Happy weekend everyone. It seems like lately I've been reading mostly books that deal with some form of gender bending, lesbian bdsm or male Dom/female sub erotica. This week I felt like getting back to the Femdom/male sub genre, so I picked up a copy of Her Domain (Extended Version) by Goddess Victoria Black.
Shaun's rating:
This is a collection of short stories, all are femdom and there are very strong themes of puppy play and boot fetish throughout. I'm trying to remain objective with this review, but I will admit that puppy play is not something that interests me particularly and I found it to be a bit tedious and repetitive for my tastes. If puppy play appeals to you; you may find this book more appealing than I. Now, I kind of like boots; I wouldn't say it is a fetish of mine, but still a bit of boot worship is titillating to me. However, the boot fetish I felt was overdone in this book as well. Frankly, I just got bored of it.
Some of the stories were pretty good. Many of the stories I thought had great potential. I found myself beginning to get drawn into certain stories. I hoped the author was going to take me someplace new and exciting and wonderful. I wanted to go there, really I did, but each time I thought we were headed there- I was disappointed. There were some interesting twists to some of the stories, but they were just never really fleshed out. The very first story was a good example of this, and was perhaps my favorite story of the book. As I began reading I was thinking 'Gawd, it's just another formulaic cruel bitch Domme story', but it ended with a wonderful twist that gave me great hope for the rest of the book. Unfortunately my hopes were never realized.
After the first story the rest of of the book continued to be rather formulaic, cookie cutter, femdom fantasy fluff. It's the kind of stuff you can easily find for free on any number of story sites online. There just was nothing there that made me feel like I had spent my money wisely in purchasing this book. There wasn't a great deal of character or scene development, and I was not drawn into any of the stories.
Just a note, this book is supposed to contain a number of photos of Goddess Black and scenes from her dungeon or sessions. None of the images were present in my Kindle copy (I read the book on the Kindle App on my Ipad, not sure if that had anything to do with the images not showing up or not). I'm not taking that into account in my review, I purchased the book for the stories not the images, but I want to make potential purchasers aware of this issue.
The copy editing of this book left a great deal to be desired. There were many misused words, spelling and grammar errors, and continuity problems. I found it impossible to get into a flow reading, I was constantly being tripped up by editing problems.
I'm giving Her Domain two out of five paddles, I can't recommend this book.
I had a bit of a crazy busy week, but I did manage to sneak some reading in. This week I read Beauty And The Bitch: A BDSM Lesbian Romance by Shawna Hunter.
Shaun's rating:
This is the second book by Shawna Hunter that I have read recently, well actually the first was an audiobook that I listened to, and I must say I really enjoy her writing. Ms Hunter once again manages to tell a story that is not only sexy but that actually has an interesting plot and characters as well.
Beauty And The Bitch is the story of a small town librarian who finds it necessary to improve her physical fitness. She joins a gym and engages a physical trainer whom she begins to find very attractive. As her relationship with her trainer develops whole new worlds are opened up to her.
This is just an enjoyable and entertaining story to read, the hot erotic scenes are delicious icing on the cake. The characters are interesting and likable. The descriptions draw the reader in with enough detail to paint the picture without becoming tedious. The editing was excellent, with hardly a flaw and nothing glaring enough to disrupt the flow of reading.
I definitely recommend this book, and I'm giving it four and one half out of five paddles.
Happy October everyone. This week I'll be reviewing Loosely Women by Iain Benson.
Shaun's rating:
While I normally review erotica here, this week I'm stepping away from that and and reviewing a piece of transgender fiction.
Loosely Women is a tale of several transgender women. It chronicles a period of time when their lives intersect and the two main characters, one transsexual and one cross-dresser, are struggling with the need to come out to their families and friends so that they can lead a more authentic life.
This is a well written and interesting story that delves into some of the fears, and emotional conflicts, that are a part of the transgender experience. The story flows smoothly, keeps the reader's interest, and is peppered with a bit of humor. I thought the author did an excellent job of allowing the characters to express the emotional conflict that is a part of being closeted and having to live in a way that is not authentic to one's self.
I did find the character development to lag a bit at first, perhaps because the author is introducing us to several characters who play a big part in the story very quickly, and I had a bit of trouble keeping track of them all at first. As the story went on I was able to get to know all the characters and came to like (or dislike) them as familiarity grew.
With the above said, this story never truly gripped me. I enjoyed the book, but for some reason I was never really emotionally involved with the characters or story.
The editing was so-so in this book. It was well enough edited to be readable, but there were problems and times where the problems were serious enough to pull me from the story. This was, perhaps, a contributing factor to my never being able to become truly involved in the story.
I'm giving Loosely Women three paddles out of five. I do recommend it if you are interested in transgender fiction, while not a great book is certainly worth reading.
I listened to a terrific audiobook this week, Submission Backstory: Memoir Of A BDSM Authoress, by Shawna Hunter and narrated by Sierra Kline.
Shaun's rating:
I think what I most loved about this book was that it actually told an interesting story. When I read erotica I absolutely want it to be sexy and steamy, but I also want a story that I can get involved in, something that pulls me in and keeps me interested in the characters and what is going to happen to them next. This book delivers very well on all of the above.
