The BDSM Book Club Discussion Thread

[FurryFury]

Oh dear. I've been working so much the past two days that I forgot to start the discussion for last month's selection, Kushiel's Chosen by Jaqueline Carey. Anyone who has read this book, please do discuss it with us. I will post my thoughts on it later when I get the time.

Fury

 

[FurryFury]

I LOVED it

When the first book in this series was chosen I had no real idea what to expect. I put it on hold at my library. Upon finding it on the hold shelf I was worried. It's a THICK book. I wondered how hard it would be for everyone to finish it within the month.

Looking inside produced more bad news. First there was a map. I've found that to be a bad sign in many books. Then there were THREE pages listed of characters. I remember thinking to myself that if the book was so complicated I actually had need to return to those pages in order to know who was who, I was not going to read the book.

I decided to at least try to read the book, that I had selected. Before I knew it I was completely drawn into it. The book went by so fast and enjoyably. I wanted more. The best part was that there was more but I didn't want to squander the sequels, I wanted to savor them.

Like a miser, I waited with my precious future reads listed in my mind. I waited for a rough month in which I expected to have a lot of holiday family stress and time to read. Ah, my precious book now is your time, I thought. LOL! So that is why I'm spacing these books out. I enjoy them so much. I want them to last!

I am charmed by these books. The alternate yet somewhat familiar religions and histories fascinate me. Never before have I seen such a celebration of the enjoyment of pain or sex as these books bring. Then there is the spying, intrigue and all the qualities about a good story I enjoy as well.

I can't wait to hear what other people thought about the book, good, neutral or bad!

Did you like the book overall or not?

Yes! I enjoyed this book very much. I was worried due to it being a sequel but it was another great story for me.

Do you feel it portrays BDSM in a real way, a positive way and/or your way?

Not my way but it does make certain aspects of it positive and others negative. I find it quite interesting how the writer addresses the matter. I'd like a bit more sex, bondage and whip but all in all it satisfies in it's own unique way.

Did you like the sex scenes in the book?

Yes. They weren't as graphic as I might prefer but they were good and moved the story forward in a key way. That last is missing in most books IMO.

Did you like the rest of the book, the story in it?

The story is the main thing in any book for me. That is why I like this series, it has a good solid story of mythic proportion.

Would you be interested in reading another book by this author?

Oh hell yes. Don't try to get between me and my reads! LOL!

What did you like best about this selection?

The multi-leveled story and the ideals it touts. Such as this from page 552:

"Love as that wilt." (The edict of the God in this book named Elua.)

"They are fools, who reckon Elua a soft god, fit only for the worship of starry-eyed lovers. Let the warriors clamor after gods of blood and thunder; love is hard, harder than steel and thrice as cruel. It is as inexorable as the tides, and life and death alike follow in its wake."

I love that.

And also this on page 698:

"It is my thought that this is the deeper meaning of the Precept of the Blessed Elua; in love howsoever it is manifest, we are great than the sum of our parts."

And finally this on pages 698-699:

"There is a wild and piercing sweetness in celebrating life after a long sorrow; all of us felt it that night. Spring is ever the time of renewal, and it seem fit, after so long, to rediscover pure, unalloyed happiness."

Those sections hit me hard and in a good way. *sighs* Yes, I am a romantic at heart.

What did you like the least?

I absolutely hated two things, one that her love left her at one point in the book leaving her far more vulnerable to attack and heartbroken.

The second thing was that no one can or will capture the one who spun this whole terrible plot.

How would you have changed the story?

I'm not sure. It's a good book. Having never finished a book to my own satisfaction and finding this one so satisfying, I guess I wouldn't except for more blatant sex and BDSM scenes maybe.

Fury

 

[Kierae]

hmmm not sure how I missed this one but I just found it on my library search so I have ordered it up (and the other 2 in the series). So I may add my 2 cents once I have gotten it and read it.

~kierae

 

[FurryFury]

hmmm not sure how I missed this one but I just found it on my library search so I have ordered it up (and the other 2 in the series). So I may add my 2 cents once I have gotten it and read it.

~kierae

Yay!!!

*smiles*

Fury

 

[caela]

Just dropping my own two cents in...

Carey is a kick as author! There are actually 4 books in the series now BTW though to even tell you whom the fourth book truly revolves around would ruin part of the third so I won't say more than the story continues in ways you don't truly expect. Apparently there is supposed to be a fifth coming out next year as well and I can't wait!

