Kati’s review of His Intimate Submission (Erotic Explorations, Book 1) by Anne Douglas

Months ago, on a hot Florida night, three friends explored one another. It’d been good enough that they’d explored together some more.

But while the sex is as amazing as ever between the couple, Jason’s shutting Lucy out of the everyday things. He’s searching. Lucy doesn’t know what Jason is seeking, but she’s scared that might mean leaving her behind. It’s time for her to pull up her big girl panties and figure out what’s wrong before things go really bad.

Jason surprises her—he’s not cheating and he’s not about to leave her, but he has an overwhelming desire he’s worried to admit. Lucy will have to demand her lover’s intimate submission to set them back on the path to happiness.

Lucy and Jason are back in this novella. Lately, Lucy has been sensing some distance from Jason. Is he unhappy in his relationship with her? Or is it something else? She resolves to talk about him, and he confesses with much trepidation, that he’s interested in having her dominate him sexually. Lucy agrees to try a Dom/sub relationship, but decides that she needs to do some research about how to go about dominating Jason safely and in a way that is fulfilling for both of them. Lucy speaks with a woman and her lover who have a Dom/sub relationship, and she finds that it’s very important for the Dom to be fulfilled by the actions that they are taking with the sub. And she goes to a sex toy shop and finds a variety of toys that she and Jason can use to increase the adventure in their play.

The story itself is very straightforward. Again, it’s short in length, 52 pages. But Douglas is very effective at building the foundation of mutual respect and desire between Lucy and Jason. It’s clear in how carefully Lucy researches the lifestyle that she really cares about Jason and wants the experience to be fulfilling for him. The play between the two of them features quite a lot of anal play, which I had no problem with. However, a large chunk of the story deals with, well, preparing for anal play, including a very detailed sequence with an enema, which I found not to my taste at all. I’d never thought much about the fact that an enema might be in order before prolonged anal play, but I have to be honest, reading about it exercised my squick factor heavily. I understand that this could very well be part of the lifestyle, but it’s one that I definitely prefer not to read about.

Overall though, the story features very hot sexual encounters between a couple who are both likeable and clearly seem to care deeply for each other. But for me the detailed description of one of the acts was really more than I wanted to read about and affected my final grade for the novella.

2.5 out of 5

The series:

This book is available in e-format only from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here.

You can read more from Kati at Katidom

Kati’s review of Curious Intimacies (Erotic Explorations, Book 1) by Anne Douglas

Ready for a night of sports and beer Shane’s straight best friend, Jason, throws Shane a curve ball with the words “Kiss me”. Shane’s gay, but Jason’s not…right?

Jason’s got a problem. His girlfriend’s got a strap-on, and she’s not afraid to use it…on him…and he likes it. Where does that leave him? Straight? Gay? Or in between?

Lucy’s not afraid of sexual experimentation in a safe situation. Who’s safer than your best friend—especially when he’s already curious about your sometimes not-so-private love life.

On a hot, humid Floridian night, friends find being curious can be very intimate indeed.

Lucy and Jason have a fantastic relationship. They’re adventurous in bed together, and are utterly in love with each other. But lately, Jason has been thinking that he might want to add a dimension to their sexual relationship. More and more, he’s been thinking that he might be bi-sexual, and he’s asked his lifelong best friend, Shane who is gay, if he might be willing to kiss Jason and see where it leads. Jason knows that Shane has a lot of experience and would be a great choice to have his first homosexual experience with. Shane cares about Jason and will take care of him.

Shane is shocked, and frankly, intrigued. He and Jason talk about it, and decide that they’ll initiate a sexual encounter. They have a very, very hot encounter, which Lucy interrupts. Shane is both horrified and intrigued that Lucy is so turned on by the encounter. While Shane has never had an encounter with a female, the fact that Lucy is so turned on, and that she’s interested in having sex with him is a turn on. Soon the three are having a very hot ménage a trois.

Anne Douglas has a strong imagination, and while this novella is only 44 pages, it’s well written. Douglas does a nice job of giving the reader enough information about Shane’s friendship with Jason, as well as laying the foundation of Lucy and Jason’s relationship, so that the encounter is plausible. The book is very spicy with several elements that could very well turn off readers who prefer their sexual encounters a bit more vanilla. But if you’re looking for a hot novella that features a ménage, this is a great choice.

3.5 out of 5

The series:

This book is available in e-format only from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here.

You can read more from Kati at Katidom

Be sure to stick around because Anne Douglas will be guest blogging with us later today. She’ll also be giving away a copy of her latest release, His Intimate Submission, the sequel to Curious Intimacies.