Review: Pretty When You Cry

Pretty When You Cry by Keith Anderson

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


BDSM fantasies from a male author seems to be dirty and a bit more taboo. Mr. Anderson easily scores on both counts and it is guiltily arousing. He is a new to me author and I want to read more. If this short anthology is just a taste of what is to come, I can't wait for the next book. The story themes are erotic and plausibly realistic.

The BDSM scenes in this book are too short. For the most part, they are well described which provides for a good visual. The knife story is my favourite one. It is an impressive one because out of the hundreds of BDSM stories I've read over the past few years, this is the only one of its kind. The scene takes edgeplay to what most readers are not comfortable with and for those who are lifestylers, it's a new scene to try. Based on how BDSM is written in this story, I would guess Mr. Anderson is in the lifestyle. The responses of the bottom and the setup of the scenes are authentic and lends credibility to his experience. If he isn't in the lifestyle then he does good research.

What would make this better is if Mr. Anderson writes longer story. If Pretty Little Lies can be expanded with the main character Jax, it would be delightful. Be it character or plot driven, knife scenes perhaps with interrogation mixed in it would pull several darker kinksters in. Another one which would be great to expand upon is All You Ever Wanted. The plot twist in this short story is taboo and in much demand with dark readers. Although usually, it's m/m in more demand than f/f. This short story is well crafted with tension. Then a surprise reveal with depraved sexual torture makes the story supernova hot. The story ends too quickly and leaves plenty of opening for more. There are several questions I have for Mr. Anderson about Chad, Rose and Alyssa. The possibilities make my mind whirl in feverish anticipation and moistens my panties.

Another recommendation is better transitions between scenes. Using hashtags to separate is jarring. Perhaps it is because these are short stories, the separator is used. My preference is using chapters and better transitions between time differences. Otherwise, readers will come out of the story and not enjoy it as much.

Whilst I loath to say this, I must admit it - sex sells. Readers who enjoy this style of kinky sex stories will not need much character development if there is plenty of dirty filthy porn sex. This is not to say raunchy and crude sex with terrible dialog between characters will gain better reviews. It's to say the more graphic sex paired with humiliation, degradation or taboo will increase the naughty factor and most likely appeal to the taboo reading crowd. With character development, specifically characters which are loved or hated, it will increase a reader's desire to talk about a book and recommend it.

Lastly, if Mr. Anderson keeps his writing voice with lovely gems as below, it will be memorable.

“I had the desire to find you, and now I have the rope to bind you and the implements to mind you.” (pg. 39)

While she was Googling, she saw a picture of a woman kneeling at the feet of a man, well-dressed in a dark suit, captioned with the Oscar Wilde quote, “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it”. (pg. 51)

This short anthology is recommended to kinky readers who enjoy the sharp slice of a knife and the sly mischief from a sibling.

*provided by http://www.bdsmbookreviews.com/">BDSM Book Reviews

View all my reviews