One one of the quotes you posted Fury: "They are fools, who reckon Elua a soft god, fit only for the worship of starry-eyed lovers. Let the warriors clamor after gods of blood and thunder; love is hard, harder than steel and thrice as cruel. It is as inexorable as the tides, and life and death alike follow in its wake."

Remember it when you read the third book. No book in the series shows better how foolish those characters are that reckon Elua or D'Angelines soft than the third.

Like Fury I hated it when Joscelin left her but it didn't surprise me either. He'd been told in the first book that he would always stand at the crossroads and have to choose again and again. That's no easy place to stand.

That they don't actually capture Melisande is a bit annoying but at the same time I think it would be just wrong if they did. She's just too damned interesting a character to have executed.

If you've liked the first two books in the series Fury you'll like the third as well. It delves more into the darker side of Phedre's dubious "gift" and her quest to free Hyancinthe.

 

[FurryFury]

Just dropping my own two cents in...

Carey is a kick as author! There are actually 4 books in the series now BTW though to even tell you whom the fourth book truly revolves around would ruin part of the third so I won't say more than the story continues in ways you don't truly expect. Apparently there is supposed to be a fifth coming out next year as well and I can't wait!

One one of the quotes you posted Fury: "They are fools, who reckon Elua a soft god, fit only for the worship of starry-eyed lovers. Let the warriors clamor after gods of blood and thunder; love is hard, harder than steel and thrice as cruel. It is as inexorable as the tides, and life and death alike follow in its wake."

Remember it when you read the third book. No book in the series shows better how foolish those characters are that reckon Elua or D'Angelines soft than the third.

Like Fury I hated it when Joscelin left her but it didn't surprise me either. He'd been told in the first book that he would always stand at the crossroads and have to choose again and again. That's no easy place to stand.

That they don't actually capture Melisande is a bit annoying but at the same time I think it would be just wrong if they did. She's just too damned interesting a character to have executed.

If you've liked the first two books in the series Fury you'll like the third as well. It delves more into the darker side of Phedre's dubious "gift" and her quest to free Hyancinthe.

Cool! I can't wait to read book three. I will wait though. I wanna savor it. I LOVE this series!

Fury

 

[caela]

Cool! I can't wait to read book three. I will wait though. I wanna savor it. I LOVE this series!

Fury

Book three is my favorite and it is by far the darkest of the four. Even Selig's attempting to skin Phedre alive in the first book doesn't compare to some of what's done to her in the third.

Yes I know I'm a tease!

Unlike you I am terrible at waiting and had to read all the books right away once I'd discovered them. I'm not good at pacing myself and I think I finished the first three in about a week and a half. The fourth wasn't out at the time so that one I had to wait for lol.

 

[FurryFury]

Book three is my favorite and it is by far the darkest of the four. Even Selig's attempting to skin Phedre alive in the first book doesn't compare to some of what's done to her in the third.

Yes I know I'm a tease!

Unlike you I am terrible at waiting and had to read all the books right away once I'd discovered them. I'm not good at pacing myself and I think I finished the first three in about a week and a half. The fourth wasn't out at the time so that one I had to wait for lol.

You ARE a tease.

What should one do about that?

*raises brows*

Fury

 

[caela]

You ARE a tease.

What should one do about that?

*raises brows*

Fury

Welllllll, there are so many options!

-smiles sweetly-

Take your pick.

 

[FurryFury]

Welllllll, there are so many options!

-smiles sweetly-

Take your pick.

What a tempting tease you are!

*smiles*

*Repeats to self over and over, I will NOT roleplay here. I always get in trouble when I do even if others can do it, I can't.*

Fury

 

[caela]

What a tempting tease you are!

*smiles*

*Repeats to self over and over, I will NOT roleplay here. I always get in trouble when I do even if others can do it, I can't.*

Fury

lol...I try.

 

[Kierae]

weee just got notice that I have 8 books in at the library - guess what I am doing tomorrow! I finished Bondage by the way and definitely worth the read. Won't say much more until someone else reads.

~kierae

 

[FurryFury]

weee just got notice that I have 8 books in at the library - guess what I am doing tomorrow! I finished Bondage by the way and definitely worth the read. Won't say much more until someone else reads.

~kierae

That's great! My library will only let me put 4 books on hold at a time. Speaking of which, I got this month's selection from the library this past Tuesday!

