The Last Girl by Kitty Thomas

 

Kitty Thomas' writing style appears to be pretty straightforward and minimalistic when you first begin reading her stories, but she can really pack an emotional punch. Comfort Food haunted me for days, my thoughts going to the psychology of submission way more times in a day than can be considered normal by any stretch of the imagination. By looking at a relationship that begins as non-consent and turns into consent, it sheds a whole new light on a relationship that begins consensually and gradually gets edgier and edgier. What I'm going around the bush to try to say is that her writing makes you think.

The Last Girl is another non-consent story, and with the addition of a vampire who has powers a mere mortal man does not, the story has some extra twists and turns.

Here is the blurb:

Six years ago strangers broke into Juliette’s house; she was home alone and only thirteen. She kept her eyes closed, praying that if she didn’t see anything, she wouldn’t be killed. No one harmed her. In fact, one of the thieves protected her. Now Juliette’s dreams are haunted by him.

Christian has waited to take her, resisting the urge each night. It always ends badly with human pets. They’re too fragile. The longer he can wait, the better, because the moment he takes her, the clock on her life starts ticking down.

Then she’ll be gone forever.

I both liked and disliked Christian, which I'm pretty sure is how I was supposed to feel. He is a monster and he makes no apologies for it. He is honest though, even when it isn't convenient to be, and I always respect that in a person.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: 3 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: 3 of 3.
• Sadism and Masochism: He is certainly sadistic, and she has some masochistic tendencies, but not on the level of his sadism. 2 of 3 
• Extra Point: I've gone back and forth on this one. It is an extreme book, and the D/s play is a major factor throughout. However, it is not consensual, and in my mind BDSM by definition is consensual. But, if I don't give it then that puts the intensity level at an 8, and it's more intense than that. So, yes.

As for the writing elements, the plot is exceptional and has an unexpected and satisfying ending, something I had no idea was possible throughout most of the book. Pacing was fine, prose and dialogue were well written, character development was exceptionally well done, and world-building was detailed and interesting.

The Last Girl is a 10 of 10 for me, and the heat level a 4 of 5.

• Book Rating: The Last Girl: 10 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 9 of 10
• Heat Level: 4 of 5

One final note, the author has her own warning about not condoning "behavior done to another human being without their consent". I'll add my two cents to that and say non-consent can be hot in a fiction book (or in role play with your husband), but it has no place in real life.


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The Surrender of Persephone by Selena Kitt

 

The Surrender of Persephone is one of those books you should not judge by the cover.  The evil looking guy on top is not the idea I got from the Hero at all, and I have no idea what the red bomb in the jail cell is supposed to symbolize.

However, while the cover isn't working for me, the story (and the storytelling) worked for me in a myriad of ways.

The blurb makes it look like it's more of a non-consent than it actually is. While he certainly doesn't play fair when getting her consent, she does have the final say in whether she loses her virginity or not. I appreciated that.

Here's the blurb:

Sheltered Persephone, Goddess of Spring, never gets to do anything— thanks to the suffocating love of her mother, Demeter. Sephie is being carefully groomed to follow in the footsteps of the two “virgin” goddesses, Athena and Artemis, and while they sure do have a lot of fun together, she longs for something deeper—and darker. When Aidon, the God of the Underworld—generally known as Hades—appears in his chariot to claim Persephone for his bride, the young goddess gets more than she wished for.

Held captive in the Underworld, she suddenly longs to return to the safety and security of her mother’s protection, but the dark and commanding Aidon binds her to him, claiming her bit by glorious bit as his own. Her coming of age is one of sexual awakening as she learns the bondage her new master imposes fulfills her darkest desires. Persephone finds herself submitting to and obeying Aidon’s command and discovers being taken and consumed in the heat of passion by a man—a god—is what she was truly made for. Persephone can’t deny her own nature, or her growing feelings for Aidon, as she submits to his domination and surrenders as his wife and prepares to rule as his Queen.

As she finally admits her own feelings, Persephone faces the looming specter of her history, which threatens to shatter the newly formed bonds between the couple. She must now face not only her past, but her present, and her future—no longer only the Goddess of Spring, but also as the wife of Aidon and Queen of the Underworld—and the choices she will be forced to make will change the world forever.

