This is basically the cowboy version of 50 shades of gray. A rich cowboy takes a widow as his submissive. She figures out she actually likes being the submissive which I like how it built up her trust again. This one was spicy and I love a good age gap. Didn’t particularly love the drama with the other family though, felt a little over the top.

🌀Synopsis
Keira’s husband is dead. Her abusive and manipulative husband, and that means she’s free. Our leaves the entire ranch to her but there’s trouble with the bank and the man who owns the bank- Gerard Sovereign.
Gerard saw Kiera and knew he wanted her. As a dominant man, he had to have her and so he did what he needed to do to make that happen. Now he’s got her and it’s more than he could’ve imagined. So much so, his contract with her doesn’t stand a chance. He’s had other submissive but he’s never had feelings for them like he does for Kiera. He loves her and he’s going to prove just how much. She’s ready to prove it too though, and the two will realize how much they are tied and the trust between them.

I would rate the audiobook 5⭐️ and the book 3.7⭐️. Performance was awesome and kept me intrigued but I wasn’t a huge fan of the MMC. Look I love a dark romance, and I know what to expect when I’m reading one, so it should be a surprise that he was a totally over the top controlling guy.

But some of the stuff he said was unbelievable in a way that made me laugh so hard. I lost it when he said he could smell that she was ovulating when he sniffed her underwear.

Plot: 1
Writing: .5
World building: 1
Characters: .5
Themes: .5
3.5/5

Spice: 4.5/5
Audiobook: 3/5 - Dual narrated
Did not like how the male narrator did the female voices.

What you can expect:
- D/s relationship
- "Good girl"
- Western vibes
- The plot is smut.
- Remember the gun scene in Den of Vipers?
- Collared

This one was hot. 🔥🔥 It's been a minute since I've read a kinky book. I loved reading about Sovereign and Keira's dynamic. I would have liked more discussion on certain D/s things, like collaring. One thing I appreciated was how Keira felt so safe with Sovereign. It's very much insta-lust and then they fall in love. We're told a lot of things through their inner dialogue rather than shown.

Read this if you like D/s dynamics!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for an ALC of this book. All thought and opinions are my own. This book is available on KU.

The voice actors really brought these characters to life. I couldn't stop listening!

Definitely a hot a heavy book and I enjoyed every moment of it! I didn't know what I was walking into with this, I decided to go in blind and I was not disappointed!

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. I never thought I'd be a fan of dark cowboy romances!

Very formulaic BDSM story featuring cowboys - like might have used a checklist formulaic. Other reviews said it was like a Yellowstone-50 shades mashup, and while that may be true, it takes the most base elements of what people liked about those two things and, for me, didn’t do it well. The interaction between the two leads was like training an animal rather than a contractual, consensual agreement of terms between them to enter into this arrangement. The issue really is there no real discussion before that’s just the way it was. Gerard is too over the top for me and I feel like I never figured out who Kiera really is as a person. Does it have spice? Yep. A lot of it. Does it have an intriguing story? For me, no. Maybe it just wasn’t for me! Give it a try and see what you think.

WOAH, this book was spicy spicy! I read a lot of spicy books, but I wasn't expecting the level of spiciness that this book had. I would probably rate this a 4-4.5 on the spice scale alone!

This book was definitely a journey between Gerard and Kiera. After Kiera's husband is killed, with good reason because he was a real POS, Gerard gives Kiera a solution for her problems. He will take over all of her bills and take care of her if she enters a Dom/sub relationship with him. Even before she accepts, the mouth on this man!

I would say this book is 30% plot and 70% spice IMO. Not a bad thing at all.

I loved all of the different kinks and play that these two got into throughout the book.

The narrators are Stefanie Kay or Oliver Clarke. I don't believe I have ever listened to them before, so that was exciting getting to hear new narrators. I felt like both of them embodied their characters perfectly and really elevated the story.

