A
Genre: Erotica/Erotic Romance, Historical: European, Novella, Romance
Theme: BDSM, Married Couple, Second Chance
Oh, how I loved The Devil’s Submission. I wished it were longer than just a novella.
First of all, it’s one of the few erotic romances, let alone historicals, that I’ve read that features a submissive hero.
And this is how that submissive hero is described:
“I mean look at you: disheveled, ink-spotted, spectacles…like an absentminded clerk. But you are the coldest of bastards. Reyburn is well rid of you. As is your runaway wife.”
Disheveled. Ink spotted. Glasses. With a forbidding demeanor.
The hero of this book is Lord Grayson “Devil” Deveraux. Grayson is a disgraced, disowned nobleman who has a lot of business sense. Since his family cast him out and cut him off, he went into business with two friends of his and opened an exclusive sex club. Like you do.
When the book opens, Devil’s “runaway” wife, Eliza, is looking to go back to him — mostly because her awful mother needs money. Grayson is a rich man and her momma isn’t above manipulating her daughter to get at it.
How terrible is Eliza’s mom? This is how she talks to her daughter:
“Because you are a twit. A brassy, outspoken hoyden who chose the wrong husband and then drove him away. I bet his mistress soothed him with quiet sweetness. Mrs. Lewis, wasn’t that her name?”
Screw you, lady.
The truth is that Devil does want a brassy, hoyden for a wife. Quiet sweetness is not at all what he’s looking for. When Devil was courting Eliza, they had a sexually charged encounter in a garden that lead to him having to propose. During said encounter, Eliza took the reins and basically commanded Devil to pleasure her. Once they were married, though, she tried to be the perfect, submissive wife that society tells her she has to be.
Devil needs to be dominated, a fact that shames him. It’s a secret even in the world of his sex club. In fact, he often assumes the role of a Dom because it’s what’s expected of him even though he absolutely loathes it. He had hoped he found the right partner in Eliza, but after they were married, the aggressive, commanding woman he sought out disappeared.
Now Eliza is back and is trying to figure out what drove the wedge between them. She enjoys the Domme role, something that she has to come to terms with, too, as it’s not at all socially acceptable or something that would be discussed in polite society. She’s basically trying to figure out her sexual inclinations with zero information and zero support.
A lot of the conflict between Devil and Eliza could have been solved through talking, but that didn’t bother me because it’s hard to talk about one’s sexual inclinations and desires, especially when they fall outside of society’s norms.
And really the not-talking at first made this book beautiful. When Eliza arrives, Devil hasn’t been taking care of himself and she swoops in and cares for him tenderly while still commanding him: “You’re going to take a bath now, then you’re going to eat this sandwich,” etc. It’s sort of like aftercare but before the sex.
Both Eliza and Devil have to change for this relationship to work, and all of that change isn’t just on Eliza’s part. She has a journey to go through–recognizing her own sexual desires, understanding her husband’s kink and claiming the sexuality she’s been repressing. Devil has to change too–in order for their relationship to work he actually has to communicate his wants and needs with her and get past his shame. There is kinky sex in this book, but all of it moves the story forward and facilitates that ultra important communication between the two characters. It’s healing via sex and communication, basically.
But the reason I loved The Devil’s Submission so much was that it depicts two adults finding comfort and joy together in a shared kink. It’s about a healthy exploration of sexuality and acceptance of the results of that exploration. Sex positivity for the win!
If you like your historicals steamy or are looking for a submissive hero, then definitely check out The Devil’s Submission.
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Thanks!
Yay! Thank you Elyse. Absolutely thrilled you enjoyed Devil and Eliza. I was pretty nervous writing a sub hero, mostly hoping I did him justice because there is so much strength in submission. But right from the start he was like deal with it, that’s who I am. Lol.
This novella sounds intriguing and I’ve downloaded the sample. It’s so rare to come across anything new in the romance genre anymore. There is only one other book on this site with the “submissive hero” tag (I didn’t get past the sample of that one but I tried it also for the novelty value).
Does anyone have any other recommendations for romances with this dynamic?