 I ended up skimming over the sex scene with Athena and Artemis, as it was mostly vanilla lesbian playing around, and vanilla doesn't do anything for me. It was still well written, just not my thing. Once Aiden comes into the picture I skimmed through nothing.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: 2 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: 3 of 3.
• Sadism and Masochism: 2 of 3. 
• Extra Point: Yes

As for the writing elements:

• The plot was wonderful.
• Pacing was fine.
• Prose and Dialogue were skillfully woven together.
• Character development was exceptionally well done.
• World-building was detailed and imaginative and I loved it.

I enjoy many of Selena Kitt's BDSM books, and I think The Surrender of Persephone is one of the best she's written. It's got a big strong all-powerful Dom who is fair and kind as well as tyrannical and sadistic. And his bride ends up being pretty much perfect for him. They are a perfect match.

• Book Rating: The Surrender of Persephone: 10 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 8 of 10
• Heat Level: 5 of 5

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The Prince's Boy Volume One by Cecilia Tan

 

We are warned at the beginning that this story was written as a serial, and thus it has something exciting in every chapter. I did find this to be the case, but it wasn't a problem for me. Not all of the titillating bits were my thing, so I still found that the enjoyable bits (for me) were mostly spread out enough that I wasn't on sensual overload.

As for the story, I must warn that this is Volume One, so it ends on a cliffhanger. I went looking and discovered the rest of the story is being given out one chapter at a time over at Circlet Press. It looks like there are another few weeks left until we reach the end of the story, so I'll be checking in on Wednesdays for a while, I suppose. Yes, the story is that interesting.

This is fantasy... a world where there are kings and whipping boys and magic. And, of course, there is more than one kind of magic, with one being seen as good and one being seen as bad -- Day Magic and Night Magic. The world building is very well done, I felt the rules of this world were well defined and I had no confusion about what was and was not possible.

Some of the BDSM activity is consensual, some is not. The story is a good one, the characters are well developed. I went looking for the next installment more for the story than the sex, though I will also say that there are areas that the sex carries the story, so that isn't the case throughout.

Here's the blurb:

In a fantasy world where male/male lust fuels Night Magic, Prince Kenet lives a sheltered life. Isolated from the war that threatens the kingdom, he and his whipping boy Jorin are of age, but still sneak forbidden pleasures in their bed at night. When a dark mage tries to bespell Kenet into sexual submission, the prince and his boy are thrust into the world of intrigue, sex, and war.

Volume One of The Prince's Boy collects chapters 1 through 56 of this wildly popular gay erotic web serial by Cecilia Tan. Begun on July 29, 2009, chapters were posted weekly, following the adventures of Prince Kenet and his whipping boy, Jorin. Drawing on complex themes of dominance and submission, the need for secrecy in a world where homosexuality is not accepted, and the intertwining of sex with magic, Tan weaves a complex, sex-filled adventure that is part  "Three Musketeers" and part  "Claiming of Sleeping Beauty."

I'm not sure I agree with the last part, as I don't really see it as all that similar to either the Three Musketeers or the Beauty series, but that's okay. It's an enjoyable story with interesting plot lines and good reasons to throw in a lot of sex with elements that include various BDSM type activities.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: Most is not consensual, 3 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: A decent amount is consensual, sort of,  3 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism: There is a good bit of pain, but most of it is not really enjoyed in a masochistic way, 1 of 3 
• Extra Point: No

As for the writing elements plot pacing prose dialogue character development world-building

• Book Rating: The Prince's Boy Volume One: 8 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: The pain and subjection is intense at times, but the sum of the parts is only a 7 of 10 
• Heat Level: 5 of 5

Cecelia Tan has done a good job of creating an interesting world with intriguing characters.  I am looking forward to seeing where the story takes us next.

Blood Slave by Michelle Houston

 

Blood Slave is a short read that consists of two closely related stories.

Here's the blurb:

Sometime in the near future, vampires have been found to exist and have been hunted down and systematically infected with a virus that causes them to lose their sight. But they have found a way around it, through the use of blood slaves.

Where The Blind Leads: Brandon is one of those possible slaves, and if his interview goes right, he will become his master's new eyes, food supply, and lover. After his master is done whipping him and testing his sexual abilities.

