Haven of Obedience

Oct 28, 2012 Roe rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: challenge-bdsm-countdown, bdsm, backdoor-loving, erotica, f-f, menage-and-more, you-and-your-hand, voyeurism

To put it frankly, I didn't like it. It was almost a DNF but I trudged along, wasting my time. Yeah, it had tons of sex in it and that is about all. Sex here, sex there, sex with this person(s), sex with that person(s). No plot. I didn't connect with the characters because I never had the opportunity to. The dialogue was atrocious. Please disregard the bold blurb of this story. It lied. How it could even be synonymous with Fifty is beyond me. It should read: If you've devoured Fifty Shades, don'...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Robbyn rated it 1 of 5 stars

Please do not do yourself the injustice of reading this book. It is so poorly written I can not understand how it was published and then released into book stores. Maybe for adult shops but still not worth the paper it is written on. Lent it to a friend who is having trouble getting past the first page, told her not to return it. Can not rate it Sorry. :(

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Sep 12, 2012 Megan Billyeald rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: erotic-novels

I enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey but this book was absolutely nothing compared to that.
I did not enjoy this book one single bit and found the female character to be very argumentative. I just felt like shouting "GET ON WITH IT AND STOP ARGUING!!!!"
And Simon.... WTF! How would he be classed as "HOT" at all?!

I was unsatisfied with the ending and thought there would be more of a love story to it instead of just sex, sex, sex. I think maybe if Natalie and Simon were performing a sex act and it went...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Callixta rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Avis de Callixta

Dans le flot de romans érotiques qui a suivi la publication de Cinquante nuances de Grey, voilà un livre réussi et très intéressant qui ne reprend en fait que le thème de la domination et plutôt légèrement. Attention, l’histoire n’est pas une romance. Pas question de suivre une rencontre amoureuse mais plutôt l’éveil érotique d’une femme, le thème privilégié des livres érotiques destinés à un public féminin. Cette femme est Natalie, vingt-s...more http://www.facebook.com/pages/BlueMoo...

Avis de Callixta

Dans le flot de romans érotiques qui a suivi la publication de Cinquante nuances de Grey, voilà un livre réussi et très intéressant qui ne reprend en fait que le thème de la domination et plutôt légèrement. Attention, l’histoire n’est pas une romance. Pas question de suivre une rencontre amoureuse mais plutôt l’éveil érotique d’une femme, le thème privilégié des livres érotiques destinés à un public féminin. Cette femme est Natalie, vingt-sept ans et déjà un poste à responsabilité. Elle dirige son propre magazine et est une femme de tête, toujours habituée à diriger. Sa vie sentimentale et sexuelle est plutôt vide et quand sa meilleure amie semble choisir un autre chemin qu’elle et s’y épanouir, elle va lui demander son secret. Jan a découvert le Sanctuaire, un établissement bien particulier où les femmes apprennent avec des tuteurs à se soumettre.

Nous devinons très rapidement quels seront les principaux éléments de rebondissement du roman. Natalie n’est pas convaincue que le sanctuaire peut lui apporter ce qu’elle recherche. Elle a réservé deux weekends qui vont constituer l’essentiel du livre.

Les scènes de sexe se succèdent, intéressantes, très techniques car Natalie ne choisit rien et doit se laisser guider dans le parcours prévu par les organisateurs. Tout est tenté ou presque : sexe à plusieurs, sous les yeux des autres, scènes avec membres du même sexe. Nous sommes clairement dans un roman érotique. Pour Natalie c’est un parcours initiatique, une découverte d’elle-même et de ce qu’elle recherche dans ce domaine. Même si elle n’avait pas ressenti de besoins particuliers, elle les découvre avec volupté. C’est ce qui rend, en partie, le roman si agréable. Natalie expérimente, est respectée par les personnes qui l’entourent. Nous ressentons son épanouissement.

Il y a également d’intéressantes remarques sur elle. L’idée est que ces femmes de pouvoir, habituées à dominer en oublient le plaisir de se soumettre. Ce n’est certes pas follement original ni même totalement vrai mais Natalie est une femme qui a plus l’habitude de prendre que de donner, d’imposer que de demander dans sa vie sexuelle. Cette sorte d’inversion des priorités offre d’intéressantes perspectives et nous sentons son évolution.