4🌟 4🌶️

Well that was a wild ride!!! This book would be like if you took the tv show Yellowstone and mixed in 50 Shades of Grey.. but make it darker. The spice in this book made my head spin, and some of it was just so depraved. It was unlocking doors in my mind that I didn’t know that I had locked 😂😂

Gerard is the kind of man that gets what he wants. No if’s, and’s, but’s, or questions. YOU GET ON YOUR KNEES AND CRAWL LIKE THE GOOD GIRL YOU ARE. 🫠
But aside from that, he’s knows when to be gentle and soft too. He’s the perfect contrast of light and dark. Soft and hard. He’s also found the one woman that would bring him to HIS knees, Kiera. He stop at nothing to make her his, and I mean NOTHINGGGGG. The man has zero qualms about unaliving anyone who would get in the way of him having her. He’s a big, overprotective Dom teddy bear. 🥰

I listened to the alc audiobook for this, and loved it. The narrators did amazing with embodying the characters and I highly recommend listening to the audio for this!!

Sovereign-Raya Morris Edwards
Narrated by Oliver Clarke and Stefanie Kay

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Narration 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧

I have been looking forward to this audio for so long. I kept seeing everyone’s posts about how spicy the new dark cowboy book was and had to have it. Could I read it with my eyeballs, sure, but I knew it was going to be an *experience* on audio, and boy was it. As soon as I got it, I basically dropped all my other books I was reading to listen to it. It was everything I was expecting in a cowboy rancher romance with his enemies wife, the spice and the heat and the chemistry between them was so hot. But what I wasn’t expecting was the great storyline as well. The balance between the story and the spice was fantastic. It honestly could have been another 200 pages and it wouldn’t have deterred me from wanting to read it, and I’m one who doesn’t necessarily like long books, and I’m so glad to see that Raya has written an extended epilogue/novella Redbird and hoping it will be recorded as well.

Oliver and Stefanie did so good. I loved the way Stefanie portrayed Keira and her innocence and naïvety at points but then the growth and strength as a character as she faces everything. This was my first time hearing Oliver and man he exceeded expectations! I guess I didn’t know what to expect but gah he did so freaking good. His performance was incredible as well. Honestly beautifully done by both narrators!

I'd like to thank Dreamscape media and Raye Morris Edwards for a ARC of this audiobook for a honest review. I saw a tiktok about this book and I saved it to ebook wish list on amazon. Then I saw the audiobook on Netgalley and was lucky to be approved for an ARC.

This book needs only needs to be under erotic because WHOO BOY. I could not listen to this in the car with my windows down. This man, instead of buying Kiera a necklace or a bracelet, gets her NIPPLE CLAMPS. and at this point they haven't even started a relationship yet. The first time they meet after Kiera husband dies and she's thinking about him slapping her ass and "peeling" her panties down. This is before they even had dinner. I saw someone else refer to this book as a "spicy Yellowstone" and that is spot on. This dark cowboy all around. And I do love a man in cowboy boots and a stetson.
.
With the Narratation I haven't heard Stefanie Kay or Oliver Clarke before so their voices took me some time to get used to. Stefaine Kay has a breathy almost overwhelmed tone that I thought was prefect for Kiera's character. Oliver Clarke on the other hand, as Gerald he was fine. But when he was being a female character I could never take it serious because it sounded so funny. I prefer dual narration audiobooks. But if you already have that why not have the female read the female parts and the male the male parts? That would of added a whole star.

Trope: Age gap/ BDSM/ Cowboy & widower / stalker/ he protects her

Sovereign is super-steamy with enough suspense to keep a reader interested. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters and am now invested enough in a few of the background characters to want to learn more about them.

Audiobooks can easily be ruined by a bad narrator - The choice of narrators for this one was spot on ... super articulate and in line with the theme of the book.

This book was the first I've experienced by Raya Morris Edwards and I look forward to reading more.

ERMMMMMMMMMMM what a rollercoaster of emotions. I listened to the audiobook of this story and wow was I surprised. I saw so many mixed reviews on this so I was a little hesitant.

