Review: Owned by the Sea by LM Somerton

Title: Owned by the Sea

Author: LM Somerton

Length: 164 Pages

Category: Contemporary, BDSM

At a Glance: I highly recommend this one. This is a novel that could have gone one of two ways—gritty and dark with the scope of the tragedy, or life moves on and new hope grows, which is the direction Somerton chose.

Reviewed By: Carrie

Blurb: Storms pass and, in their wake, new beginnings can be found.

Talented young artist Jonty Trelawn paints the sea as self-inflicted punishment. For almost a year he has hidden away from life, survivor’s guilt consuming him, but the time has come to move on. He conceives the idea of a charity art auction in support of the local lifeboat station and the men and women who saved his life. He hopes the tribute to his family will release him from the sea’s invisible chains.

Carpenter Jed Curnow is bound to the water in a different way. As deputy coxswain of the Govenek, the local lifeboat, his world revolves around the close-knit crew. He thinks nothing of risking his life to save others. Saving Jonty is less dangerous but just as important to him. He wants nothing more than to give Jonty the love and security he needs.

Jed’s dominant personality calls to Jonty’s more submissive nature but will he ever allow himself to be happy? It’s up to Jed and his best friend Marmite to help Jonty put his tragic past behind him and live for the future.

Review: Owned by the Sea is a standalone story written by LM Somerton, but frankly, if she wanted to make it a series and have the books set in the same idyllic English seaside town of Polruthan, I would read every one of them. This is a character driven novel by one of my favorite authors, and I have to say Jonty and Jed have made it to the top of my all-time favorite LM Somerton characters list. Hence, the need to not give them up just yet, and explore their dynamic in future stories. There are even a few secondary characters that I wouldn’t mind hearing what they have to say either!

Jonty is an artist. He’s turned into something of a recluse after the horrific accident at sea that claimed is family and almost claimed him. He’s working through his grief the only way he knows how, painting gorgeous paintings of all the moods of the sea which sits outside his window. Studying the sea is a double-edged sword for him, a comfort and a constant memory of all it took from him. It used to be that living at Cliff House, located on a lonely stretch of the Cornwall coastline, meant Jonty could put distance between himself and a father who never understood him. Now, it just means isolation. Living there has also fed his innate shyness, and after the accident happens and the ensuing press it received, Jonty has retreated from life. It’s been almost a year, though, and Jonty has decided to try and move on. He’s healing, emerging from his shell of grief, and wants to do something for the lifeboat crew who saved his life.

Jed was running the boat the day the sea claimed the Caroline. Being the rescue swimmer on the Lifeboat crew for this particular mission meant he went into the waves to save the soul with long white blond hair, never knowing if it was a man or a woman. It’s been ten months since that day, and when Jed’s friend Kelly, who runs the local pub, asks him if he will help the resident local artist/recluse who lives at the top of the hill with his ideas for an art auction to benefit the lifeboat station, Jed can’t refuse. He’s long been intrigued by the man he saved that day, and helping put together this auction will allow him to get to know the shy artist he saved. What Jed doesn’t expect is the instant attraction and his overwhelming need to take care of Jonty. Jed’s been a Dom for quite a while, and he never expected to find his perfect sub sitting under his nose on their remote section of the English countryside. His life as a woodworker and his dog Marmite keep him happy, and living in this small village all his life means he knows everyone around him.

This is a BDSM lite novel. Jonty is coming out of deep mourning and is new to the lifestyle. He’s had a smattering of experience in his life “before”, but that was a long time ago. At its heart this story is a romance between a shy artist and a burly woodworker/rescue sailor. Oh, and Marmite makes the perfect addition to the pairing. Marmite, a giant black Newfoundland, and his quirks get almost as much page time as our MCs do, and I have never loved a fictional dog character more. The secondary characters are plentiful and colorful and as I said before, I wouldn’t pass it up if Somerton decided to write about them. Despite the tragedy, which does happen on page, this is an incredibly easy read. The story paces along nicely and leaves you with a satisfying HEA between the MCs. Jed isn’t a hard-core Dom, he’s not a daddy, but he’s a caretaker. And that’s just what Jonty needs, especially when he starts to discover things about himself he suspected before but never really knew for sure—like how much he enjoys giving over control of his life to someone else. Somerton gives her picture of the Cornwall coast life and in turn, that sense of setting grounds this romance in real life.

I highly recommend this one. This is a novel that could have gone one of two ways—gritty and dark with the scope of the tragedy, or life moves on and new hope grows, which is the direction Somerton chose. Oh, and the Easter eggs from her former stories are the best. I love it when an author does this, and seeing them and recognizing them brought a smile to my face.

You can buy Owned by the Sea here:
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