Fury

 

[FurryFury]

So I finished this month's selection. I won't say more about it than that but has anyone else read it yet?

Fury

 

[Kierae]

shush!! I am madly trying to get all my damn christmas "chores" out of the way before I pick up a book. Making gifts and having to mail them sucks up any leisure time - then I had to add a dinner party I am cooking for on Sunday. But its on my list to do - I need to take a ferry trip to the city which is when I do alot of my reading.

On another note, I groaned (and cheered) when I saw the size of the Kushiel books - the gals at the library laughed at me as I hauled out 9 books in 2 bags.

~kierae

 

[FurryFury]

shush!! I am madly trying to get all my damn christmas "chores" out of the way before I pick up a book. Making gifts and having to mail them sucks up any leisure time - then I had to add a dinner party I am cooking for on Sunday. But its on my list to do - I need to take a ferry trip to the city which is when I do alot of my reading.

On another note, I groaned (and cheered) when I saw the size of the Kushiel books - the gals at the library laughed at me as I hauled out 9 books in 2 bags.

~kierae

Nine books? There aren't that many in the series are there?

I have to read every day and night or I feel the day hasn't been lived.

Fury

 

[Kierae]

nah I had 9 books total (several others in addition to the 3 Kushiels).

I finished the Tie me up book so let me know when to put in my 2cps on the review of it!

~kierae

 

[FurryFury]

nah I had 9 books total (several others in addition to the 3 Kushiels).

I finished the Tie me up book so let me know when to put in my 2cps on the review of it!

~kierae

Cool!

Discussion will start the first of January.

I think there are four Kushiels though.

Fury

 

[FurryFury]

I will make a new pick for the Month of January on December 31.

Any new nominations are more than welcome.

Discussion of this month's book can begin January 1.

Fury

 

[FurryFury]

Nominations so far! If you have any ideas for more please let me know! We are always looking for MORE ideas for nominations!

1.) Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey

In this engrossing adult fantasy tale, the fascinating Phèdre nó Delaunay fights to save her queen and country in a battle whose greatest weapon proves to be Phèdre herself. This sequel to Carey's accomplished debut novel, Kushiel's Dart, finds Phèdre, now Comtesse de Montrève, once again plying her skills as an anguissette--a courtesan for whom pain becomes pleasure--and her talents as a spy. She uncovers a conspiracy of treason and murder and begins an adventure that takes her once more to distant lands in the company of an intriguing cast of characters--and a new confrontation with her old enemy, Melisande Shahrizai.

2.) Heir To The Shadows, by Anne Bishop, from The Black Jewels Trilogy which includes-- Heir to the shadows and Queen of the darkness.

In Heir to the Shadows, Jaenelle's vampiric, adoptive father, Saetan, and her foster-family of demons shelter her. To restore her memory and emotional balance, they move to Kaeleer, where Jaenelle befriends the kindred--animals with magical and communicative powers--and gathers a circle of young Queens. She also heals Lucivar, Daemon's half-brother, who offers a brother's love and a warrior's fealty. As she recovers strength and memory, Jaenelle resolves to restore Daemon and cleanse Terreille.

Bishop subverts readers' expectations; the "darkest" powers reside in virtuous characters, demons and vampires are kindly, and Jaenelle's adolescence is more comically normal than horrific. Her vibrant characters and descriptions will keep readers hooked, anxiously awaiting what promises to be a riveting conclusion. --Nona Vero


3.) Marly's Choice by Lora Leigh

A reviewer, avid reader, 07/06/2006
Male Domination and threesomes
If you like male domination and threesomes, this book is for you. It was not for me.

Kay, so into reading, 03/01/2005
What a Good find
I just could not put the book down. Thank goodness I also have Brock and Sarah book to read after. The August brothers what a good story line. I'm so glad I found Lora Leigh. She keeps you warm on cold nights..
Also recommended: Tempting the Beast, Jacob's Faith, Heather's Gift..

Winchwoman (winchwoman66@hotmail.com), Is addicted to reading romance., 07/06/2004
The August men are yummy!
The August men's stories continues with both Brock and Sams stories. And they are just as good as Cades is. I couldn't put either of them down. Look for them and any story Lora Leigh writes. She is an excellent writer if you like erotica.
Also recommended: August men: Brock--Sarah's Seduction. Sam--Heather's gift. Also by lora leigh...Bound hearts, 1,2,3 & 4 are excellent. The Wolf breeds continues with Adains-Charity. Dont miss that one.

