2.5 stars rounded to 3 stars 
 With a name like Beards & Bondage, sexy book cover, and a blurb promising us an intense romance between two people who shared traumatic experience, this book had all the makings of being a great read. I had high expectations for this book, but unfortunately I was left unsatisfied. 
 Haven: Beards & Bondage is marketed as an erotic/BDSM romance but it lacks the intensity and the power play that you would expect from D/s relationship in this type of book. The hero, Shep, doesn't come across as an experienced Dom who knows what he is doing. The main heroine, Claudia, is not that interesting either. The sex scenes are underwhelming and rather tepid. I certainly wasn't feeling all hot and tingly while reading sex scenes, and my Kindle didn't catch fire. 
 Another reason I didn't enjoy this book is it has my least favorite type of narration - first person present tense. I rarely enjoy stories written in present tense. 
 This book could've been a psychological novel that explores an aftermath of trauma, it could've been an intense erotic BDSM story, it could've been a great romance between a raged, bearded mountain man and a city girl. Or it could've been all three, but unfortunately it fell short on all counts. 
 *ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley