Girl Crush Mondays: Rachel Dawson of Blue Blooded by Shelly Bell

Series: Benediction 3
Format: eGalley
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Genre: Erotic Suspense | BDSM

A woman who refuses to be tied down...

Investigative reporter Rachel Dawson is always looking for her next big story. While working on a feature about BDSM, she lands a one-night, no-holds-barred pass into the exclusive sex club, Benediction. Rachel doesn't have a deviant bone in her body—or so she thought—until the infuriating, ex-soldier Logan Bradford convinces her to try rope bondage under his capable hands. But a steamy night turns deadly when Rachel and Logan witness a gruesome murder.

A Dom who's determined to bind her to him...

Framed for a crime they didn't commit and hunted by corrupt FBI agents, they flee. As Rachel and Logan search for evidence to clear their names, the attraction they've been fighting ignites into fiery passion. Love is the last thing Rachel wants, but night by night, as Logan binds her body, he unravels the knots around her heart. And when they uncover a shocking political conspiracy, Rachel will stop at nothing to reveal the truth…and it just might kill her.

BLUE BLOODED, the third book in Shelly Bell's erotic suspense series, Benediction, was absolutely thrilling from the conspiracy theory down to the romance between Rachel Dawson and Logan Bradford. 

What you'll get when you read BLUE BLOODED:

• There's a government conspiracy of sorts at play here. A terrorist attack with Senators and government agents at its helm. A big and dangerous enemy to have with only your wits to defend yourself. It wasn't much of a mystery, but I did love how current the conflict was. 


• It's a whirlwind romance. I can't call it "insta" as Rachel and Logan are acquainted. Things did developed fast after they got framed for a murder they didn't commit and was on the lam from the cops. 


• I'm not the biggest fan of "insta", I liked how SBell gave us the illusion that the romance between our couple developed at an even pace. There was great sexual tension between the two and the boinking didn't really happen until maybe halfway. Illusion... whoosh. 


• I loved how BLUE BLOODED took on the theme about control. Duh, BDSM erotica right? The thing is, Logan is a Dom and Rachel is a control freak. So how do you figure out which side is up between the two? This part you gotta read/experience for yourself. This reader is very satisfied with how the "figuring out" part went.


• It's Fall yet BLUE BLOODED turn up the heat to triple digit temperatures! Boy, oh boy, oh boy! I had to stop in between intense scenes lest I start fanning myself. I also want to underscore that the kink here shibari or rope bondage. Not unusual but a good break from the run off the mill spanking.

So if you want to get warm (or hot) in this weather, you know what to read next. *wink wink*

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Who is Rachel Dawson?

Name: Rachel Dawson

Age: 28

Height: 5’7

Hair: black

Eyes: Brown

Job: Television reporter for Detroit Channel Five

Hobbies: Pilates

Favorite Music: Taylor Swift and Brittany Spears

Favorite TV Show: 60 Minutes

Heroes: Walter Cronkite and Christiane Amanpour

Turn-offs: health food and overbearing men

Turn-ons: chocolate covered potato chips and getting the un-gettable story

Career goals: Anchor at a New York news station

When I began writing the first book in the Benediction series, White Collared, I planned to use the character of Rachel Dawson as an example of the press’s invasion of privacy into private citizens’ lives. But as I wrote her scenes, I saw deeper into her psyche. Rachel was headstrong, independent and career-driven, much like the White Collared heroine, Kate Martin, and both of them sought the same things—truth and justice. By the end of the book, I knew she deserved her own story and that there was only one man who would truly challenge her—Logan Bradford.

Despite having close girlfriends for the first time since childhood, Rachel doesn’t really let anyone know her. Because of that, it’s easy to believe the worst of her, but she truly has a big heart and she’s extremely defensive of those she cares about. She grew up in a strict religious household where her father’s rules were law and in her perception, her mother was weak. As a result, Rachel doesn’t allow anyone else dictate her actions. Her need to be self-sufficient and independent has prevented her from opening her heart to the chance at love.

She does not consider herself kinky, but she wants to understand her friends’ attraction to BDSM. She uses her position as a television news reporter to give her the excuse she needs to investigate both the lifestyle and the sex club, Benediction, intending to do a positive story on it rather than a judgmental one.

She’s had several one-night stands, but no relationships and has problems climaxing with a partner. Logan recognizes that she has trouble giving up control and because of that, has a problem relaxing. When they go on the run together, they agree to a short-term sexual relationship in which Logan will help her “turn off her brain” and surrender. Initially, he does this by tying her up, gagging, and blindfolding her, but he gets a bit more creative as the book unfolds. Logan and Rachel don’t label their relationship as one of Dominant and submissive. They’re just two people who enjoy bondage…and an occasional ménage. Does that make her kinky?

I think it just makes her Rachel Dawson.

A sucker for a happy ending, Shelly Bell writes sensual romance often with a bit of kink and action-filled erotic thrillers with high-emotional stakes for her alpha heroes and kick-ass heroines.


She began writing upon the insistence of her husband who dragged her to the store and bought her a laptop. When she’s not working her day job, taking care of her family, or writing, you’ll find her reading the latest smutty romance.

She currently writes for Avon Red Impulse, Loose Id, and Soul Mate Publishing.


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