Review: My Wicked Valetine

My Wicked Valentine by Ann Mayburn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Combine a hot Latina lover with a suave sexual deviant and it will spark into sweet kinky sex.  Ms. Mayburn kicks off another erotic trilogy with fun characters and a stroll through a BDSM playground.  Lucia Roa is a determined entrepreneur starting out her party planning business.  In the Washington DC area, this means she needs to meet the mover and shakers.  Through a referral, she’s applying to be the party planner for an exclusive club’s Valentine Day party.

Issac O’Keefe is one of the elite.  He is determined to be on the board of Wicked.  Wicked is an exclusive BDSM members by invite only club.  He wants to impress the powers that be with a memorable kinky fest no one will soon forget and this party will make the difference in his favour.  He doesn’t think Lucia can handle it because the only parties in her portfolio are for children’s birthdays.

This set up is just right with a delish blend of realistic and fantasy elements.  I categorize this as GlitterKink because it does contain several rich Dom/mes and a private BDSM club.  If this club existed, lowly me could only dream about getting into the club.  This aside, the BDSM showcased is light and just right for those just starting in their kinky book journey.  Ms. Mayburn does an excellent job of building the fantasy yet staying true to BDSM elements.  Just because the average person can’t afford all these luscious tools and equipment doesn’t mean it isn’t feasible. 

The conflict in this story is all too real with backstabbing blackmail.  Sexual deviance is still quite the taboo in this day and age.  It could ruin a person’s reputation as well as destroy their career.  Lucia feels this bite all too sharply as the victim of photo-shopped blackmail pictures.  This is a very real concern many in the lifestyle fear.  Ms. Mayburn gracefully resolves the conflict in a way that is not exactly a win-win, but it does stop the blackmail and the victim is not ruined.  Well, maybe Lucia is a bit tarnished in her family’s eyes.

Ms. Mayburn’s forte is her relationship building.  She constructs her characters carefully with just enough flaws to make them human.  Then she adds in a dash of humour, snark and fortitude.  Her characters come together because they have to overcome their individual fears in order to be comfortable in with each other.  Is this not what everyone hopes to find?  Someone who will appreciate and love them for themselves – warts and all?  Riding alongside the character’s journey is both enjoyable and frustrating at times.  It is enjoyable because Ms. Mayburn’s comedic timing is perfect.  The frustrating part plays out when the characters do something which the reader knows will result in a miscommunication or hurt feelings.  It makes the reader want to yell at the character.  “Stop!  Why? Why are you doing this?”

This kinky book is recommended to new to BDSM readers who want a taste of the exciting forbidden fruit.

*  Book provided by BDSM Book Reviews *



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