TWO 4 Star and 5 Star Reviews for Surrender Forever (Surrender Trilogy #3) by Raven J. Spencer #FF #Romance

Carter and Penny are back from their long awaited honeymoon, blissfully happy.  Nick, head of security for Carter, informs her that he has found evidence that Penny is stealing money from her and that she is in cahoots with their worst enemy.  I was annoyed at this turn of events as I just wanted them to live happily ever after.  Carter asks Nick to investigate and her friend Collette also delves into the mystery, but keeps it all from Penny.  When Nick takes it upon himself to ‘kidnap’ Penny again and interrogate her, Carter finds out and is furious.  When Penny walks out no-one could be surprised.  Their relationship seemed great but Penny is horrified that Carter doesn’t trust her.  It takes a lot of grovelling and a complete re-organisation of the security set-up for Penny to even listen to Carter again.  I really enjoyed this book as it developed these wonderful characters even more and the situation forced them to trust more and give up some control.  Carter finally sees that she has to let Penny be privy to all her secrets and become part of the team she has built.  Saving women in abusive and dangerous circumstances is what she does and Penny wants to help.  Penny becomes stronger and more assertive and I think this helps their relationship.  The book is very erotic and it really works.  But they are more than just lust.  This story finally brings them to a point where they can be equals and it is wonderful.  A great read and thoroughly recommended.  Be sure to go back and read the first two!

This was probably the best book in the series in terms of the relationship between Penny and Carter, although for plot I would have to go with the first book. This book had some interesting developments, mainly about a potential problem with Penny that requires investigation, and how Carter and her closest employees react to the situation. And how Penny reacts when things finally come to a head. I’ve been pushing this whole time for Penny to stand up to the power imbalance between her and Carter. This book sees Penny start to stand up for herself. There’s a very big imbalance between them anyway because Carter is extremely rich and is a successful businesswoman, and Penny is a hardworking college student who doesn’t come from a family of means. Carter seeks to redress this by giving half of her company and assets to Penny, but it doesn’t quite work because Penny doesn’t have the background to wield that power effectively. And truthfully, Penny doesn’t want that. What she wants is an equal partnership with Carter; she wants Carter to talk to her and treat her like her opinion matters. And at the end of this story, it seems like Carter finally, finally understands what Penny needs, and what the cost of ignoring those needs might be. A very satisfying resolution to this trilogy.