GS vs. STA: BDSM Romance

Cecilia Tan (no relation to Candy that I know of!) tweeted at me, asking in the midst of Yet More 50 Shades of Grey BrouHaHa if there were any BDSM romances that weren't 50 Shades that I might recommend: 

She later emailed me: 

“Shit to Avoid” is very useful to know, too! Well-written and well-known is probably where I should start[.]

So I just read “The Story of L” by Debra Hyde ( A | BN | K | S ), and loved it. It's a lesbian “Story of O” but done as a romance. In fact, it's pretty much the opposite of the original, in which the female submissive is dehumanized. Hot though that might be in a fantasy, it's obviously antithetical to romance! (Actually, tell me if I'm wrong and there are a lot of BDSM romances where the submissive is dehumanized…?) I liked Exit to Eden ( A | BN | K | S )though I thought it needed editing. 

Now I'm trying to get an idea of what's out there. I'm not picky about sexuality, I'll read het, m/m, or lesbian.

The first BDSM romance I read was so long ago, you can tell by the technology. On a Handspring Visor I read a pile of erotic romances sent to me by an Ellora's Cave editor. The one that blew the top of my cranium off was Joey W. Hill's Natural Law ( A | BN | K | S ), which was just freaking amazing. I'd never read anything like it, and it's still one of the best I've ever read.

I've since read Emma Holly, specifically Strange Attractions ( A | BN | K | S ), which I believe had strong BDSM elements, though it wasn't as much of a focus of the plot as the Hill book. Jane's primer on 50 Shades also lists several BDSM recommendations

However, I am sure you have suggestions of BDSM romances that rocked your world: which ones do you recommend, or caution against? 

Comments are Closed

  1. Cecilia Tan says:

    I have heard Laura Antoniou read from “The Inheritor” which will be book 6 of The Marketplace series, and from what I can tell it does not suck. 🙂 But I am biased because when the previous publisher (Mystic Rose Books) stopped publishing the series, I convinced Laura to let Circlet Press (which is my company) publish them. I really really really can’t wait to read book 6, though. It’s in book 5 that the romance arc finally becomes clear, actually, so I can’t wait to see what happens next!

  2. Sorry, Carrie, I didn’t see your question.

    By ‘vanilla BDSM’, I mean really light stuff – tying up with scarves and being tickled, or joke handcuffs. The kind of thing people might joke about at a bridal shower 🙂 It’s still BDSM, but it’s not exactly hardcore.

    “Uneven” involves a man who likes humilation and pain, and a dom who smacks him around (with his permission) and orders him about. It’s quite shocking if this is your first introduction to really edgy BDSM fic. Still amazing stuff though, and there’s so much more to it than the kink side.

  3. I was using it to mean BDSM-lite. The kind of stuff that is vaguely kinky but probably wouldn’t even shock your mother.

  4. cayenne says:

    Not generally my area, but I really liked Maya Banks’ “Sweet” series, which contains some BDSM elements throughout, and particularly in #2, “Sweet Persuasion”.

  5. DonnaMarie says:

    Yes, that’s exactly what I meant by vanilla.

  6. Mochabean says:

    Becky—you should read the rest! The two trilogies actually get even better as you go on… I was also going to suggest Kushiel’s Dart, particularly for readers (like me) who may not be interested in a more intense BDSM romance.  HOWEVER—I think it is important to note that in the first trilogy, the primary romance is not BDSM, although one of the people involved is a submissive in other contexts. In fact, this dichotomy is a central conflict in the first trilogy,and may not be satisfying to those who would like more of a full celebration of BDSM romance. The book is not at all negative towards BDSM, but not sure that it is a BDSM romance—maybe more of a fantasy/romance with BDSM elements.  (Argh—genre micro-management!) The second Trilogy (the Imriel Books) does have a romance with BDSM elements between the principals.

  7. Christine Bell says:

    Reclaimed Surrended by Riley Murphy is a great example of married BDSM. It’s super sexy, but it also really delves deep into the emotional aspects of the lifestyle as well. Definitely not BDSM for show or sort of handcuffs tossed in for kink. Don’t get me wrong, I love bedroom alphas and couples who explore different things in the bedroom for fun. I just don’t consider it BDSM, whereas this book is actually and unapologetically BDSM.