This the story of Alyssa, a lifestyle reporter, who travels to New York in pursuit of a hot story. While working to get an interview with someone who is at the center of this story she is chasing; she meets a young man, David, who seems to be tangential to the story but who may actually be able to guide her to an even bigger story. As Alyssa begins pursuing this story she experiences things, hot exciting things, that awaken a new awareness and desire in her.
Submission Backstory is very well written. The story flows smoothly, the descriptions draw the reader in and keeps their interest. The erotic scenes are hot and intense without being over-done. The characters are interesting and well drawn.
Sierra Kline does a beautiful job narrating this book. Her voice and pace draw the listener in and add a steaminess to the listening experience.
I absolutely recommend Submission Backstory, I am giving it four and one half out of five paddles.
Well, I finally made my way back here and this week I'll be giving you my thoughts on Painted Doll: An Erotic Science Fiction Novel by M. Christian.
Shaun's rating:
Painted Doll is set in the near future in a dystopian world. The West has fallen apart and Claire has escaped from the Pacific Northwest USA to the East where she makes a life for herself. She meets a girl named Flower shortly after her arrival in the East, they become friends and then lovers. At first they are refugees, struggling to survive, but they begin to build a better life for themselves; until they cross the wrong person, Taka. Their only means of survival is to hide. Flower is sent away and Claire assumes a new persona, that of Domino the Erotosist. As an Erotosist Domino leads her clients on a sexual journey, without ever actually having sex with them. The brain is the most erotic sex organ after all. Taka's minions continue to search for Claire and Flower as they struggle to hide, survive, and perhaps find a way to reunite.
As usual M. Christian draws the reader deeply into the story. The characters are complex and the reader soon comes to feel involved. The settings and descriptions are vivid and well drawn while still inviting the reader to use their own imagination as they are brought into this world.
The eroticism of Painted Doll is... different. Most of the erotic scenes involve the characters describing, rather than actually having, sex. It's intriguing and, frankly, hot. I loved how this story explored the mind as a source of eroticism rather than just the pussy and cock.
I received a free copy of Painted Doll for review, and honestly the editing and formatting needs some work. There were quite a few problems with my copy, a few that were serious enough to effect the flow of the story. Hopefully the version that is sold has better editing. I will say that even with the editing problems I still recommend this book.
I'm giving Painted Doll four out of five paddles.
Sorry everyone, I've been busy and haven't been able to post reviews weekly here. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get back to weekly postings but I'll get reviews posted as I can.
This week I'll be sharing my thoughts on Lillian, Dominatrix by Andrea Riley.
Shaun's rating:
My feelings toward this book could not be more ambiguous. There was nothing about it I loved, nor was there anything I hated.
This book tells the story of Lillian, a successful dominatrix, who meets Jackson. Jackson intrigues Lillian, she finds herself quite attracted to him even though he doesn't quite fit into the mold of her usual. Jackson it turns out is a Dom and there is a bit of a struggle as they try to figure out if and how they can fit together.
The plot, character development, hotness, and editing of this book are all just kind of- okay. I was never captivated, I never really cared about the characters, and I was never particularly titillated. At the same time none of these things were particularly bad.
I can't recommend this book, however if you read the blurb and it sounds particularly interesting to you I would not discourage you from reading it.
Can a review get any more ambiguous than this? Sorry folks, but this book just left me feeling kind of... 'Eh'.
I'm giving Lillian, Dominatrix two and one half out of five paddles.
Continuing the recent trend of doing something a bit different here, this week I'll be giving you my thoughts on a historical novel; Two Spirits: A Story of Life With the Navajo by Walter L Williams & Toby Johnson.
Shaun's rating:
Two Spirits tells the story of the removal to, internment at, and subsequent release of the Navajo (Dine) people from the Bosque Redondo reservation in New Mexico which occurred in the 1860s immediately following the U.S. civil war. This is one of the most shameful (among many shameful) examples of the Euro-Americans treatment of Indigenous Americans. As with most historical novels this one is loosely based on historical facts, with plenty of liberties taken for the sake of the story, but the essence of the actual history is there.
The truly interesting thing about this novel is the authors attempt to tell of the acceptance of gender variations and differing sexual preferences by the Native Americans (At least the Navajo and some other Native Americans). One of the main characters is homosexual and the other is transgender. Of course like most real people these are not absolutes, both gender and sexual preference generally exists along a spectrum and such is the case with both of these characters. There are other characters in the book with varying genders and sexual preferences as well.
The story of the Navajo and the Bosque Redondo is certainly an interesting one, and one that we as a nation must never forget and hopefully will learn from. The authors do a credible job of telling this story, and of course of getting their message of gender and sexual acceptance across. I did find though that the writing was just a bit simplistic. I honestly felt that this book, perhaps minus the few erotic scenes, would be much more appropriate for a preteen/teen audience. It just never gripped me, or truly drew me into the story, and I am a huge fan of historical fiction.
Since I normally do discuss and review erotica here, I will mention that there were a few short erotic scenes in this book and that those scenes were pretty well done.
The book was well edited and very readable.
I'm giving Two Spirits three and one half out of five paddles. If you are interested in historical fiction and/or books that show gender/sexual preference acceptance in a positive light I think you will enjoy this novel.
