[In Maryland]

Having read the trilogy, the theme of pedophilia is certainly present - and damned at every turn. The overall arc of the trilogy is the heroine's struggle to tear a very successful multi-millionaire away from the practice of over-the-top bondage, sadism and domination caused by his childhood experiences, including having been beaten by the boyfriend of his "crack whore" mother and used as an ashtray and finding his mother dead when he was, I think, 4.

In the end, the hero and heroine end up married with 2 children, living in a mansion overlooking the sea with a love life that involves some bondage and discipline, a little "kinky" perhaps but a long way from the depravity in which the hero is immersed at the beginning of the book.

I found it worth reading for the psychological insight into the characters, seeing how depraved behavior can be traced to childhood experiences and how, with love, understanding and compassion, it is possible for a person to reform themselves into a reasonable human being.

[outinyellowdogcountry]

Woe to the person that marries a person with such issues. The love story does sound interesting but isn’t that a dangerous message. Most of the time it doesn’t seem to work and messes us the “reformer”. That is how I advise my daughters anyway.