You know that feeling when you’ve been wanting to read a book for a very long time, and then you do, and it’s everything you wanted it to be and more? That’s exactly how I feel about Praise by Sara Cate.
I bought Mercy, book four in the Salacious Players’ Club series, last summer (because hello Reverse Age Gap, Domme, Brat) but I didn’t read it right away. Even though it can be read as a standalone, I felt weird about starting a series at book four. So I waited… And I’m glad I did! Only one book in and I have so many feelings about this series. I’m of the opinion it’s best to start at the beginning and go from there. Every character who gets a book appears in Praise, and I’m glad to have had this introduction to them all.
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Praise, Book One of the Salacious Players’ Club
🥭🥭🥭🥭🥭
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
(you can find my rating and spice system here)
POV & Tense: Dual POV, first person, present tense.
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Tropes/Themes: Age Gap (19 years), Forbidden Romance, Ex-Boyfriend’s Dad, Praise Kink, Boss/Secretary, light Dom/Sub, Touch Her and Die, Self-Worth
Praise by Sara Cate, Book 1 Salacious Players’ Club
Synopsis:
Newly single following a nasty breakup, Charlie must visit her ex’s estranged father to get her share of the apartment deposit back. But when she arrives unannounced, Emerson Grant, a founder of the Salacious Players’ Club, mistakes her for his next sub. He asks her to get on her knees, and she’s so shocked she complies. But what astounds her even more is that she likes it. When Emerson offers her a job as his secretary, she’d be a fool to say no. The pay is excellent and Emerson is irresistible. So what that he’s nearly twice her age and her ex’s dad? It’s not like anything will ever come from it…
If this week has proven anything to me, it’s that I need to watch myself around this girl. She’s too perfect to ignore and too forbidden to be mine.”
My Review:
Praise is going on my list of 2023 faves. Who am I kidding? Likely the whole Salacious Players’ Club series is going on that list. This is one of those books that kept upping the ante and making me squirm (but in a good way). Sara Cate is known for writing books filled with ‘taboo’ subjects and women owning their sexuality, and Praise is exactly that. This book has it all: character development, plot, worldbuilding, spice, and humor. I love the chapter titles; they are the best. My favorite is “Rule #6: Avoid malls for the risk of running into your ex while holding bags of lingerie you fantasize wearing for his dad.”
Self-Worth
While this book revolves around a sex club and the world of kink and features Charlie’s sexual awakening with a much older man, it’s also very much a book about self-worth. In the beginning, Charlie has very low self-esteem. Her father left her and her family — a blow to any person’s self-worth — and then her ex, Beau, took her further down with his verbal abuse and his inability to shoulder any of the blame in their relationship. But working for Beau’s dad — and researching kink online to better understand the business — lights a fire in Charlie. He calls her Charlotte instead of Charlie and sees in her what she can’t see in herself. But on her knees, when he calls her his Good Girl, she can almost believe it.
Charlie’s character growth throughout the novel is phenomenal, and by the end, she’s Charlotte through and through (while still embracing Charlie). I couldn’t be prouder.
Excellent Spicy Scenes…
When Emerson and Charlie meet, there’s an instant attraction. And to give them credit, they do their best to dance around it — she’s his son’s ex, he’s her boss, and old enough to be her father. But they are like magnets, and no matter how hard they resist, they’re destined to come colliding together. It’s a bit of a slow burn at first, but the heat quickly builds with delicious unresolved sexual tension, and when things eventually bubble over, it’s a full-blown inferno. I really loved Sara’s creativity with her scenes (how they came to be, the kinks involved, and the character development throughout), and all forbidden secrets come to light in the most explosive ways possible.
“You can take it,” he mutters. My lips part and our eyes meet. And I realize what this is. He’s punishing me by reminding me who I really belong to.
Compelling Characters
I LOVED the side characters. Charlie’s family — she has the best little sister who’s great for telling it like it is, and a supportive mom. I loved meeting the other Salacious Players’ Club owners and members (this has me eagerly awaiting their books!), especially Madame Kink herself, Eden St. Claire. Charlie was so nervous and uncomfortable around her when they first met, and the difference between their first meeting and their last encounter was amazing (a testament to Charlie’s growth).
Final Thoughts:
I’ve already said it, but I’ll say it again. Praise was everything I wanted it to be and more. I’m so excited to continue with the Salacious Players’ Club series — like, binge them back-to-back excited — but I think I’m going to space them out. I know this is a series I’ll reread again and again, but you only get to read a series for the first time once and I intend to savor them like a fine case of wine.
The Salacious Players’ Club series by Sara Cate
~~ Read my reviews for book two: Eyes on Me, book three: Give Me More, and book four: Mercy ~~
Author Stalking (but not in a creepy way):
Sara Cate has an impressive backlist of deliciously steamy contemporary romance novels (and there are more on the way).
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