A reviewer from Ohio (karon_p@sbcglobal.net), A reviewer, 06/08/2004
Intriguing beginning to a new series
This is the first book in a series on the August Brothers. This book is intensely erotic, with a mystery thrown in as well. Marly has come home to stake her claim on Cade August. At the same secrets from the past have come back to haunt them. Because of these secrets Cade and his brothers live their lives by their own rules. Marly must make the choice to be a part of this family or let go of her love for Cade forever. This book is very hot and the emotions of the characters will leave you breathless for more. This book is truly a beginning of a wonderful series and you will want to pick up the other books in the Augsut series as soon as you finish this one.
Also recommended: Tempting the Beast Jacob's Faith Primal Heat

A reviewer (TEXBIZ@msn.com), an avid reader, 10/14/2003
Marly's Choice is a keeper!
Marly's Choice was the book that started the August Family series. It is a story of suspence, erotic love and self examination. Ms. Leigh has given us and intense read that will have you laughing and crying. Cade is the Alpha hero every woman wants and Marly is a woman who knows what she wants and that is Cade. This is one of the best books I have ever read. As a matter of fact it is one that I have read a number of times and always found a different nuance of a character. It is a keeper and after this one you will be asking about Brock and Sam.
Also recommended: Menage A Magick

4.) [B}Wild Women : Contemporary Short Stories By Women Celebrating Women.[/B] edited by Sue Thomas.

Contents The tiger's bride / Angela Carter -- Woman from America / Bessie Head -- The English disease / Nina Fitzpatrick -- The smile of a mountain witch / Ohba Minako -- Two words / Isabel Allende -- The debutante / Leonora Carrington -- Liking men / Margaret Atwood -- Simmering / Margaret Atwood -- In the garden / Darcey Steinke -- The odalisque, extinct / Diana Hartog -- Bloodmantle / Tanith Lee -- Sleeping Beauty, revised / Jill McCorkle -- All strapped in / Sue Thomas -- Orchids to you, dear / Fiona Cooper -- Really, doesn't crime pay? / Alice Walker -- Stone-eating girl / Meena Alexander -- The raw brunettes / Lorraine Schein -- I like to look / Kathy Page -- Planetesimal / Keri Hulme -- Perma red / Debra Earling -- The queen's chamber / A. N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) -- Her thighs / Dorothy Allison -- Four bare legs in a bed / Helen Simpson -- How to save your own life / Erica Jong -- It's bad luck to die / Elizabeth McCracken -- MindMovie / Christine Slater -- A day at the peep show / Veronica Vera -- Roses / Evelyn Lau -- Julia and the bazooka / Anna Kavan -- Silver water / Amy Bloom -- In my next life / Pam Houston -- Many mothers / Beverley Daurio -- Suicide / Mariarosa Sclauzero -- Autobiography / Carol Emshw.

From Library Journal
Capitalizing on the appeal of Clarissa Pinkola Este's popular Women Who Run with the Wolves (LJ 6/15/92), editor Thomas has prepared this volume of short stories that "bring together modern examples of the warrior guises of Wild Woman." Thomas, a novelist and writing instructor whose own "All Strapped In" is included in the volume, divides the works into eight thematic sections-empowerment, sex, and righteous rage, among them-and provides informative introductory remarks to each section. The short stories come from a politically correct mix of contemporary women writers that include Isabel Allende, Margaret Atwood, Pam Houston, Alice Walker, and a number of emerging voices. It's not an essential purchase, but your Wild Women readers will want to check it out.
Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati Technical Coll.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

5.) Topping From Below by Laura Reese.

From Publishers Weekly
The title of this devilishly pornographic?albeit literate?novel is taken from the argot of sadomasochism and refers to a rebellious dynamic in which the dominant partner (the "top") is subtly manipulated by the submissive partner (the "bottom"). After her young sister, Franny, is found murdered?bound, gagged and mutilated?Nora Tibbs, a journalist for the Sacramento Bee, discovers in Franny's computer a diary that details her brief affair with "M.," an arrogant music professor in his late 40s. Cruelly exploiting the overweight, love-starved woman, M. forced Franny to submit to a humiliating gamut of outre sexual practices. Convinced that M. is Franny's murderer, Nora sets out to prove his guilt by pretending to submit to his depraved aberrations. But, to her astonishment, she discovers a dark, pagan side of herself when M. enthralls her with intense, if perilous, sexual pleasure. Graphic descriptions of exotic sexual practices (bondage and discipline, sadomasochism, bestiality, etc.) accumulate, counterpointed by Nora's sweetly romantic relationship with a fellow reporter. The suspense, a bit attenuated by thin secondary characters, also is muted by artless foreshadowing, but the conclusion is satisfying in a savage sort of way and Nora's plunge "down, all the way down" under M.'s manipulations will keep most readers gripped even as they're aware that Reese's shameless pandering is manipulating them in turn. Comparison to Story of O is well earned. 100,000 first printing; Literary Guild and Doubleday Recommended for adult fiction collections.