I was hooked from the first 2 minutes of the audiobook. The narration was on point. Stefanie Kay and Oliver Clarke did an amazing job on this.

It was like an extremely spicy Yellowstone. If you're someone who wants a story with LOTS of spicy, BDSM, and a cowboy, then this is definitely for you.

DO NOT HESITATE like I did, just do it!!

I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE !!!!!!!!!!!

Posted to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram

Sovereign by Raya Morris Edwards is set on a ranch in Montana where Gerard Sovereign takes revenge on the Garrison clan. His deep hatered for the Garrisons started when he was just a kid and is father worked for them. Once his dad had lost his job at the Garrison ranch things went down hill from there. Gerard has meet Keira Garrison only once, when he was doing buisness with her husband Clint and knew from the start that he must have her for his own. The next day after the meeting Clint is killed in a stampede and that leaves Keira a widow and the sole owner of Garrison ranch. Little does she know that Gerard has planned everything down to forgeing Clint's will to leave everything to his wife. Now under the protrection from her in laws Keira has now signed a contract with Gerard that not only protects her but also make her his submissive. This is a steamy book from the first chapter where you can tell that Gerard and Keira are meant for each other.

I'm a little torn with this one so I'll say it's a 3.5 star that I'm rounding up.

This review is for the audio version. The make narrator Oliver Clarke is a new favorite of mine! Perfect gritty cowboy voice, he did a great job. The female narrator Setafanie Kay did a good job too.

Now for the story itself.

𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐈’𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬. 𝐒𝐨 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬.

Keira meets Gerard Sovereign while he's meeting with her husband and shortly after that husband unalives. To keep her farm Gerard asks her to be his submissive for a period of time to pay off the debt and keep her safe from her deceased husband's idiot brothers. (Right away, that type of coercion may not resonate with people)

It was a very spicy read. I love dark romance, and this is definitely dark cowboy romance. It's full of mystery and angst and unaliving and revenge and justice. And romance... I think. lol

It's also a BDSM story, with a man that is a Dom and wants a Sub, and in some ways this is where it lost me. I know every book with BDSM isn't a manual for it but the fact that there is a contract that is essentially thrown out the window was a bit of a red flag for me. It's also got the kitchen sink. CNC, Degradation, Spitting, Praise, Gun play, Free Access, Collaring, and big time Sadist/Masochist. It wont be for everyone. But lets say it definitely make the spice thrilling and engaging and varied.

<spoiler> I also have a hard time with anyone in dark romance procreating. Like until you have years of therapy maybe... but I wish he had left his vasectomy intact. </spoiler>

Though I really enjoyed this story - it's fast paced with good plot development amidst a lot of spice, I felt like the romance deserved a little more time. It was hard for me to root for Keira at times, and hard for me to understand why she'd fall in love with this man, other than him keeping her safe and dicking her down on a regular basis. And even hard for me to understand why Gerard loved her - other than she's a trainable sub that likes pain. Is that enough for a lasting relationship?

That said, it's was a spicy good time and I'm definitely planning on reading the next book when it releases, so take the above with that in mind. :)

Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for this review.

Oh, my. I don't have words. Sexy, spicy, all the alpha male you could want. This title was something else, especially on audio. NSFW or in a car with kiddos. It was fabulous and I'll be looking for more by this author!

After Keira's abusive husband's accidental death, Gerard, her husbands rival and the owner of the biggest cattle ranch in Montana, Sovereign Mountain Ranch, can finally make a move on her. The new owner of Garrison Ranch is being targeted by her late husband's brothers who want nothing more than to take the land away from her. She makes him feel things he's never felt, and he wants her. What better way to protect her than to make her his submissive?
This age gap, BDSM, dark romance is book 1 in the Sovereign Mountain series. I wasn't sure I would like it at first because the FMC felt very wimpy, naive and acted like a victim all the time. I couldn't help but picture doe-eyed Anastasia in 50 Shades. Some things were a bit cringy, and Gerard is certainly a manipulative SOB, but it was still an OK read. The dual POV narration in the audio book was very well done.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

Y'all. This book!! “Sovereign” by Raya Morris Edwards ! The SPICE!!! Top-notch. The plot? Even better! The Narrators?? Perfection! This is a new to me author but will definitely be reading more!

Fantastic listen! Sovereign is a spicy, just god darn hot read that I zoomed through so fast it surprised me. I was hesitant to read it, thinking it might be too much spice at first, but the bio was too intriguing not to give it a try. I am insanely happy I did. I would read this again as an ebook, paperback, or another car-crash-inducing audiobook listen!
Now, mind you, it has some heavy-handed trigger warnings you should look over before reading, but you won't regret it if you choose this adventure. Our MMC and FMC's relationship had me swooning from chapter one, and I was invested in how they would develop that relationship throughout the book. I'm so happy Sovereign wasn't full of romance-novel tropes that would've detracted from the fun, too.
The MMC narrator's deep tenor was perfect for this dark romance character, and the narrator was also on point for our (a little bit high-strung but still love her) FMC.
Sovereign gets 5 stars and 5 spicey spices from me, and I IMMEDIATELY have the sequel, Westin, on my TBR.

Thank you, NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Raya Morris Edwards, for the advance listener copy in exchange for a voluntary review!

I found out about this book through a tiktok and was excited to receive an audiobook of it! Unfortunately this one kinda fell flat for me.
I found the MMC to be kind of aggressive and ultimately unlikeable. I also felt like this story was insta-love and I am not a huge fan of that trope. He met this woman one time and decided to murder her husband (he had it coming) after a quick conversation, and to make her “his”. He was incredibly possessive which I normally am perfectly okay with, but he helped her escape an abusive relationship and ended up continuously acting like her ex. I didn’t get that part. He was just undesirable to me.

I am also not a huge fan of dom/sub stuff, but that’s my fault and I didn’t doc any points for that. The audiobook was clear and honestly was pretty good, I just didn’t enjoy the book as much as I thought I would!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, NetGalley and Raya Morris Edward’s for the audio Arc of Sovereign, out June 25th on audio!

𝙎𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙗𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙮𝙖 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙨 𝙀𝙙𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨
Thank you to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for this ALC. I was so looking forward to reading this book as it had been on my TBR. And when I got the ALC I was super excited to listen.

Unfortunately, I ended up so disappointed in the writing. This book had so much potential but it really had no plot. This is my first time reading something by Edwards. I found myself cringing at the dialogue many times. I also could not stand how dumb and dense the FMC Keira is. If you’re looking for a book with smut after smut in each chapter then this might be for you. But this book was missing an interesting and engaging storyline. I didn’t like how the male narrator voiced women it would have been better if it was a duet. He sounded very whiney when he did the voice for women.

It had a lot of potential especially because it’s a cowboy romance. I hope the next book is better. I’m interested in Westin’s story but I’m not sure if I could put up with another whiney and horny FMC.

A an erotic thriller, cowboy romance with violence, murder and great kink.

This is my first Raya Morris Edwards book but it will not be my last. Wow! The pacing was fast, the spice started early and often. I love the dynamic between our FMC and MMC, especially as we get to see their character growth together.

I like that the MMC and FMC has complicated family backgrounds because it makes the story feel lived in. The Dom/sub relationship between our two characters is pretty intense, and I loved watching them figure out their balance.

The side characters bring a lot of depth to the setting (a large ranch), and are so interesting that I need to know more about them, especially Jack Russell. I just found out that book two is focused on our MMCs best friend, Westin and I am SO interested to hear more about him.

The narrators were amazing! I believed that they were Kiera and Gerrard. I wish it was duet, because I just love duet audiobooks, however they did a great job and I hope they narrate the next book in the series too.

Tropes
🔥Cowboy
🔥Age gap (early 20s-late 30s)
🔥Size difference
🔥Dom/sub kink
🔥Instalove (MMC)
🔥"It'll fit"
🔥He collars here

This book is best read in front of a roaring fire, while on your knees.