La petite cerise sur le gâteau est que le tuteur de la jeune femme est séduisant et de plus en plus impliqué dans les cours de son élève. Il y a peu de passages qui ne sont pas directement liées à cette évolution sexuelle mais cela permet de mieux découvrir ce tuteur. On peut regretter que cet aspect reste seulement évoqué mais ce n’est clairement pas le but de l’auteure.

Voilà donc une chaude et séduisante lecture où la domination demeure totalement consentie et ne nous plonge pas dans les affres de pratiques extrêmes. Ce roman est paru en 2000 et n’a franchement pas fait bouger les foules en Angleterre ( Marina Anderson est britannique). Le voilà ressorti des tiroirs fort opportunément. Et depuis, Marina Anderson qui n’avait plus guère publié a fait paraître un nouvel ouvrage. Encore une conséquence imprévue du succès de Cinquante nuances de Grey. Clairement, nous sommes très loin de ce roman, les éditeurs ne semblant pas comprendre qu’EL James a écrit une romance et non un roman érotique mais si vous souhaitez élargir votre horizon, ce livre ne vous décevra pas.(less)

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Jan 26, 2013 Izzy added it

Gave this book 0 stars because that's what it deserves! I'm actually very surprised that this book has been published as it is, considering the large number of mistakes and typos it holds. It doesn't even look like it's been proof-read! Just to be clear, I read a paperback from my library. If it was an ebook and was self-published, I wouldn't be happy about it but I would understand how it could easily be missed. That just goes to show how bad it really was!

So on page 20 (chapter 2), I came acro...more Gave this book 0 stars because that's what it deserves! I'm actually very surprised that this book has been published as it is, considering the large number of mistakes and typos it holds. It doesn't even look like it's been proof-read! Just to be clear, I read a paperback from my library. If it was an ebook and was self-published, I wouldn't be happy about it but I would understand how it could easily be missed. That just goes to show how bad it really was!

So on page 20 (chapter 2), I came across this: "Idon't..." For some reason or another, two words were merged into one. I thought I would give it the benefit of the doubt because, although rare, it has happened to some very big authors. I thought it was a one-off. It wasn't.
There were: letters and words missing, words merged, dialogue would be placed in a single paragraph despite a change in speaker, speech marks had been removed and on a couple of occasions, paragraphs would be set out
like this. See how annoying that is? You would be in a
middle of a sentence, only to find that it's
on a separate line.

I'll be frank. The plot (Plot? What plot?) was such a turn off. I wanted to stop reading it but a) It wouldn't have counted towards my reading goal and b) my views and comment on this book wouldn't have credibility and I thought that it would be unfair. Honestly, everything about this was just poor. I wanted to punch every single character in the face, and I'm a lover, not a fighter!

Despite Natalie saying that she didn't want to have sex with a stranger, she did. On the one hand, Natalie didn't have to do anything. Nobody was holding a gun to her head. That's why I wanted to punch the main character.
On the other hand, they were telling her to have sex with a stranger. I'm sorry but who does that?
If I'm reading an erotica then I would expect at least an attraction, chemistry, or something! No, it was just sex. It wasn't fun, sexy or well written. It was just awful. It was like they were going at it on a piece of meat that was on a hook.

Now, this wasn't raised in the book and yet this is a very serious issue. Unprotected sex.
Natalie Brown (and the other men and women) must have had sex/sexual intercourse with at least 5 people. Not once did they use a condom. Not once did the thought of a condom occur to anybody. So, taking that in mind, surely there was at least one person who got pregnant or got an STD from all this activity? Just imagine, ladies and gentlemen, a Haven of STD's. That's bound to get you going, isn't it?
I cannot honestly believe that out of the hundreds (maybe thousands?) of people got involved in this "Haven", that not one of them caught something from another person. In my opinion, these people shouldn't even be having sex anyway. They act like stupid, horny pre-teens who think that the only thing worth living for is sex. Even with Natalie and Simon, they didn't have any chemistry at all. They were just obsessed with sex and that's all they really cared about! The characters treated each other like they were cheap whores but tried to explain it away that they "wanted to change the way they approached sex". Yeah, OK, whatever. *eye roll* If you really felt that way then you would have gone to a sex therapist/counsellor/someone with an actual qualification.(less)

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Dec 20, 2012 Elizabeth Lyddiatt rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book was an impulsive buy. Oh how I wish my impulse was wrong. I've never ever wanted to throw a book across the room before or burn a book. It intrigued me at first, but then I was just getting so bored by it. Don't be fooled by the blurb of the Fifty Shades reference on the book. There is nothing about this book that is like Fifty. Because of that blurb is why I feel I really bought it because I liked Fifty Shades. Don't be fooled by it. I wish I didn't come across this book. The dialogue...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Natalie Bowen is a control freak. If she is not in control, then she does not know what to do with herself. This includes behind closed doors in the bedroom. Natalie is actually too controlling. She has been told this by a couple guys. Natalie would like to spice up her love life. This is why when a friend of her’s tells her about the Haven, Natalie is all about it.

