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A review by heartpages
The Professional by Kresley Cole
4.0
Most erotic romance novels read like this (looking at you, _50 Shades_):
Virgin: Do your worst!
Virile/Rich/Dominant/Cold Bastard: You wouldn't like it.
Virgin: No, really, do your worst!
Male: Ok.
Virgin: I hate that! I am crying and running away!
Male: Come back! I will vanilla myself for you.
Virgin: Yay!
This book finally gets it right. The protagonist is sensual, lustful, and open-minded. She says, do your worst! And the guy does. And she says, this is fantastic. Whatever he dishes out, she's all in. It's refreshing.
I also applaud BDSM stories that explain, through the story, how submissives aren't necessarily wallflowers, doormats, or those with low esteem. In this case, despite the dominant life-style and relationships she fell into, Natalie is willful, modern, and independent.
Granted: you have to suspend your disbelief to go with the plot. We do this all the time with paranormal reads: you can accept this werewolf dude, but not being whisked off to Russia? This could actually happen - it's ok if it's farfetched. But if I had a critique, it's that for my taste, the relationship is still too smothering. It gives me the willies to think about how 'kept' Natalie was willing to be - despite her independence, she gave in awfully easily. But hey, she's not stubborn, and admitted to her own needs, which is its own kind of power. It's just not my flavor, but I understand that in erotic romance it's hard to separate the dominant guy in bed from the dominant guy in everything else.
Virgin: Do your worst!
Virile/Rich/Dominant/Cold Bastard: You wouldn't like it.
Virgin: No, really, do your worst!
Male: Ok.
Virgin: I hate that! I am crying and running away!
Male: Come back! I will vanilla myself for you.
Virgin: Yay!
This book finally gets it right. The protagonist is sensual, lustful, and open-minded. She says, do your worst! And the guy does. And she says, this is fantastic. Whatever he dishes out, she's all in. It's refreshing.
I also applaud BDSM stories that explain, through the story, how submissives aren't necessarily wallflowers, doormats, or those with low esteem. In this case, despite the dominant life-style and relationships she fell into, Natalie is willful, modern, and independent.
Granted: you have to suspend your disbelief to go with the plot. We do this all the time with paranormal reads: you can accept this werewolf dude, but not being whisked off to Russia? This could actually happen - it's ok if it's farfetched. But if I had a critique, it's that for my taste, the relationship is still too smothering. It gives me the willies to think about how 'kept' Natalie was willing to be - despite her independence, she gave in awfully easily. But hey, she's not stubborn, and admitted to her own needs, which is its own kind of power. It's just not my flavor, but I understand that in erotic romance it's hard to separate the dominant guy in bed from the dominant guy in everything else.