Contemporary
Thirty Days
By Natasha Smith
Dec 6, 2006 - 2:22:00 AM

Biton Savakis lost his lover and submissive, Erik, to cancer months earlier.  Having grieved for the loss of his life partner, and finally craving the touch of another person, Biton tries to reestablish himself as the Dom he is by going to his favorite club.  Unable to stand the scrutiny and pity of friends, he leaves.  First, however, he agrees to attend an upcoming dinner party being hosted by his friend and fellow Dom. 

Cavan is a wounded soul.  Unable to remember life before being a submissive, he is unable to function independently without a master.  When he sees Biton at a dinner party, he immediately recognizes Biton as a Dom.  Though emotionally scarred and understandably frightened, Cavan agrees to a thirty day trial with Biton hoping against hope that his new master will care for him and he in turn can serve his new master as he has been trained.

Biton realizes that for Cavan to truly be free, he must be able to think for himself and makes decisions on his own.  When Cavan comes clean about his fears, Biton knows that he can’t keep Cavan past their thirty-day contract, no matter how much he loves him.  Biton can only hope that Cavan will heal enough to make the choice to stay with him past their contract end.  Knowing that the choice lies with Cavan, Biton strives to show him how loving a true master can be.

THIRTY DAYS caught my attention on the coming soon page at Liquid Silver Books and I am glad that it did.  Shayla Kersten has woven a truly loving tale of surrender and trust.  My heart ached for Biton’s despair at having lost his lover and his turmoil when he realizes he craves another.  I loved how he was given another chance for love with Cavan.  As a Dom, Biton is the perfect person to heal Cavan’s pain and he does that tenfold.  Cavan, while wounded and oftentimes scared, was truly a lost soul.  However, his ability to love and be loved warmed my heart.

THIRTY DAYS is the first book written by Shayla Kersten and I am happy to say that she wrote an extremely poignant tale of love and survival.  While some readers may not enjoy the homoerotic tones, I relished every written word.  THIRTY DAYS has found its way into my heart and onto my keeper shelf and there it will remain for a long time!