Simon has been assigned to be Natalie’s instructor. Once Simon meets Natalie, he realizes that he is in for a great challenge. One...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-copy, erotica

This book was not my cup of tea, but I'm probably not its target audience. There is plenty of sex in this book, most of it fairly inventive and described in great detail, but not much happens apart from the sex. I found the two main characters to be flat and uninteresting, and I really didn't care whether or not they were able to make a go of it. I didn't care whether Natalie ever learned to be obedient, and I didn't care what Simon thought of her obedience (or lack thereof). I finished the thin...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Joanne rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anybody who's controlling in the bedroom!

Recommended to Joanne by: My friend, Lisa

Well, well well, I Loved, loved, loved this book. It is brilliantly written and kept me so involved that I read it in 10 hours, in one day, with a few pauses in between as I was so captivated with the story I just needed to know how it ended.

Amazed that it was first published in 2000 and not popular back then as FSOG is in 2011/12, but suppose women were a little more prude back then and probably frowned upon to be interested in those kinds of book, my my, how things have change!

I loved the char...more Well, well well, I Loved, loved, loved this book. It is brilliantly written and kept me so involved that I read it in 10 hours, in one day, with a few pauses in between as I was so captivated with the story I just needed to know how it ended.

Amazed that it was first published in 2000 and not popular back then as FSOG is in 2011/12, but suppose women were a little more prude back then and probably frowned upon to be interested in those kinds of book, my my, how things have change!

I loved the characters and how the book briefly gives an quick detail of each of them, mainly Simon, Natalie and Jan and I enjoyed the way the book wasn't told by either of them.

Natalie and Simon liked each other from the start but Simon's loyalty to 'The Haven' and his job meant he couldn't tell her but early on you learn that she is Simon's type except for the controlling aspect. Funny thou, he's just as controlling, as the tutor, and he totally enjoyed having all the power. So really what's the difference?? As the story goes on, they become personally 'interested' in each other but Simon denies it as he'll lose his job. Natalie becomes very submissive with him and very quickly as she likes to pleased him but one again Simon denies that he has feelings for her plus if Rob, who's in charge, found out she and Simon would be out as it's against the rules. Do they end up with each other, well............ you'll have to read the book if you haven't already to find out.

The storyline is intriguing and interesting about the going-ons on what went down at 'The Haven'. I bet there are places like 'The Haven' in the world and obviously there are people in the world who are controlling in their professional life as well as their private life. WOW what a place to go and get some interesting raunchy form of therapy to become more submissive, to understand your own sexual pleasures and that of your partners and to be very open and naked infront of the other clients while performing sexual acts with one or more people, being pleasured or have pain inflicted by toys or being fondled by the clients and to be punished if you didn't do as the tutors requested. Talk about becoming so vulnerable and 'The Haven' certainly did that, which is why the clients went there.

This book is amazing and I'm now looking forward to reading 'Forbidden Desires' by the same author.
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Sep 06, 2012 Marleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: erotica

Copy received from Little Brown through Book Geeks

Natalie Bowen is in her twenties and a very successful young lady. The magazine aimed at single women like herself working high-powered jobs she started only 18 months ago is a huge success and although she works long hours, her working life is very satisfactory. The same can’t be said for her private life though. While Natalie has no problem attracting men with her blond hair and slim well-built body, relationships, while sexually satisfying, ne...more Copy received from Little Brown through Book Geeks

