Book Reviews

Book Blurb

‘Time Out’ by Sean Michael
Val and Chaz broke up after Chaz safeworded unnecessarily during a scene. Can they find a way to come back together?

A few months ago, Chaz safeworded during a scene, just because he was feeling neglected and bitchy. Val was understandably upset that his sub lied, and the two of them split up. Now it’s months later and Val is miserable to be around, so his friend sends him to his private lake house to vacation and get over himself. At least, that’s what Val thinks is happening. In reality, Chaz has also been lured to the lake house and is waiting there so they can hopefully get back together.

Despite his shock at finding Chaz at the lake house, Val decides to do a scene. Will it be the last scene they share or will they find a way to move past what happened?

‘Strict Consequences’ by Morticia Knight
One proposition, one night. Could it be the beginning of a forever after for a Master and sub?

Garson teaches poetry and literature at the local college, but what he does on his own time is much different. His need for pain and dominance is strong, but his fear of letting go is stronger. He won’t let any Dom touch him sexually, and his other hard limits are even more extreme. But lately, his one-hour-a-week sessions haven’t been satisfying him anywhere near enough.

Jarvis finds the bookish and reserved Garson captivating. His love of extreme pain is thrilling. But there’s also a hedonistic wanton hiding beneath the surface of the detached sub, and Jarvis aches to be the one who sets him free. After waiting for a year to crack Garson’s carefully constructed shield, Jarvis conceives of a plan.

Garson knows he shouldn’t give in to Jarvis’ proposition that they spend an evening getting to know each other, but the reward of unlimited time in Jarvis’ dungeon is much too tempting. Or is it Jarvis who’s the most tempting thing of all?

‘Tagging Mackenzie’ by L.M. Somerton
Achieving a Dom’s undivided attention can have unpredictable consequences.

Steele Denton’s business doing custom paint jobs for fast bikes is booming. He’s in demand and has a reputation for being a perfectionist. Tattooed and intimidating, Steele is also in demand as a Dom at his local BDSM club, Chain of Thorns. He requires perfect submission from any sub he deigns to play with.

Mackenzie Soames is desperate for Steele to notice him, but he might as well be invisible. He has no idea how to get invited into the VIP members’ area that Steele rarely strays from, so he concocts a plan to get Steele’s attention. Kenzie is a talented graffiti artist with a secret identity, known only by his tag, a pair of handcuffs. He spray-paints a BDSM scene on a wall at the side of Steele’s workshop, hoping Steele will see the security footage and track him down. However, Steele is working late and catches him in the act.

Steele recognizes Kenzie from the club and demands twenty-four hours of sexual slavery as penance for the graffiti. Kenzie has no choice but to agree and soon discovers that being Steele’s sub will either make him or break him.

‘Bad Idea’ by Lily Harlem
Bad ideas can sometimes be the best!

Roughneck Riders are not an MC club you mess with, least of all their rough and tough gang leader Heavy. But Heavy has a secret that has to be kept, no matter what—his heart belongs to a man. It shouldn’t. He’s supposed to be into women, like the other guys in the club. Junk is just too cute to resist, though. Add in his delectable body, his sweet submission and his willingness to accept Heavy’s sadism, and the couple are a perfect match.

Junk’s a probie, proving his worth to the club and demonstrating his mechanical know-how. He’s lived on the edge for a long time, flitting from one place to the next. But now that he’s settling in as a Roughneck, life is looking up. Not least because he’s in love—soul-eating, cock-thickening, obsessive love. He can’t tell anyone about his desire for Heavy, but what he can do is push his lover’s buttons, all day, in full view of everyone, until he’s damned sure the night will bring a whole host of sinful delights and wicked punishments that will leave him marked, bruised and, most of all, wholly satisfied.

‘Safeword’ by Samantha Cayto
A dangerous game turns into unexpected pleasure…

Carter’s dream of running from his abusive family into the arms of the perfect Dom has been shattered. Virtually enslaved by a vicious arms dealer, he has to submit to any man his master gives him to.

Undercover agent Damien Crow is close to putting away the arms dealer he’s been hunting for years. All he has to do to gain the man’s trust is ‘play’ with the pretty boy with the frightened eyes and alluring corset piercing down his back. Being straight and not a practicing Dom, he has doubts he can pull off the effort. One look at his playmate changes his mind. The stakes are high, and he must put on a good show.

