Number Thirteen by Bella Jewel

**AUTHOR NOTE - This is NOT a BDSM Romance**

We're thirteen girls, captive, slave to our master.
A master we've never seen.
Obedience will become all we know in our shallow existence. It is the only emotion we're permitted to feel.
When we're bad, we're punished. When we're good, we're rewarded.
Our scars run deep. Yet we survive, because we have to...
because HE teaches us to.
All of us are special, we feel it with everything we are.
He has us for a reason, but it's a reason we don't know.
We've never seen his face, but we know that something deeply broken lies beneath the darkness. With every touch, with every punishment, we know it.
Then something changed.
He showed me who he truly is.
Now I want him.
I'll go against everything I know to be with him.

A monster.

My monster.

Loving him is a sin, but a sinner I am. I won't stop until I see every part of him. Even the parts he keeps locked deep down inside.

I am Number Thirteen, and this is my story.

When looking at the cover I expected to find a dark and twisted story.  What I found was a man who had been hurt terribly and instead of becoming the monster he had every right to be, he went a different way and tried to make the world a better place.  It was a unique read for me; I don’t believe I have ever come across a story with the same elements as this book.

William is a character that I immediately connected with in the first chapter.  At no point did my views of him ever change even during the times the story was just starting to unfold.  His life revolved around, doing the right things will give you rewards, and breaking the rules will lead to punishment.  He was also devoted to teaching this to 13 women whom he had just brought into his home.  With a firm hand he begins the journey of earning their trust.  Some went smoothly, one wasn’t going to break. 

Emelyn, also known as Number 13 had no memory of her past, she just knew she was in trouble and Master Will was a monster she needed to avoid.  That avoidance soon became a mission for her to figure him out, what was he hiding, why did he kidnap her and the other 12 women.  As the answers begin to come, she begins to give him her trust and have feelings for him instead of trying to find a way to escape.

As we get to know more about the adult William and his family, I felt even more affection towards him.  His story is heart breaking and he longs to be loved and accepted, but there is always that belief that his appearance will prevent anyone from seeing the true beauty in him.  Emelyn will start getting her memories back and she will be forced to accept what happen and what she lost.  The author tugged at my heart when I was reading this part of the story. 

There are some twists and turns in this story that will take you for a ride, but I don’t think any of them will be triggering to most.  William is adamant about the fact he will NEVER take sex from a lady with force so there are no rape scenes and the “physical abuse”, not to be confused with BDSM was done as punishment and I didn’t feel it was to detailed or overdone.  I can honestly say I did enjoy the majority of this book, of course there were a few times that felt it dragged or we were left wondering what was happening, overall it was a quick and smooth read.  I would recommend this book to readers but please don’t base your expectations on the cover.