3.5 - 4 starsI totally forgot that the book was coming out until it showed up on my Kindle. I *love* pre-orders! So, I set everything else aside to read it.Despite liking this book, I have to say upfront how SUCKY it is that Trey's story [b:Double Time|12710106|Double Time (Sinners on Tour, #5)|Olivia Cunning|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352579615s/12710106.jpg|17843610], which is supposed to be the last books in the series according to the author's own numbering, came out first. That means that fans already know that Jace & Aggie get together and that Jace loses his troubled angst. (Not to mention that Eric finds his true love, and that the adorable, yuppie Roadie Dave is injured in a bus crash.) It just feels weird to already know how things will end up before they've happened, so to speak.If I'm taking 1/2 or a whole star away, it's because of the out-of-order publishing sequence.But, on to this book: For me, it's the toughest of the series, so far. I can empathize with Trey's longing for Brian, and it seems all the band members have their secrets and pain. But I've always known that Jace's secrets have to do *with* pain... and guilt, and not in a good way. No, this book is tough because we finally get a look at Jace, the bassist of Sinners. He's the youngest, shortest, arguably the cutest, most secretive member of the band. He's only been with them for 2-3 of their 10 years together, taking over for Jon, who almost wrecked the band with his drug abuse.We've had "hints" that Jace is into BDSM and likes to be dominated. And I can already hear the critics decrying this book because they'll say it purports that only "damaged" people participate in BDSM - people who use it as therapy. Not that I'm an expert, by any means! Plus there are those who will say the author succumbed to the latest "fad" of BDSM steamy romances, ala FSOG. This books is NOT FSOG or any of the many pale, crude knock-offs out there.Because the author has already set us up with those hints about Jace and his guilt and pain, we recognize that Jace uses pain to push back the ugly voices in his head that gnaw on his worth, esteem, and very being. Yes, in a way we see Aggie using her domme personality (Mistress V) to perform some "sex therapy", but for Aggie, it's the only way to get Jace's attention - with pain and with a domme to push him. I doubt Ms. Cunning is advocating anything of the sort with anyone in the real world. Each of the Sinners band members is a unique individual with unique sexual tastes; Ms. Cunning has always shown Jace to be into the BDSM world, so it's not a huge surprise that this book ventures there, somewhat. There seems to be as much non-BDSM sex as BDSM sex, and it's not always Aggie playing the domme; sometimes it's Jace playing Dom.And when we learn about Jace's pain, it's real. It's agonizing. It's tragic. We can see how he's gotten so twisted up. The bit about Jace being involved with Kara Sinclair (Brian's sister) felt a bit contrived in his already upside-down world, but the fact of that relationship (his "first time"), what happened, and how it all went down leading back to his father is ... crushing.Aggie isn't the usual heroine in any way. I loved her thought-processes - while she might jump to her own conclusions in her head, she never did outloud. She always gave Jace the benefit of the doubt. She always honed in on the fact that it was his pain and guilt speaking and putting up the walls. Aggie got lucky in that she usually had the right way to deal with Jace to put him back at ease or to push him into opening up. It made me wonder how someone who grew up in such a messed up world was able to see that... to empathize... to deal with it. That gave me some pause, but I willingly suspended disbelief. Perhaps her "that's the past and this is NOW" attitude and her ability to relate, somewhat, to Jace is what gave her the insight. As a domme, she's supposed to be highly trained in how to tune into another person's psyche, emotions, and body language, so it's not difficult to believe she'd be able to do that with Jace. They seemed to have an instant connection.The STEAM FACTOR: Well... there's such a variety of steam in this book. Sometimes it seemed that there wasn't as much, and then it seemed as if that's all there was. While I won't say that I was as "turned on" by this book as the other 3, the steam is still HOT when it's rolling!If I have a complaint, it would be that after the major, life-changing event for the band in Canada, it's like we fade-to-black only to fade back in to ... how far in the future? Very little is said about that event... We just seem to fast-forward into a very quick happy ending for Aggie & Jace. A quick wrap-up for the book, and BANG!However, THE CUTEST PART of this entire book has to be Jace's adorable kitty, Brownie. Ahhhhh! I just discovered the Christmas story on Ms. Cunning's web site (under extras) that tells how Jace & Brownie found one another. Melts the heart!Looking forward to Eric's book, although, again, it feels like a spoiler just knowing who Eric will end up with already.BTW, I'm sure hoping that when Olivia gets done with the Sinners, we'll get Dare's story. Talk about HOT! (And yes, that came out of nowhere.)
