Review: Right at 3 and a half stars for me
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 4, 2013
There were elements of this serial (and yes, it is a serial -- basically the first three chapters of April's story) that I really enjoyed and stuff that didn't work so well for me.April is a non-traditional student.  At age 26, she is returning to college.  She immediately falls for the teacher of her "Power Dynamics" Psychology class (I'm guessing that she got a few Psychology credits under her belt already, as that sounds like an elective class for those who have already completed some prerequsites -- but then at least one of her classmates doesn't sound as if he's ever taken a Psychology class at all, so who knows?).  She looks up biographical information on him and finds out that he has a scholarly interest in BDSM.  Assuming his interest goes beyond the academic, she e-mails him and asks for private instruction.Stratton is a writer with an unusual ability, for erotica, to create a realistic female heroine and present a scene that will be exciting for female readers or those who enjoy reading from a (realistic) female POV (in fact, he's so good, the cynical thought crossed my mind that this is actually the pen name for a woman who wants a shot of extra publicity being a man who writes this way would bring -- but I squashed it and am giving the author full credit!).  It's the balance between realism and fantasy that ultimately made the story problematic for me, however.  In presenting such a realistic view of the world, each unrealistic thing stood out more starkly for me.  It was hard for me to accept that the professor would care so little for his career as to potentially throw it away for a quickie in the office.And make no mistake -- for an academic publicly associated with BDSM research to casually accept a sexual invitation from a current student would be very risky behavior.  Some other build-up to this relationship was possible.Bottom line:  Great scene, great female POV.  If you can ignore that voice in your head saying "This would never, ever happen," ignore the cheesy cover and download.