Natalie Bowen is in her twenties and a very successful young lady. The magazine aimed at single women like herself working high-powered jobs she started only 18 months ago is a huge success and although she works long hours, her working life is very satisfactory. The same can’t be said for her private life though. While Natalie has no problem attracting men with her blond hair and slim well-built body, relationships, while sexually satisfying, never seem to last. When a friend tells her about an exclusive weekend retreat that specialises in teaching people with control issues how to experience unknown pleasure by relinquishing control to others, Natalie is intrigued. While she can’t imagine that anybody could know more about how to bring her pleasure than she does herself she is very curious about what such a weekend might bring her. It isn’t long before Natalie finds herself on the way to The Haven to start the first of what will be two weekend retreats.
Her tutor over the two weekends is Simon, a handsome man and hard task-master. As soon as he meets Natalie, Simon lets her know that he isn’t sure that the retreat will be able to help her. It is quite possible that she’s too set in her dominant ways to learn the joys of submission. And Natalie secretly has to admit that he may well be right; submission is not a word that features in her vocabulary, let alone in her life. But, Natalie feels a deep attraction to Simon and is too proud to admit that booking herself into The Haven might have been a mistake. And so the first weekend and Natalie’s road of discovery commence. And while it will be a rocky road, it may well turn out to be the way to unknown and unexpected pleasures.

This book has an interesting premise. The idea of powerful men and women getting so engrossed in their own greatness that it gets in the way of having a satisfying relationship is, I guess, realistic enough. And the solution provided in this book is both kinky and fascinating. The retreat, as described in this book, is of course a fantasy, but I like the idea of showing (sexually) selfish people the pleasure that can be found in submitting to somebody else’s wishes every now and again. I also liked that the author doesn’t have her characters completely change their habits or characters in the process. Too often in (erotic) romance novels one or more of the characters go through a complete change over the course of the story in a way that would never happen in the real work. Thankfully Marina Anderson didn’t fall into that trap. While her main character certainly learns a lot about herself and about pleasure, she doesn’t change into a different person over the course of the 327 pages in this book.

On the other hand, I could have done with a bit more insight into and development of the characters in this book. While the reader does get to share Natalie’s emotions we only ever seem to skim the surface of what is going on inside her. About Simon’s thoughts and feelings the reader is kept almost completely in the dark. And as long as Natalie is second guessing what is going on inside his head it is fair enough that the reader knows as little as she does. It is disappointing though that by the end of the story I had no better idea of his motivations then I did at the start. I realise that this is a book of erotic fiction and that therefore a lot of emphasis is put on the sexual relations between the characters. However I do not feel that this should stand in the way of proper character development anymore than a mystery should only describe the murders in detail.

Back to a more positive note; this book was very easy to read. The story flows and has not a single dead moment. The pages almost turn themselves as the reader hurries on to find out what Natalie will be subjected to next and how she is going to react to it.

Overall I would call this a fun and original read for anybody who is interested in erotica. At the same time I would warn anybody who doesn’t like their sex explicit away from this book; absolutely nothing is left to the reader’s imagination. And finally, despite what it says on the cover, this book is nothing like the Fifty Shades books except that it features a lot of sex.
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Aug 24, 2012 QiJia 치쟈 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: marina-anderson, read-in-2012, borrowed, from-friend

This book should be titled Just Sex, Through and Through.
Being subjective here, there is a storyline BUT
flimsy plot and detached characters and concentrated too much on sex instead of character building. And there's many spelling mistakes.
This book is really about BDSM and very erotica and many new sex positions.
Rihanna's S&M lyrics described Natalie and Simon's mindset perfectly.
Honestly I wouldn't want my lover to be displayed for the world or even experimented. *grimace*
In the end of thi...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Elle rated it 2 of 5 stars

Oh, the shame of having this book on my currently-reading list! Ah well, I can plead the excuse that I work in a bookshop and need to know what these new fads are like. Haha. I bought this because I was curious about this new era of clit-lit, as I believe they are calling it, and this along with a couple of others (Destined to Play and Bared to You) are currently being sold under the tagline 'loved Fifty Shades? You'll love these!'. Although I did not love Fifty Shades at all - I found it appall...more Oh, the shame of having this book on my currently-reading list! Ah well, I can plead the excuse that I work in a bookshop and need to know what these new fads are like. Haha. I bought this because I was curious about this new era of clit-lit, as I believe they are calling it, and this along with a couple of others (Destined to Play and Bared to You) are currently being sold under the tagline 'loved Fifty Shades? You'll love these!'. Although I did not love Fifty Shades at all - I found it appallingly badly written and unbelievably ridiculous - I'll admit I was somewhat more curious about the premise of this one. It's not about a stupidly innocent girl who gets swept off her feet by Mr Psycho; it's about a successful woman who wants to try something different. I guess it's something I can relate to a little more, although compared to the blank slate of Anastasia who bears about as much resemblence to me as I do to Christian Grey, it's not much of a stretch. :P

I got through half of it on the train home today; carefully holding it so no one could read the back of the book. Heh. Immediately I was struck by the fact that it is much better written than Fifty Shades. While still not up the standard of authors who I usually enjoy, I have yet to throw the book down in a rage due to some horrendous line like 'Christian Grey flavoured popsicle' or whatever that crap was in Fifty Shades. There have not been any tampon scenes yet, either, which is an automatic win.

