3.5* ( )

A good sexy read. 3.5 Stars ( )

Very good book which I couldn't put down. I have to admit, the first section of the book made me very uncomfortable and it was a bit hard for me to read. I didn't like Ethan until the second half of the book. The fact that he let David spend a few days alone outside, in the rain no less, and no food really bothered me. There was no apology for it and he really didn't seem to care.

I enjoyed the second half very much and will be reading more from this author. ( )

I normally avoid M/M romance and erotica, but Indigo Wren's THE TRAP is making me wonder if I've made a terrible mistake - because it is AWESOME and it is HOT.

I really want to throw my 0.02 in about the issue of David's deprivation at the beginning of the story, which seems to have occasioned the most conflict from other reviewers. My first comment, the most important one, is: if you can read a sample of the book, check out the the first few pages and see how it strikes you. I knew by the time that I hit the "buy" button on my Kindle that I was fine with the relationship the author was introducing - I knew that I'd like Ethan, the guy who organized the trap, and I knew that his heart was in the right place.

I also believe the deprivation is necessary to the story. I think there are moments, later on, when I would have pitied Ethan - the dominant/kidnapper - if it hadn't been for the deprivation. David is desperately in love with Ethan, but he's also in denial about his own feelings, and he lashes out at Ethan a fair bit. We see the whole story from David's point of view, so we know exactly how afraid David is of being hurt. But David isn't ready to see something that is perfectly obvious to the reader - that Ethan is just as vulnerable as he is. That Ethan can be hurt, and is hurt, when David rejects him. The deprivation phase sort of establishes Ethan as someone that doesn't need pity, even the reader's pity, even when he's hurting.

I'd also like to point out that David has the option of ending the deprivation at any point he wants - he doesn't have the option of leaving the island, but he does have a choice. He can play Survivor, or he can submit to Ethan's devious plans. David totally captured my heart - I understood where he was coming from, 100%, and I understood the depth of his fear, because he was way more willing to play Survivor than trust Ethan, even the tiniest bit.

So, personally, I didn't have a trouble with the controversial early scenes, and once David and Ethan start working out their issues...WOW. Super, super, super hot. Well-written, lots of emotional depth, totally tugged on my heartstrings in all the right ways, and HOT. An amazingly satisfying read; satisfying as a romance and satisfying as erotica, full of steamy sex and lots of warm-fuzzies.

I will say that there is a crucial twist at the end that I thought was had to believe...but at that point, I was hooked and willing to follow along to the joyful resolution. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes erotica occasionally, and anyone who's at all willing to try an M/M story.
( )

I enjoyed this book. I'm giving it 4.5 stars which will round up to 5.

The deduction is mainly because of the money angle. By making them so rich, the whole scenario lost a lot of its relevance/believability for me. Perhaps the whole scenario is unbelievable anyway, but, hey, it's a story, most m/m romances don't bear much semblance to real life.

I thought that it was extremely well written, especially for a first book. Given the author's background as an editor, that probably explains the excellent craft.

One of the main themes of the book is the concept of Domination and submission. Does one person have the ability or the right to impose their will on another person? The argument is that they do if the other person is in denial and running away from facing the truth.

This seems to be one aspect that is creeping some reviewers out. But in a way any D/s relationship has this element in it. Maybe the sub may be more willing to start with, but they still have to be taken out of their comfort zone for the whole angle to work.

“I’m serious. I’m talking about complete submission in any sort of sexually charged situation. Psychological, emotional, or physical. Agreeing to this bargain would mean doing whatever I ask of you, without question or hesitation. Even if it’s something that makes you feel uncomfortable or afraid. It would mean trusting that I will not ask you to do something that will hurt you, and giving yourself over to me.”

Maybe I was in the mood to read it at the time. Perhaps plotwise the resolution came a little too pat through the actions of a third party and maybe I would have got there by a different route, but then it would have been my book, not the author's.

Unlike some reviewers, I liked the explanation of the psychological aspects of the D/s relationship. I felt that matched the scenario. It wasn't just about the hot sex and the physical attraction, there had to be a degree of rationalisation and explanation accompanying it.

It's interesting the way reviewers found the first part of the book, hard because Ethan creeped them out and he didn't care about David being outside in the rain.

A lot of this stems from the fact it's totally told from David's POV, so we have only body language to go by and what we sense Ethan feels. I got the feeling from the start that Ethan would have been hurting just as much as David both physically and emotionally.

The clues are there, but perhaps the current prevalence of dual POV has made some readers unable to use their imagination, read the clues to see inside the other character's head. Personally I prefer the single POV as that's life..... ( )