Obedience by Liza Snow was a good book, but it just didn't hit the spot for me to give it more than 3 stars. I enjoyed the tropes of age gap, forbidden, and student/teacher that was in it. I am a sucker for those tropes after all. Other than that, I just kept losing interest as I was reading it. Maybe I'll pick it up one day and my view will change.

This was a well-paced and engaging read. There is chemistry, tension, intrigue, secrets and some bdsm. The connection and steam between Cassandra and Chandler were mind bending. While I was reading, I felt like if I was really there, I could feel it. I feel that the author wrote and epic story. I loved that it wasn't your typical erotic romance. The author threw in murder, the circus and the Mafia. I can't wait to read book two.

An interesting an original read that fascinated me from start to finish. The premise of aerial silks and circus life had me intrigued from the blurb and the story certainly delivered a captivating and engaging story and I cant wait for the next installment!

Listened to the audio book while having this open and I abostly loved this book
5 star book. Highly recommended it. Already told a few people that they need this book
Kept me pulled into it. Couldn't put it down at all

What an interesting and original read. These characters pulled me in from the get go and never stopped being fascinating until the last paragraph. The images and situations are just so interesting and I just couldn’t put it down.

Firstly, I like to thank Netgally for this Arc.

I immediately fell in love with the cover and the blurb was intriguing.

Cassandra wants to be an aerial artist when she is 13 and sees Chandler Moreau. At 25 she gets accepted into Moreau’s Academy.
Cassandra becomes Chandler's protege and that leads to a steamy relationship with some hot scenes.
Both Cassandra and Chandler are haunted by secrets of their pasts, but can’t stay away from each other, which gives this book romance, suspense and mystery. The book started out great and the scenes in Cirque de Lys, makes you want to live the circus life. They made you feel you were there and watching the mesmerizing Japanese art of Shibari.
Now...I like a slow burn, but I'm not sure what happened in the 2nd half of the book. It almost felt like someone else took over the writing. It got repetitive and I got really bored, to the point that I almost DNF the book. Keeping the first half in mind I did finish it. I can handle cliffhangers, but there needs to be some clarity and it mostly left me confused. The 2nd part of the book didn't satisfy me at all, which was a shame as I truly loved the first half. I'm still curious about what is going to happen and perhaps I need to give the 2nd book a try and hope it will be as good as the first half of this book. I would rate the book at 3.5

Fun fact! When I'm not working or reading something I love to do is aerial silks! I've been practicing for about two years now. When I saw this book come up to review I got SO EXCITED. Aerial silks and romance? Count me in.

The story starts with our FMC, Cassandra, auditioning for an elite circus school in New York for the opportunity to work with the man she has looked up to since childhood, Chandler. The story then works its way into a quick paced, student/teacher, age-gap romance. There's silks, rope (not the kind you climb ;)), terrible family members, but also a budding romance. Secrets and trust are currency in this book and really enjoyed watching both of the main characters struggle with how to balance keeping an open dialog with eachother to highlight the importance of trust in their relationship, but also preserve their secrets to protect the other from harm.

Most books I tend to read these days are in third person, so I was a little jarred swapping to a first person perspective book. Like ACOTAR, it took me a bit to get reacclimated to the style but by the end I could not put it down! The last third of the book hits hard and I couldn't read it fast enough to get to the end.

The spice was good, I couldn't get enough of the circus parts (though please let our poor characters practice with safety mats), and the plot took turns I didnt expect. Basically, all this to say that I cannot wait for book 2 to read the conclusion of their story!

Obedience is an absolute work of art! Rated for mature audiences of course but this Physical and Audiobook is one of those tangible works of art that you soak up every word off the page and you completely wraps you up in the story and you become apart of the story.

Liza Snow went above and beyond to make sure her readers and audio listeners have been fully immersed within the Circ de lys as well as chandler and Cassandra’s life.

If you have not yet read obedience I urge you to RUN 🏃‍♀️ don’t walk to your nearest retailer and pick YOURSELF up a copy of this 5/5 star read !

WOW! Such mixed emotions that I have for this book! I went into this book really enjoying it. Not something that I typically read but I was hooked…until I wasn’t.

