True Submission

by Claire Thompson

When Greg first saved the homeless, drug-addicted Ashley from a life on the streets, he appeared to be her savior. But the rescuer soon turned into the jailer. Ashley learned to retreat into herself, more lost than before he had found her.

Ashley finds comfort in the romance novels that open a new world of possibilities. Her quiet time at the bookstore leads to a chance encounter with sexy, dominant Andrew Nolan, who sees her as an intelligent, brave, and capable young woman. But unless Ashley can escape from the prison of her life with Greg, the woman Andrew sees, admires, and desires is as fictional as the books Ashley reads.

When Ashley discovers Andrew’s cache of BDSM books, she falls in love with the idea of erotic submission. Andrew has been burned previously by a woman who pretended to want and need his dominance. Can he trust that Ashley has healed enough to be ready for true submission? Or that their relationship can survive if she is not?

Genres: BDSM, Dark, Erotica, Contemporary Romance

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 31, 2012

About the author

Claire has been writing for nearly two decades, and has published over 85 novels. She writes BDSM romance and abduction tales, spanning both m/f and m/m genres. She has received numerous awards for her bestselling work, including the NLA-Int’l Pauline Réage Award and the Golden Flogger Award for best BDSM fiction.. Her darker works press the envelope of what is erotic and what can be a sometimes dangerous slide into the world of sadomasochism. Ultimately her work deals with the human condition, and our constant search for love and intensity of experience.
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https://clairethompson.net

Reviews

[Johan Bastiaanssen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ashley fled her house, where she was abused by her father, to end up as a street prostitute, desperately looking to score her next fix. When she is picked up by Greg and restored to health, it seemed to good to be true. And it was not true, because soon Greg treats her as an indentured slave and acts as her pimp, raking in her payments, because she owes him her life. A bookstore filled with romantic stories gives her the idea that life could be different, especially after meeting Andrew in said bookstore. Ashley manages to escape from Greg to a womans shelter, and soon after moves in with Andrew. Turns out that Andrew and his ex wife were into BDSM, Ashley recognises her submissiveness and Andrew gradually becomes confident as her Dom. Ashley is happy to become his slave in the bedroom.
Only three stars because the turning point in the relation between Ashley and Andrew feels forced and at various points you get the impression that the author is mainly trying to explain the differences between the situation where Greg was hitting her and calling her names, and the situations where Andrew as her Dom is spanking or whipping her and having her submit to sexual acts. A romance should not be a pamphlet to explain the difference between Abuse and a BDSM power-exchange.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was too disconnected for me. The first part told the story of Ashley's life with Greg, the man who had "saved" her from a life on the streets and certain death from a drug overdose. Unfortunately, her savior was her captor and pimp. This part was actually the most interesting, because the author clearly laid out the path Ashley took from drug addicted prostitute to a woman with courage and determination.

It was the relationship between Ashley and Andrew that didn't work for me. After what she had been through, her speedy acceptance of a D/s relationship with Andrew just didn't ring true. Frankly, Andrew's character, although heroic, wasn't all that well defined. Ultimately their relationship felt contrived rather than believable.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit like Pretty Woman with BDSM elements. I enjoyed the story. I really loved how Ashley found strength through her Romance novels. I enjoyed Ashley in general, I felt for her and was proud when she got herself out of the hard situation she was in. Greg was almost too good to be true and it felt like he fell into his feelings too quickly. Things worked out a bit too easily in this story and while I don't love heavy doses of angst, I was expecting a bit more drama as I read given the theme of the story and the original situation Ashley was in.