A review by reba_reads_books
Loving Dominant by John Warren, Libby Warren

informative medium-paced

2.0

This "new and improved" edition still feels outdated, not to mention riddled with typos. I stuck it out because this one has been on my "excited to read" list for awhile, mainly because the title spoke to me. Well, the title was misleading. There's maybe 2(?) pages near the beginning that speak to what it means to be loving; the remainder of the book speaks to what it means to be responsible, which is pretty much the topic of every single other nonfiction BDSM book out there. The sections on edgeplay are sure to ward off many readers, especially because they're before the sections about tamer forms of play. This author would've done much better to publish two books instead of this one, because the

mindfucking

examples speak to such a narrow subsect of advanced players. It was not only out of place but problematic when placed in a book marketed for beginners, especially considering every single other nonfiction BDSM book I've read has done a better job at teaching consent and negotiation. Frankly, this book would've been 1.5 stars for me had it not been for the content from chapter 11 through the end of the book. I'm not new to the lifestyle but still learned a lot in those sections, namely the "why" behind many of the practices I've been taught in person.