Up in Knots

With this uneven melodrama, Archer makes promises she doesn’t intend to keep. Kyla Grant attends a BDSM convention, hoping to hunt and bag local rope bondage enthusiast Sawyer. Everything goes according to plan right up until the moment of actual intimacy, when Kyla is overwhelmed by flashbacks to the death of her previous lover. Archer repeatedly approaches the proposed subject, erotic romance with rope bondage, only to step aside, cut away, or fade to black. Sometimes the dodge happens through sudden emotional breakdowns in otherwise mentally balanced characters. Other times, it’s a clear choice on the part of the author to skip ahead to the morning after. The characters are also inconsistent and unreliable; supposedly dominant Sawyer frequently self-contradicts and engages in manipulation rather than erotic domination, and submissive Kyla seems intent on creating dangerous situations for herself. All could be forgiven for a little spice and sizzle, but the stilted prose and lack of chemistry make this a tedious and disappointing tale. (Mar.)