Erika writes books for children and her Daddy is a rich publisher. Max or M.L. Crawford is a media mogul and Chris is the heir to Erika's fathers throne. Erika wants to be with Chris because she thinks he is charming, they make a great couple yadda yadda. Max comes into her life with a zing and they have an electric connection. Max is into Dominance and submission and loves to give a girl a good whip. Erika is innocent to the wider world of sex and yet wants to take the plunge with Max because they have a connection. So goes the story...I have so many thoughts and feelings about this book. I hate Chris with a passion. He seemed nice to begin with then turned into a slimy douche with the mixings for an abusive boyfriend. I am continuously annoyed by Erika. She can't make up her mind and seems to ignore the obvious. Appears completely assertive one moment and then suddenly can't stand up for herself. She shows moments of fire but I just can't like her. There is something off about her character, I find that she jumps to conclusions too quickly, gets mad about the wrong thing and trusts the wrong people. Max seemed like the regular suave business man with a kink and sob story background yet he too comes off as an asshole. When is using sex as a weapon helpful ever in a fight? Someone is mad at you and you aggressively seduce them into having sex with you. They want it but they're still so mad at you that you get slapped at the end of it. I'm sorry but did that promote any kind of progress?? No.
Those things aside the story revolves around the love triangle and the kink that Max needs that Erika is experimenting with. The shining stars are Catherine and Bryan whose mangled lives warrant a story of their own. I was drawn to them and their dynamic which was written beautifully with so much tension and fluent heat. Things that did not come through in the three miserables love triangle who seemed to bumble through everything with enough clout to knock out an elephant. The Gate was a grand setting I just can't get past these characters and particularly one event in the book.