Helen’s Review: Tex [Burnout #2] by Dahlia West

Book: Tex [Burnout #2]
Author: Dahlia West
Goodreads Rating: 3.26 from 144 ratings
Reviewed by: Helen & Hope

Abby Raines is leaving Las Vegas. She’s trading the glitter and excess of her hometown for the rolling hills and lush forests of Rapid City, South Dakota. She’s taken her first real job and she’s determined to succeed on her own.

Mark Marsten traded the Texas range for the Army Rangers years ago and never looked back. Now, he’s settled permanently in Rapid City with the remaining members of his Special Forces unit. He thought he had it all, well almost anyway. Until a sassy redhead with a sharp tongue and body to die for rolled into town.

Mark knows he’s too much for her long-term, but he can’t resist a fling with Rapid City’s newest resident. He thought he knew the game. After all, it’s his game. And always his rules. But more and more it feels like Abby is the one holding all the cards.

Burnout is a series but each novel can stand alone on its own. You do not have to read Tex to enjoy the others. It is the only novel in the series with BDSM. If you don’t like BDSM skip this one. Fair warning: the kink factor is extremely high.

WARNING -This book contains BDSM- WARNING

Hope and Helen TEAM Review this book!

Team Rating:

Overall Rating = 4 Stars
Book Cover / Book Blurb / Book Title = 3 / 4 / 1 = 2.5 Stars
Writer’s Voice = 4 Stars
Character Development = 4 Stars
Story Appreciation = 4 Stars
Worth the Chili = 5 Stars — [$2.99 on Amazon]
442 pages

Helen’s Thoughts first with Hope commenting:

I read some of the reviews for this on Amazon and it was slammed. I probably wouldn’t have read it, but I read the first in the series and thought it a decent read. The rating for this one is really low and all I can say, I don’t think this has been marketed well.

Hope’s comment:

I had NOT read any reviews or ratings of Tex before reading. In fact, the first book Shooter was recommended by another reader friend and as soon as I’d finished that one, I went straight into Tex after only reading the blurb. And yes, I did heed the warning.

Five [5] things we liked about this book:

1.) It is a continuation of a series, but can be read as a standalone. This being said, we get more of the great characters created in book one. This also have a “not so good” point I’ll mention later, but for me, this was the appeal of continuing with this series.

Hope’s comment:

Agreed. I liked the glimpses we had of the characters from the first in the Burnout series; Shooter.

2.) The BDSM outlined by the author was accurate. I think she did a really nice job of telling this part of Tex’s tale. She put me in mind of some of the better Cherise Sinclair. However, she lacked balance with the true story components [mentioned again below]. Therefore, it is my opinion, this read bordered on a BDSM clinical manual or checklist.

Hope’s comment:

Mostly agreement here. I had one major issue with the BDSM elements in the plot, which I’ll get into later. I didn’t quiet think it was BDSM 101 because some of the kink – which I think is more along the lines of being fetishes, not normal BDSM. I actually thought the fetishes presented were more along the lines of what you expect from Kitty Thomas; they are real and not “out there” [public knowledge] as much.

CAUTION: Heed the synopsis warning. If you do not appreciate BDSM elements, this is not the read for you.

Hope’s comment:

Definitely read the warning and proceed with caution. In my option on its unfair to authors who give warnings about their books that readers fail to heed. Me. West states clearly that there is kink in this book – there is. Don’t be surprised when it happens and if you don’t like kink, don’t read the book.

3.) I enjoyed Abby and Tex. They were each good characters and together they were even better. I have some “not so good” points about these two too, but I did like them.

Hope’s comment:

I liked Tex. A lot. I wanted more glimpses of him and how he came to be the person he is today. But I did get enough to understand and relate to him, I just wanted…more.

Abby was great. I really liked Abby but again I wanted more.

4.) There were a few editing items, but not like the first one. I didn’t deduct any points for editing this round.

Hope’s comment:

Honestly, I was so into reading this one that I didn’t notice the copy edits, but I did make some extensive content edits as I was reading along – just a few things that I felt the author could have done to make this story shine more. It’s one of my flaws and doing what I do for a living – I can’t turn off my editing cap when I should just enjoy the reading.

5.) The price point is perfect.

Hope’s comment:

Agreed!

What six [6] things did we think could be better:

1.) The author told this story without much intimacy; too little really. As much as I liked Tex and Abby and their bedroom escapades, there wasn’t a whole lot of intimacy.

Hope’s comment:

Agreed 100%. The intimacy was missing. Looking back at my notes, this is what I noted the most – the lack of intimacy between Tex and Abby. I wanted a deeper connection that wasn’t based solely on sex and the BDSM elements.

2.) The story was secondary to the BDSM elements. It appears the author was so hung up on getting this stuff right or making a point, that she lost focus in her story. The story we did get was good. Too bad we didn’t get a bit more.

