Toy Box: Bondage Mitts by LD Madison, Sean Michael and G.R. Richards

 
There are three stories in this Toy Box, and I've discovered a new author to keep an eye on.

Here's the blurb:

Sometimes a Dom wants more than just cuffs to keep his lover's hands occupied, and the results can be very sexy indeed! In A Tangled Web by LD Madison, Detective Greg Mallory disobeys a direct order, and Lieutenant Jake West decides to teach him a lesson he won't soon forget. But everything is not what it seems, and in the end, it might be Jake who learns a thing or two.

In This is Naughty Puppy Love by G.R. Richards. When Elio gives up teaching, his colleague Henry is heartbroken. Even more so because Elio is leaving the profession to clean houses for a living! Henry invites Elio to clean his home nonetheless, telling Elio to pay special attention to the bedroom. What does Elio find but a set of stunning leather puppy paw fist mitts? Puppy wants to play! 

Finally, Jim and Marcus from Bent are back in Hands Tied, a Hammer Story by Sean Michael. When Jim lets an former co-worker goad him into working himself into a frenzy and leaving his schedule behind, Marcus devises a way to help Jim not only focus on himself and his master, but to keep from working more than he should as well.

I wasn't terribly impressed with the first story, A Tangled Web.  I have issues with workplace romances where a boss or immediate supervisor feels they can spank someone just because they are the boss. My definition of BDSM includes the word consensual, when you get rid of that element then it becomes abuse. True, it becomes consensual in the story, but it doesn't start out that way. Also, the use of mitts isn't really important to the story, I got the feeling the mitts were added to the story later so it could be used in this anthology.

I don't believe I've ever read anything by G.R. Richards before, but This is Naughty Puppy Love certainly got my attention and I will be paying attention when I see this author's name in the future. The blurb gives the basics, but the story is very well written and does not follow the normal puppy play template. And the use of the mitts is hot.

The last story is by Sean Michael, if you've read Bent then you already know Jim and Marcus, and this story will be pretty familiar to you. It's a nice short, but nothing really new for this pair.

I have a problem rating anthologies, especially when there are good stories and not-so-good stories. I loved the second story, like the last story, and didn't care that much for the first.


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