Leading The Blind: Nicholas used to be one of those slaves, but through the slow infection of the virus, he has been turned. Now he is facing a future he knows nothing about--dominating another. His old master decides to step in a find a new master for Nicholas, a mortal man who is not only willing to dominate a blind vampire, but also to be his blood slave.

First, let me just say that the first story is hot. I'll even go so far as to say Smokin' Hot. It's short, but it packs a nice punch. The second story isn't quite as hot, but there is some emotion in there, and it's also an enjoyable read.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline:  No physical bondage, but a metaphysical one that is perhaps more encompassing than ropes and chains. And there is the promise of discipline. 2 of 3.
• Dominance and Submission: Yes. 3 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism: Yes. 2 of 3. 
• Extra Point: Yes.

As for the writing elements, the plot is creative and different and I enjoyed it. The pacing is fine, prose and dialogue are well done, character development is good for the short story we are given, and world-building is well done and gives us a different take of the world of vampires. 

• Book Rating: Blood Slave: 10 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 8 of 10
• Heat Level: 5 of 5

It's possible that the intensity level isn't giving a totally accurate picture this time. Most of the time I believe my ratings system works, but in this case you should be aware that it's a pretty hard core BDSM situation, and that if the story was longer then these particular couples most assuredly would have done enough for their relationships to warrant a 10 of 10.

I enjoyed Blood Slave and recommend it for those who appreciate the idea of consenting to be a slave, but then losing the ability to withdraw consent once it is given. The slaves in this world still have control, as they can change Masters at any time, but once they consent to becoming a slave there is no going back to being a free person.

I would be very interested in a full length novel written in this world. The world building is an interesting concept, with lots of possibilities when it comes to how vampires interact with each other when their slaves are their eyes. What would a party would look like, how would political meetings work, how would vampires police themselves.... I can imagine all kinds of fun rules for the slaves in those situations.

Vampire Mistress (Vampire Queen Book 5) by Joey W. Hill

 

I chose not to read Vampire Mistress when it first came out because I was aware that Vampire Mistress would give us the first half of a story that would be completed in Vampire Trinity. I waited for Vampire Trinity to come out, so I could read the entire story once I started it.

Unfortunately, I'm not attached enough to these characters that I feel the need to read Vampire Trinity right away. I have an ARC of Venom that arrived this morning, and I'm going to read it, and possibly a few other books, before I begin Vampire Trinity.

Some of Joey W. Hill's books work for me in just about every way possible (Rough Canvas, for instance). Others just don't. And there were some word choices this time that jolted me out of the story, things like "not ungently", where I have to do the math and remember that a double negative cancels itself out so she saying it was done gently. This showed up several times in the form of "not un_____ly", and each time it annoyed me and pulled me out of the story.

Here's the blurb, then I'll talk about what worked for me and what did not.

Sometimes desire can work three ways...

In May 2010, Joey W. Hill returns to the dark and seductive landscape of her Vampire Queen novels as a desperate woman finds herself trapped between the desires of two men, each with his own mission of the night.

Gideon Green is a hardcore vampire hunter. But in the past year, his only family, his little brother, became a vampire queen’s servant – and then a vampire himself, giving Gideon a different view of the vampire world. Since Gideon’s sole purpose for over a decade has been killing vampires, the violence that has scarred his soul now haunts his conscience.

Then he crosses paths with a sexy BDSM night club owner, Mistress Anwyn. Their connection is immediate and intense, but she has a silent partner--the vampire Daegan Rei. When Anwyn is viciously attacked and turned by a rogue vampire, Gideon and Daegan join to protect her through a dangerous transition. As the bonds between the three of them draw tighter, Gideon faces an unbelievable truth...that the path to meaning in his life may be found in surrendering to the desires and needs of two vampires.

I think I'm going to start off here by talking about the writing elements:

The pacing was terrible. Way more telling than showing, and so much contemplation and inward searching I was tempted to start glossing over those paragraphs. I think there was possibly more contemplation and psych type stuff than there was action or dialogue. One of Ms. Hills strengths is her ability to show emotions, and have her characters deal with a whole lot of crap and then come out okay on the other side. But it wasn't there for me with Vampire Mistress. Based on the reviews on Amazon I think I'm in the minority, but... there it is. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it, and there were times I almost set it aside to read something else.

