Novel Review: Submissive Beauty by Eliza Gayle

Rating (Out of 5): ~2.5

Genre: Erotica/Adult Contemporary Romance; BDSM, D/s, MFM

Publisher: Gypsy Ink Books

Release Date: 2011

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Eager to understand her secret desires, Gabrielle enters “The Sanctuary.” Inside she’s immediately torn between fear of the unknown and a craving to learn more, until the lights dim. From the first sound of Thomas’ calm and controlled voice, she is mesmerized. With an underlying need in her emotional spirit that requires more than sex, she is easily seduced into a world of dominance and submission under false pretenses.

For Thomas, an experienced Master, Gabrielle is an interesting mix of defiant, naive and submissive. Her sharp mind and wit appeal to him as much as the curves of her lush figure. He accepts the challenge to help train her despite the danger she represents. Long term anything for him is out of the question. If he does his job right, his protégé David will end up the perfect Dom for her and Thomas will move on with his armor intact.

Their journey puts Gabrielle at the mercy of two men who teach her how to embrace her darkest needs within a tight bond of trust. Unfortunately, betrayal lurks on the path to total surrender.

The Cover:

I am in love with this cover. I think it's gorgeous. The color is beautiful and subtle, the font is perfect; the image is sensual and modest, showing the romance without being too revealing. I wish the book fit the image better, but either way I love the cover to pieces.

Review:

I went into this really thinking I’d love it. I really wanted to.

Gabby goes into BDSM training with two men, not knowing that they intend for her to be just one of theirs. But then all of their hearts get intertwined during the mix, and they can’t help it.

I enjoyed a lot of the thoughts presented on BDSM and the lifestyle. I liked the attraction, and the way they slowly fell for each other. The sex scenes were nice.

I had a couple problems with it, though.

There were a lot of time skips. We’d be in one scene in one chapter, but then it felt like it stopped halfway through and skipped to a couple days later for the next chapter. Each scene ended okay, but it felt like they were incomplete, and they could have led to a lot more character development. I could have really seen them falling in love, or getting to know each other. Along with that, none of the sex scenes really felt intense to me. But a lot of the kinkier stuff, and the spankings, were only talked about later, very few were actually shown. Even the scene where Gabby confessed her love to the men was only briefly mentioned in a scene the day after.

There were also all these plot threads—Gabby’s ex-husband threatening her, the financial scandal with a co-worker, her friend having a mental break down—that were made to be a big deal throughout the book, one after another, only to be left for an anticlimactic explanation later.

I liked the conclusion, and the ending ceremony where Gabby and the men made up. I liked the BDSM aspects. But a lot of it fell flat for me, and left me wanting more.