Review: A quick, sexy read.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 20, 2013
Once A Brat is the first short story in Kim Dare's Kinky Cupid universe. It's a m/m BDSM romance, and despite the fact that the romance didn't quite get there for me, it was cheeky and fun to read.The story starts from the perspective of Marcus Tremayne - an experienced Dom at the Spread Eagle, a BDSM club. He's drawn the attention of submissive Bret Daniels; a newbie to the scene whose bratty persistence is about to pay off.The perspective switches between the two characters, with the focus on developing Bret as a character - we get to see his sexual awakening from both his and Marcus' eyes. He is innocent and willing to learn - as long as Marcus is the one to teach him. Comparatively, Dare sets Marcus up as a bit of a grump; which only makes it sweeter when Bret discovers his softer side. I particularly enjoyed Marcus' resistance to his realization that he had actual feelings for Bret, that this sub was special.As far as the two developing a relationship beyond their sexual forays was concerned, I felt the journey was a bit lacking. Don't get me wrong, Marcus and Bret had a lot of chemistry, but in a down and dirty kind of way, as opposed to romantically. The whole romance thing escalated too quickly for me, without much fuel for those feeling.My absolute favorite parts of the story were the few brief times that the characters had contact with others. There was very little of this, with the exception of a few moments with Marcus' friends and fellow doms McCormack and Jack. Bret's attitude towards them is too cute; he dismisses them in true brat form - after all, he's only interested in one Dom.About halfway through the reading, I realized I was giving the characters British accents in my head. Even though I hadn't yet read the author bio, there was no mistaking Dare's inherent British-ness (Lo and behold, she's from Wales). Her turn of phrase and casual use of words like `bollocks', `bugger' and `sod' are all the proof I needed.I liked Dare's writing style, and I would definitely pick up some of her other works. She makes BDSM very approachable, which is a must for readers who, like me, have limited knowledge of the scene. She places a lot of emphasis on the need for trust in the Dom/Sub relationship and the use of safe words to achieve the trust.I would be interested in reading something of hers that was more narrative driven, as opposed to character driven.VERDICT:Once a Brat is a quick, sexy read. It's a promising start to Kim Dare's Kinky Cupid series, which aims to release a new story every Valentine's day. Though the romance element didn't exactly convince me, I can't deny that Bret and Marcus had some sweet moments and a whole lot of chemistry.