Review: High marks for a new BDSM romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 21, 2013
This is really one of the better recent additions to the BDSM genre.The cover put me off a bit a first. Drag queens and feminization can seem light and fluffy. This was not a light or fluffy tale. The main character Steve, who is recovering from an abusive master/slave relationship, uses the drag to bring out his inner B*tch. I don't think he is interested in being female. For him it is just another way to say to the world "back off, you can't tell me what to do."He has returned to Australia from England to face his past. He and his lover had bought a house together but he left several years before with just the clothes on his back. He wants to get complete with the past.In this tense, girding his loins moment, he meets Don, a master who is into "safe, sane, consensual BDSM." Understandably enough Steve has a huge chip on his shoulder in dealing with anyone who calls themselves a Master. But a number of bets in a bar and a mutual friend have them interacting. (this is Australia after all.) Don ends up thinking Steve welches on his agreements and Steve ends up thinking Don is a pompous ass.But it turns out that Don has his own very deep wounds that counter balance Steve's traumas. These are both very strong men who have been made to doubt themselves. They have to find their own peace with their loyalty and love to people who hurt them. They also have to re-find their sexuality. What works, what does not? What do you do with a real kink that has been misused? How do you use loving advise that came from people without any kink? How do you find your own peace and happiness with who you are outside of what anyone else thinks? How much strength does it take to have the freedom to be different?There are some plot twists that keep these two men working together for a period. At first they do not respect each other though they are intensely attracted to each other. I liked seeing the inner strength revealed in these two and how they came to respect each other.This author is a good writer and writes in depth characters that I enjoy. In this one she has researched BDSM and drag and the depth of background really help the story. I have read the other two works she has on AmazonRed+Blue (Opposites Attract)andCaughtThe quality of writing and characters are very good and she seems to have researched the different backgrounds. I will continue to buy this authors books.