The book was just so long winded, ending with so many unanswered questions. I get that books can end with cliffhangers but these are the same questions from the beginning of the book and we are no closer to knowing what the big conflict really is. I will be reading the next book to get those answers!

I did enjoy the characters, the circus, and the spice! Told in a dual POV which I love when reading romance novels. The connection between Cassandra and Chandler was sparking off the pages.

𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤:
Slow Burn
Age Gap
Teacher/Student
Romantic Suspense

Thank you NetGalley, Liza Snow Romance for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

While perusing for my next read I came across Obedience by Liza Snow. The cover was gorgeous and the description was eye catching and interesting. Imagine circus meets dark academia meets steamy BDSM vibes meets mystery and suspense. The book started off to a great start straight from the prologue, which helped set the mood for the rest of the book. There was a great deal of romantic tension between the 25 year old student Cassandra Blackstone and professor Chandler Moreau, who’s fifteen years her senior. It was very much a will they wont they situation that was executed perfectly by Liza Snow. The problem I had with the book though was the repetitiveness towards the halfway mark of the book. It made reading the book feel like a chore unfortunately and it was hard to get through as I felt like there was no drive. It was not until the last 15% of the book in which I remembered that this was suppose to be a mystery and suspense book as well. The whole mystery aspect of the book felt like it wasn’t fully addressed until towards the end and thats when the plot started to become confusing and garbled for me personally. The book was left off at a cliff hanger which helps to set up for the second book in which I believe will cover the mystery aspect of the book more fully. Overall the book was a 3 star / 5 read and I look forward to seeing how Cassie and Chandler navigate their families and relationship in the second installment.

Tropes:
Age difference
Slow Burn
BDSM
Teacher/Student
Dual POV
Mystery

The cover really drew me in. I didn't really know what to expect and I honestly enjoyed the first 55% or so of the book, but it eventually seemed a bit repetitive and I struggled to continue. The book ended on a cliffhanger. I think I will continue reading the next in the series, but unsure if I will finish book 2.

When I saw this read on netgalley I wasn't super sure about it, because it just sounded so different from most of the things I'd normally choose. But, after reading Cassandra and Chandlers story I can't wait to read the next one.

The plot was so interesting and the story definitely had me gripped in the beginning. I enjoyed the first 60% of this book, but at the end I was just a little confused. The story picked up pace so quickly and became a bit jumbled and the cliffhanger?!?! I will say that I definitely fully intend to read the next one, but be prepared for this wild ride when you pick it up.

I was really drawn to the concept of this book, and the first 50-60% fulfilled my expectations. However, something shifted in the second half and the plot stopped holding my attention. I was completely captivated by the circus whimsy meets dark academia vibes in the beginning, and despite not being a giant fan of the age gap trope, I thought the tension between Chandler and Cassaundra was executed well. Around the halfway point, it stopped feeling like a romance. The plot became disjointed, there wasn't enough suspense, and the remaining spicy scenes felt almost fade to black in nature in that they promised more than they delivered. Overall, great concept, meh execution, but I'll probably give the second book a go anyway.

2,5⭐️/5
It wasn't bad until 60% of the way through the book, where I got a bit bored. I can see that the tension between the two soon disappears, and that it tries so hard to keep secret what is going to be in opposition to the happiness of the protagonists that it loses interest.
I don't think the book was for me, I guess being used to fantasy books, the plot of these types of books seems weak to me.

I always hate not giving a book a good rating, especially if I've been gifted it for review from the publisher and author. However, I have to be honest, too.

The book was not horrible, but it took me forever to read it. I just kept losing interest. Just when I thought it was picking up and getting interesting, it would slow way back down again. I feel like the story has potential, but the interesting parts are just so few and far between with what felt like lots of filler in between, but sometimes I found myself not really understanding what was happening because there wasn't enough background for the faster parts...if that makes sense.

I couldn't connect with the characters or their stories. The parts that were interesting just didn't last very long. I didn't really feel any chemistry between the two main characters...or between any of the characters, really.

I was hopeful, but it fell pretty flat for me. I wish the whole book would have been like the last 10% or so.

