Julie's Submission

Rating:
Summary: To Conquer the Shadows of Her Past
Review: Julie is stuck in her past, lost in the memories of her late husband and the life they shared ' and happy to live like that. Then Bill Thompson shows up at her rural farm, and Julie begins to realize that her life didn't end with Randy's passing. Bill is different from any other man she's known, and though she's flattered that he wants to get to know her better, she's not too sure about his methods. Bill, it turns out, has particular needs ' and for him to be pleased, Julie is going to have to learn the pleasure of submission. Slowly by surely she awakens once more to life, but the hardest step is yet to come. She's shed her inhibitions and the shackles of her memory, but can she accept that confronting her deepest fears can bring the greatest freedom of all?

JULIE'S SUBMISSION starts out slowly. Written in first person, the book begins with an introduction to Julie and her private fantasy ' a world where her husband Randy still lives. Bill's arrival is the catalyst for the story, for Julie's journey and the sexual and mental awakenings that she has as a result. The sex is hot, and D/s descriptions are pleasing and sensual. The book delves into the real meaning of D/s ' not just the sexual games that are involved in the definition, which is pleasing and educative. JULIE'S SUBMISSION is, ultimately, a very positive book that captures the reader's attention and simply doesn't let go until the last page is read.

Rating:
Summary: To Conquer the Shadows of Her Past
Review: Julie is stuck in her past, lost in the memories of her late husband and the life they shared � and happy to live like that. Then Bill Thompson shows up at her rural farm, and Julie begins to realize that her life didn�t end with Randy�s passing. Bill is different from any other man she�s known, and though she�s flattered that he wants to get to know her better, she�s not too sure about his methods. Bill, it turns out, has particular needs � and for him to be pleased, Julie is going to have to learn the pleasure of submission. Slowly by surely she awakens once more to life, but the hardest step is yet to come. She�s shed her inhibitions and the shackles of her memory, but can she accept that confronting her deepest fears can bring the greatest freedom of all?

JULIE�S SUBMISSION starts out slowly. Written in first person, the book begins with an introduction to Julie and her private fantasy � a world where her husband Randy still lives. Bill�s arrival is the catalyst for the story, for Julie�s journey and the sexual and mental awakenings that she has as a result. The sex is hot, and D/s descriptions are pleasing and sensual. The book delves into the real meaning of D/s � not just the sexual games that are involved in the definition, which is pleasing and educative. JULIE�S SUBMISSION is, ultimately, a very positive book that captures the reader�s attention and simply doesn�t let go until the last page is read.

Rating:
Summary: The Farmer Girl and the Hired Hand
Review: Of course, I love everything written by Claire Thompson, but it is wonderful to watch how she has developed over the years, in terms of writing pure 'erotica' to writing real stories with good plots and characters who matter to you...And she writes so well and in a contemporary style that you DO forget sometimes it's just fantasy, and that can get uncomfortable.. but still, I like that, bc it stretches my boundaries, I guess.

But back to the story at hand! This one is sweet and sexy, rough and dangerous, all at once! Julie is a young widow at her peak [] who never got over her husband, who was killed in a car accident. She has kind of let herself go and it doesn't even occur to her that the guy she hires to fix stuff up around her farm would find her attractive.

Not only does he find her attractive, but he starts to initiate her into the []dark world of S&M. She resists at first, or not really resists, but doesn't understand what is happening. I liked seeing how she develops from basically clueless to a submissive []girl. I loved the chapter where she has to expose herself in a mirror and describe what she sees. The realization that we get to see her make, that she isn't dirty and disgusting, but sexy and lovely, is really beautiful.

I also like how the author adds dramatic tension with a plot twist that is upsetting, but keeps you reading.

I won't give it away, but I would definitly recommend Claire's latest. It is HOT!

Rating:
Summary: The proverbial "erotica with a plot"!
Review: This is a warm book, describing a more gentle, loving sort of submission than one might find in Claire Thompson's work "Frog" or in one of Adrian Hunters' stories. Julie is a woman who has lost her husband and who works their farm alone. For six years she has pined for him, fantasized about him, and remained faithful to him. Enter Bill--a traveling handyman and sometime alcoholic who has stopped by her farm looking for work. Just a casual thing, perhaps a few jobs, she could pay him and he would be on his way. Does it ever work out that way? Julie is attracted to Bill from the start...but the attraction does not become unbearable until they are sitting on her front porch and she confides in him that what she really wanted out of her relationship with her husband was children.

It's interesting...this e-book is part romance and part hot-as-heck BDSM tale. If one compares it to modern classics in the genre, such as Patricio's "Blue" or Molly Weatherfield's "Carrie's Story"--one finds that the erotic imagery in those tales is stronger and more powerful, but goshdurnit, there just isn't much love or romance. This book is a nice mix of both...there are some great scenes, including one in which Julie submits to Bill and a female friend, who is known in the "scene" for her whipmaking abilities...the feeling is that Julie is not expected to know everything there is to know about submission immediately. Bill punishes, and Julie doesn't like it, but the reader never gets the sense that Julie is an object--an idea that can be incredibly erotic but burns the reader out after a while. Julie is certainly a piece of property, but you get the sense throughout the book that there is a loving relationship here, not just "kinky games".

Of course, if all you want is kinky games, this book has plenty of that too. Hoo mama! There is a great scene in which Bill wants to teach Julie to be comfortable with herself and her body...so he has her expose herself to him and masturbate for him--I have not seen a more tender but equally erotic writing of that act. It is the "well done porno with a plot" that artists like myself always want to see. And the centerpiece of the book, Julie's submission to both Ashley and Bill...wow. That is what a first whipping should be like. You can smell the leather and feel how heavy it is against your burning skin, feel the sting and the light touch of your lover on your body. That kind of writing in erotica is to be prized.

The only thing I object to is the ending. Claire, honey, you make me hot with this stuff but that ending is FORCED...I don't know how else I would do it, but the accident...it doesn't read well...it is too expected.

In this book, the author has taken a very common story, one might almost say "the archetypal American romance novel", and rewritten it, and somewhere along the way it took a hard left turn through BDSM-land. There is enoughkink here to satisfy someone who wouldn't be comfortable reading "Blue" or"Carrie's Story" or "Story of O"--this is more kink tale than romance--but the setting and the plot are enough to prepare for and set up the naughtybits so they read naturally. I tend to compare erotic literature with pornographic films (I tend to believe they exist for the same reason). This book is the "hard film with a strong plot" that I have longed to see.

Rating:
Summary: The Farmer Girl and the Hired Hand
Review: Wow, this is Claire Thompson at the top of her form! It's Bridges of Madison County meet The Story of O. Julie is a lonely farm widow who lives inside her head, keeping the image of her dead husband alive. Enter Bill, the farm hand, who sweeps her off her feet, and introduces her to all kinds of nasty sexy bondage and discipline that leaves her shivering with fear and desire. It's not often you read something that is erotic and sexy AND has a well developed plot line and characters you really come to care about. There's a twist, of course, that sets your heart on edge, but it's beautifully resolved. I highly recommend it! Maybe my favorite Claire Thompson so far.