Review: Submissive Seductions

Gateway to BDSM book for romance readers who want a bit of spice to their romance @Christine_dAbo #bookreview #

Submissive Seductions by Christine d'Abo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Gifted storyteller Ms. D'Abo shows how curiosity does not kill the cat. In Submissive Seductions, Liz is taking a walk on the kinky side when she attends a charity auction with her best friend. What could be so kinky about an auction? When the goods are submissives and dominants. These auctions do happen in real life and Ms. D'Abo captures it pretty well. The auctions around me usually go for a few hundred dollars at most which is realistic for the general kinky population. When Liz spends more than a few hundred for a sexy dominant, she nearly passes out. Is it from excitement or from the money spent? Why not be both?

Gareth is a dominant just coming back into the lifestyle after a four year hiatus. His past is shrouded in a bit of pain and it reflects in his emotional detachment. This is the first book I can recall from Ms. D'Abo where characters have little chemistry for me. Whilst Liz goes through a hot then cold phase with Gareth, it always seems as if Gareth is removed. I get that the story is from Liz's perspective. And maybe that is what is difficult for me because at the end of the day, I do not like Liz. I completely understand her dilemma as she journeys along the kinky path. I just did not find her particularly likeable.

What is good about this book is the conflicts a person who first starts into kink experiences. Ms. D'Abo does a great job of showing sub frenzy as Liz wants to try more and more things with Gareth. Then when the realization hits that in America, kink is polarized into hawt fantasies or "abusive" realities, Liz becomes frightened and withdraws. Her experiences, fears of being outed and job fragility are all realities of identifying with the kinky lifestyle. Her responses are pretty natural and normal too. Her lack of maturity shows through as she tries to force Gareth to be "normal". And this is I believe the heart of my issue with Liz. It is neither right nor wrong, good or bad. My personal pet peeve and trigger is when someone tries to force another person to be what they do not want to be. Just as I am not into forcing vanilla into kink, I would not force a kink into vanilla. This rubbed me wrong so much I nearly threw my kindle across the room. Ms. D'Abo brings to life realistic scenarios which hits home a little too much for my comfort. Even though Liz changes her tune at the end of the story, my distrust of her has now taken hold and I do not like her. This is a well written BDSM tale showcasing a newbie's first experience in a dungeon. Recommended as a Gateway to BDSM book for romance readers who want a bit of spice to their romance.

*provided by NetGalley

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