Review: Excellent mix of BDSM (D/s and S/M)!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 15, 2012
I enjoyed getting to know Samantha and Ethan. I think their story will rings lots of bells just in the relationship department. Especially because they do such an incredible job handling all aspects of their lives. There is a great deal of respect for each other.Pretty heavy pain (no sugar kink here!) but I found it believable. LOTS of negotiation and communication. It wasn't long but, by the end I really felt like they had earned their HEA and it felt real. Heavy Dom -- but caring and sensitive. This reinforced for me I am FAR more masochist than submissive. I just cannot get into orgasm denial and things like preventing speaking. But again I'm more masochist than sub so my interest is really in the pain/pleasure/sensation dynamic. Creative guy - some new implements here (you'll have to read it to find out!) and a variety of play. Very high on intensity scale!Footnote: So folks know since the BDSM genre is exploding with authors and what is written is not always anywhere near the way things work in real life. There have been many discussions on different boards and websites about the difference between sadism and domination (and masochism and submission). Ethan is a sadistic Dom and Samantha is a submissive masochist. They are in it not only for the pain but for the power exchange. One does not have to equate with the other. There are masochistic dominants and sadistic submissives and folks that are not dominant or submissive but definitive into S&M.; Here is why I mention this: Samantha would NOT have been happy with a Sadist. So it's a bit of a misnomer to refer to Ethan solely as a sadist. He's not. He is a Dominant who is a sadist. There is a difference.Samantha had a need to give up control - so she needed a Sadistic Dom or a Dom who was also a sadist. Because the book portrays the pain aspects so well I think folks will focus on that aspect -- but the D/s here is just as strong as the S/M. This is important because this is an excellent book and there are very few that portray BDSM in a more honest light (it's still fiction guys). Yeah yeah they are both hot and gorgeous but it's fiction (in real life you have receding hairlines and rolls...we all just deal with it).I point this out overall because many reviews are focused on him being a sadist but he is also one helluva dominant. Sometimes people who are NOT into pain avoid books with more pain (S/M) because it is not their kink. I'm hopeful that will not be the case here as I think the way they negotiate, the honesty and communication between then, and how he is as a dominant will strike a chord with the solely D/s crowd - I'd hate them to miss this one!P.S. As a masochist with some submissive tendencies he would not work for me even though I would likely love to be on the other side of his pain giving - some aspects I could deal with but the speech restriction would be a No - I'm unwilling to give up my power of verbal communication :-)