The dialogue was good, no problems with that. Like I said, it was the inner searching stuff that had problems, and there was just so much of it. But prose was... a bit too wordy at times. I know authors are supposed to really describe everything, and give us all five senses as much as they can. But some of the descriptions were overdone for me.

Character development, for Joey W. Hill, wasn't all that good. I usually fall in love with her characters, and I did not. I like them, but not enough to feel the need to pick up the next book right now. For another author I would have said character development was okay but not great.

World-building is pretty consistent with other books in this series, and it's well done.

The plot was, well, it was predictable. It's a good plot, and a nice way to have a BDSM menage with a male Dom, female switch, and male sub/slave. The characters are strong, each with their own issues to deal with (of course), and they mesh nicely with the story.

I feel like I've talked only about what I didn't like, so I'll point out what I did like: the world building, the conflict expressed between vampire and the vampire's humanity, the camaraderie that Gideon and Daegan find when they begin to find the things they have in common instead of focusing on their differences. I loved that the first time this really happens, for something other than Anwyn, was when they were talking about weapons.


BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: Yes, though not all of the bondage is done with a BDSM purpose. We see the promise of some discipline towards the end, but until that scene it's not really a part of the story. I'm wavering between a 1 and 2, but I think it's a  2 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: Yes, but it's complicated. And the submission isn't given (for most of the story) because the person wants to submit, but because... well, I don't want to give spoilers, but he submits (or rather, believes he submits) for reasons other than that of a man who wants to submit, so I can't give it a 3. The Dominance is certainly there, but the submission parts need some work. 2 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism: Not really.  0 of 3
• Extra Point: No

I'm going to have to give Vampire Mistress a 7 of 10. I plan to read Vampire Trinity at some point, and I hope that it makes me feel better about Vampire Mistress than I feel at this time.

There are a couple of really nice (i.e. hot) scenes, but overall the Heat Level is only a 2 of 5 for me.  All in all, I was really looking forward to Gideon's story, and I find myself disappointed by what I've read of it so far. I have been such a fan of Joey W. Hill that it pains me to give a bad review, but I've gotta be honest. So...

• Book Rating:Vampire Mistress: 7 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 4 of 10
• Heat Level: 2 of 5

1. The Vampire Queen's Servant
2. The Mark of the Vampire Queen
3. A Vampire's Claim
4. Beloved Vampire
5. Vampire Mistress
6. Vampire Trinity

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Summer School: A Ponygirl Novel by Jurgen von Stuka

 

Summer School is a non-consensual tale of girls being forced into pony play. Actually, the term "pony play" isn't quite right here, because this is quite serious, with no playing around. The girls are eventually made into something as close to ponies as a human body can be taken. (Probably a lot farther than you're thinking.) There are also human cows and human piggies, once you get into the story.

Some non-BDSM parts of the story bothered me:

• The author tried to show that this could be an economic venture, and tried to explain how the "missing" girls could be explained. I agree you could possibly explain some missing girls in this manner, but once there are dozens of girls who go away to school and then never go home again... for families with fifteen thousand dollars to blow on summer camp, they are going to be able to hire private detectives and lawyers, too.
• The description of some of the gadgets was too much for me. A description of a complicated mouth gag took pages and pages to describe the gag and then to show how it was installed. Some of the gadgets were well thought out and ingenious, but there were times that the story stopped too long for the descriptions.
• The author lost track of the kind of bondage her victims were in a few times. Someone in a full hood that blocked sound was able to hear her tormentor speak, but then a few paragraphs later could not hear other sounds that would have been louder than a voice.

 Here's the blurb:

Desperately wanting to get away from home for the summer, Dori Hammond, talks her father into sending her to a summer riding school. However, she quickly learns that this is not a traditional riding school, and its unusual training methods are cause for alarm. However, having signed the required contract, she and the other students are obliged to submit to a rigorous training regimen. Unbeknownst to them, they’ll be methodically transformed into human ponies. Headmistress Wright and Headmaster Boswick employ mechanical horses, strict restraint, suspensions, impalement, and the resources of the farm's deepest cellars. Their female students quickly learn what a horse's life is really like and that misconduct will lead to severe punishment. Riding, as the girls discover, is more than taking a pony around the ring. As Head Master Boswick says, "You can't learn to ride until you've been ridden."

