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A review by emmelnie
Roulette Redux by Renee Rose, Maren Smith, Alta Hensley, Livia Grant, Jennifer Bene, Measha Stone, Jane Henry, Sue Lyndon, Maggie Ryan
5.0
This is a long review, so here’s the TL:DR version: this second collection of story centered on a Valentine’s Day BDSM roulette party is even better than the first. All these novellas are strong, with engaging characters and a great sense of connection between the stories.
Now, on to the details….
Black Light: Roulette Redux (and I’m thrilled this title uses this word, one of my favorites) is the second anthology in the Black Light series, focused on an exclusive BDSM club in Washington, DC. Like the first anthology, this collection of stories revolves around a Valentine’s Day event where doms and subs are paired through the choices of the roulette wheel, not only as partners but also for the activities they’ll undertake during the night. And those activities are revelatory for many of these characters.
First of all, there’s a great connection to the earlier anthology and to other books in the Black Light series; we see couples from previous books, and we also address the business side of running a club like this as the club leadership examines expansion possibilities. One of the highlights of the Black Light series is the strong through-story in all the books, and seeing it continue here was fantastic.
Many of the authors from the first anthology returned to craft another story, and there are several new authors as well. The first story is “Unrestrained” by Jennifer Bene, an author known for her very dark dub- and noncon stories. Here, she builds a (for her) relatively sweet tale of a hardcore sadist who discovers through the turn of the roulette wheel a true and extreme masochist. Seeing these two begin the dance that might lead to a committed relationship was wonderful. Bianca, the masochistic sub, is a strong and vital character, and Silas is more than her match. You simply want these two to work everything out. Bene also punches home the need for consent, constant assurance, and care that is absolutely necessary to this type of relationship, and seeing that was a great counterbalance to some of the more extreme activities this couple explored.
“Brat” by Livia Grant was aptly named, as the heroine Ella is overly entitled. I liked seeing her evolution to someone willing to work with others rather than coercing them into doing what she wanted, as well as her realization that entering Black Light and its contest on a lie was something she was going to have to accept responsibility for. Connor was more than a match for her. I liked the fact that they drew an activity that really wasn’t a favorite for either of them (or for me), but that they made it work and didn’t overly portray the more extreme aspects of it. A couple of quibbles: Ella was noted as a social media star at the beginning of the story. As it really wasn’t used again for the rest of “Brat,” I felt it was a distracting statement (since, as a social media star, I’d wonder why she’d need trust fund money). And a heating cream was used on Ella, but she recovered almost instantaneously. I would have expected that to linger and be referred to later. But overall, this is a well-crafted tale by Grant that expertly explores the interactions of its lead couple.
“Forced,” by Renee Rose, does require a trigger warning. As the title implies, this deals with rape fantasy and the effects of wanting that. It’s well written, but readers should go in with this knowledge. And it’s interesting that Mariana, the heroine, doesn’t realize this herself, but her night of interactions at Black Light make this need apparent to her. Victor was a great match for her—his caring and attentiveness was a necessary offset to the actions that take place in this story. I really loved Mariana’s strength and Victor’s rapid descent into love. The possibilities for the Big Misunderstanding existed here but were deftly avoided by Rose. It’s definitely a standout story in this collection.
“Doctored” by Sue Lyndon was a relatively sweet tale of a May/December couple thwarted by past history and reunited through the roulette event. I really liked both Natalie and Hunter as people, and seeing how Hunter’s moves towards Natalie were part of a larger plan he was already in the process of executing made their actions and responses logical. My only quibble is that their public obstacles (he as a former governor, she as the daughter of the man he succeeded) were lightly glossed over. I’d love to see that addressed in a future story. And again—it’s a bit hard for me to believe that public figures would participate in an open event like this, when Hunter could have a lot to lose in front of an audience. But overall, this was a story that could make you sigh.
One of the interesting things about the Black Light anthologies has been that not all the stories have focused on the doms and subs participating in the event itself. “Shameless,” Maren Smith’s contribution to this anthology, deals with one of the dungeon monitors who harbors a seemingly hopeless love for a deeply damaged sub. She’s using the roulette party as a means of re-establishing her sense of self and her enjoyment of the lifestyle. But her past rises up to challenge Hadlee, and Garreth is concerned with present-day risks to her as well. Smith has crafted a detailed, challenging story that’s one one of the most rewarding of this collection. Side note: while Noah was a bit too perfect here, I’d love to see his story one day! And the end clearly implies more to come in the setup Smith has created. I hope it’s a future Black Light book!
My favorite story in this collection is “Edge,” by Alta Hensley. It uses a novella trope of former lovers reconnecting, but it’s also a story about admitting what you want in life and realizing how important that is to your self-worth and security. And it’s a step both Melinda and Dean need to make. While Dean realizes early on what he needed to do both in the past and now, it’s Melinda’s journey that’s the heart of this story, told only from her POV. I loved the tenderness and care that was at the heart of this tale, with both Melinda and Dean as characters I really enjoyed. One quibble was that no one running the roulette event seemed concerned when they stepped away from it dramatically to start. I would have expected some reaction from those organizers other than acquiescence. But that was the only minor drawback to an otherwise excellent, and marvelously sweet, novella.
