Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: Tenderly Wicked
AUTHOR: Katerina Ross
PUBLISHER: Evernight Publishing
LENGTH: 168 Pages
RELEASE DATE: September 12, 2016
BLURB:
Max has always been interested in the wicked ways of BDSM, but his unusual tastes haven’t always been well received. But now he has Vadim, an eager Russian sub willing to fulfill his most daring fantasies.
There’s one problem—Max isn’t quite ready to accept what’s right in front of him. His deep-seated insecurities threaten to spoil what’s growing into more than just a kinky pastime. Will Max embrace Vadim’s love or throw away his chance at true happiness?
Be Warned: BDSM, m/m sex, sex toys, figging, breath play, impact play
REVIEW:
This is a hard book to give a rating to. For the well polished writing alone it deserves 4-5 hearts, however some of the content had me hovering around 2-3 hearts.
Lets start with the things I loved. Top of the list is the setting. I’m not overly familiar with Moscow, nor do I think I’ve ever read an erotic novel set in the country, so I found myself absorbed in the details provided. Something that was slotted in effortlessly.
I liked the realism, to a point, of what it must be like for a sadist with no prior experience to explore his kinks. Things are bound to go wrong. Like anything in life, we learn as we go, and some learning curves are more dangerous than others. What I didn’t like was the lack of communication between these two men.
The story is told completely from Max’s point-of-view. His constant internal monologue, musings, and guessing how his submissive might be feeling or what he might be thinking, drove me to distraction. Communication is vital for the survival of any relationship, let alone one with two men relatively new to S&M, or so one would think.
There’s talk of wax play going wrong, but the scene is off page. The breath-play scene had some minor consequences, which could’ve been so much worse. And the scene where Max bound Vadim to the door, and what followed, made my blood run cold. It wasn’t the results of an unskilled sadist, it was outright neglect in my humble opinion. Why Max even started a scene in the state he was in I’ll never know. Then for him to allow his submissive, Vadim, to carry the guilt thinking he’d let Max down was inexcusable! Around that point, I considered giving this story a low rating. However the fact I got so angry with a fictional character is testament to a well written story.
This story is basically a lesson in how not to practice S&M. It’s well written, although bound to push a few buttons in readers. When Max finally admitted he had no right to continue honing his sadistic streak on Vadim, Vadim is crushed. I didn’t feel Vadim’s pain as I never really got to know him. However, the calculated risk he took to win Max back, something that could’ve gone wrong but thankfully didn’t, left me in a much happier state of mind when I turned the last page.
Would I read more by this author? Absolutely.
RATING: 
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