At first, Carter assumes Damien is just another brutal Dom to survive. But the big, brooding man reignites his passion and gives him something Carter hasn’t had in years—a safeword. It might be his last chance to enjoy being a sub and he embraces the role no matter what the consequences.

‘Earning his Leathers’ by S. Dora
Call him old-fashioned, but Connor believes a Dom should earn his leathers.

Connor Lee is very much into both men and BDSM. He already knows he’s a Dominant within the game of sex and power. He just wants to become a damn good Master. When he gets the opportunity to become part of an exclusive group of men who share his philosophy, he’s willing to submit to their rites of passage.

His appointed tutor isn’t Connor’s cup of double espresso by any stretch of the imagination. Stone Carver is dark, tall, muscled and he has the face of a man who has seen one fight too many. Stone notices Connor’s hesitation and sends him away to find someone to have fun with, and to return when he has made up his mind.

Connor meets Jesse, who is everything he has ever dreamed of, and he wants nothing more than to stay with the sweet—potential—submissive. He decides, however, to meet the challenge of submitting to Sir Stone, promising to return to Jesse after he has earned his leathers.

During one long day of pain, pleasure and a smidgeon of humiliation, Sir Stone teaches Connor more than he had bargained for. But has he learned enough to be the Dominant Jesse deserves?

Book Review

"Subs and Doms, a sublime combination" is the tagline on the cover for this anthology, and it's an excellent description for what awaits you should you decide to enter the BDSM worlds described by the six contributing authors. From established couples rediscovering their needs, to newly matched Doms and subs, from soft and loving play to somewhat harsher punishments and sexy rewards, these stories cover the spectrum of safe, sane, consensual BDSM play. And what we really liked is that the psychological aspect of submission and Dominance is just as important and interesting in most of these stories as the heat of the physical goings-on. And boy, they are certainly hot!

Time Out by Sean Michael, reviewed by Christy Duke
Because I am not in the BDSM lifestyle, I may miss some of the subtle nuances and rules. However, I can certainly understand how devastating to a D/s couple's relationship and trust it would be for a sub to safeword not when he has actually reached his limit, but because he is behaving like a spoiled, petulant boy. That is where Val and Chaz found themselves and which precipitated their breakup. Now, a friend has forced them together in the hopes this will help to resolve their issues.

What develops is an incredibly intense scene with some very sadist and masochistic vibes. Val is determined to get Chaz past his limits and then send his boy away, done with him for good. Don't get me wrong, they are still playing on the safe, sane, and consensual basis, but Val wants to prove he doesn't need Chaz. Except he does, and Chaz needs him, so when they begin to talk before the scene is even done, they both have to learn to listen.

A wonderful story that really emphasizes the importance of communication and trust. Two things that are essential in any relationship, regardless of whether it's in the lifestyle or not.

Strict Consequences by Morticia Knight, reviewed by Christy Duke
Garson is definitely not the "normal" sub I have read about many times. He has many hard limits, most of them having to do with getting emotionally or intimately involved with any Doms. He goes to the club once a week, for an hour, for his pain and submission, then he goes home and takes care of his own orgasms. For a sub, he seems inordinately in control and not willing to let the reins of submission go very far. However, once I learned a bit more about him, it became very clear as to why.

Dark wavy hair, heavily lashed brown eyes, pale skin, lean but fit body, Clark Kent glasses and an unashamed pain slut—it all added up to Garson Harrisburg, Jarvis’ own personal wet dream. It was entirely possible that he was in love with the reserved, bookish and unbelievably sexy motherfucker.

Jarvis has spent a year trying to get past Garson's reserve, with absolutely no luck. When they meet one night at the club and all the rooms are heavily booked, Jarvis puts his plan in motion and offers Garson a proposition. A proposition that makes Garson very nervous, but also tempts him too much to resist. It was very interesting to observe these two men together and I enjoyed it immensely.

An intense but deeply beautiful scene occurs at Jarvis's home, in his dungeon, opening Garson up to everything he's closed off and shut down these past four years. It was truly wonderful to see and I loved that Jarvis and Garson both got exactly what they'd been dreaming of…even if they didn't know they had.