Though the girls may resist the humiliating treatment, they often experience an overwhelming sexual satisfaction in the pleasure and pain they are forced to suffer.

Not all the students are at the school voluntarily. Many are spoiled and unruly young women sent there by their wealthy parents. One unlucky German girl, Lucy, is kidnapped on an overnight train and sent to the school, the abduction arranged for by her Dutch boyfriend.

Dori and her fellow students are subjected to discipline and training from both the male and female staff. For those who resist, there is the dairy barn where the girls are turned into human cows. And for those incorrigible young females who fail in equine training and in the dairy barn, there is the lowly squalor of the Hog Farm, where they are good for nothing but sexual sport. For Dori and the others, it becomes clear long before the end of the story that their lives will be transformed forever, in ways they never imagined.

In addition to details scenes of human pony training, the inventive story includes graphic descriptions of elaborate pony costumes, unique extreme bondage and suspension, gags, cuffs, collars, chains, dildos, steel restraints, elaborate bondage devices, electrical stimulation, milking, piercing, surgical body modification and straight and lesbian sex. Strong BDSM content.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: Yes. Both taken to the extreme. Some of the bondage could easily be fatal if done as described with no one left to observe. This is fantasy BDSM, complete with floggers that tear bits of skin off and send it flying through the air. 3 of 3.
• Dominance and Submission: Again, taken to the extreme, and the submission is not consensual. 3 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism: There are certainly sadists who run the school. And some of the girls seem to be trained into masochism.  3 of 3.
• Extra Point: The story is based around a sadistic pony girl school, it's safe to say it gets the extra point.

Obviously, the Intensity Level is a  10 of 10, but I'm not sure what to do with the Heat Level. The first part of the book was a 5 of 5, but the latter part went over the top to the extent that it wasn't hot anymore. More scary than hot. And, with the believability and continuity issues I talked about above, that also interfered with the heat level a bit. I think giving it a 3 of 5 is about right, with the understanding that there are parts of it that do hit the 5 of 5, especially if you're into the whole pony thing.

• Book Rating: Summer School: 6 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 10 of 10
• Heat Level: 3 of 5

As for the writing elements: There isn't really a plot. The book is a description of what happens to a number of people who end up at this school. One person is followed more closely than the others, and we see how far she is taken into being a pony instead of a human.  But it's the physical aspects we see, not really the psychological aspects.

Pacing has some issues. Prose and dialogue were well done. There wasn't very much character building, just descriptions of what was happening to the various characters.

As I said, prose and dialogue were well done, and the voice was easy to follow. If you enjoy pony girl activities, and if the non-consent stuff isn't a turn off for you, then you'll probably enjoy Summer School.   
 

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Duck! by Kim Dare

 

Duck! is a nice urban fantasy retelling of the Ugly Ducking, with a few twists along the way.

Raised among humans, Ori Jones only discovered he was an avian shifter six months ago. Unable to complete a full shift until he reaches his avian maturity, he still can’t be sure of his exact species.

But with species comes rank, and rank is everything to the avians. When a partial shift allows the elders to announce that they believe Ori to be a rather ugly little duckling, he drops straight to the bottom rung of their hierarchy.

Life isn’t easy for Ori until he comes to the attention of a high ranking hawk shifter. Then the only question is, is Ori really a duck—and what will his new master think when the truth eventually comes out?

I love it when an author trusts me to figure things out on my own and doesn't feel the need to hand feed every little thing to me. And Kim Dare trusts the reader to figure out that a boy who had gone from foster home to foster home, often being returned to the social worker after extreme bouts of clumsiness and broken things, would expect to be sent away for breaking things as an adult, too.

As for the story, I was wanting an Urban Fantasy read, but none of my favorite Urban Fantasy authors have anything new out, and nothing from the debut authors really appealed to me. Then, I read the blurb for Duck! and figured I'd give it a try, mixing BDSM with Urban Fantasy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This one works.