“Confessions” by Measha Stone features another couple who’ve known one another for a long time. But they aren’t former lovers; instead, we get the younger sister/older brother’s friend combination. Dani and Gray have danced around one another for years, but finally get together through this roulette event. One of the positive things in this novella was the great connection this couple has, with some wonderful banter. But I would have liked to see safewords discussed and some discomfort shown with moving from the friend zone to something as intense as BDSM, particularly as Gray has viewed himself as Dani’s protector for years. This is one of those cases where the sub takes some rather extreme punishments, and I usually wonder how the dom magically knows what she can take when they’ve never scened together before. But Stone is a strong writer, and the winning characters who clearly have a caring relationship make this story compulsively readable.
“Surrender” by Maggie Ryan highlighted shibari, and the rope scenes in this story were wonderfully portrayed. I also liked that Marty was a sub who tended to top from the bottom. That said, her behavior in that aspect was so blatant that it was hard to believe that she’d been scening at Black Light for quite some time without doms calling her out on that. While it made for a great element of her changing relationship with Owen, I was hard pressed to accept that she was able to get away with that behavior in the club on a regular basis. Luckily the shibari and role play scenes, and the active amount of the story that focused on the actual roulette competition elements, balanced this out well.
The final story in this collection, “Taken” by Jane Henry, pairs a divorced couple in the roulette game. It’s always a challenge to swallow that a couple who had a tough divorce would be willing to play this game. I would have liked more of a justification for why each of them was willing to participate. And since it’s implied that Della is a newbie to BDSM and public scening, I struggled with how willing she was to do everything in the roulette activity. That said, I loved Della’s feistiness and fight against Brayden, especially her justifiable complaints on his treatment of her. Henry built their connection so well in this story that despite small discrepancies towards the end, I was strongly invested in seeing how they would rediscover one another.
I also appreciated that the conclusion noted that several of the dungeon monitors ended up participating in the event. That would indeed not happen in real life, and seeing that acknowledged was crucial. And there are plenty of interesting threads left open for future stories. One point to note was that this collection featured a breach of security and privacy, as the first collection did. That’s something I’d like to see addressed more directly if another Black Light anthology is created—which I hope does happen!
Some small side comments: I loved that each story in this second Black Light anthology, like the last, had a one-word title (yet another subtle form of connectivity in a series that admirably demonstrates that). And while this anthology does not focus on this, it was great to see acknowledgement of alternative lifestyles, such as m/m and f/f pairings, highlighted in the pairings of overall couples taking part in this roulette event. Kudos to the editors for recognizing that love comes in all forms.
Now, on to the details….
Black Light: Roulette Redux (and I’m thrilled this title uses this word, one of my favorites) is the second anthology in the Black Light series, focused on an exclusive BDSM club in Washington, DC. Like the first anthology, this collection of stories revolves around a Valentine’s Day event where doms and subs are paired through the choices of the roulette wheel, not only as partners but also for the activities they’ll undertake during the night. And those activities are revelatory for many of these characters.
First of all, there’s a great connection to the earlier anthology and to other books in the Black Light series; we see couples from previous books, and we also address the business side of running a club like this as the club leadership examines expansion possibilities. One of the highlights of the Black Light series is the strong through-story in all the books, and seeing it continue here was fantastic.
Many of the authors from the first anthology returned to craft another story, and there are several new authors as well. The first story is “Unrestrained” by Jennifer Bene, an author known for her very dark dub- and noncon stories. Here, she builds a (for her) relatively sweet tale of a hardcore sadist who discovers through the turn of the roulette wheel a true and extreme masochist. Seeing these two begin the dance that might lead to a committed relationship was wonderful. Bianca, the masochistic sub, is a strong and vital character, and Silas is more than her match. You simply want these two to work everything out. Bene also punches home the need for consent, constant assurance, and care that is absolutely necessary to this type of relationship, and seeing that was a great counterbalance to some of the more extreme activities this couple explored.
“Brat” by Livia Grant was aptly named, as the heroine Ella is overly entitled. I liked seeing her evolution to someone willing to work with others rather than coercing them into doing what she wanted, as well as her realization that entering Black Light and its contest on a lie was something she was going to have to accept responsibility for. Connor was more than a match for her. I liked the fact that they drew an activity that really wasn’t a favorite for either of them (or for me), but that they made it work and didn’t overly portray the more extreme aspects of it. A couple of quibbles: Ella was noted as a social media star at the beginning of the story. As it really wasn’t used again for the rest of “Brat,” I felt it was a distracting statement (since, as a social media star, I’d wonder why she’d need trust fund money). And a heating cream was used on Ella, but she recovered almost instantaneously. I would have expected that to linger and be referred to later. But overall, this is a well-crafted tale by Grant that expertly explores the interactions of its lead couple.
