Anchored

Anchored: Belonging by Rachel Haimowitz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I purchased this book not sure what to expect.  I read the reviews and it appeared a couple of the scenes were too violent for people.  I was braced for the worst.  I also don't find m/m books appealing.  I still gave this a try because a friend rated it 5 stars.

I'd like to clarify I'm not a HEA type of gal.  I'm also a sadomasochist.  For me all the scenes in this book appealed to me.  Appealed to me in the sense that I felt an emotion - sorrow, rage, amusement, etc.  The punishment scenes are definitely not for those who aren't into the BDSM (more SM) lifestyle. 

I didn't rate it a 5 because there were a few things that bothered me.  Things I didn't understand maybe because this is the first book I've read of Ms. Haimowitz.

First, Daniel's been a slave since he was roughly 3 years old.  He's not young in the story.  I don't understand why he had such a difficult time submitting.  The corporation who owned him should have already trained him to submit in ALL ways.  Although, since the slaves weren't as much sex slaves, I guess I could see why Daniel was resistant.  So in some senses, I would agree with the ones punishing Daniel that they treated him too well and he has "forgotten" his place to a degree.  I'm not saying it's right or humane, but they did have a point.

Second, what is up with Carl?  Why didn't he know how to treat a slave?  Sure, he has two others and he may be a nice master, but if this is a society immersed in slavery, how can Carl not know what would happen when he gave feedback?  W.T.F?!  For such a learned man reporting on news, I find it hard to believe Carl didn't know what would happen. 

Third, I wonder about the ones doling out punishment.  I think they are the cruel sadist which give doms a bad name.  If they wanted to fix the behaviour, they had to have known, their session only guaranteed the problem to become worse.  No dom/domme in the right mind would break a slave that way, unless the slave is a painslut who enjoys, humiliation and gang banging.

I did read many comments regarding the gang rape being too violent and they didn't feel comfortable.  It's actually more mild and less graphic than I expected.  There was more focus on the physically and mental responses than the details of how Daniel was violated, over and over again.

This book is more for people who understand the BDSM slavery aspect (Gorean) and don't have problems with sexual punishment.  This is obviously a fantasy world which shouldn't be used as a guide to BDSM or even a representation of a healthy BDSM lifestyle.

Lastly, I enjoyed the Ms. Haimowitz's creation of a world.  I hope there are more books following this one.  I'd most likely buy it. 



View all my reviews