I loved the descriptions of shifting from human form to bird form and back again. I enjoyed the experience of coming back to human form -- the need to hear words in order for the human part of the brain to come to the forefront again.  Then, later, sex right after coming back from bird form, when the human wasn't entirely in charge just yet, the idea of that hawk brain taking control while in a human body. Nice.

The BDSM is... at first thought I want to call it BDSM lite. When in reality it's the S&M and B&D aspects that aren't very big, because the D/s is huge. There is also a lot about the difference in a bully and a Dom, but it's shown by experience, not shoved down our throats. Again, the author gives the information within the story and trusts the reader to figure it out.

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline: None. Well, other than writing lines for punishment. Which was actually the perfect way to handle the situation... but still... no "discipline" in the normal BDSM sense of the word. And very little bondage.  1 of 3.
• Dominance and Submission: Yes, quite a bit.  3 of 3.
• Sadism and Masochism: Just a touch. There is one really nice scene where Ori is made to fly in the traditional type of a BDSM scene.  1 of 3. 
• Extra Point: The D/s is a big part of the story and a major part of the plot, but I'm not adding the extra point.  

As for the writing elements: the plot is wonderful and well thought out, and I love the plot resolutions. The pacing was mostly good. Prose and dialogue were excellent, with the author taking the time to use words that an Avian society would be more likely to use. Character development was excellent, and world building was perfect. Seriously, world building was put together with the kind of detail you don't always see in Urban Fantasy Erotica, and I'm impressed.

• Book Rating: Duck!: 9 of 10
• Intensity Rating: 5 of 10  (1+3+1)
• Heat Level: 4 of 5

How can I have an Urban Fantasy in the Realistic BDSM category? Well, it's an Urban Fantasy, but the actual BDSM is realistic and does not really change because both men happen to be bird shifters. There is no "I can damage you horribly because you'll heal" stuff.  There are a few small exceptions, where things are a bit different because they are shifters, and for that reason I've also listed Duck! in the Fantasy BDSM category - one exception is the time they have sex when the hawk mind is still in control even though the human body has shifted back into being. That was pure fantasy, and it was a rather nice one, at that.

All in all I enjoyed Duck! and would enjoy more stories from this universe.

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Owned And Owner by Anneke Jacob

 

Owned And Owner is a fantasy story of total slavery, and is a journey from human mindset to animal.

It's almost a hetero version of What Worse Place Can I Beg In Your Love?, without the twist at the end. However, Owned and Owner actually goes a good bit farther with the whole Pet thing. Still, the key points are there - caged when your owner doesn't have time for you, no understanding of the language being spoken around you, used as a sexual object, never treated as a person. One of the biggest points in both books is that, because it's a different planet and different life form, the "pet" is not just treated as an animal, but is actually seen as an animal... a lesser life form.

Enough of the comparisons. It sounds wrong to say I enjoyed Owned And Owner, but I did. Sure, there were parts that didn't work for me, but not that many, actually. It wasn't as hard for me to deal with as the other book I've read by Anneke Jacob, As She's Told. The main reason for that is that Owned And Owner is pure fantasy, it takes place on another planet.

Owned And Owner is not romance. Not one single bit of romance. That's okay, not every man who buys a woman as a pet has to fall romantically in love with said woman. There is an attachment there, something you could define as love... maybe. But more like the way I love my dog, nothing like the way I love my husband. If you need romantic attachment in order for the BDSM to work for you then beware that there is none.  As the title says, it's a straight up Owned and Owner relationship.

I appreciated that we saw some of the other slaves on Henth, saw that each Owner had a completely different way they treated their slaves, completely different set of rules.

Before I get much farther, here's the blurb:

BDSM Fantasy Erotica. A story of unconditional slavery, told from inside a woman's bound and naked skin.

Far in the future exists a world of men, a planet where the only women are rare and exotic pets. These few women, convicted of crimes, have chosen their punishment: slavery on Henth. The few men who buy them know what they are getting: eager submissives, willing to accept the status of animals in order to be owned by men. Etrin is a young woman who makes this choice; Garid is the man who buys her. Their story is one of dominance and submission taken as far as the imagination can go.

