Review: Jalepeno, not Habenero
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 1, 2014
This book was part of an anthology I bought called "Tempting Fate". Seeing as how the (mostly romance) anthology cost only 99 cents for 6 full length novels, and each book costs anywhere from $2.99-$4.99 alone, it was a really good deal. Otherwise I would never have read this book because I don't enjoy BDSM themed stories. Alas, it seems like in every anthology I pick up lately, at least one of the books has BDSM in it. It's all the rage apparently.I will preface my review by saying that I thought 50 Shades of Grey was THE WORST book I have ever read. I wanted to give that book negative stars for the poor execution and subject matter. I have come to the conclusion that BDSM is something you either get, or you don't. I don't get it and never will. I don't work that way. I generally prefer straight up vanilla romance and I am perfectly happy to admit it.This book actually wasn't too far outside of my comfort zone and deserves a solid 3.5 rating. If you are looking for hardcore BDSM novels, I would pass this one by. If you like a little BDSM and love to read romance, I definitely recommend reading this. This is very soft core BDSM, focusing more on the dominant/submissive aspect. There are no floggings, ball gags, that sort of thing. It was much palatable to me because it was really tame compared to other novels in this genre, but it would be a let down for someone who is into reading about subs getting switched or whipped, that sort of thing.Lund did some things really well in this book. First off, I thought it was interesting that she actually got into the psychology of BDSM and why it appealed to the characters in the story. Not that all actions of this nature need to explained away by something in the past or be dissected in that way, but it was nice that she introduced some new information about it. For someone like me who cannot wrap their head around the appeal, the background info was good to have. I was more sympathetic to the characters' proclivities.I also liked that while these two characters engaged in some naughty bedroom behavior (I thought they were really just roleplaying and getting creative, nothing too crazy), they had an actual basis for a relationship. While in scene, Drake was the dom (at least for the most part because he wasn't very dom-ish per se), but out of the bedroom he was more than willing to listen to Kate and took her feelings and thoughts seriously. He obviously liked her as a person, a key ingredient that is often missing in BDSM books. Their relationship did not take backseat to the sex scenes and I appreciated that.I liked Kate and Drake as characters overall and thought they were both interesting. Dawn, Kate's friend, needed a good smack upside the head, however. I would have cut that girl loose long before she sent a PI to stalk me. Why would a friend do that? Totally psycho. Her character was a little unbelievable if you ask me. They are 25 years old and Dawn is always threatening to call Kate's father and rat her out? I would tell that woman to take a long walk off a short pier.I always laugh about the contracts in BDSM books. These contracts come up time and time again (are not legally binding, do not apply in any way once signed and what? locked away in a vault never to be seen again?) and for the life of me I can't figure out what they are actually for? The only use I can see is as a plot device used to help best friends and other nosy folks find a paper trail of illicit activities so they can turn into psychos about it. IMO, if you need a contract to have sex with your partner, you obviously don't share the trust necessary for this sort of action and should likely get to know the person better before allowing them to tie you up and put you in a helpless situation. I totally understand the safe words-it's the contracts that get me. Slogging through the ridiculous contracts was tough for me. I found myself rolling my eyes. They are a mainstay with anything BDSM though so I wasn't surprised to see it come up in this book. And, wasn't surprised that the best friend "accidentally" stumbled across it and got upset about it.Anywho, this is a good read for those who like romance and don't mind a bit of role playing in the bedroom. Since Drake wasn't too domineering, I could handle this one and even enjoyed it in some parts.