So this week I decided to review a book that could get me in trouble with feminists and non-kinky romance lovers. Mercy, by Annabel Joseph, is really one of the kinkiest BDSM books out there. Behold, the following list of the kinkiness of Mercy:
Kinks: explicit scenes of dominance and submission, discipline & training, bondage, group sex, oral sex, anal sex & double penetration, menage a trois, and both harsh and loving bdsm scenes
If you’re not a fan of even light, playful BDSM don’t keep reading. You won’t like this book, I guarantee it. For those of you uncertain about whether you like BDSM, have BDSM fantasies, or know you like BDSM continue on.
Mercy is the story of Lucy Merritt and her relationship with Matthew Norris. Lucy starts out the book defiant, and a bit afraid, of Matthew, who is a patron at her dance studio. He’s into BDSM and, over coffee, asks Lucy if she is too – and if she would consider being his partner. She agrees, intrigued and curious, and the relationship begins with the safe word ‘Mercy’ – a word meant to keep a submissive safe from their master. What follows is a journey involving her training and willing participation in the pleasure that comes with pain, and the sexual freedom that comes (no pun intended) with the use of one’s body for another’s pleasure.
Matthew makes Lucy his own, in body and mind, however in turn he becomes hers completely. She is his submissive, he her master, and neither could change it if they tried. I liked that Lucy did not become submissive in all areas of her life just because she was sexually submissive, and I liked that she kept dancing until the bitter end because it fit who she was. There were a few things Matthew did that made me squirm (in unhappiness rather than... well... the other squirming), upstanding feminist that I am, but for the most part the book was really well done.
Mercy was a good read because it showed that love and a normal life with kids can coexist with BDSM relationships. It was definitely an eye-opener, and just for that I’d recommend the book to anyone with an open mind. The book also showed society’s outright disapproval of BDSM relationships, and how Lucy is shunned by people for her sexual preferences. Shame on us for judging anyone for what turns them on – we all have a right to be sexy in our own way, and Annabel Joseph definitely points that out.
“Sexy”ness rating: Intense.
Overall Rating for a BDSM kink: A-
Bottom Line: If you don’t like BDSM then this is not a book for you. If you only like light BDSM this is not a book for you. If you’re unsure about BDSM I’d give it a go, and if you like really intense BDSM – here’s a book for you!
Pages: 225
Published: 2009Genre: BDSM erotica
Thanks for the review, Rose May, and for giving Mercy a fair shake. I agree it is not for the light-BDSM crowd! But yay for all of us being sexy in our own ways. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing, Annabel! I hope to review many of your works in the future.
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