really enjoyed this book as the author never strayed from inner thoughts of her female lead.
Her expectations, desires and concerns, She continued to challenge her, both physically and mentally, all the time managing to maintain a steady, slow burning thread.
Like many of us the lead questions her everyday life, Secure as she is, she yearns for something more, Yet the very eroticism she yearns for and at times lusts after, is clouded in deceit, domination, and at times abuse.
If you enjoy reading about a woman's inner most desires, secrets and sexual needs, then this book is for you.
To the contrary if you want straight up and down vanilla tasting erotica without a European bent yet with a happy ending, don't bother reading, rating or reviewing it.
I could actually identify with Martha Blau's flawed female lead, and enjoyed embarking on most of the journey through submission with her.
There was heightened sense of anticipation as the novel progressed, and as such I looked forward to the road ahead for her, as dark as that road became.
The erotic language and Blau's unique writing style were a highlight for me, I do think the book shall grow with age, . . Though an awful, untrue representation of a BDSM relationship, and though the characters are somewhat despicable and not at all realistic, as well as the narrator/main character being a horrendous role modelI did like this book.
The prose is different, vivid and intriguing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, covertocover, Not worth your time. How kinky
Very. Oh wow is it kinky, It is explicit and descriptive, detailing many very kinky practices including orgies, extreme violence, ownership of a sort and exhibitionism/voyeurism.
How sexy
Rather, It is, in short, porn, As mentioned, extremely explicit and detailed, The somewhat staccato delivery can be a bit offputting, as I found the lack of rhythm and flow impeded my own, er, flow.
The plot was also stopstart, as it focussed for short periods on the sex, and then cut back for longer periods to the protagonist's own feelings her job, her friends, her own thoughts and her loving family home antisexy as she is a cheater not poly or consensual cuckolding, just plain cheating.
But the language makes up for many halting sins, as it is never shy or demure.
It uses the words you want need to hear, which brings you right back into the swing of things.
How inspiring
Subjective, I love reading about this stuff, but some of the ideas weren't going to be useful to me personally anonymity, exhibitionism, orgies etc.
. I got some great fantasy fodder out of it, but did it inspire me to copy the book Not as such.
Inspiring of fantasy only for me/us,
How engaging
Actually, not very, It's not
terrible, but I could easily put it down and come back later, I liked reading the short chapters in chunks while in bed, but as mentioned the long periods of concentration on plot points other than the central relationship really slowed it down in some parts it was actually boring.
How well executed
Well written, but to me it was clear it was translated.
I don't know whether the text was translated into English from French, or if the French writer was writing in English, but the language came across as slightly stilted and formal.
Only slightly, though, and to a certain extent it adds charm to the writing,
Overall reaction
Cute little book, Nice size handbag sized! and adorable cover art, Short, busride length chapters and gloriously explicit language, The only real criticism I have of the book as a whole is the undesirable focus on Elodie's feelings, friends, vanilla experiences and of course, the poor family she is cheating on.
It makes a lovely and wonderfully delicious porn book into a bit of a moral tale.
If I wanted my porn tinged with melancholy and misery I'd be reading Story of O.
In short: The plot had a little too much depth for your average porn book, but from certain angles, could be considered to add an element of evil, which some readers may prefer.
Sad ending made it a bit morbid for me personally, YMMV.
CHECK OUT MY OTHER REVIEWS: sitelink blogspot. com What the fck did I just read I bought this book having read the description on the back that sounded so promising.
There really was no plot, just the incoherent rambling similar to reading someone's diary, That didn't bother me as much as the pathetic lack of self respect for the narrator/main character.
She blindly follows this man around and is desperate for any attention from him, So much so that she allows him to physically, emotionally and mentally abuse her, and she just puts up with it!
Finally at the end she tells him it's "over".
His reaction is nothing more than more verbal abuse about how worthless she is, and follows up by beating her face in again and again, to which he responds by crying and feeling more worthless.
. . um, WHAT!! Jesus christ on a pony theshades books weren't even THIS bad!! I'm only half way through this book and you can tell from the firstpages that this girl needs some serious mental help.
The man she's obsessed with is nothing less than an abuser and toes the line of being a rapist.
He hits her numerous times and goes on speils of "prove you're worthy of me, "
The woman comes off as a selfish whore who cares more about getting dick then her own kid and husband.
Just pisses me off so much, I think this book looses something in translation, It is originally in French and I don't know if it translates well to English, I was engaged but could not help the thought that I was missing details of the story.
