anything in life, he wanted someone to care for. To share a life with. To know he would be the guiding light for someone would be more than Darren could hope for.”

JJ Taylor is a mess. He’s lived with lies for so long he doesn’t know if he can come out from behind the walls he has built up around himself. Seeing and talking to Darren is scary and wonderful all at the same time, but he doesn’t know if he can open up and have the kind of relationship that Darren wants from him. Learning that he is submissive, and embracing that aspect of his personality, leads him to develop relationships with the other submissives at the club and teaches him that not all people are out to deceive him.

“The level of trust between Doms and subs. God, he wanted that. He longed for it. To have someone who believed in him. Someone he could trust in. Someone who’d keep him grounded in the here and now, rather than letting him dwell on the past fiction that was his life. He’d watched them at the club. Ben had Scott. Leo had Alex. Thomas had Peter. And there were others too. “I want that too.” He whispered his heartfelt desire, let it out into the open in the hope that someone heard it.”

I think it is apropos that this last book is about two men who are so new to the lifestyle. After all, Collars & Cuffs will continue on even if the men inside it change and evolve, and it is also apropos that the book ends with Jarod and Eli beginning their journey to Secrets, their new BDSM club in London. This book puts a period on what is an amazing series. Well done!

You can buy Endings and Beginnings here:
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