6.) 'Scandal' by Amanda Quick

From Publishers Weekly
Under the Quick ( Surrender ) pseudonym, veteran romance novelist Jayne Ann Krentz (see review of Silver Linings below) offers a tale of Regency England that, while deftly handled with touches of humor, is more notable for its darker side: the hero and heroine rescue each other from past injuries while challenging each other for control within their relationship. Emily Faringdon, a 24-year-old spinster, adores a man she has never met: Simon Traherne, her favorite correspondent on her favorite subject, romantic poetry. When Simon attends a meeting of Emily's local literary society, he indeed seems to be "the man of her dreams," a handsome earl apparently willing to overlook the scandal in her past--a thwarted elopement. But Simon is interested in her mostly as an instrument for revenge: he blames Emily's father for his own father's ruin and suicide 23 years before. Since then, Simon has plotted to destroy the Faringdons. A romantic with a strong pragmatic streak,pk Emily persuades Simon that marrying her enhances his possibilities for gaining revenge and she pk then begins her own campaign to win his affection and free him from the past that has poisoned his life.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
From a stately country house in Hampshire to the dazzling drawing rooms of London Society, comes an exquisite tale of an elfin beauty, a vengeful lord, and a sweet love that is sheer poetry.

With her reputation forever tarnished by a youthful indiscretion, lovely Emily Faringdon is resigned to a life of spinsterhood, until she embarks on an unusual correspondence and finds herself falling head over heals in love. Sensitive, intelligent, and high-minded, her noble pen-pal seems to embody everything Emily has ever dreamed of in a man. But the mysterious Earl of Blade is not at all what he seems.

Driven by dark, smoldering passions and a tragic secret buried deep within his soul, Blade has all of London cowering at his feet, but not Emily... never Emily. For even as she surrenders to his seductive charms, she knows the real reason for his amorous wit. And she knows that she must reach the heart of his golden-eyed dragon before the avenging demons of their entwined pasts destroy the only love she has ever known...

7. Top of Her Game by Emma Holly

Style and sensuality. Power and passion...There's something about the Parisian boutique Meilleurs Amis that provokes all who enter to blur the line between business and pleasure. No one knows this better than Beatrix Clouet, the daughter of its infamous and not-so-dearly departed founder, and her best friend-and new management trainee-Lela Turner.

Now, as they try to get their professional and personal lives on track, these best friends will have to weigh the price of love and lust-while making their wildest fantasies come to life... --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

8.) Bondage by Patti Davis

Sara never meant to lose control. In all her relationships before Anthony, she had always been the seducer. She had called the shots. Set the rules. Dominated. So when exactly did she let go? When did he become the conqueror, she the slave? Whenever it had happened, she knew it was too late now. Sex - the game she played best, the game at which she was master - suddenly had a whole new set of rules. It was, Sara thought, like having to start all over again.... In Bondage, the new novel by Patti Davis, author of the bestsellers Home Front, A House of Secrets, and Dead Fall and the non-fiction book about her parents, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, The Way I See It, be prepared to meet a whole new cast of characters. Sara is a child of California, grown up and grown old at age thirty-five as only a woman could who has lived so much in so short a time. A costume designer for movies and television, it is through work that she meets her best friend, Belinda, a very vulnerable and needy young woman who envies Sara her ease with her own sexuality, her ability to dominate and control the men who want her. Sara has never questioned sex or her own sexuality. She likes it, is comfortable with it, and uses it whenever she wants. She begins and ends relationships with ease, taking what enjoyment she can before going on to the next. Then she meets Anthony, the hot new director of the moment. With him she begins a relationship that propels her into uncharted territories and that ultimately threatens to consume her.... In Bondage, Patti Davis has written a novel for the '90s that is shocking and startling, yet speaks to the hidden desires of women and men. It is a novel about a new kind of sexuality, at once a thriller and a dark love story.

