Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: Dominique and Other Stories
AUTHOR: Brenda Murphy
PUBLISHER: Nine Star Press
LENGTH: 75 Pages
RELEASE DATE: September 26, 2016
BLURB:
Obsession. Pleasure. Pain. Desire. Love.
Four women—heartbroken and lost—long to satisfy their soul-deep need for the sensual blend of pain and pleasure, but have not found relief for the ache…until now. Dominance, submission, power exchange, and love lost-and-found feature in this collection of stories about women willing to risk everything in their quest for passion and love.
REVIEW:
As with most anthologies, books in general for that matter, some stories are bound to appeal more than others. Dominique and Other Stories was no exception to that rule.
Dominique – This story features barista Gina and her lost lover. When Miranda’s books were made into movies she shot to stardom and became more commonly known as Dominique.
Miranda re-enters Gina’s life five-years after running out on her, the day after Gina collared her. The reveal of why Miranda left Gina far from enamored me to her character. Anyone not aware of the significance of collaring in a BDSM relationship might be more forgiving of her reasoning. There’s some power exchange and a brief flogging scene in this story.
Genevieve – This story features Dar and Genny. Dar heads out to a bar with her friend, Vic, and there she meets Genny. They arrange to hookup and for various reasons, Genny can’t be seen with Dar.
The way Genny treated Dar prior to her exit from the bar made me recoil. If I was Dar I never would’ve followed her home. With what unfolded, I wasn’t sure whether to feel sorry for Dar or shout out, ‘I hope you learned a lesson.’ I can’t say more without spoilers, but I predict a number of readers will struggle with this story. With that said, I hope you grab a copy and prove me wrong.
Natalie – This story was my favorite of all four. I like that it featured a woman in her fifties who embraced her age rather than try to hide it. When Liv enters her store, something awakens in widow Natalie. Her mind flicks back to better days when her and her wife, Delia, use to share lovers. Natalie and Livs’ story is a slow burn. Perhaps it’s why the sex in this story appealed to me more. The D/s session and power exchange was super hot.
Virginia – This story also featured more mature ladies. Forty-two-year-old lifeguard, Nicole, has a thing for one of the ladies on the over 50’s swim team. Nicole’s friend Mac is a delightful secondary character. The advise she offers and her no-holds-barred attitude made me want to know more about her. But alas, it wasn’t her story. The power exchange in this story took me off guard, and I guess this is the problem with such short stories. To go from “we’ve hardly talked,” to “on your knees,” with no discussion if one or the other was even into such play didn’t work for me. Or was it like a gaydar thing, and they just ‘knew?’
My one quibble about the writing style throughout, was the use of the words ‘she thought.’ The fact the dialogue is in italics and it’s in the characters POV, it’s rather clear (to me) they are the characters thoughts without interrupting the flow of a sentence. That one’s on me and didn’t factor into my rating.
RATING: 
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