Collin: Episodes 1-3

When most readers find this serial, the repetition of Woow, will be staggering!
Without a doubt these are some of the fastest 5 stars I've ever given this year for a book. Zero hesitation or time for doubts! If it were possible, I'd double them because polyamory combined with D/S dynamics is one of my favourites. What made it even more satisfying was the excellent execution of the plot and the interesting, well-developed characters. There were 3 focal points in the story, which seamlessly and beautifully merged together in one plot line.
First one as the title says is the heart and pulse of the story - Collin – one mesmerizing, beautiful mess of personality, hiding incredible depth and intriguing details, under the calm, quiet, observing facade of a man who had to grow shockingly fast and who has seen too much a child should had ever had to see, to be able to take care not only about himself, but the members of his family – mother and sister. When I met him while reading, he was already silently fracturing under the impossible load of all of his commitments and obligations – taking a full schedule of college classes and navigating a complicated chain of 2 or 3 part time jobs, living in a miserable dump off campus and slowly drowning financially. I was impressed how collected, resilient and tenacious this little human was – smart, stubborn, driven, meeting every new challenge with his head held high while objectively observing the impossibility to keep going with the punishing rhythm he was trying to keep. But what made me admire and respect his personality was the fact that he knew not only to take every beating life gave him, but when to admit defeat.
Second focal point – Richard Reevesworth- another fascinating force of nature – the centre of the Reevesworth household and one of the leading wheels behind the success of the Reevesworth financial empire who has already learned the most important lesson that success requires not running yourself into the ground, but delegating responsibilities, balancing the risks and building up trustworthy relationships. So he was nurturing the unique D/S bonds in his close family, finding people like Collin and giving the chance to their brilliant minds to flourish, grow and reach the potential of their capacity. Richard met Collin in a crucial but not entirely accidental moment, just a little bit earlier than his careful plans of research and observation were leading. A moment when Collin's house of cards was already folding in itself, crumbling to pieces under the enormous pressure of everyone's and his own expectations and impossible goals – the requirements of his scholarship, the college exam deadlines, his mother's draconian social expectations, the responsibility of keeping her sister in school backing up her financial needs and his own minimum to survive. And everything was coming down because there was only so much he could endure. I felt like the Universe held its breath in this life changing moment. A key factor was Richard's main submissive Damian – an excellent example of man who flourished under Reevesworth's expert care and guidance, reaching the peak of his potential and being able to command a room with his mere presence. All wonderful achievements in Collin's opinion.
So while the first focal point was about the tangled past and present of Collin's life, the second was the bridge and the peek into Richard's polyamorous lifestyle when Collin cautiously started to learn, navigate and understand the intricacies of such kind of life, the diversity of flavours of all relationships connected together by complicated lines of dominance and submission, respect and absolute trust, while keeping intact all personal boundaries in this fascinating world of kink. This was a pivotal moment in Collin's life, who was taught all his life that the only valid option was to stay on his own 2 feet and never ask for help even when drowning. For Collin, this new situation was a blind, intense leap of faith without a guarantee of a safe landing, relying only on Richard's word, the word of literal stranger that he will be taken care of.
The third focal point, the final and so important thread was Collin signing up the contract of being Richard's submissive and entering a lifestyle he knew nothing about. It was a thrilling experience to read about these first steps of his training. They were so profoundly grounding and giving peace to his overloaded mind, freeing in their tantalising simplicity and clarity and also eye opening for someone like Collin who has never relinquished control over his life to someone else.
And the heat...The heat was enough to lit up a 3day's long bonfire – the erotic undertones were undeniably provoking, sensual and amazingly hot.