This was a miss for me. The chapters at the beginning captured my attention but as the book progressed, it became more scattered because of a lack of a fleshed out plot and characters.

I received this Arc from Netgalley. Thank you for the chance to read this book early. My review is honest and 100% my own thoughts about the book.

This story was an emotional rollercoaster. This is a story about lost love and second chances.

Garrett thought he had lost his love of his life Sage during a mission. He had all but given up on life. After finding a group of kidnapped aid workers. His lover Sage was among them.

This story is the growth and the rekindling of their relationship. However Sage is not so sure if she is strong enough to go back to how she and Garrett was. Her fiancé as well as her dom.
This story does have kink an sexual scenes. As well as some dark and heavy topics. I would love to read more from the author.

Complex characters emerging through an enticing and enthralling plotline kept me hooked on this read! A little danger, a lot of romance and witty writing make this book a must-read on my shelf and one I recommend to friends!

I was intrigued by the concept of the story - a forbidden romance between the main characters which starts out with a heartbreak. The chemistry between Garrett and Sage is undeniable and it is only when they meet again that they realise what they both truly want - espeically sexualy.

Although the concept was intriguing, I found it diffiult to read a story which focuses so little on how Sage overcame what happened to her - I empathized more with Sage's confusion than with Garrett's internal struggles and she went through far worse, but he is the focus.

However, the spice level in this book is hot, and if you are less concerned with narrative details and more so there for the sexy scenes, then this book is totally for you!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I tried getting into this book and to be honest I really like Angel Payne's past stuff but I couldn't get into this book. Maybe it was the content being so controversial and being a POW type and then on top of it being a Dom it just didn't work for me. I had a hard time getting into Sage's character and believing where she was coming from. To add insult to injury the early read I had had major formatting issues making it harder to read than usual. Overall I felt like this book just tried to hard and while I really like Angel Payne as a whole, this book isn't one I'd have recommended.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this arc. I liked the heroine better than I did the hero of the story.

Saved, initially, is a promising second chance romance, however, it is plagued by cliche tropes and manufactured angst.

A steamy love story about second chances and not being afraid to embrace your sexual needs.

It's been 425 days since Special Forces Sergeant Garrett Hawkings lost his fiance Captain Sage Weston in an ambush in Africa. He's been having erotic dreams about her on a nightly basis, refusing to move on. When his team is deployed to rescue women about to be sold into sex trading, he never expects Sage to be one of them.

Captain Sage Weston has been in hell for the past year. She never thought she'd see her fiance, Garrett, ever again. But now that she's back, he's changed drastically. He refuses to have sex with her because he needs the control that BDSM will give him in the bedroom but he's too afraid to try it with the love of his life. He doesn't understand that she's needs this just as much to heal herself from the past year.

When Garrett and his partner, Zeke, realize that the man who kidnapped the girls was extradited to Seattle along with the girls. The guys end up being overprotective without telling the girls, driving them crazy in return. But the girls don't know that there's a bounty on their heads.

How will Garrett protect Sage without telling her the real reason he's doing so? When he finally gets a real education on BDSM, will he understand that it's not a bad thing for them to both want and need before he ruins their future together?

Saved is the first book in the Honor Bound series. Angel Payne is a goddess when it comes to creating characters who are believable, relatable, and heroic. She has a knack for making her readers feel as if they know the characters on a personal level, and she never fails to leave them wanting more. I really enjoyed the suspense and emotional angst in this book. It kept me hooked until the end.

This book had a lot of potential
I liked the main character, Sage. She is incredibly strong.
The responses to the hard topics weren’t believable. The angst was too much for me
The steamy parts were will written and I liked.

I struggled with this book in two ways—it was too angsty for my liking and I thought the reactions to the sometimes heavy themes in this book were not believable. The steam was on the tame side, but the one thing I did like is the female MC. Sage was strong, determined and never gave up! I give this a solid 2.5 stars—it was just okay.

*Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own!*

I honestly had to think hard when trying to write this review! This is my first book my Angel Payne and wow she put me through all the emotions…

This book had me in all my feels. It made me laugh, it made me want to cry, it made me angry, but mostly it made me happy!

I loved Garrett as the hero but he definitely made me want to slap some sense into him! He thought he lost the love of his life (his fiancé) but he ends up saving her. But as he trying to protect her from the people after her, he also felt he had to save her from himself for wanting to explore being his submissive and experimenting with BDSM.

But when Sage gets taken for a second time my heart shattered for not only her but for Garrett as well! All I thought was he can’t lose her again && she can’t deal with this again. I love the strength that Sage has. She’s a true fighter!

It made me happy when the both realize how they’re both holding back and with exploring BDSM it could help their relationship && help them heal as well!

This book was truly amazing and definitely worth the read! You can’t help but root for the love between Garrett && Sage while wanting to kill the bad guys yourself! I know I definitely wished I could jump in the book && ring a could necks, lol. I can’t wait to read the next book cause if it’s anything like the first, I know I won’t be disappointed!! It’s a must read.

This story wasn't what I had hoped it would be. Garrett is part of the Special Forces and is reckless with his life after losing the love of his life, Sage. As a coping mechanism, Garrett is into some hardcore BDSM. However, a mission leads him to find Sage alive after a year of brutal captivity, and now he struggles with keeping this side of him under control.

I had several issues with this storyline. Initially, it felt like a military romance, but that plotline is scattered throughout. There are sex scenes, but Garrett spends too much time internalizing why he shouldn't show how he's changed in the bedroom that the angst is on high heat for most of the story. My biggest issue, however, is with Sage. She was rescued and injured, yet they're "ensconced safely in the US Embassy guest quarters," getting ready to climb into bed. Instead, she's walking around in his t-shirt and underwear—no mention of seeing any medical team. She is "weak as a fawn and shaky as a newborn colt" yet has the strength and energy to initiate sex with Garrett.

Overall, there is potential, but there are too many inconsistencies to make it a story I'd revisit.

This was my first novel by Angel Payne and I have mixed feelings thus far. I feel slightly deceived with this one! I thought it would be much spicier than it ended up being. Despite this, I did enjoy the bit of spice and tension that was included in the book. I really enjoyed the first half of the book and the overall plot however the ending was a bit abrupt for me.

I really thought this was a really captivating book. There was a lot of darker and heavier subject matters that was handled really well and with a sense of respect that I admired. The spicy parts of the book matched the energy and themes of the story in a way that I didn’t expect. I think people will really like this book

For this book I really like this book it was a little hard to read at first but I kept going and turned out to be one of my favorite books

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Novel was very sexy and very boring. The first few chapters were enjoyable. The balance of the book
very predictable. It was an enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy for an honest review

I have fallen in love with this book!
Can’t wait to continue on in this series.
I love me some smut and there was a lot of action/suspense as well.

Garrett, a high-ranking member of a military special forces unit, believes he lost the love of his life, Sage, when she was among a group of aid workers who were kidnapped and killed in the jungles of Thailand a year earlier. He is in the midst of grieving the loss of his beloved when Sage and her teammates are rescued and the world as he knows it is turned upside down.

This is the first title in a series of romantic suspense novels. This is the first title I've read by the author but I'll definitely be checking out more. This novel is FREE right now wherever you buy books

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TAGS: fiction, romance, erotic romance, bdsm, military romance, romantic suspense, 2nd chance romance

*Thanks to NetGalley, Waterhouse Press & Angel Payne for providing a free eARC in exchange for my honest review #BookReview #NetGalley @NetGalley #Saved #WaterhousePress @WaterhousePress #AngelPayne @angelp912

New to me author Angel Payne writes Saved, a super sharp, dark love story with an engaging storyline. Garrett and Sage's journey to deal with their pasts in order to move on with their future is gritty, emotional, intense and captivating. I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys an epic love story with heart and soul. #Saved #NetGalley