I hope this review will make you think. Counsellor demanded my thoughts about myself. If I could, I would post the review without stars. There is at least one spoiler in this review, so read beyond the third paragraph at your peril. 1/4/16 I've changed the stars to 4 because I've spend a lot of time in the past two days thinking about the content. 
 This story is incredibly powerful, twisting and compelling. It made me care considerably about Stella [the heroine] and about what becomes of her (apparently to be revealed in the next two books). Cliffy warning. 
 And yet ... Sinclair [the male main character] has gone beyond the limits of what I can ever excuse, to physical harm that is permanent. If the book were marketed as fiction or horror, that would be one thing - and better, IMHO. To label it as "erotic" means that someone is supposed to find something erotic in this situation, either in what Sinclair does to Stella, or in what Stella is 'privileged' to receive. I do get - or thought I got - the 'non-consent, dubious consent, make me do what I want to do but can't admit it to myself' plot allure for some readers. The liberation it provides. I've read great Stockholm syndrome books. 
 2/11/16 Update: I keep thinking about this book, even after reading the second one (Magnate). As I see how the story is start to unfold (perhaps 1/2 way there?), I'm more impressed by the first book, so I've raised the stars from 4 to 5. (I started at 3.) 
 SPOILERS BELOW 
 Why is reading a rape scene as part of a story - very real emotional and physical trauma - easier for me than reading about forced tattooing or whipping-to-permanent-scars, no matter how well healed? I don't know. Nor do I know what that distinction may say about me. I'm not ready to delve into it too deeply. 
 Then, to read that Stella's father has sold her (if true) was ... horrible. As a father of a daughter, I can't imagine anything much worse. As horror novel, Counsellor is ... total horrific. And well written, and deserves 5 stars. As erotica? Or erotic-horror? I don't know. As a book that I find erotic for me, zero stars. 
 How much more abuse/horror/punishment of Stella can I stand before I find out what happens to her ... two books from now? Can I read the next book? How mad will I be if Stella, somehow, ends up accepting whatever Sinclair does to her in the next three rounds of [torture/bdsm/erotic entanglement while her year of non-consensual slavery continues], no matter how horrible? Sinclair is being threatened. Will the how and why of it, when Stella discovers it - when I discover it - somehow 'justify' his actions? What if she accepts Sinclair permanently in some HEA? 
 If there is cosmic justice, Sinclair and one brother get branded (with fire, not a tattoo), flogged to permanent scars, and sent to Siberia. Permanently. Stella and Teddy (another brother) have an HEA. Together they bring down the entire southern power structure, all of whom get sent to a Louisiana prison farm for life. Whether the author gets sent there I've yet to decide - the jury is out, Ms. Aaron. 
 Do I give Counsellor one star (like reviewer Paul did) or five? 
 If I was to rate this book on writing style I'd give it five stars, however based on content and my reading experience it'd be much lower so I settle in the middle - 3 stars. I reserve the right to come back and raise, or lower, the stars when I've read the whole series. 2/11/16: Now raised by me to 5 stars. 
 My disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book. I don't know if Ms. Aaron expected a review or not; I'm a fan of creative types, and old enough to remember to say thank you, so I've written my review.