I got myself in over my head this week… I’ve never reviewed erotica before, and hadn’t planned on ever doing so. However, one of the women who did me an early review favor for Dust to Blood contacted me to ask if I’d support her new release. Without asking further details, I offered to return the favor. The publishing house sent me an ARC for review purposes, and then I started thinking this might be a wilder ride than I had anticipated.
So I’m giving you fair warning: This is graphic erotica of the BDSM variety, something that may not be completely obvious from the blurb (though the book is appropriately tagged, rated, etc., in its Smashwords listing):
Julia has the chance to become one of the vampires of the Blue Moon House. Before being accepted, however, she must prove herself to each of the vampires, and each has their own exacting cost. Ranging from lesbian, to being forced, to physical torture, she is pushed to her breaking point time and again. Eventually her perseverance pays off and she crosses from submissive to dominant and vampire.
The story starts in the deep end and doesn’t relent, however, there is a real and intriguing basis to the plot: An old vampire wanted to avoid killing all her donors, but wanted to keep the mystery of her race intact. So she conceived of a very specialized kind of brothel where the clients expected the pain and silence she required to manage both elements of her goal.
For those of you who are intrigued by the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon, but have been warned off by or worried about the dismal quality of writing, this would be a much better alternative. The writing is clear and smooth, and even though the kink Dawson describes is not the kind I enjoy, I was sucked into the novella and had no problems finishing it and appreciating the happily ever after the main character receives.
I’m still looking forward to Dawson’s guest post visit later this month, so keep your eyes open for what is bound to be an interesting post.
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I have read quite a few un-tagged erotica before (and been surprised to find it was erotica). It’s good that she has it correctly tagged. And, as long as you still find yourself drawn in by the plot and characters, as you did, then it is a good book. 🙂 (I used to read Laurel K. Hamilton until her series books just became more about the sex and less about the plot. LOVED her early books though! And her characterization, throughout even her later books, was brilliant.)
Thank you for the review Tonya! Sorry I didn’t make the genre clear up front. After reading it, I’m sure you’ll find it no surprise that I’ve already started work on a series of prequels featuring each of the vampires. 😀
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It was my own fault for not asking–and erotica is one of those guilty (now-not-so-secret!) pleasures of mine, so it wasn’t completely from left field, either. 😉
I am trying to keep this blog family-friendly, though apparently I have quite a few writer friends who are swimming in the smexy waters, so we’ll see how long the PG rating lasts…