Review: a surprisingly sweet read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 20, 2010
Ty Ransome may be the latest Hollywood director and action-flick hero superstar, but he is tired of playing the same old roles. He wants to make a serious movie, one that means something to him, and he knows exactly what book he wants to base his movie on: a collection of four stories titled Evening Songs. This book touched him and spoke to something within him that he didn't know existed, and he has finally persuaded the author to come to Hollywood and co-write the screenplay with him.When Ty finally meets Gwen Preston in person, she strikes the same chord within him as did her book. As they work through the scenes of the movie, their role-play becomes intensely sexual and delves into the BDSM elements of the stories. Having read her stories, Ty knows she is a sexual submissive, but he didn't realize just how affected he would be by her. He wants to dominate her completely in the bedroom and love and cherish her in their daily lives.But Gwen is not as willing to accept that part of her personality as Ty is. Regardless of the sexuality of the stories she wrote, she is convinced that her need for rough and submissive sex is something to be ashamed of, not something to embrace. It's up to Ty to convince her that her needs are natural...and that the two of them are destined to be together.********I'll admit that BDSM is not my flavor of choice when it comes to reading material. However, no one twisted my arm to read this story. I purchased it for myself, because something about the blurb (and the gorgeous cover image, I have to admit that) interested me. Maybe it was the fairy-tale appeal of the Hollywood actor finding love with a "commoner," but I think that it was actually the promise of tenderness and discovery that intrigued me. Mari Carr's novella "Rough Cut" is the story of a woman who learns to accept herself and embrace her needs and who finds the love of a lifetime while she is at it.Ms. Carr gives us a couple of three-dimensional and complex main characters in this story. Both struggle a bit with their non-traditional relationship. While Ty doesn't have problems with being a dominant, he is absolutely surprised at both his emotional reaction to Gwen and his realization that the hard sexual play between them is necessary to him. Gwen is ashamed of her sexual needs and thinks she must have some terrible sort of character flaw as a result."Rough Cut" includes something of a story within a story. Along with the love story between the two characters, we also have the four short stories that Ty and Gwen are transforming into a screenplay. While none of those individual plots are delved into in detail, Ms. Carr gives us enough to make the stories and the idea of a film resulting from them intriguing and to elicit a bit of an emotional reaction from the reader. Well, an emotional reaction from me, anyway. I found the premise of the final of the four stories to be quite touching.Ms. Carr has titled the chapters of this story to give the reader just a tease of what to expect over the next few pages. I thought this was well-done and entertaining."Rough Cut" brings home the fact that light BDSM can belong in a loving relationship and that it is not just one person shoving another person around and whaling blindly on them. I found this to be a very sexy and surprisingly sweet read, and I also enjoyed the Hollywood fantasy aspect. Overall, I thought "Rough Cut" was well worth my reading time, and I shall probably be investigating what else Ms. Carr has to offer her readers soon.