Title: The Edge
Series: The Underground Club Tales: Book Three
Author: SJD Peterson
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 200 Pages
Category: Contemporary, BDSM
At a Glance: These men worked for their HEA, but Peterson wrote the story so that you, as a reader, are able to stay above the heady issues and let the story take you where it wants to. You won’t read a book where two men have fought harder for a chance at being together—not just being together but being healthy, happy, and whole—than Joshua and Nash.
Reviewed By: Carrie
Blurb: Submissive Joshua has struggled with his addiction to pain for years—something Dom Nash knew when he took Joshua on. Nash also knew their path wouldn’t be an easy one, but through commitment and determination, he peels back Joshua’s layers one by one, revealing a horrific history of abuse and neglect that spans Joshua’s entire life. Nash wants nothing more than to gain Joshua’s trust and help him find the happiness that’s eluded him so long.
Providing structure and discipline is only part of what Joshua will need on his way to recovery. He’ll need the help of Dr. Hobson and their close friends at the Underground BDSM Club to help hold Joshua together as he faces the trauma of his past. It’ll push him to the edge, but Nash will be there to keep him from falling into the abyss of despair, and if Joshua can come out on the other side, he’ll be a step closer to wholeness, healing, and happiness.
Review: Let me start this review with letting you know that this is not a standalone. This story begins in Limitless which is actually book two in the series. The first book in the Underground Club Tales is Override, and that book is a standalone whereas Limitless and The Edge, the next two in the series, are not; they need to be read together. These books cover the journey of Nash and Joshua, and you really need to read them in order to understand the depths of the story. Limitless and The Edge have gorgeous covers which help to tie the two books together nicely.
If you read my review of book two, you will know that I loved it; that was in December of 2016. My biggest beef with the book was that it ended so abruptly, and I hoped and prayed the story would continue, and it has! The Edge picks up pretty much where Limitless stopped; there is a little bit of overlap but just enough to get you picked back up to speed if you read the book over a year ago, like I did. However, to really refresh the experience I went back and read book one before I started this one, and I highly recommend doing just that. Being in Joshua and Nash’s world can be an immersive experience and the only way to get the most out of it is to start from the beginning. I will say I was a little surprised that Joshua was still in such a dark place, mentally, from where we left him in book one. And frankly, Nash was also. There really are two Joshua’s: the one he shows the world and the broken man within.
We quickly see once again the depths of Joshua’s issues. Your heart will break for this man, and you will only be at 5%.
An epic battle raged within Joshua, desire versus need, right versus wrong, worth versus insignificance. Tonight need, wrong, and insignificance were the clear frontrunners.
Aaaand we go on from there. Nash wants so much to be the Dom that gives Joshua what he needs—not necessarily the Dom that Joshua wants. For Joshua pain is his drug of choice, so that is the one thing that Nash cannot give him. Finding ways to assuage the desire and the craving for pain for Joshua takes us on a fascinating journey down a psychological pathway. Nash also needs to find a balance within himself; for him, being a Dom has always been about giving his subs the release they crave through pain. Seeing his marks on a sub’s body is a high for him also, so stepping back from that and dedicating himself to finding other alternatives for Joshua was something he had to do. For both men, admitting that they were in over their heads, and the way they both sought out counseling from healthcare professionals as well as other experienced Doms, help keep this story grounded in reality. There is no quick fix for Joshua, and that issue is given the weight it deserves.
Throughout the book we are privy to Joshua’s journaling, which is our insight into his feelings and gives us a better understanding of his deep depressive episodes, and a better glimpse into his destructive self-harm. It also gives us a gauge with which to measure where he starts versus how much better he is mentally at the end. His journal becomes a chronicle of his inner self and without it, we would always doubt whether Joshua was truly getting better mentally and emotionally.
It seemed through a great deal of the book that it was about two different storylines—Nash and his sub vs Joshua and his Dom. The stories ran parallel to each other since they were about the same men, respectively, but I wish we had a few extra pages at the end with the two of them together, when they finally got to a good place for both men. There was so much to overcome, so much for Nash to learn to be the Dom Joshua truly needed, and Joshua had to come to a place where he could let go of his past, not just lock it in a box in his mind. By the time you get to the epilogue, it’s like… whew! And I wish that part of the story could have been just a little longer, allowing us time to mentally rest and really put this relationship in concrete.
These men worked for their HEA, but Peterson wrote the story so that you, as a reader, are able to stay above the heady issues and let the story take you where it wants to. You won’t read a book where two men have fought harder for a chance at being together—not just being together but being healthy, happy, and whole—than Joshua and Nash. Yes, I recommend this book; it was the perfect ending for a story which piqued my interest from the beginning. I love stories that stay with you for a while after you have finished reading them, and this was certainly one of those. I’m also looking forward to more books in the series, and I hope that Peterson keeps it going.
You can buy The Edge here:
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