Long prior to the time of the book, Henth's colonizers split along gender lines, and the women removed themselves to a separate planet. The two societies have almost lost sight and memory of each other, except for the rare occasions when a woman chooses slavery on Henth over the alternative punishment on her home planet. Driven by a deep need for submission, Etrin pushes her misbehaviour year after year, knowing that she ll eventually be sent to Henth.

When finally convicted and sentenced for her crimes, the bound Etrin is overwhelmed by her first contact with the men on the planet Henth. Soon transferred to the care of animal handlers, she is caged for transport along with the other exotic pets, and prepared for the auction that will determine her new owner. Once Garid purchases his new pet, Etrin goes through stages of acceptance and the relinquishment of self as she faces the strict demands required of her. Meanwhile, Garid, driven and possessive, establishes a sense of ownership strong enough that he is finally able to share her. Readers learn of Etrin's struggles in the form of first-person introspection, and Garid's as he talks with his friend Therin, another dominant.

This beautifully crafted novel delves deeply into the psychology and emotions associated with dominance and submission. Graphic sexual content.

The thing that sets Garid apart from the other "owners" is that he isn't happy with mere physical submission, he wants his slave's emotional and mental submission. He wants her to lose language, to just be an animal who responds to a few simple one-word commands.

The slave/pet had a choice of punishments for her crimes, she is the one who chose slavery on Henth. In fact, she kept getting in trouble until that became one of her options. When she learned of the option she became obsessed with the idea. Once she's on Henth though, there is no choice anymore, no turning back.

There are many similarities between Owned And Owner and As She's Told: pony play, around the clock 24/7 bondage, and most importantly, extreme orgasm denial while being almost constantly aroused. As I said in my review of As She's Told, my body would have found another way, so after a certain point the chastity belt thing didn't work for me. It worked a little better for me here, where there was still severe punishment for orgasms... but my brain wanted to argue with the book as I read that there were dildos in both holes as well as attention paid to breasts, but because the clitoris got no attention then an orgasm was impossible.

One sort of humorous part of the book -- Henth is a planet of men, with no women other than the few slaves sold there as pets (they use artificial wombs, not sure how it works, but supposedly it does). Anyway, homosexuality is the norm on Henth, so when the Owners have to admit to their families that they are *gasp* heterosexual, explain it's just the way they are wired, something they can't help, and there are worries about their jobs and such, it's kind of funny. 

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline:Taken as far as it can be taken. 3 of 3
• Dominance and Submission: Probably taken farther than it should be taken, but it's fantasy and it worked for me. 3 of 3
• Sadism and Masochism: Again, taken pretty far, though with some of the more extreme stuff we're just told what happens and not given a blow by blow description. Still, it gets a 3 of 3
• Extra Point: Yes, the BDSM is an intrinsic part of the story.

As for the writing elements, the plot was obviously crafted around where the author wanted to take the fantasy, but it worked well so that's okay. The pacing had issues from about 70% of the way through all the way to the end. Prose and dialogue were good, and character development worked well within the story. It's not often I talk about world-building in a BDSM book review, but there was world-building here and it was also well done.

I'm wavering back and forth between a 9 of 10 and a 10 of 10. The pacing issues were a problem for me, as was the believability with the orgasm denial where a woman can be stimulated for hours every day and yet go more than six or eight months without being allowed a single orgasm. But more than that... Owned and Owner is really just the fantasy version of As She's Told.  But, this isn't a series, so shouldn't I rate each book separately? Both books are an exploration of the psychology behind what it takes for a person to lose their autonomy, to become an object not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. And they both do a very good job of exploring this issue. They are both good books, both exploring the same subject matter from a slightly different angle.

And I had more conflict in my head with some of the events of As She's Told, where there were opportunities to stop things once they got started. But with Owned and Owner, once the decision is made to be sold on Henth, there is no going back, no way to change her mind about being a slave. It was fantasy, and thus it was easier for me to enjoy some of the subjugation when framed in the "fantasy" bubble.

So, yeah, I guess it gets a 10 of 10. It is a very well written book, after all.

