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potalian's review
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Abandonment, Violence, and Fatphobia
militantlyromantic's review
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Let me get this out of the way: so much of this could have been solved by a basic conversation, in which Eliza said, "Does it bother you, my forwardness?" and Dev said, "Are you kidding, that's what I married you for," but then we wouldn't have a book. Anyway, Dev is so disappointed in his suddenly-not-aggressive bride that he sends her off to one of his estates (he's been disowned but he's doing well in business as a club owner, because everyone knows BDSM clubs were not only super simple to zone but also highly lucrative in the Regency) where she has been for a while.
At the beginning of this book, Eliza is invited to the wedding of one of Dev's business partners, and she has no intention of going. She's still in love with Dev, still hurt by his apparent rejection. Now, look, I don't care about villains, okay? I don't care if they're layered, I'm not going to be interested. That said, villains who are just...bad people because they are bad people that have no redeeming values? Always feel a little bizarre to me. Because those people are really rare. And usually psychopaths. Eliza's mom is written as one of them. And it's kind of hard to imagine how she's even built a business because she's such the stereotypical "only cares what society thinks, has no moral compass" that it's weird to think even society would trust her. But whatever. The point is, mom has stolen from her own school and now needs Eliza to get money from Dev so that her parents won't go to debtor's prison, and Eliza loves her dad who seems basically harmless, if also useless, so, yeah, she goes.
Dev is not thrilled to see her. He still misses the woman he thinks he married and doesn't understand where she went, exactly. However, in fairness to Eliza, Dev's not helping himself. And yes, Dev has issues, he has been harmed and disowned by his father when his preferences were discovered. But also: she's your wife. Adults talk. And this is where my novella problem comes in. These two characters have a good push-pull chemistry, and as she slowly figures out what Dev wants, and whether she wants to give that to him, Eliza is able to seek out advice from the professional f-Dom in the club, able to discover her own D-voice. In return, Dev pulls his head out of his bum and starts figuring out where Eliza's damage comes from and helping her to own herself in front of her mother, which allows for her to build confidence in herself.
The problem is, as I think is clear, is I feel like the set-up of this is pretty clumsy, and because of the length of the piece, the parts that are the strongest (outside of the sex, which is well-written, so, in terms of erotica, you're set), are rushed. It's unfortunate, because histroms with female dominant-male submissive dynamics are exceedingly rare and while there were a number of things about the way they fumble their way toward it that bothered me as a practitioner, it worked for two people who would not have a lot of language to discuss what they were doing and might feel uncertain about discussing it. Also, both characters had potential in terms of not just the relationship, but their own stories of growth.
I guess, at the end of the day, I'm left hoping Davidson will return to writing this dynamic, but give herself more space to let it breathe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
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