Library Journal
Davis presents Sara and Belinda, two Hollywood women whose fantasies so twist their search for love that they're doomed to fail. When Sara, a costume designer, finds Tony, a film director she can't dominate, they experiment with threesomes and bondage. That's fun until boundaries get crossed. Meanwhile, Belinda, a hairdresser, falls for Philip, a New Age prophet. Instead of absolving her guilt, he compounds it. Then a humiliated Sara seeks revenge. Bondage is a shallow work about superficial people-a soap opera tragedy with titillating episodes. Narrator Sally Kirkland can't read this tawdry trash any better than author Davis can pound it out. Not recommended.-James Dudley, Copiague, N.Y.

Paul (Socer_is_life16@soccer.com), A reviewer, 06/29/2001
A Young Readers Review
Patti Davis is a great writer, and 'Bondage' was an excellent book, Once I picked it up I just could not put it down. I just wish it was longer so I would not have finished it so fast. I give 'Bondage' by 'Patti Davis' 4 Stars because its very detailed, excellent choice of words, and it shows the struggle for domaniance between men and women. I would have given it 5 Stars but it starts to drift off topic in the middle a little, other than that 'Bondage' by 'Patti Davis' is number 1 in my book.

9) One Dark Night by Jaid Black.

One of the hottest, most intense books I''ve ever read. The Hero was literally plucked from my imagination. I cannot stress enough how much I loved this hot, steamy, very sensually arousing book. The best I''ve read in a very very long time...I mean, damn. Seriously The Hero, Thomas, wow... big drooling wow...I want to read more of this author, ASAP! LOL

Finally! A Jaid Black book with a meaningful plot! I was actually engrossed in the mystery of this little who-done-it and not just in the sex scenes. Reading many of Jaid's other stories is a cross between the story line of a cheap porno and the sickeningly sweet endings of a childhood fairy tale. But not this book! Amazing! I hope she keeps it up!

10.) Gordon by Edith Templeton.

Originally written under a pseudonym, this thrilling novel of passion in post-World War II London was banned upon its publication in the late 1960s, and is only now being republished under the author’s real name. Edith Templeton creates an indelible character in the smartly dressed Louisa, a savvy young woman in the midst of a divorce who meets a charismatic man in a pub and within an hour has been sexually conquered by him on a garden bench. Thus begins her baffling but magnetic love affair with, and virtual enslavement to, Richard Gordon.


11.) Slave Trade (Mass Market Paperback) by Susan Wright

Human slaves can never defy their alien masters -- or can they?

Rose Rico never believed the rumors, that the government was secretly selling human beings to the Alphas in exchange for advanced alien technology. The idea that human sex slaves were a luxury item throughout the galaxy was just too ridiculous to take seriously -- until Rose found herself, along with hundreds of other human captives, bound for the far reaches of space, and compelled to cater to the depraved desires of her new alien masters.

As a rule, pleasure slaves don't live very long, especially the stubborn ones. But Rose refuses to give up. Someday, somehow, she'll win back her freedom -- or die trying!

The beginning of a provocative new saga of slavery and rebellion.

12) To Serve and Submit by Susan Wright

From Publishers Weekly
Set in a vaguely Nordic world that eventually comes into better focus, Wright's tepid erotic fantasy, the first in a two-book series, follows the adventures of Marja, "born a wild child of the fens," who willingly leaves her backwater home to become a pleasure slave. True to formula, Marja falls in love with her master, Lexander, who returns her love and eventually sets her free. Marja seeks help from a young noblewoman, Silveta, to whom Marja brings both salvation and misfortune. When Silveta's chieftain husband is murdered, our heroes must undertake a journey to save Silveta from the foul warlord Birgir Barfoot. A climactic battle proves more exciting than most of the carnal encounters, which are oddly coy, nearly sexless and brief. One can only hope that Wright (Slaves Unchained) will turn up the heat in the sequel. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
A child of the fens, Marja spent her days running wild, searching for bog iron for the family, and talking with olfs--spirits of the land who helped and guided her and anyone else who acknowledged them. One day a beautiful man in a huge ship bought Marja from her father. The olfs liked Lexander, and Marja wanted new experiences, so she went willingly. But Lexander is a procurer for the pleasure houses near Vidaris, to which Marja is sent to become a pleasure-giver and is found to be that rara avis, a natural submissive. She falls for Lexander, and he for her, but at a tribal council, she is drawn into a political minefield that makes her run for her life. Used to being told what to do, she must call upon resources and skills she never knew she had to save herself, her land, and the noblewoman she accompanies. The olfs and Marja's sex slavery add a lot to a run-of-the-mill adventure, though a few characters are very well developed, too. Paula Luedtke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

13.) Natural Law By Joey W. Hill Second in the Nature of Desire series.

