Ruling It All by D.G. Carothers

I really enjoyed getting to know the characters in Ruling It All, but I have to say it didn't quite meet the brief I originally signed up for... 

From the Author:

Welcome to Bear Essentials, where we strive to make your inner beauty shine bright.

Mel Carter is perfectly content with their life. A chance encounter and a size fifteen foot in their mouth later, content is no longer acceptable.

Elias Garcia slammed into Mel's life with a carefree giggle. There was only one thing for a Dommy with a penchant for strict rules like Mel to do, assess their life and take the leap, okay two things.

Join Bear Essentials' front-end manager as they discover just how special the full-time genius, part-time free spirit, Elias aka Blu, really is.

Ruling It All is an M-NB sweet and fluffy romance with BDSM concepts, an age gap, pets who are "silent" characters, and an AI that will cause more than a little mishap.

Bear Essentials is a continuous series and must be read in order.

Baring It All
Ruling It All

Heather's Review:

Honestly, I disagree with the blurb - I read this book as standalone and found that while there were hints of a previous book, I didn't need the backstory to get into the story and stay with it from beginning to end.  I really enjoyed getting to know Mel and Elias and watch them start to work out their kinks.  I can see where knowing the couple from Baring It All could be interesting, they were supportive friends in this book and I didn't need to know their backstory to be fully involved in this book.

I was originally drawn to the book because of the warning that came with the tour request:

There is explicit sexual content between consenting adults. There's orgasm control, wax play, and more.

There is a dramatic scene involving EMTs and Police but NOT police violence, just the depiction of an emergency and dealing with emergency services and hospitals may be triggering for some.

The book does have orgasm control, but not in a way I traditionally consider it for BDSM purposes.  The wax scene is not sexual in any way, other than it involves a waxing of the genitals, but is done in a clinical setting by a spa professional.  There was no explicit sexual contact beyond kissing between the characters.  I feel like they just got to know each other and while they have a loving relationship, they haven't explored what that means to their sexual relationship.  This book is definitely fluffy, and I was shocked that it ended where it did. 

Overall, Ruling It All had good elements, but I felt it was missing key elements to make it a complete story.

Rating: 3.5 Stars