  8. Cecilia Tan says:

    Got it. Yeah, I am looking for the heavier stuff, and stuff that goes into the emotional impact of BDSM on the relationship. Some great suggestions here.

  9. Cecilia Tan says:

    Sounds like I ought to read the Imriel books then. Just looked and it turns out I have one lurking on my shelf, unread…

  10. Cecilia Tan says:

    Sounds like I ought to read the Imriel books then. Just looked and it turns out I have one lurking on my shelf, unread…

  11. Cecilia Tan says:

    I thought some folks reading this thread looking for recs might be interested in some I’ve gotten through my other social media:

    several recs for JR Ward
    many! speaking up for Joey W. Hill
    a few more for Cherise Sinclair
    Sascha Illyvich

    “I’ll second Joey W. Hill. She gets it. And some of her books are femdom romances, which are fairly rare. Plus, vampires who don’t sparkle and don’t act like humans with fangs.”

    “I just finished reading Tender Mercies by Kitty Thomas. It was amazing. I’d definitely recommend that one if you haven’t already read it.”

    “For hot m/m bdsm – Lynn Kelling’s new ‘Deliver Us.’”

    “Shadowland by Radclyffe (Bold Strokes Books)”

  12. Christine Bell says:

    Reclaimed Surrender definitely fits the bill. Very emotional.
    Thanks for bringing up this topic, love looking at all the recs and will definitely be checking some out. My pocketbook does NOT thank you though,*whimper*

  13. Laylapalooza says:

    Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series. I just finished the first and loved it.

  14. Leather Daddy was one of my inspirations for Almost A Gentleman

  15. Cammy6 says:

    I second “The Switch” by Diane Whiteside.  As someone who has experience in the lifestyle, I’ve found it to be the most level-headed treatment of bdsm I’ve ever read.  A couple of parts were a shade too sensible and safe, but it’s also pretty hot. I’m generally not into Femdom stuff, but The Switch is a very fine exception.

    On the other extreme end, I’d avoid most anything by Reese Gabriel.  It’s not that his stuff is really bad, but it’s definitely hardcore.  Sold! to the Highest Bidder includes slave training and what is essentially human trafficking.  Very dark.  Again, it can be extremely hot, but I have to be a in a very dark and particular mood to read it.

    An example of Shit to Avoid is the portrayal of bdsm by Ward in Lover Unbound.  I liked the book and Ward in general, but it gives me nightmares to think that vanilla folk might think that his brand of bdsm before he meets the heroine is real bdsm or what a vanilla person should expect it to be.

    I could go on for days about the portrayal of it in the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton.  It’s like A Guide to BDSM for Village Idiots.  So annoyingly obvious and self-conscious.

    That kinda shit is one of my hot buttons.

  16. Janet Mullany says:

    Hey! Coming in late. What about Pam Rosenthal’s Carrie’s Story and Safeword? Very hot, very beautiful writing.

  17. Anneke Jacob’s books are at the intense end of things and I wouldn’t necessarily say they are romances either but there is a relationship at the core of them. Varian Krylov also writes pretty intense stuff that is deep on the emotional/angsty side of things. Joey Hill is a strong recommendation I would make as well. Morgan Hawke’s ‘Interstellar Discipline’ books are great.

    Thinking about this request I find it harder to name m/f books whether femdom or maledom that have romance arcs that I can believe along with BDSM that I can believe. In the m/m books I list below the romance is just as strong as the kink. Am I right in thinking that asking this question on this site that the romance/relationship is as important as the kink?

    I would add m/m books like Ann Somerville’s ‘Remastering Jerna’ and Heidi Cullanin’s ‘Nowhere Ranch’, ‘Special Delivery’ & ‘Double Blind’, Anah Crow’s ‘Uneven’ as mentioned above and also ‘One real Thing’ by Anah Crow & Diana Fox is a TPE where the words BDSM are never mentioned it is just how these guys live their relationship. Aleksandr Voinov’s books all have threads of power exchange and sometimes explicit BDSM in them eg. I am loving the ‘Dark Soul’ series of novellas at the moment. Fyn Alexander’s ‘Angel and the Assassin’ series is Daddy kink D/s – I didn’t think I could go there but it works.

