Review: BDSM that's all tell, no show
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 24, 2012
After my last experience with a Carina book -- Lilly Cain's delightful space-erotica Undercover Alliance -- I jumped at the chance to review one of their BDSM titles: Callie Croix's Let Me In, a novella about Marina Talia Barnett and military contractor Liam Brodie.When Talia comes home on leave, she's greeted by her friend Angie and Angie's brother Liam, who's shared a mutual attraction with Talia for years. After finally seeing the secret home life Talia has hidden from her friends, Liam's relationship with her ignites, and they finally act on the sexual tension they've denied.Unfortunately, while Let Me In is described as a BDSM title, at best it's a BDSM-lite title, and by BDSM lite, I mean no-fat, no-sugar, no-taste. Liam's internal monologue (and the author's) refers to "his baser needs" and "the dominant man inside him," but in a clear case of all telling and now showing, that's literally what Liam does. In one scene, he describes to Talia how he'd LIKE to tie her up and have his wicked way with her, but he doesn't. It's not a good sign when you are yelling out loud to the characters to show, don't tell.Most of the "BDSM" here amounts to tiny things like Liam telling Talia to "hold perfectly still" while he touches her to orgasm, or directing her during their sex, but if you are looking for floggers, restraints, or even a little spanking, this isn't your book.Worse, the author seems embarrassed by it all. Using the term "baser" -- which means without moral principles -- isn't exactly a way to describe BDSM, or at least Liam's desire for a little more kink, in accepting terms. In some of the scenes, anal play is discussed using terms so clinical I felt like I was in a doctor's office, not a bedroom. "Pussy" was used to define more than one part of Talia's anatomy, which had me staring at my e-reader trying to determine what was going on in a scene -- not what you want readers doing when reading a love scene.Overall, I was disappointed in this second Carina title, although I think a lot of the issues could have been helped with a more forceful copy edit.This review appeared previously on Goodreads.