Use (Songs of Perdition, #2) by CD Reiss Series: Songs of Perdition #2
Published by Self-Published on June 23rd 2014
Pages: 222
Amazon
A sex-addicted celebutante.
The master she stabbed.
A therapist whose professionalism is about to shatter.Did she stab him to be free of him?
And free to what?
To whore? Snort? Party?
Or free to be normal?TRIGGER WARNING
I mean it, again, if you're sensitive this is not the book for you.
Use is the second book in the Songs of Perdition series and although book 1, Kick, made me quite uncomfortable, I was all too willing to hop onboard the CD Reiss train again. I’m so glad I did because this time around was better than the first, and I enjoyed every moment of the fascinating, edgy journey.
Note: It is necessary to have read Kick first, and this review contains spoilers pertaining to that book.
Use picks up right where Kick left off. Fiona is still in the posh mental institution, having essentially been abandoned by Dr. Elliott and remitted for an extended stay. As she floats in a medicated fog, Fiona is obsessed with sexual fantasies about the good doctor. She’s now under the care of a female psychologist and none too pleased about it. When Fiona begins to recover memories of the night her dominant, Deacon, was stabbed, she refuses to talk to anyone but Elliott. Elliott, meanwhile, has been struggling with less than professional thoughts about Fiona, and against better judgment he agrees to treat her again.
I adore Fiona. She’s a mighty force of nature who makes no apologies for who she is. She’s waded through a crap ton of pain and there’s always a line of people ready to use her for sex. However, she’s a woman determined to be free and to succeed, and she knows how to wield sex as a weapon to get what she wants.
We finally get to meet the mysterious Deacon and he’s so much more than I anticipated. Theirs is not a black or white, right or wrong relationship and their chemistry is palpable.
Use is told from the dual perspectives of Fiona and Elliott, and I loved being able to get inside Elliott’s head. It was wonderful to discover the complexities of this conflicted man who was so guarded in the first book. All the sessions where Fiona intentionally baited him with dirty talk have finally caused Elliott to tap into his dominant side. He’s raw and vulnerable though, hurling himself toward a sexual precipice. Furthermore, he wants what he shouldn’t—not only a patient but another man’s woman. Elliott is totally consumed by erotic thoughts of Fiona. He’s one tiny step away from crossing over the doctor/patient line and throwing his career away.
Love! It! There are three things I can always count on in a C.D. Reiss book: compelling characters, a gripping story, and exquisite prose. Her words are deliciously seductive. I could feast on them for days and still want more. Use is no different. The book is so addictive I simply could not put it down. Who should Fiona choose? #TeamDeacon? #TeamElliott? Or perhaps #TeamFiona?
Use does not end on a cliffhanger; however, there is definitely an air of unfinished business. Lucky for me though, C.D. Reiss has just written the end of Fiona’s story and combined it along with Use and Kick into one large standalone novel: Forbidden. I know what I’ll be reading next.
About CD Reiss
CD Reiss is a New York Times bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up she’s at the well hauling buckets.
Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master’s degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere but it did give her a big enough ego to write novels.
She’s frequently referred to as the Shakespeare of Smut which is flattering but hasn’t ever gotten her out of chopping that cord of wood.
If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine.
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