This is my day off. I was on my way out the door. For a long walk. It’s sunny outside. There are birds chirping and a gentle breeze is blowing. It’s pretty much a perfect day. I am NOT spending it indoors reading. I won’t, you hear me. Not. Going. To. Happen. I just wanted to have a quick look at Smart Bitches to see whats new. A peek, really. No more than a passing glance. Nothing else. I didn’t plan on buying a book, because I’m over my monthly budget. And I’m not staying indoors today! *Reads review. Gives poor tablet whiplash by one-clicking that baby so fast, you would not believe.* I am saving this for later. Keys in my hand, boots on my feet. I am walking out the door, RIGHT NOW.
This will be a test of will.
@oceanjasper
If you like contemporary, try Unbound by Cara McKenna. Grumpy, but kind english hermit with repressed rope fetish meets adventurous heroine on self-discovering hike through Scotland. It’s swoon-worthy goodness all around.
One of the Smart Bitches reades recommended it to me last year, and it’s hands down my favorite romance of all time. There is so much respect between the hero and heroine, and they talk to each other like actual adults as they try to figure out their bodies and relationship. If you’re even remotely interested in that dynamic, give it a try.
Just bought it! Can’t wait to read it.
Tied Score (slices of Pi book 2) by Elia Winters is a sub hero (who bakes! mmmmm, baked goods….). Reeeeealy good book! 🙂
You had me at submissive hero. Just clicked ‘buy’ on Amazon. Thank you, Elyse!!
Submissive heroes are my fave! Other books with that dynamic:
“Unbound” by Cara McKenna is my all-time fave
“The Principle of Desire” by Delphine Dryden (her entire series, “The Science of Temptation” is excellent, but the others are M/f and this one is F/m)
“Natural Law” by Joey W. Hill is not my fave but it’s good for folks who like “alpha subs”–super masculine men who are submissive in bed
“Break Me Down” by Roni Loren is pretty good
“Have Mercy” by Shelly Ann Clark is a very sweet femdom story–good for people who like playful BDSM instead of whips and chains.
I don’t usually read erotica but this … and I am basically broke … but … oh my, I am really tempted. Submissive hero. Nnngh.
Female Doms and Male subs are my catnip. So need this one.
I wonder why there are so few romances that feature sexually dominant heroines. My theory is that it’s a holdover from the days when romance heroines had to be virgins. We’ve (sort of) moved past that now, but in its place we have this trope of the experienced dominant hero who initiates a vanilla heroine into the world of BDSM. She may have varying levels of experience, but she’s inevitably taking her first steps into the scene, and she always ends up being a sub. And it’s always sex clubs, too. Nothing against sex clubs, but not everyone who’s into BDSM is spending every weekend in a dungeon, you know?
Anyway, I bought this as soon as I read the review. I’m looking forward to reading it.
ZOMG!!! Thank you for this. I am SO THERE!
Bonds of Denial by Lynda Archer has a sub pro hockey player hero. It’s the sixth book in a series but can be read as a standalone.
Just purchased this book and can’t wait to read!!!
About Delphine Dryden’s Principle of Desire — I literally read that just last night, and it’s extremely misleading to describe it as F/m. It’s not. Both of the principals are switches, and they take turns being the dominant player. It’s true that the woman is the more experienced, but she’s also the one who has the more hardcore submission scene of the two.
@oceanjasper: Here are those that I enjoyed:
Sarah M. Anderson: Roping The Rancher; contemporary
Sheryl Nantus: Strictly Business and Strictly Yours, contemporary (these are #1 and 3 in a trilogy, #2 is M/f)
Samantha Cayto: Mistress Mine, contemporary
Melissa Kendall: What She Needs, paranormal
Audra North: Giving It Up.
North’s and Anderson’s novels were about women just discovering their domme side.
I second the rec for Joey Hill’s Natural Law and Cara McKenna’s Unbound.
These I liked less:
Angelica Dawson: Woman’s Best Friend
K.D. Mclean: Soldier Boy
Saving this thread
I join tikaanidog in recommending Tied Score (slices of Pi book 2) by Elia Winters, i just finished it last night and enjoyed it a lot. Sub hero who bakes!