    I second Sarah Frantz’s recms above.

  18. Janet Mullany says:

    Replying to myself—they’re published under the name of Molly Weatherfield, sorry!

  19. ViolettaVane says:

    I’ve been raving about “Hurt” by Varian Krylov ever since I read it. I can’t say it’s a book everyone into BDSM should read, just that it’s incredibly gripping and psychologically complicated and awesome.

    By the way, does anyone have any recs for intense and well-written BDSM (preferably M/f or MMF but I love m/m too) where the sub is well-adjusted and isn’t in any particular need of rescue?

     

  20. >>…intense and well-written BDSM where the sub is well-adjusted and isn’t in any particular need of rescue?

    Yes, Violetta. It’s graceless, I know, to toot one’s own horn, but in the early 90s I set out to write exactly the book you seem to be talking about (and, while I was at it, I thought it might be cool to make the book funny too). With the result that, since 1995, CARRIE’S STORY, by me w/a Molly Weatherfield, has been reprinted some 18 times. In 2006 (after I’d gone on to write erotic historical romance) Playboy called CARRIE’S STORY “one of the 25 Sexiest Novels Ever Written.” And I’ll love them forever for adding that it “bristles with wit.”

    I used to have to keep my Molly Weatherfield alter-ego under wraps, but these days there’s a plain brown wrapper section on my web for romance readers who might want to check out that side of the fantasy.

  21. Annabel Joseph says:

    Yay, somebody mentioned me on here! But I really came here to say that anyone who is interested in intense, romantic BDSM should give Carrie’s Story and Safe Word a try. They’re the books that inspired me to take the plunge into writing BDSM. There’s not much “lite” about them but if you really want to get into the nitty gritty of emotion and intention, and that teeter-tottering fulcrum of power exchange, and BDSM defining truly original relationships between people, Molly Weatherfield blazed those trails years ago and she is worth going back to. I do my small part to carry them on. 🙂

  22. Laragrey says:

    Laura Kinsale’s “Shadowheart” is more D/s than BDSM—which is to say, there’s a dominant partner and a submissive partner, but only a little deliberate kink. That said, it remains scorchingly hot, and has the distinction (in my mind, anyway) of developing a D/s relationship in a time and place (medieval England/Europe) where there was very little understanding of that kind of relationship, so Elena and Allegretto are essentially making it up and working it out for themselves as they go.

  23. Sarah says:

    I’m glad to see so many have mentioned Joey Hill.  She’s an excellent writer and has a very sophisticated understanding of the emotional dynamics of D/s.

    I do want to throw another name into the ring – Madeline Oh – for hot, well-written D/s stories.  She writes mostly short story erotica, but she has a novel from Ellora’s Cave called Power Exchange that looks promising.

  24. Glad to see you mentioned, Annabel, and thanks so much for the lovely words.

  25. Lily Gavell says:

    Anything by Annabel Joseph.  Well-written, emotionally engaging and very hot!

  26. SB Sarah says:

    Via email from Shannon:

    “here are some BDSM suggestions: Annabel Joseph, particularly “Comfort Object”, “Fortune” and her latest, “Cirque du Minuit”. Generally set in creative, arts environments. It is rare to find BDSM books that are not smutty, well, only in a good way, and are filled with literary elements. Very well written. Also loved “Second Chances” and “Laid Bare” by Lauren Dane. “Memoirs of a Sex Toy” by Lizbeth Dusseau (Most all of her stories are on the MUCH darker side but there was something about this one that I loved.  “Learning to Drown” by Sommer Marsden…I could go on 🙂 “

  27. Maddie says:

    I read the Kushiel’s Legacy series and liked them, but damn, I had horrible nightmares when I read Kushiel’s Avatar!

Comments are closed.

By posting a comment, you consent to have your personally identifiable information collected and used in accordance with our privacy policy.

↑ Back to Top