More erotica than romance, but unlike the erotica I don't care for, this had a plot, good characters and moments of romantic innuendos that were well placed enough for me to want to continue with the series to see if the romance actually ends up happening in the next book. It is a hard-line M/s BDSM with some masochism (hard slaps, physical dominance), so if that's not your tea bag, you might want to pass. It was an awkward start for me, and I almost DNF at around the 10% mark or so, but I was glad I gave it the full page count. It gets better as it goes along.