Review: More Research Please and Leave the Race Play Out of It
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 04 1, 2013
Two-point-Five StarsYes, I can well see why Ms. Hubbard has caused such a commotion with her readers. When an author has to explain their book even before it begins, that's a BIG signal something must have gone very wrong in writer-ville. I never go into a book planning to dislike it, and even those rare times I find a novel not to my liking, there is often a saving grace which keeps it from being a waste of brain cells and my time.I've read a few of Sylvia Hubbard's past works, so I know she's definitely got the chops. Unfortunately for her, this was far from what I know she's capable of. I'm not even going to critique the numerous grammar/spelling errors because someone else has already done so on Amazon (where this review will also be posted). I'm all about the STORY and the characters, both of which were severely lacking.My best advice to Ms. Hubbard was for her to have left the race play aspect at the door because it just mucked-up the narrative. I had the same trouble with Eden Connor's Wildly Inappropriate. Race is already problematic enough, add the controversial lifestyle of D/s (Domination/submission) to a book which features a white man forcing a black woman to call him "Master", and we're talking about a recipe for disaster. Not that there aren't well-written D/s books featuring a black woman/white man--Bridget Midway instantly comes to mind--but those books don't focus on race or the more controversial race play. I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be an example of Stockholm Syndrome or dubious consent. I can see why some readers--as the author mentions in her remarks--felt that she hated black people, black women in particular.It truly goes a long way to do one's background research on the BDSM lifestyle. These days such research is not that hard. There are many resources, and most cities do have get-togethers for fetish groups (known as munches) which are non-scene lunches where members and interested parties can meet and chat. Authors are always welcome because fetish folks like it when you care enough to do their form of play justice. Not that there's any 'one true way' to write these kinds of books, but as a former lifestyler and avid reader, I am extremely critical of many depictions in which BDSM is treated either like something only damaged or abused people engage in or that it's all about abuse and/or humiliation. At its best, BDSM can be an enjoyable expression of sensuality and sexuality. In some instances, such as service play, intimacy is not even involved. It's also important to point out communication between a Dom and a sub happens throughout a scene, one HUGE reason I cringed when Maxine did not make her desires clear, nor had Philippe bothered to inform her what it was he expected from their relationship.Dark Facade had all of the building blocks to make for a great and sexy mystery, but within the first few pages there were already massive issues. One, the female characters of Maxine and Lisa. Why are these two women so screwed up? I see this a lot in BDSM themed novels, right along with the past abuse trope (which is also alive and well here). Maxine is that typical sad sack of a heroine (described as having "dark caramel skin", and "thick") and her co-worker Lisa (pretty and petite of course) just made me face-palm. How is it that this grown and supposedly intelligent woman (she's a graphic designer after all) just behave like a teenager, slacking off from work or showing up drunk on the job? Screw affirmative action, she'd be so fired! Maybe it's me, but realistically, a black woman in a position such as hers wouldn't do such a thing when she knows she'll be judged far harsher. I also wanted to smack Maxine for picking up the slack, and of course she's the saving grace of the partnership. However the only reason she does so is out of some misguided need for friendship, since she's so lonesome.I DO. NOT. want to see the word "n*gger", "n*gga" or any other permutations of the word in any form or fashion in my contemporary romance, especially by black characters. Yes, I get Lisa's frustrations but there's a better way to have written that rather problematic discussion without the use of the n-word. Unless said character is a Klan-style knuckle-dragging racist who gets their comeuppance in the end, there's really no reason for it. And the implied slut shaming of Lisa by Maxine fails The Bechdel Test.Here's where the book completely lost it for me though: it was stated that the purpose of Dark Masquerade (the club Maxine decides to investigate when Lisa disappears after her mysterious online date), is not to demean black women because they prefer them, but have to hide such preferences to the world. What??? This isn't 1813, white men date and marry black women all the time. So what exactly are they hiding? After Maxine is accepted, she is given a set of instructions, one of which is to wear a black dress that falls to the knees and a pair of four-inch open-toed shoes. When she gets to the club, there seems to be a problem because she wore underwear. I'm like WHAT??? How about some specificity here fellas, since the rest of the instructions were rather detailed.Then we get to the whole van with tinted windows, blindfolds and grooming thing. No explanation, no negotiation, no safewords. Finally the "hero" Philippe comes in and starts behaving like the antebellum South never died and instead of fanning myself over the sex scenes, I kept wondering does this clown have any clue as to how he should behave in this kind of role play or was he channeling his inner Gone With the Wind? Did he communicate with Maxine about what was expected (no, he orders her to obey him), and did he respect her answers if something felt wrong to her (BIG NO!). And yet as a reader I'm supposed to believe this club "respects" black women. I honestly didn't feel much in the way of respect from him and his behavior (as well as Maxine's).Philippe is another in a long line of abusive asshats who have somehow achieved "hero" status due to their massive wealth, ability to sweep self-loathing/traumatized women off their feet and fantastic (I guess) sex skills. Oh yes, even though Maxine's appalled at his behavior and her having to refer to him as "Master", his magic tongue and fingers pretty much send her common sense flying out the window, even when he threatens to beat her or whip her for not obeying fast enough. His magic cock and fantastic abs cause Maxine to like what he does to her, even though she's scared. Really? I thought I was going to reach into the book and slap Philippe into the next century when he told her after she asked him for a 'boon': "I know what a boon is, Maxine...I just didn't realize you were so intelligent." Oh but wait, somehow he's in love with her after seeing her picture on her application...*raises eyebrow*Okay, tell me about this club which RESPECTS black women again because I think I missed that part.While I certainly do not believe Ms. Hubbard hates black people, this was a subject matter way out of her depth and sadly it showed. I disliked the characters, though the concept of a club catering to white men who loved black women was fine, that was not reflected in the narrative. I mean Philippe talked about purchasing Maxine at an AUCTION! Again, where's that "we're a club which respects black women" thing? I honestly don't know if Hubbard was attempting to craft an interracial version of that wretched 50 Shades of Grey, but I hated that book so I'm not surprised this too failed on so many levels. I know there are two more novels in the series, but I won't be reading them. I truly hope Ms. Hubbard takes this criticism into account and re-write this series because it truly has the potential to be very good.