I am still appreciative to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read and review it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

•ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴛɪᴄ sᴜsᴘᴇɴsᴇ/ᴍʏsᴛᴇʀʏ
•sʟᴏᴡ ʙᴜʀɴ
•ᴀɢᴇ ɢᴀᴘ
•ғᴏʀʙɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ
•ᴘʀᴏғᴇssᴏʀ / sᴛᴜᴅᴇɴᴛ
•ʙᴅsᴍ
•ᴅᴜᴀʟ ᴘᴏᴠ

Look at those tropes- holy moly this one was intense. The audiobook was fantastic- thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book, it was a pleasure to listen to. The inclusion of audio clips and music along with the narration added to the atmosphere that surrounded this steamy, circus themed romantic suspense. The male narrator was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The setting and premise of a school for performers leads readers to meet Chandler, famous aerialist who teaches at the school as his professional career is beginning to wane. Enter Cassandra, student silk aerialist who becomes the new protege for her longtime idol, none other than Chandler. They both fight their instalust for each other, knowing their role and place in the circus performance world could easily be jeopardized.

As more secrets and lies unfurl, the stakes become higher and higher. A mysterious death, ties with the mafia, and dark family connections create a dangerous game for both Chandler and Cassandra. This does end on a cliffhanger, so the next read will be automatic for me!

Some of the background information/family connections of both MC’s don’t add up, so hopefully it will be cleared in the next read.
The execution of the plot was left a tad wanting, so 3.5/5 rounded to 4 for Goodreads

I really wanted to love this book. It has little bits of everything and could be really well executed but it just didn’t do it for me. There was the circus, bondage, sexy French men, the mafia, a murder investigation, and decent 🌶️. But it just didn’t come together in a way the story deserved.

I was so into the first 100 pages and the plot wad top notch. I think once Chandler finally gets Cassandra is where I started to drop off and felt a bit bored with the repetitive story, it just turned into a drama murder investigation with a controlling boyfriend and you could sense what the end was going to be.

I read this as an ARC, thank you to the author! Big potential here, I just don’t think it was my cup of tea.

I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book and decided to give it a read.
I am so glad i did because this plot line was one i thoroughly enjoyed.

From a young age, Cassandra had dreamed about being a silk acrobat since she since she saw Chandler perform. When Cassandra turned 25 she began practicing with Chandler to achieve her dream. There is enough spice to keep the reader wanting more, and definitely leaves more to the imagination than written on paper.
Since the characters have a 15 year age gap, this can cause tension between the characters, but it didn't sway me away from the story what-so-ever.

I was captivated by the author's abilities to create such a beautiful scene of being at the circus and reading about the performers passion behind the scenes. Both characters put their heart and soul into their work and it definitely shows how passionate they are for their occupation. As Cassandra and Chandler's work starts to progress and become challenging, so does their relationship.

Forewarning: The book does end on a cliffhanger!

I received this book for free for an honest review.

So very good I can't wait to show my girlfriends at book club!

When I picked this book up, the blurb was the first thing that enticed me: teacher and student turned into something more, what’s not to love about that trope? It’s been a while since I read a book like that so I was looking forward to it. And I did: 20 hours later… it’s been eons since I was so entranced by a book that I read it so fast.

The first time BDSM was mentioned, I admit myself to have been a little blindsided… despite the title of the book. Now - it needs to be said that the BDSM is very light touch. Just a little bit of rope work, nothing like what you would imagine after the craze that was Fifty Shades. Chandler, despite having a bit of a temper issue, is not a sex-crazed, unhinged and dangerous lunatic. He’s actually alright and I appreciate his mood swings add something to the story rather than make this hook into a misogynistic mess. Cassie is also intelligent, strong and wilfully independent - nothing like her weak counterparts who shall not be named.

Now I want to keep this review spoiler free, which makes it more challenging. The first 60% of this book is solid and really enjoyable- the will-they-won’t-they is well done and enticing. The next 20% is good, but the final 20% is like 0-60 in 1.5 seconds. I have no idea how to connect the dots and why we end up with a larger more dangerous plot line that had very little build up. It came out of nowhere, hit me from left field and I found myself questioning why any of this extra plot was necessary when the book’s premise was strong enough without it. But hey, maybe it will be explained in the next book.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It was devoured in less than 24 hours so it must have been good, right?