Book Rating: Owned and Owner: 10 of 10
Heat Level:  5 of 5
Intensity Level:  10 of 10

You should only read Owned And Owner if you enjoy serious BDSM that includes all aspects (B&D, D/s, S&M), including heavy pain and way more control over someone than most people can come up with in their wildest imagination. If it made sense to give a higher heat level and intensity level, just to get across how intense, and how hot, things get, then I would. But the math geek in me just can't give a 7 of 5 or a 12 of 10.

I enjoyed Owned and Owner. As always, your mileage may vary.
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Alive On The Inside by Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks

 

I'm not one hundred percent sure what to say about Alive On The Inside. It's a seriously screwed up book, but it's been a few days since I finished it and I'm still thinking about it. I'm not sure I'd call what happens in the story BDSM. Abuse is more like it. And much of it is really over-the-top, since this is a fantasy and the participants end up magically healed. By over-the-top, I mean someone biting the head off of a dick (it regenerates in under an hour), and someone using a spoon to take someone's eyes out (those take years to regenerate, since the Phantasmagoria has a reason for it to take longer).

I'm not even going to try to explain Alive On The Inside, I'm not sure it's possible.  Here's the blurb:

Nick Harper has a nice life, a nice job, and a nice girl. Until Labor Day Weekend, when the Phantasmagoria Traveling Wonder Show comes to town. Seduced by the dark and wickedly erotic charms of both the Phantasmagoria and Torturo, a man known in the freak sideshow as The Pain King, Nick embarks on a journey of self-discovery, love, and pain. But the show is not what it seems. It changes those who come with it in ways they can never imagine, not even in their worst nightmares. And Nick's changes are just beginning...

You can see why the book appealed to me - Torturo the Pain King? A "journey of self-discovery, love, and pain"? Right up my alley. The thing is, while every word of that is the truth, there are about a thousand truths not given, and those make all of the difference.

BDSM Elements:

• Bondage and Discipline - a very small amount of bondage. The discipline happens when the bully gets mad, and then it's abuse, not discipline.
• Dominance and Submission - Yes, but I'm not sure who to call the Dom and who to call the Subs. It's not a traditional D/s relationship, but there is certainly power exchange. Though, the true power exchange is not really between our two main characters. Sort of. I can't say more than that without spoiling.
• Sadism and Masochism - Yes, though the main masochist in the story doesn't really feel pain anymore. He feels extreme pain, like getting the head of his dick bitten off, but he doesn't really feel normal pain. And the main masochist in the story sees himself as Dom. And the other masochist... like I said, much of it is abuse. Some of it isn't but... it's messed up.

As for the story elements, the plot is exceptionally well done and thoroughly twisted. There are pacing issues - but the book takes place over hundreds of years, so perhaps there are supposed to be pacing issues. Prose and dialogue are good (not great, but not really a problem, either). Character development was good, the book takes place over such a long time and the characters change so much in that time that the character development is an ongoing thing. World building is exceptional.

And the ending has a nice twist. Sort of.

I don't really know what to rate Alive On The Inside. It's a disturbing book, and it wasn't very titillating for me - as I said, the S&M stuff was over the top. It was so over the top that it didn't work for me. So the heat level is going to be a 1 of 5, though I'm thinking it may have been better to call it a titillation level. As for the main book rating, it's a well written book that still has you thinking about it after you've read it. But, I'm not all that happy that I read it. And the reading of it wasn't all that enjoyable - at a certain point is was more like a train wreck, where you just couldn't look away, even though you really wanted to. Some people call that a mark of a good book, especially horror fans, where a book has you wanting to escape it, but you can't because you need to know how it ends. I think I'm going to have to balance it all out by giving it an 8 of 10.

• Book rating: Alive on the Inside: 8 of 10
• Heat Level: 1 of 5
• Intensity level: I can't really give it an intensity level. I want to say 10 of 10, but it would be misleading. Some of it is abuse and not really BDSM, and then most of the actual S&M isn't really normal BDSM. I'll just give the warning that the S&M is way over the top, the majority of it so over the top that it was no longer hot.  

I don't know if I recommend Alive on the Inside or not. There are good parts to the book, most especially the fact that it takes place over such a long period of time (well over a century), and that we see a whole lot of growth and change in our characters over that period of time.

One thing is for sure, it had an affect on me, and it's stuck in my head and won't get out.

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