Reviewed by Cindy

TITLE: Initiation

AUTHOR: Nik Valentin

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 200 Pages

BLURB: After a difficult start in life, Joey’s dreams are finally coming true after he is accepted to the college of his choice. He attempts to find what’s missing on a BDSM website and is invited to dinner by Gabriel. Joey finds comfort in Gabriel’s understanding of his needs and accepts an invitation to spend the weekend together so Joey can find out if being a sex slave is really what he wants.

Their weekend starts out rough when Gabriel finds out Joey kept an important secret from him, but they persevere, and Joey discovers he is made for the role Gabriel guides him into. Gabriel is a stern, temperamental Master, but this only makes the trust between grow until Joey can proudly say,

“My name is Joey Mantello.
I am nineteen years old.
I am a sex slave.
I belong only to my Master, Gabriel.
I would have it no other way.”

REVIEW:

The blurb of this story really drew me in. I love a good BDSM story so I was really excited to review this one.

Joey is a sweet, hardworking kid whose dreams of going to college are finally coming true. But he has a secret longing that he’s also been working toward fulfilling and he might have finally found what he needed in Gabriel.

I liked the idea of a young man who’s never even had full out sex finding his way into the BDSM lifestyle with the help of an understanding master who’s willing to train him, but I felt like he should have had more exposure to what the lifestyle was all about, rather than one short visit to a private club.

I liked how Gabriel explained everything clearly to Joey, never starting any kind of scene without giving him an idea of what was going to happen. I also liked how Gabriel was just as tender with Joey as he was stern , which I thought was important as not only was Joey just learning about BDSM but also about sex in general.

I liked Timothy, the sub that Gabriel introduces Joey to at a private club. His attitude was wonderful and he was probably the best example of a sub that Joey could have learned from.

This story is well written and compelling and while my attention wandered a bit in certain scenes that I found a bit too wordy (such as the contract scene) I enjoyed this novel immensely. It’s obvious that the author has a firm grip on the ins and outs of this lifestyle and I will be looking for more from Nik Valentine in the future as well as seeking out his back catalogue.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner Press