Review: Very Dark
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 1, 2013
While I was reading this, I wavered between a 3 and 4 star rating and it wasn't until I had completely finished that I felt that this was a solid 4 star read. I think this is probably marketed as dark erotica but, while it is dark with a big ole capital D, it's not very erotic. The sex, when it is described, is perfunctory, without soul and not at all sensual and certainly not erotic.There's a whole heck of a lot of non-con going on in this book so, if non-con in fiction is a hard limit for you, I probably wouldn't pick this one up. Also, my review is likely to be spoilery so if you read on, you have been warned. This is book is quite fantastical so be prepared to suspend your disbelief to enjoy the story.We start with Callie/Mischief in the hands of the police. She's been separated accidentally from her Master and is being questioned by the detectives about who she is, why she is dressed the way she is and who put the vicious red welts on her arse. She is beyond terrified, totally unable to do anything for herself and desperate to be returned to her Master.Every chapter starts this way with Callie with the detectives and then returns to the story of her initial abduction and torture. Callie is abducted from a European airport and sold by gypsies to Judgment - an institution which deals in female sex slaves. The girls are rounded up stripped of their clothes, their freedom, their choice and their dignity. They are subjected to the most appalling beatings and torture and rape in order to bring them to heel.Calllie is a particularly rebellious Slave and things do not go well for her but she catches the eye of the top Master and he decides he wants her for himself. There is a strong hierarchy among the slaves and they can rise to the position of `Personal', a coveted slave by a Master or, if they are too disobedient, sold off to the highest bidder. Callie suffers horrific beatings with her body being forced into agonising positions to maximise her pain. She constantly rebels but there is a pivotal moment in the story when you realise she has reached the point of no return. She has been completely broken but has risen to the coveted rank of Personal.Back with the detectives, it is apparent that Callie/Mischief has absolutely no capacity to function normally in the real world - she can do nothing for herself and craves only a return to her Master. What lies ahead for her in the real world is being committed, psychiatric incarceration and drug therapy. She would be essentially swapping one form of captivity for another. This is the crux of the book and the moment that the book absolutely earns its 4 star rating because I found myself wanting her to return to the brutal captivity under her Master. Despite the horror and revulsion I'd felt while reading the story of her submission, I really felt that she was better off back with him and it's this mindmelding that makes the story work for me. She may be returning to agonising beatings but at least she understands her place, understands what is expected of her and feels `at home'. She's too far gone to be able to function in the normal world and her only hope for the future is with her cruel Master who in his own way probably does love her.In this respect, this is fairly similar to Comfort Food but the similarity ends there. Comfort Food feels isolated and fairly sensual but this is a mass organisation and it didn't feel at all erotic to me.There is a sequel and I will probably read that eventually as the issues a long term sex slave faces are brushed over very rapidly despite being fairly major events and will probably get more page time in a sequel.