Review: Naughty Bits Part I: The Lingerie Shop

Naughty Bits Part I: The Lingerie Shop by Joey W. Hill

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A closet submissive with a Type A personality inherits a sex store. How is this a good thing? Madison loses her beloved sister, Alice, to a sickness. As part of Alice's will, Madison inherits "Naughty Bits" a lingerie store which also sells sex toys. It also caters to the tasty forbidden fruit - BDSM.

Madison is a disturbed character. She's annoying to me because she doesn't understand to concept of living life. She goes through the motions and just wants to reach the end goal. Does she even know what the end goal will be? She doesn't take time to enjoy the journey to her destination. This can be seen through her thoughts on how to not to deal with bad sex and relationships.

Her [Madison] heart was too battered, her mind too confused. Maybe she’d take up dating when she was past menopause. Sure she’d have to wait a couple decades, but women at that age seemed like they had stuff figured out. Maybe the hormones drove the stupid shit out of the brain and only left (loc. 218-220)

This shows a distinct lack of maturity. No matter how business successful Madison may have been, she seems to be sexually stunted. Her supposition that older women have "stuff" figured out because they are older completely misses the point that they have experience. Women who have the sex part figured out is because they learned about themselves, are comfortable in their own skin and know what they want. Madison's mantra seems to be "lie to me".

Ms. Hill captures in Madison a lot of fears I've heard over the years from females. Especially young females in college who are not fully sexual comfortable in their own skin. She does a great job of showing Madison's issues and why she behaves the way she does. It doesn't make me like Madison any better. My hand itches to slap some sense into her. Because it's obvious Alice wasn't able to wake Madison up from her continuous self-destructive cycle. I have no sympathy for Madison's heartbreak or situation because she does it to herself and refuses to stop.

What is interesting in this conflict is how Ms. Hill starts Madison on an erotic awakening journey. She introduces Logan, an obvious dominant to spark an interest in Madison. Logan is patient, sexy and confident. I'm sorry, what exactly does he see in Madison? Why would he want her? Ratio of submissives to dominants it the lifestyle are completely in the favour of dominants. I can't throw a rock without hitting a submissive. If Madison doesn't want Logan, it's okay. There are plenty of others who will line up and take him! I digress.

The conflict in this story is depressing. An insecure female who constantly lies to herself and is as prickly as a porcupine is unappealing. Hopefully this set up will show a female at her rock bottom and in the following installments, she'll grown and become a confident woman at ease with her sexual desires. There is nothing sexier to me than a woman who is sexually comfortable with her needs and is a confident play partner. It will be interesting to see how Ms. Hill will help Madison grow.

The BDSM in this story is very light. It's just a beginner look which makes it a good Gateway to BDSM story. Many females in denial yet feel as if a part of them is missing will be able to relate to Madison. This short erotica is recommended to those who want a glimpse into the kinky side of life.

*provided by NetGalley


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