Asshole Brain: Oh hell to the nah! Novella? 2nd chance at love? That’s our anti catnip!
Fangirl heart: Oh come on, Jacquie! At least read the review? You love Elyse’s reviews!
Asshole Brain: Okay okay OKAY! But we do not like this, you understand me? DO NOT BUY! DO NOT PASS GO! DO NOT COLLECT ONE MILLION BOOKS!
Fangirl Heart: *whistles, shuffles feet, doesn’t make eye contact*
It was then the Asshole Brain and the Fangirl Heart, though at bickering odds, did indeed read the review.
Asshole Brain: SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!!!!
Fangirl Heart: Told ya so bitch.
And the two, while stubborn bickering souls to the bitter end, did One Click and lived happily ever after.
I was trying so hard to stay away from the darned one-click button, and then you just had to post this review! I don’t usually buy novellas as they are too short for me, but I MUST have this book. Not only that, but I think I’m going to have to check out Tied Score also.
Whenever this subject comes up, I always recommend How To Reprimand Your Rock Star by Mina Vaughn. It stars an 18 YO college basketball star who discovers her inner Domme when she meets a rock star who wants to submit to her. The story has got some credibility straining issues, but then again, what romance doesn’t LOL. It’s a fun romp and quite enjoyable to read about a heroine discovering her dominant side and being encouraged in that journey by the hero. Mina Vaughn has two other books in that series that also feature Dommes (How To Discipline Your Vampire, and How To Punish Your Playboy) but I haven’t read either of those.
This was okay, but it was yet another one of those 21st-century stories crammed into ill-fitting 19th-century clothes (anachronistic dialogue and all). You might– just might– get me to believe in a sex-positive, kink-positive, feminist sex club circa 1800, but it’d be more interesting, at least, if it wasn’t exactly identical to a 21st-century one. The characters were pleasant, but not really memorable, and not being able to take them seriously as people of their supposed times didn’t help.
@JenM I thought How to Repremand your Rock Star was ok, but I wish the quasi-supernatural stuff would have either been left out or dialled up to 11.
Thanks for the recs, everyone. I have some sampling to do….
@Anonymous
Hmm, I take your point, but I still think “Principle of Desire” has a strong enough femdom dynamic that folks who like submissive heroes will like it. Also, switching is great!
I have to agree with Vasha. It’s not that I need books to be historically accurate, but this was so far away that it was jarring and kind of hard to get through.
I liked the dynamic in lynda Aicher’s Penalty Play, with a hockey player and music student, and it was all between them, no club or dungeon.
@Jenny — I had a lot of issues with that book, but the switching itself wasn’t one of them (although I did kind of have a meta-issue with the fact that the one heroine in the series who likes topping is a switch — but that wasn’t an issue with the book). We definitely need more romances with switchy protagonists! But I do think that the way the book is presented is misleading, and that annoyed me. I had to scramble to readjust my expectations while I was reading it.
A historical with a submissive hero? Score! The last time I read one of these was “The Duke and the Domina” which was good fun, but a little thin outside of the delightful hero. (I read it so long ago, I don’t recall much else about it).
Some of Laura Kinsale’s old books have this trope, too, but you have to get through some pretty hard core angst to reach it.
It’s funny, because I’d like to recommend my own book, but it’s not really focused on the hero… which makes me think about how some books are “femmedom” and some are “submissive hero” and often, they are not the same books.
Laura Kinsale’s Shadowheart had a submissive hero, although @Jocelyn is not wrong about the angst 😛
I third (fourth?) the suggestion of Unbound.
@Linda Siiiigh. Why is it that everybody’s gotta have some angsty pants shindig to be submissive? Especially dudes? I know it’s better for dramatic reading and all that jazz, but still. JUST A DUDE LIKE A WOMAN IN CHARGE DANGIT lol.
So, I’ve just read the first novella of the series, because of this review (thanks Elise!!) and it was so great!! One of the most erotic stories I’ve read for a long time, and the novella length was perfect for my mood. It felt like a complete story. So now I’m up to this one, can’t wait to read soon!