Review: Fantasy Without Fear
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 2, 2013
There was no lack of erotic moments or Dom/sub moments.  There was no lack of intrigue or humor.  Yes, there was a great deal of humor in this third and last part of the Carmen/Kurt trilogy.  Some of the humor was genuine and intentional on the author's part.  Some was just blatant laughter on behalf of this reviewer in disbelief.  Of course the new lover of the most eligible bachelor, a woman who has become mixed up in the business of the Mexican mafia and who is a source for federal agents, who survived extreme physical and emotional abuse at the hands of a horrific Dom, is able to convince the former girlfriend of her lover to clear his name as not being a woman beater but was in fact involved in a consensual sexual relationship with her and that her suicide attempt was not his fault.  Of course she easily becomes friends with the former girlfriend not to mention his sister.  If I found the depravity of Robert in book 2 to be difficult to read, I found all of the ways that everything fell so smoothly into place in book 3 to be too unbelievable.  Perhaps it is because I personally do not live in a world where money can pave ones way.  But I do know that the snippet of a description of the hospital scene has a true sense of the unbelievable.  Security in any New York City hospital is not as lax as was inferred.  But that is where the author's fictional creativity obviously came into play.I understand that the author felt a need to make Kurt into this gorgeous male figure who sweeps women off their feet.  But I know that a man's height or musculature does not make him a man.  At the end of the day, a man who is lacking in height may be the most appealing man in one's life.  There is something to be said for the beauty of personality.  I don't think it was that important to the storyline to keep emphasizing Kurt's looks.  His character and strength of person meant more to Carmen's story.There was so much lead in to desensitizing Carmen to the damage done to her by Robert, her abusive Dom.  It was mentioned in baby steps all through the book.  By the time the scene with Andre happens expectations are so very high.  But there was very little exploration of Andre and his role with Carmen and Kurt.  Instead there was a lot of inference and little details given about his experiences with Kurt. I think that Andre could have been a larger part of this last part of the trilogy.  He might have been able to equalize Carmen's history to her present situation with Kurt.A spectacular sex life, where there is freedom to explore desires and each person is able to live out fantasies without fear of reprisal is a wonderful thing.  I do believe that when two adults agree to explore the kinkier side of sex, that when both adults are safe and when there is pleasure for both then there is no right or wrong.  As a feminist, a mother and just as a woman, I am the first to be firm that any situation where a woman is in danger or is being forced against her will to submit to a man then that situation is a punishable offense. But when two adults find passion the options are endless and where they can go together is home. a word that does not mean a house but a common feeling.  Making love means exploring the physical as well as the psyche.  The collective is  what makes Carmen and Kurt a couple.