Tagging Mackenzie by L.M. Somerton, reviewed by Christy Duke
I was not surprised, in the least, that one of my favorite authors wrote me a bratty sub. This author has a great deal of practice with bratty submissives, particularly ones who go out of their way to, well…get their way. *grins*

Ah Kenzie. Bratty, mouthy, very easily distracted, and a secret tagger. I adored him immediately. Especially when he decides to tag the brick wall outside of Steele's business with a BDSM themed biker image. Too bad he gets caught. Or maybe not, since he's been dying for Steele's attention. What Kenzie doesn’t know is that he'd caught the powerful Doms eye, but Steele was concerned that Kenzie wasn't strong enough to play with him. They're both about to get their worlds rocked. In twenty-four hours, no less.

“Do you not like the idea of being subjected to sexual slavery for twenty-four hours?”
Steele raised an eyebrow. From the way Kenzie was shifting from foot to foot, Steele guessed his erection was causing him some trouble.

An extremely hot addition to this book, the author gave me everything I needed, and then some.

Bad Idea by Lily Harlem, reviewed by Serena Yates
Bikers are known to be tough, they work at creating that image if most of the stories around them are to be believed, and the main characters in this story certainly confirm they are a perfect fit for that stereotype. Except for the part where they are not interested in women – pretty much a death sentence in their club – and prefer to “play” with each other.

Heavy is the gang leader, and he is certainly rough, brutal when needed, and as uncompromising in private as he is when taking care of gang business. He is only interested in Junk (what a nickname!), but he can’t let anyone know. This doesn’t bother him too much, as long as he can find the occasional opportunity to get the bratty guy behind closed doors to punish him for disobeying every real and made-up rule they can both think of. And Junk loves every minute. He is a pretty tough biker in his own right, and still the newbie, so he has to be careful – but he didn’t join an MC to play it safe. These guys are truly made for each other.

This is one hot piece of writing and if you like bikers, want to explore what might happen once they get into BDSM, and are a fan of “bad ideas” being “rewarded”, then give this story a go.


Safeword by Samantha Cayto, reviewed by Serena Yates
Safewords exist for a reason, and any sub who is forced to face a Dom without a verbal (or other) way to stop them is in danger of being hurt or worse. This story is set far outside the borders of “safe, sane, and consensual”, with a cruel arms dealer out to hurt and humiliate “his sub” as much as possible. I put his sub into quotation marks because what this guy does to Carter is torture, pure and simple. Luckily for my sanity none of it was on the page, but Carter’s attitude and hopelessness was a clear consequence of how he has been treated for years.

So when one of the arms dealer’s “guests” and potential future customers is given Carter as a perk, and told to do with him as he pleases for a weekend, Carter thinks he knows what he is in for. Imagine his surprise when Crow (the persona of undercover agent Damien Crow) turns out to be Carter’s dream master. Damien is strict but caring, willing and able to give just as much pain as Carter enjoys yet considerate, and surprises himself by how attracted he is to Carter – despite the fact that he thought he was straight. Amidst the need to solve the case, and Damien’s increasing need to keep Carter safe, this turns out to be quite a suspenseful adventure!

I loved the slowly developing trust between these two men, and the demonstration of the power of a safeword in helping develop that trust made this a great read. If you’re looking for an example of a mistreated sub relearning what it’s like to play with a considerate Dom, and if you enjoy a little suspense with your BDSM, then this story might be for you.   

Earning His Leathers by S. Dora, reviewed by Serena Yates
‘Earning His Leathers’ is an in-depth look at a budding Dom’s struggle to do the right thing, to become a caring master, and to know what he is doing. I certainly wish that all Doms took their role this seriously, and while Connor’s training seemed a little short, it was a good look into some of the psychology of someone who is a Dom, yet realizes he needs to learn how to do things right.

Connor is not a complete beginner. He knows the basics and has played with subs before, but he feels that he has much to learn before he can take more of an active role in the BDSM community. This idea of needing to “earn his leathers”, as it were, drives him to ask questions, and he ends up with a group of men who support each other, mentor the beginners, and give those whom they accept into their group a permanent home and ongoing support. Connor thinks this is a great idea, and the short training and tests he goes through are as fascinating as the insights he gains.

A great look at the underlying forces of men involved in BDSM, I think this story is entertaining, interesting, and hot all at the same time.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Pride Publishing for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Anthology/6 short stories, 219 pages/72716 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	24-May-2016
Price	$6.00 ebook, $11.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.pride-publishing.com/book/his-rules