I'm also pretty sure this (and, if they are anything like this one, the other two books I mentioned as well) is not going to be the runaway success that Fifty Shades has been. That book focused on the relationship between Ana and Christian; an unlikely pair, him stupid rich and powerful and broken, and her unbelievably innocent. It's the formula which romance books have been using for as long as they've been around. Haven of Obedience, on the other hand, is pure unadulterated smut. Oh, there's hints that there will be a relationship (remember I am only halfway through) but that is the secondary focus. What is important right now is how Natalie is getting (or not getting) her orgasms. It is not the Fifty Shades of Unbelievable, where two people are drawn to each other and end up having lots of sex; this book starts with the sex and I am 99.99% certain that it will end in a relationship.

It's entertaining, it's mindless, it's not badly written, and at no stage has someone pulled Natalie's tampon out for her. This gives it 4/4, whereas the same criteria for Fifty Shades only attained a mark of 2/4.

ETA, AFTER FINISHING: Okay, I was going to give this book 3 stars, but I've had to drop it down to 2 because of the incredibly rushed ending which left me scratching my head. Blargh. This book had an interesting premise which ultimately failed to deliver. Disappointing.(less)

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Aug 20, 2012 Kimbo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hot-n-steamy, keeps-me-up-at-night, top-shelf, own-a-copy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 07, 2012 Evie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a book for those who like steamy reads and not a lot of romance...

Natalie is the editor and owner of a magazine targeted to single business women. She doesn't have much time to invest in relationships, and the very little time she finds here and there, doesn't do much for her. She's as bossy in her relationships as she is at work, and apparently the men she dates are not into a woman ordering them around.

Natalie is concerned about her friend Jan. Since her friend went away on a weekend...more This is a book for those who like steamy reads and not a lot of romance...

Natalie is the editor and owner of a magazine targeted to single business women. She doesn't have much time to invest in relationships, and the very little time she finds here and there, doesn't do much for her. She's as bossy in her relationships as she is at work, and apparently the men she dates are not into a woman ordering them around.

Natalie is concerned about her friend Jan. Since her friend went away on a weekend retreat, Natalie has hardly had any contact with her. When they finally connect, Jan lets her in into her little secret and Natalie wants in. What does she have to lose, right?

Natalie never expects to end up at a place where she is forced to lose her inhibitions, and open her mind up to trying out new things, and let others do to her body whatever they want. The whole point of it, is to teach her how to let go of control and in return she's supposed to enjoy more all the dark pleasures they're about to teach her.

Then, there is Simon. He happens to be her private tutor, and makes her do things she never once thought about doing. In his short interaction with her, it turns out Natalie is the kind of woman he likes. The problem is that at The Haven, tutors cannot fraternize with their students, so he tries to ignore the attraction. But he's not the only one feeling that way, Natalie does too.

Overall it was a sexy read with a lot of hot scenes e.g. M/F/M, F/F, you get the idea. The one thing that bothered me is there was never any mention of protection. The men had intercourse with one woman, then the next, in the same scene.

And yes, there is a HEA but not the kind normally found in category romance. Here the HEA are two couples and more sex.

Anyone who likes steamy reads and doesn't care much for romance would like this book.

Blurb:

Twenty-something Londoner Natalie Bowen is envied by many, but her personal life is a disaster. Men can't cope with her career success and Natalie thinks she'll never find real happiness. When she hears about an exclusive weekend retreat called the Haven, a place that specializes in introducing visitors to pleasures they could never have imagined, she is shocked at the idea—yet unable to resist finding out more. Natalie decides it's time to put her fears behind her. Once at the Haven, she meets the enigmatic and disciplined Simon, a man who is used to getting what he wants. Natalie may very well have met her match.(less)

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Nov 04, 2012 Nikki Brandyberry rated it 1 of 5 stars

After careful thought I've decided to just write a short review here instead of taking the time to write a full one on the blog. Simply put, that is all this book deserves.