Hope’s comment:

And this was the second thing I noted. Ms. West gives us a really good story about Abby at the end of the book. I wanted this plot line about Abby and her previous life highlighted more throughout the book. The places Ms. West could have gone with Abby’s back story are wide and far and I wanted MORE of it. It almost seemed like a second thought, and may have been thrown in at the last minute. But saying this, it was done really well, I just wanted it sooner and more of it.

3.) Although we did have some time with the characters from book one, it was minimal. Too little time for characters that are to be highlighted in subsequent books. The author tells you it can be read as a stand-alone, and it can. However, you don’t get much time with the secondary characters. Not enough to build a series on. My opinion only.

Hope’s comment:

I think if you read book one, you’ll be ok with the next characters. Although I would have liked to see more of the secondary characters in this one.

4.) If we had focused on the story more and not the BDSM elements so much, the story length would be good, but because we didn’t, this book seemed a bit long for a “BDSM 101″ book.

Hope’s comment:

At least 60% of this book, if not more, focused on a weekend of BDSM. While I quite enjoyed the sexual elements, even the kink/fetishes, I wanted more story. I could easily have added another 100 pages of plot and story to this book and I would have loved it more.

4a.) I read one review that indicated the length of relationship and the trust factor on some of the BDSM elements they experienced. I would have to agree. I think this part of their relationship moved pretty quickly. You note this after the fact not while it is occurring in the story, but you do reflect on it a bit. Something to note.

Hope’s comment:

Full agreement here. I had a very big issue with the trust factor and trust given without being earned in his book. I had to put away what I know about the world of kink/fetish but especially BDSM to really get into those elements of the book. My mantra as I was reading was “it’s not real life, it’s only a book” kept popping up when the BDSM weekend first happened. But overall, once I put away my issues with trust in relation to a total power exchange, I was able to move on and enjoy the book. And I’m no prude but a couple of the elements really took me by surprise – although I must say nothing like Big Sky by Kitty Thomas did.

5.) Flow is an issue when reading this author. Sometimes as you are reading along an element will just appear. Like throwing something against a wall. I was able to hang with it, but it did leave me scratching my head and “hmm…ing” a bit. Wonder if she creates an outline before putting her story on paper?

Hope’s comment:

Full agreement here. Not much else to add here.

5a.)Nothing really MC with this book. The first one had a bit more of the Motorcycle Club element, but just barely. This one, not at all. Just fair warning. Could help explain the low ratings.

Hope’s comment:

Exactly this. This is not an MC book and readers coming into it thinking it is are going to be in for a big surprise. BIG surprise.

6.) I think the book’s marketing has impacted its’ rating. Hate when that happens. This book surprised me and I’m sure this is what happened to other readers. I like a BDSM read. I wasn’t expecting so much of it here. I wouldn’t consider this a dark read, but it does have an extensive BDSM element and not just common elements you normally read about. Quite a bit of anal play, slave elements, and some mention of vaginal fisting. If you’re not expecting these things, you may be put off a bit. The author warns you, but I’m not sure it has been heeded. We see the warnings too often as a play on certain readers and the content is actually pretty tame.

Hope’s comment:

Big ‘ole fat YES to this. The marketing in this book is all wrong. It was marketed to appear like a MC book when in fact there’s nothing MC about this book. Abby has a motorcycle and Tex is part of a group of guys who hang out and ride motorcycles. This isn’t even remotely the definition of MC.

And to me, it’s more of a fetish type book instead of kink. BDSM elements are aplenty but it’s not your typical spanking and bondage BDSM. As in … at all. Kink to me is spankings and ropes, fetish to me is anal play or even breast feeding play. Two entirely different worlds there.

Marketing plays a huge role in books today (I should know this considering it is my profession), and the marketing of Tex really missed the mark. And while I like the cover, it was not at all representative of what this book was about.

So, think about it … all these things I didn’t find too helpful and I still give it 4 stars. This book’s ratings really don’t reflect how good this story is. It is. I think it hasn’t been marketed well. If a reader enjoys Cherise Sinclair or Annabel Joseph, they will like this book. Maybe not the first in this series, but this one — definitely.

Hope’s comment:

Me too. I don’t give out 4 or 5 stars lightly. As in hardly ever, but I really did enjoy this book that much and I enjoyed my convo with Helen about it afterward that much more.

I thank Mo again for turning me [Helen] onto this author. So not on my radar. I like how this author tells a story — her imagination and the community she is stringing together. I wish she’d think and plan a bit more and it would flesh out the details a bit better. Maybe she will, at some point. I can hope.

Hope’s comment:

I so want to content edit Ms. West’s next book. And I want to help her market it. I see so much potential in her writing that I want her to succeed. I think with the 3rd book she has a chance to really shine, to find her voice and tell a story that will blow everyone away. It’s obvious to me that she has talent, so I’m truly hoping that she shines with her next release

WE were Very Happy Reading this one!