Mackenzie "Mac" Nighthorse is a highly respected homicide detective and a career cop. There isn't a dangerous situation that can back him down.
However, the personal becomes uncomfortably entangled in the professional when he goes undercover in a high class BDSM club as a male submissive in order to find a Dominatrix who is winning the trust and then murdering her chosen partners.

When his path crosses Violet Siemanski's, he realizes he's found a Mistress willing to be his ally in finding the murderess. But Violet is also going to shatter Mac's shields and make him question who he is and what he wants, a challenge more disturbing than any case he's ever worked.

The sex is explosive, the love story is riveting and that doesn't even include the murder mystery, which is spectacular. I was truly shocked at the identity of the killer.
...I find the Gold Star Award not to be enough. In fact, if there was a Pulitzer for erotica I would ask for it to be passed this way.
~Raven Jackman, Just Erotic Romance Reviews

Rating: Gold Star Award!
Few books have caused the restlessness and emotional upheaval that this story provoked in me. ...I should know by now that Ms. Hill doesn't write like anyone else.
...This book is most deserving of the Gold Star Award because it is so much more than just a BDSM story. It is a finely woven mystery as well as an exceptional love story, with a powerful plot that twists and turns and will shock you in the end! Get a box of tissues…you're going to need them. Congratulations to Ms. Hill on a masterpiece!
~Oleta M Blaylock, Just Erotic Romance Reviews


It's about a girl named Marja who is bought and taken from her rural home to be trained by slave traders. She's trained and then thrust into some political intrigue all the while falling for her master. It's more D/s than any other aspect of bdsm. I'm enjoying it a lot.

Have to say I hated Topping from Below...ugh...I thought it was a very negative portrayal of the lifestyle.

14.) Death Row The Trilogy by Jaid Black, includes The Fugitive, The Hunter and The Avenger. Should this book be THREE picks?

"One vision of the future"
It is now 2249 on Earth and women have become rare. There's a terrifying disorder that is affecting certain parts of the population. When one is infected, they become an inhuman monster without a conscience. They'll kill anyone around them, even loved ones.

After 15 years, death row inmate Kerick Riley has finally managed to escape. He's spent every second of his time in prison plotting his escape. He needs to get some answers to questions that have been haunting him all of these years.

Dr. Nellie Kan is a scientist who's working on a serum for the mysterious disorder. It's become her life's work since her mother contracted the disorder and died. One night while she's leaving work Kerick kidnaps her. He brings her back to the Outside and tries to make her his woman.

This is the first book in the Death Row trilogy. This story is a good start to the trilogy. I found this to be a quick read and I finished it in one sitting.

Sexual Content: NC-17, masturbation, and public sex.

Reviewed by Emily Anne
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted January 1, 2003


Also available in paperback (ISBN 1843603675).

Summary

The United Americas of Earth: 2249 A.D.

On the eve of his execution, Death Row inmate Kerick Riley overpowers the guard and escapes the violent penal colony that has been his prison for over fifteen years. On the run to find the answers he seeks, the grim-faced, grey-eyed Kerick has two things on his mind: revenge and woman...

Scientist Nellie Kan has spent the last several years researching a frightening disorder that has developed in certain populations of humans. On the verge of developing a serum, Dr. Kan is kidnapped by an escaped Death Row inmate and claimed as his personal sexual property. Is her captor the key to the answer she seeks, or a lunatic who will destroy them both?

Publisher's Note: DEATH ROW is a three-part erotic suspense serial consisting of the following titles: The Fugitive, The Hunter, and The Avenger.

Sexual Content: Rated NC-17. Genre: Futuristic.


Online Stories:

15.) Tales From Subspace by NIGHTQUEEN1963. http://english.literotica.com/stori...ry.php?id=84817

16.) Night Prowler by Paddymellon http://www.bdsmlibrary.com/stories/...php?storyid=334

The selection for January will be made Sunday the 31st.

Discussion of this month's book, Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, begins Monday, January 1st!!

