Owning Wednesday: a BDSM romance by Annabel Joseph

 
Owning Wednesday is the second book I've read by Annabel Joseph. After reading Comfort Object, I wanted to read everything this author had ever written.

I'm not so sure of that after reading Owning Wednesday.  There is the same voice, the same understanding of what happens in a BDSM relationship. But.... I think, for a writer trying to show a realistic relationship, as opposed to the BDSM fantasy relationship... I think that coming up with story ideas must be difficult. I enjoyed watching the relationship grow and evolve, and there was enough of a plot for there to be good closure at the end. But, with all of that, the over-all story is a bit weak. I kind of hate to admit that, after wishing I could read something more realistic... when I get it, I find myself thinking it's not enough.

Here's the blurb

Wednesday has been with Vincent, her dominant and former teacher, for eight years. His detached ownership of her feels more like understanding than love, but she has
thrilled under his hands all the same. When Vincent decides it's time to end their formalized relationship, Wednesday is lost. 

But another man watches from afar, determined to make her his own. This man, Daniel, demands much more from Wednesday than the uncomplicated obedience she offered Vincent. What's more, he shares a complex secret with Vincent, with Wednesday at its core. 

Can Wednesday bear the excruciating demands of  intimacy with her new lover? What will happen when she discovers the secret Daniel and Vincent keep? Most importantly, who owns Wednesday, and what is the difference, ultimately, between being owned and loved? This book contains explicit scenes of dominance and submission, discipline & training, bondage, oral & anal sex & double penetration, menage a trois, and both harsh and loving bdsm scenes.
 

To break down what is in Owning Wednesday:

• Bondage and Displine: Yes. Lots of both.
• Dominance and Submission: Tons of it
• Sadism and Masochism:  Both.

One of the things I appreciated in Owning Wednesday was the distinction between seeing someone a few times a week and following their every order, and living with someone and following their every order. As nice as the fantasy is, too much of a good thing is still too much. How do you balance real life with an Owner and owned relationship? How does the owned one not lose herself entirely? Some want to lose their own identity, but not everyone does. And Wednesday still wants to be her own person, wants to offer that to Daniel. But how to hold onto yourself so you have that to give? Daniel and Wednesday eventually get there, but it's not a smooth road to figuring it out.

As in Comfort Object, there is some abuse that happens when the Dom feels he has been pushed too far. Not terrible terrible horrible abuse, no fists or anything, but standard BDSM activities that get taken too far. And the Dom later gets mad at the sub for not safewording, for not stopping him. That's wrong, the Dom is supposed to be in control. But then... it's right, too... the sub should safeword if she realizes things have gone past the whole safe and sane thing. So yes, it made me think, but I don't like that this has happened in both books.

There is also another familiar plot device from Comfort Object, where the Dom destroys the most important things to the submissive, to try to prove ownership in some sort of twisted way. I don't like that, and I hope it's not a recurring theme in Ms. Joseph's books.

As for the story elements, the plot is mostly the evolution of their BDSM relationship, with a few twists to try to make it more interesting. The pacing had issues, but wasn't terrible. Prose and dialogue are natural, both worked for me. Character development was okay - not great.

Heat Level: 5 of 5
Book Rating: Owning Wednesday: 8 of 10

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