I am so tired of things getting shoved under a readers nose just because they may have enjoyed 50 Shades of Grey. To even insinuate that this book is anything like 50 Shades is a direct lie. And this is coming from someone who only marginally enjoyed that book. The only two things the books have in common is sex. So really yo...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Danielle L rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was so excited to read this book after falling head over heels for the 'Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy'....but my excitement was short lived.

The book focuses on Natalie who is a young, beautiful and successful woman who cannot keep a relationship due to her constant need for control. She goes to The Haven, to take lessons in how to relinquish this need and better satisfy a lover. She falls for her tutor Simon,I had to imagine he was amazing because the book didn't help descriptively,who basicall...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Natasha rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was well written so I can't fault it for that but I just didn't like the story line of this book. To me it just seemed to be about strangers using the excuse of The Haven to get themselves laid. It just seemed like a good scam to get people to come to this place and make people have sex with each other.

In theory the sex seemed hot enough but I just couldn't get passed the fact that this was people that just forced these clients to have sex with them or others by using the whole story...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Haven is a weekend retreat designed to teach people to relinquish control, to open themselves to new experiences and new behaviour patterns. The entire book is based around the experience Natalie gains at her retreat - which she has booked over two weeks rather than booking for the intensive course.

The bulk of the book takes place at The Haven, which should mean it's no surprise that the bulk of the book is the activities Natalie participates in (or is subjected to depending on your persepec...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Rebekah Branch-asmussen rated it 1 of 5 stars

i did not enjoy this book at all. all it was about was having sex and then towards the end the author decided to try to add a bit of romance to it? sorry but it really didn't mesh well with me. you didn't get any insight into the actual characters. didn't get to read how natalie was feeling or thinking with the entire thing and personally if my best friend just suddenly dropped off the face of the earth like hers and then gushed about her sex life and all that i would just write her off. she obv...more

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Aug 14, 2012 Dreams rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own-read, not-what-i-hoped, kindle-books

I really don't enjoy writing reviews for books I dislike but, in honor of being fair with my honest opinions, I feel like I have to write something about this one.

My criticism for this book lies mainly with the story; my complaint being, that I felt there really was not one.

This book basically consisted of a bunch of descriptive sex scenes between various characters in the book and I'd say 70% of the time, those characters are uncomfortable or don't want to be doing what they are doing. It was...more I really don't enjoy writing reviews for books I dislike but, in honor of being fair with my honest opinions, I feel like I have to write something about this one.

My criticism for this book lies mainly with the story; my complaint being, that I felt there really was not one.

This book basically consisted of a bunch of descriptive sex scenes between various characters in the book and I'd say 70% of the time, those characters are uncomfortable or don't want to be doing what they are doing. It was reminiscent to me in content of some of the latter Anita Blake Novels I've read where Anita is being "forced" to do things she doesn't want to do. Perhaps this is appealing to some readers and I do think an author should write whatever they want to read but, as for me, it just doesn't sit well with my psyche.

My other issue with this book was that I did not like the picture of subjugation that it portrayed. I didn't feel it was honest and to me it made submission synonymous with force, begging and weakness. It took something that is supposed to be consensual and beautiful and turned it into something ugly.

I also had some issues with the writing;typographical and editing errors aside, I felt that the dialogue came off, for lack of a better word, "stiff" at times...
In ways, it felt more like I was reading a script for a very particular kind of film rather than a book.

I also had trouble connecting with the two main characters in the book "Natalie" and "Simon" and I believe that was because I never had a chance to "connect" with them. Very little of this book had to do with them as people because it was all focused around the activities and classes at "The Haven".

I have some other books by this author and before now I was looking forward to reading them. Having read this book, I am not so sure if I will read them or not.

If I were to read more from this author in any future novels,I would hope she would consider delving into her characters personality's and thoughts more...and focus on having a story revolving around something other than sexual predilections. There's a time and place for everything and I am not one to shy away from "taboo" subjects by any means but, ultimately I feel a novel needs to have a strong story to fall back on and unfortunately, I feel that this book was lacking in that area.(less)

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Sep 28, 2012 Kimberly rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book is just disappointing! (*stomping around in frustration*)
How could the publisher (*or whoever it is*) mention that "If you like Fifty Shades of Grey, then this is the book you will like....on the cover.