Fury

 

[leeroy jenkins]

Not I would really recommend Laure Reese but Topping from Below is much better then Panic Snap especially the ending.

 

[Rox_shybutcurious]

I'll vote for either Marly's Choice by Lora Leigh or Natural Law by Joey W. Hill. Both excellent books. I picked them up as ebooks and then had to buy them in print when they came out. I've actually reread them both several times.. LOL

Rox.

 

[FurryFury]

I'll vote for either Marly's Choice by Lora Leigh or Natural Law by Joey W. Hill. Both excellent books. I picked them up as ebooks and then had to buy them in print when they came out. I've actually reread them both several times.. LOL

Rox.

I bought both of those recently.

I will pick one of these if not this month, next month for sure. I'm getting some PM's too.

Fury

 

[FurryFury]

The selection for January 2007 is: Natural Law as well!

Discussion of December's BDSM book of the month, Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, can begin at midnight!

In the meantime it might be a good time to review the BDSM book of the month club in general. What did we do right? What did we do wrong? How can we improve it? What changes might we make?

Happy New Year!

Fury

 

[FurryFury]

And now on to the discussion of December's BDSM book of the month:

Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Melanie George and Jaid Black was a quick read, too quick. I'm not into short stories 95% of the time for just this reason. I like it to last longer, much longer.

In this case though I didn't find any but one of the stories strong enough that I wanted them to last either.

Taking them one by one:

[B}Captivated By You[/B] by Sherrilyn Kenyon had a good set up. There was a tough female and a tough male who were attracted to each other. They were attracted a little too much and with no explanation just why but anyway it was a good place to start.

Even better they "had" to pretend for him to be her slave and her to the Domme while taking lessons from a real Domme who didn't know this was all just training for a intelligence job. They glossed over the BDSM in the training, waaaaaaaaay too much for my liking.

They had switch things going on which I wouldn't normally object to but it's too cliched in today's BDSM books. Not everyone is a switch. I don't like to see it written that way.

Then to make matters worse, they didn't even let the female do what she had been trained for. Instead the dude dressed up as a female and Domme the bad guy who himself was a Dom. Sorry that did NOT work for me! That sucked IMO.

Promise Me Forever by Melanie George was a lousy premise for me from the get go. If I'd be left heart broken and moved on to get married again, no fucking way I'd fall for the bastard when he kidnapped me years later on the night before my wedding.

You blew ass wipe. We are history. Move along. Would be my attitude.

I, also wouldn't be marrying one person while wishing I was with someone else. I'd have to know I was over that person before I'd commit. This story left me cold for those reasons.

Hunter's Right by Jaid Black was initially the most implausible of stories. I mean come on, a secret primitive Viking society buried below the earth and in caves? Maybe that's why I actually did the suspension of disbelief thing and enjoyed it?

The BDSM was much closer to what I like. The characters were both strong surprisingly open minded people. I didn't like there not being a female dominated segment of society but overall this was for me the strongest story. I wanted more of this one. It was the only one I felt that way about.

Did you like the book overall or not?

No, overall it annoyed me. It's main plus was that it was mercifully short. I wanted to immediately pick another BDSM selection of the month and apologize. I felt ripped off.

Do you feel it portrays BDSM in a real way, a positive way and/or your way?

In two our of three stories mostly not my way, mostly not what I consider a real way or a positive way. In the most unreal story and in the training some of the best points about D/s were made IMO that were made in the book.

Did you like the sex scenes in the book?

Some in the first story I did. Not in the second. Some in the third though there truly wasn't enough of it in any of the stories.

Did you like the rest of the book, the story in it?[/B}

The story was lacking for me in all the last one. I wanted to read more about the characters in the last one.

Would you be interested in reading another book by this author?

Of short stories? Probably NOT. I think they might all have some novels I'd read though.

What did you like best about this selection?

It was short. You won't hear me say I like that often. LOL.

What did you like the least?{/B]

For me it didn't live up to it's press. There weren't good stories in it. There wasn't enough background, detail or anything else I enjoy best.

How would you have changed the story?

I would have had more character and attraction background on the first story. They would have followed through on the Domme scene. The client wouldn't have turned out to be a Dom himself. They characters wouldn't have switched but would have discovered their deep needs to embrace the roles assigned to them.

Second story I would have had deleted.

Third story I would have liked more of how the two main characters were once they realized how well they fit one another. It skipped over the best parts IMO.

Fury