Celia Brentwood is an author and reporter for Inappropriate Voices, an underground BDSM weekly tabloid. She is persuaded by her superiors to go undercover to do an exposé on being a sex slave. Her initiation into the assignment is by going under the gavel at the annual slave auction held in San Francisco’s famous alternative lifestyles club, Lewd Larry’s. For 30 days, the contracted period, whoever purchases her will have her complete submission, and she will end up with an audacious scoop.
Things don’t quite go according to plan. The auction ends up receiving more attention than expected when the wealthy reclusive and rumored gay owner of the club bids an outrageous sum to acquire her. Thus begins a journey that she is completely unprepared for in giving up all control, wishes, and responsibility. What Celia does retain is a few secrets but what will happen when all is revealed?
The auction was first offered at the club 5 years ago. Garret Lawrence and his lover Tony had instigated the event shortly before Tony’s murder. Since that time, the murderer has stalked Garret and tormented him with a series of letters for a period on each anniversary of the death. It is almost a routine.
There is suddenly more at stake when he finds himself under the spell of a doe eyed slave that he has dubbed, Kitten. With his slave he feels alive again and feels love again. It would appear that with this reawakening, the threat from his past decides to become more virulent. And Kitten is in the sights of a killer.
This is a thought provoking fictional account of BDSM told in an alternating first person point of view between hero and heroine. Readers will find themselves falling deeply into the storyline and feeling very much like a fly on the wall to some extremely exotic and erotic situations. The writing is frequently eloquent and even those who are not fans of the genre will find this to be compelling reading.
Ms Harte has created some wonderfully well rounded characters. Each one whether main or secondary has depth and facets to charm and chill as the author wills.
Our hero Garrett could simply have been a cardboard character only showing unrelieved dominance. What we actually get is a strong hero, who has weaknesses and moments when he is unsure of both what he is doing as a Master and as a man in love. Readers may not always agree with his means of bringing about his goals but one is certainly drawn to him regardless.
It would be easy to lose all personality in becoming a slave, but Celia is written in such a way that beautifully shows the conflict warring within her to fight or to acquiesce. One is enthralled by the exploration of the psychological turmoil that the heroine goes through.
The actual suspense regarding the murderer is also well done and will keep the reader guessing. Each in the cast whom we are introduced to could be the malevolent party.
Anyone looking for a book with a BDSM storyline that focuses as well on the erotic as it does on the other things that make a great read should not hesitate in picking this one up. Make no mistake, this is not recommended for the sensitive or the squeamish.