Again, this might be a translation issue, I just couldn't understand how she got so wrapped up or how he got so much power over her.
She was obsessed in a way that I could not understand, That's why I think some elements were lost in translation, I wasn't that bothered by his cruelty but more disturbed by her utter submissiveness even against her own best interest.
I just couldn't reconcile such a strong woman giving in so completely to a man she barely knew.
Again, something must have been lost in translation, This book has scarred me for life but I really enjoyed it, This book describes the lifecycle of one womans submissive relationship with a dominant man, Her relationship with the man isnt sexual in the conventional sensethough she participates in lots of sex and he commands her to engage in various sexual activities.
Its a relatively tame and more modern variant of the tale told in the famous “The Story of O” written by another Frenchwoman, Pauline Réage a.
k. a. Anne Desclos.
While “Submission” is like any number of stories of submissive individuals being dominated by a dominant and / or sadistic partner, it does carve out a unique space.
The female lead is a highly regarded lawyer who is married with a family, She isnt on the weak side of some power dynamic i, e. its not a secretary / boss or employee / employer kind of tale, Thats not that different from “Story of O” in which the lead is a successful photographer, but it does add complexity to the leads motivation.
It also makes the storys main question a little bit more intriguing, That question being, how long can the relationship go on with the demands on her becoming progressively more intense re: degrading while the intimacy of the relationship isnt increasing as shed like This tension builds to a climax at a point where the man momentarily shifts from the cool dominant to an angry abusive.
It goes without saying that the book contains graphic sexual scenes and wont be the cup of tea of puritans or those with delicate sensibilities.
“Submission” is interesting both as a work of erotica and as a psychological sketch.
There seem to be many books out there that tell similar stories, so its hard to place this one.
I wouldnt call it exceptional in any way, and I found “The Story of O” to be more intriguing and intense.
That said, while I havent read the “Shades” books, from what I heard about them, this one likely surpasses them in terms of writing and the building of characters of verisimilitude.
That said, the “Shades” books have obviously been immensely popular for a reason, and that reasonnear as I can tellis they tap into a fantasy in which a man who is extraordinary in every way geniusbillionaireplayboyphilanthropistwithsixpackabs falls for a woman who is mediocre in every way because she submits to his will.
“Submission” wont scratch that itch,
The book is short, clocking in at a less thanpages, It does have a discernible plot, though its more charactercentric, A little more depth with the lead character and her dominant could be interesting, As it is the reader is left to draw many conclusions about the characters motivationswhich, admittedly, has its advantages.
If you know what you are getting into, Id recommend this book,
oh where to start, I went through the entire continium of reactions to this book, First I found it hot, then it seriously angered me, back to hot, anger, disgust, then appreciation.
Let me elaborate, I found a couple of scenes intensely erotic, specifically the basement scene during the dinner party, but it went downhill from there.
The swing parties and lesbian action just didn't do it for me, As far as HE goes, he may be a sadist but he is NOT a dom, or not a good one at least.
This man is a glorified douchebag with some sexual prowess, Considering the title of the book, this seriously troubled me the idea that it was being portrayed as a typical D/s relationship, until Elodie realizes her friend Lea and her husband are in a TRUE D/s relationship and actually notices the difference between them and the asshole she's worshipping as a God.
And then I started to relate to Elodie a little too much, The way she craves him because he defies her sense of entitlement, The way she knows she can have anyone but him, therefore HAS to have him, even if just the slightst scrap of him.
The way she describes giving everything even though he gives her NOTHING in return, And there, for me, was the point of this book, I've been in this relationship, more or less, And now I REALLY hate this guy, Really hate her for pointint it out to me, and really, really, really would like her to stop talking about how nobody else wound understand how incredibly refined and bouguise her submissive perversities are.
Even by the end she doesn't seem to realize that the only question is WHICH kink most people have, not whether or not they have them.
Still, she did a really good job of taking me through her feelings, and giving an extreme illustration of douchebaggery which, if we're honest, most of us can relate to on some level.
I'd want to slap her for making me confront that particular demon, but I know she'd like it.
Last but definitely not least, but it seemed to me the beginning of His fall from Godstatus was when she saw him smiling and laughning on the boat.
She notes that she'd never seen that side of him before, I really don't buy that she ended it because of what she did on the island, or his refusal to fuck her.
I think the beginning of the end was when he appeared as a man to her instead of a God.
As a man, his behavior is just a little pathetic, So ironically the douchebags downfall was showing a little true emotion, .