“Forced,” by Renee Rose, does require a trigger warning. As the title implies, this deals with rape fantasy and the effects of wanting that. It’s well written, but readers should go in with this knowledge. And it’s interesting that Mariana, the heroine, doesn’t realize this herself, but her night of interactions at Black Light make this need apparent to her. Victor was a great match for her—his caring and attentiveness was a necessary offset to the actions that take place in this story. I really loved Mariana’s strength and Victor’s rapid descent into love. The possibilities for the Big Misunderstanding existed here but were deftly avoided by Rose. It’s definitely a standout story in this collection.
“Doctored” by Sue Lyndon was a relatively sweet tale of a May/December couple thwarted by past history and reunited through the roulette event. I really liked both Natalie and Hunter as people, and seeing how Hunter’s moves towards Natalie were part of a larger plan he was already in the process of executing made their actions and responses logical. My only quibble is that their public obstacles (he as a former governor, she as the daughter of the man he succeeded) were lightly glossed over. I’d love to see that addressed in a future story. And again—it’s a bit hard for me to believe that public figures would participate in an open event like this, when Hunter could have a lot to lose in front of an audience. But overall, this was a story that could make you sigh.
One of the interesting things about the Black Light anthologies has been that not all the stories have focused on the doms and subs participating in the event itself. “Shameless,” Maren Smith’s contribution to this anthology, deals with one of the dungeon monitors who harbors a seemingly hopeless love for a deeply damaged sub. She’s using the roulette party as a means of re-establishing her sense of self and her enjoyment of the lifestyle. But her past rises up to challenge Hadlee, and Garreth is concerned with present-day risks to her as well. Smith has crafted a detailed, challenging story that’s one one of the most rewarding of this collection. Side note: while Noah was a bit too perfect here, I’d love to see his story one day! And the end clearly implies more to come in the setup Smith has created. I hope it’s a future Black Light book!
My favorite story in this collection is “Edge,” by Alta Hensley. It uses a novella trope of former lovers reconnecting, but it’s also a story about admitting what you want in life and realizing how important that is to your self-worth and security. And it’s a step both Melinda and Dean need to make. While Dean realizes early on what he needed to do both in the past and now, it’s Melinda’s journey that’s the heart of this story, told only from her POV. I loved the tenderness and care that was at the heart of this tale, with both Melinda and Dean as characters I really enjoyed. One quibble was that no one running the roulette event seemed concerned when they stepped away from it dramatically to start. I would have expected some reaction from those organizers other than acquiescence. But that was the only minor drawback to an otherwise excellent, and marvelously sweet, novella.
“Confessions” by Measha Stone features another couple who’ve known one another for a long time. But they aren’t former lovers; instead, we get the younger sister/older brother’s friend combination. Dani and Gray have danced around one another for years, but finally get together through this roulette event. One of the positive things in this novella was the great connection this couple has, with some wonderful banter. But I would have liked to see safewords discussed and some discomfort shown with moving from the friend zone to something as intense as BDSM, particularly as Gray has viewed himself as Dani’s protector for years. This is one of those cases where the sub takes some rather extreme punishments, and I usually wonder how the dom magically knows what she can take when they’ve never scened together before. But Stone is a strong writer, and the winning characters who clearly have a caring relationship make this story compulsively readable.
“Surrender” by Maggie Ryan highlighted shibari, and the rope scenes in this story were wonderfully portrayed. I also liked that Marty was a sub who tended to top from the bottom. That said, her behavior in that aspect was so blatant that it was hard to believe that she’d been scening at Black Light for quite some time without doms calling her out on that. While it made for a great element of her changing relationship with Owen, I was hard pressed to accept that she was able to get away with that behavior in the club on a regular basis. Luckily the shibari and role play scenes, and the active amount of the story that focused on the actual roulette competition elements, balanced this out well.
The final story in this collection, “Taken” by Jane Henry, pairs a divorced couple in the roulette game. It’s always a challenge to swallow that a couple who had a tough divorce would be willing to play this game. I would have liked more of a justification for why each of them was willing to participate. And since it’s implied that Della is a newbie to BDSM and public scening, I struggled with how willing she was to do everything in the roulette activity. That said, I loved Della’s feistiness and fight against Brayden, especially her justifiable complaints on his treatment of her. Henry built their connection so well in this story that despite small discrepancies towards the end, I was strongly invested in seeing how they would rediscover one another.
I also appreciated that the conclusion noted that several of the dungeon monitors ended up participating in the event. That would indeed not happen in real life, and seeing that acknowledged was crucial. And there are plenty of interesting threads left open for future stories. One point to note was that this collection featured a breach of security and privacy, as the first collection did. That’s something I’d like to see addressed more directly if another Black Light anthology is created—which I hope does happen!
Some small side comments: I loved that each story in this second Black Light anthology, like the last, had a one-word title (yet another subtle form of connectivity in a series that admirably demonstrates that). And while this anthology does not focus on this, it was great to see acknowledgement of alternative lifestyles, such as m/m and f/f pairings, highlighted in the pairings of overall couples taking part in this roulette event. Kudos to the editors for recognizing that love comes in all forms.