Just because its DBSM doesn't mean its like Fifty Shades of Grey. I feel so cheated but at least I just got the ebook version of this.

Haven of Obedience is about Natalie going to the Haven (*a recommendation from her friend*) trying to abdicate her "control" problem. And there she met h...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Lisa Machen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Where to begin? Well, this book is absolutely crammed full with sex, the scenes are imaginative and described in minute detail! However, there is no point to all the details if the main characters aren't in any way endearing. And they aren't.

Natalie is a self-obsessed spoilt cow and Simon has about as much charisma as a wet sponge. I thought that Natalie's character at the very least would be developed further, that she would become someone I could relate to or like a little but she just annoye...more

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Jan 12, 2013 TerriC. marked it as read-no-longer-own · review of another edition

I was excited to read this but became disappointed midway. At the club early on, the way some of the characters acted made no sense, including the main character, Natalie. They constantly complained and never wanted to do what they were told even though they’re paying to use the club. I got real tired of the complaints. I realize this is fiction but someone in their position, who’s paying to use a sex club to be taught how to give up some control in the bedroom, wouldn’t act like that at all.

My...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Nickcole rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-ve-won, asked-to-review

I won this book on Goodreads.com and the giveaway was sponsored by Foreverromane

First off i would like to say that they should change the name of this book from Haven of Obedience to Porn for Woman. =)

Stars: 5+
Overall: This book left me wet in the pants and waiting to visit The Haven.
Characters: Natalie and Simon
Plot: Natalie is the owner and editor for her own magazine, but has trouble in the bedroom department. So after a friend reluctantly refers her to Haven, Natalie is in for a wild ride th...more

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Feb 10, 2013 MissJessie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: erotica

I have never previously read a book with so many sex scenes which was incredibly dull. There was no fire, no excitement, no nothing; in fact, I found myself skipping forward in the book, over said scenes, to get to the end of the book and finish. The characters were one dimensional and very stereotypical; strong successful woman always in charge, sexy guy determined to change her. Seen one, seen them all.

I'm not certain why it was such a disappointment, but it really didn't fire my imagination i...more

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Dec 17, 2012 ~Jessica~I'm a Hoodie Ninja~ rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review was posted at Under the Covers

WARNING! If you are not into Sub/Dom interaction and random sexual partners, this is not for you. Trust me.

Natalie is what society these days refers to as a “power woman”. She does what she wants, when she wants and how she wants and that’s just how it is. She runs a magazine whose main audience is the daily “power woman”. Yet Natalie is alone and can’t seem to understand why all of her relationships never last until her friend Jan refers her to The Have...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Sheena rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: standalone

this was a story of a seminar..yep seminar to be a submissive..lol!

a lot of sessions..as in ~~sex sessions~~..

the thing in HAVEN was
*they are secret..you cant spoil what they do or else you cant EVER come back to haven
*the session was weekends..
*they have tutor..and sessions can be with fellow guess..
*normally their clients was dominants..so controlling..so they have to obey

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Feb 07, 2013 Selena rated it 2 of 5 stars

I bought this book on a whim. I really enjoyed the 50 Shades of Grey Series, so when I saw this one compared itself to it, I was like "wow, lets see what this is about." Plus it was 20% off. While the concept seemed interesting, I wish the characters were more developed. I loved the idea of the main character getting together with Simon, which was forbidden, but by the end of the book I was left wanting more. I read this book in one day. It wasn't a horrible book, but focused a lot on the sex an...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Ty rated it 1 of 5 stars

"If you devoured Fifty Shades, then you're ready to enter the Haven of Obedience"...plastered on the cover is what initially caught my attention. Ready to experience more of or something remotely similar to Christian Grey...I bought it. To my surprise...it was nothing like I anticipated. This book is horrible! There was NO plot, no romance, no passion...nothing but sex. Sex, sex, and more sex. It become redundant and repulsive. Not to mention grammatical errors. All in all, in your looking for e...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Hannah added it

As a junior in high school, I could have written a better book. Actually, I HAVE written better smut than this. I don't know what possessed me to even finish this atrocious thing... Maybe for a good laugh? Anyway, It's absolutely horrendous. I found so many spelling/grammar/punctuation errors, it made me want to scream and also vomit. Don't waste your time with this one... I suggest reading "Bared to You" by Sylvia Day (Crossfire Novels), or simply reread the "Fifty Shades" trilogy. Also, "Rush"...more

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