Review: As Close To a Perfect 3 Out Of 5 As I've Read Lately
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 29, 2014
This story is about fireman Lukas Marlow, a bit of a Dom, who has put his accountant neighbor Abby Simmons in The Friend Zone for as long as they're lived next door to each other. While she's funny and nice to talk to, she's been downplaying her looks and interest in sex for so long that he thinks of her as a kid sister - until on her thirtieth birthday, fortified by a miserable birthday dinner with her parents and her beautiful-but-wild sister Eden, and a couple homemade margaritas, she puts on her sexiest outfit (which consists of tight jeans and a baby doll t-shirt), comes over to his place, and basically propositions him! Not wanting to hurt her feelings (and seeing Abby actually looking pretty hot for the first time ever!), Lukas counter-proposes that she do up a list once she's sober of the sexual things she'd like to do with him, figuring she'll realize what a bad idea that is and they can go back to being just friends again. But... she actually sends him the list, which starts with having satisfying sex (one reason my earlier review may have been banned was for quoting her!), and goes on to list a variety of increasingly submissive fantasies, the thought of which doing to her turn *him* on to no end! So, he decides if somebody is going to be her guide into the Wonderful World of Sexual Dominance and Submission, it might as well be her friend and neighbor Lukas, right...?This book is, to my mind, the platonic ideal of a "3 out of 5" Erotic Romance with D/s Elements. It's charming, has a likable central couple, and you can see every step of the story coming from a few chapters off: From Abby taking an atypically bold for her first step; to Lukas's surprisingly powerful reaction to seeing his Ugly Duckling neighbor as a sexy swan; to her insecurities about why he's pursuing an increasingly intimate relationship with her; to the fantasies he fulfills that author Julia Devlin writes about (a lot of mental domination, roleplay and spanking), and those she doesn't (all bondage alluded to rather than written about - Drat!); to The Issue that nearly splits them apart (brunch with her family, including Eden, which has Abby sure she's Lukas is just sleeping with her because he feels bad for her!); to the HEA ending where Lukas tells her he loves her and wants them to get married - and get your cute hiney upstairs, girl, because I intend to fulfill your kidnapping fantasy tonight(!) - they're all there, neatly checked off.There's nothing wrong with this story, and I enjoyed it while I was reading it - but there's nothing in it that might make it rise above "I liked it, but didn't love it." All the elements feel pretty stock - the secretly beautiful woman who hides herself in shapeless clothes and no makeup because "My Sister Is The Pretty One", the Pretty Sister being a vicious Alcoholic with zero shading, the hunky player fireman who falls head-over-heels in love with the woman he's originally just playing with sexually for fun, et cetra, et cetra, et cetra. I didn't get that lushly romantic sweep that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kitty-French/e/B00ACSVVM6/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1401433735&sr;=1-2-ent">Kitty French</a> (the "Lucien Knight" Trilogy, UNDERTAKING LOVE) has as a writer, or the likable Dom/mes and sub/bes who feel like they have lives outside the pages of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sindra-van-Yssel/e/B0038Q5HI8/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1401433783&sr;=1-2-ent">Sindra van Yssel's books</a> (the "Bondage Ranch" series, SUBMISSIVE BY MOONLIGHT). On the other hand, I was neither offended nor bored - and having read several "D/s romances" recently where I was one or both, that's doing pretty well!