Review: Desire’s Deception

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Desire’s Deception by Vonna Harper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Looking for some more material to review for this kinky Dungeon Book Review site, I spied upon Ms. Harper's newest release.  Having read her books before, I knew what I was getting into with this tale.  For those who like it dark and non-con, this book may be for you.  The story starts out different and catches my attention as our female protagonist, Ferren, is a fetish sex actress.  Or otherwise known as a BDSM Porn Star. This kind of reminds me of the now-closed down Kink.com company.  I found their material to be of excellent quality.  Watching a documentary on the company was also quite enlightening.  Thinking that this story may follow along that lines, I'm humming happily (no vibrators were involved).

This story quickly spirals into dark territory within the next chapter when Ferren is kidnapped and forced into a human trafficking racket.  Or what I like to call SLAVERY because I call a spade a spade.  The BDSM in this story is full-on non-con.  Yes, yes, Ferren orgasms at the hands or implements penetrating and stimulating her.  Forced orgasms without consent are still non-con.  The BDSM scenes in this story are half and half.  Some of them can really be done in real life.  Some of them . . . not so much.  So don't use this book to try out new kinky sex scenes if you haven't been in the lifestyle for a while.  I usually don't think I need to warn people about this.  But now that I see so many safety warnings on basic household items... I tend to put this in my BDSM reviews too.  I digress.

From a purely non-con spank bank material, the forced sex scenes in here are HAWT.  Unfortunately, this is not a non-con book.  Unlike male BDSM non-con writers, female BDSM writers who use a bit of non-con also put in a plot, character development, and kind of a "human" interest plot device, if you will. Male writers have no need for a happily ever after.  There is no confusion that their story is pure fetish fantasy.  When a female writer mixes this with some reality, the story becomes problematic for me.  And usually why these books fall a bit flat.  

If this book is used for "me-time", the stars would be higher.  But because this story is supposed to resolve with a happily ever after so to speak and there is a "change of heart" from the supposed villain, this makes the book a bit more BDSM lifestyle hostile. Why?  Because it plays on the stereotype that is what kinksters do and many Vanillas paint those in the lifestyle with this broad brush.  This mixing of non-con BDSM and kind of plausible romance/reality does not work for me.  So, don't view this story as a dark romance.  View it as a non-con rape fantasy and we're all good. 

The writing style is good and smooth.  There is a bit of plot development and some predictable villains with easy-to-guess motives.  There are a few threads that are left hanging and I think that is the intention. Bringing in daddy issues is okay but unwarranted.  I think without it, the story would have been just as solid if not better.  It did pull on the heartstrings a little and explained Ferren a bit, but not enough to make a difference for me.  This dark erotica is recommended for readers who enjoy non-con and know the difference between fantasy and reality.

* I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.