Laura Reese (1)

This is a misrepresentation of safe, sane and consensual BDSM.

At first I really enjoyed the female POV, and found the mystery intriguing. I chalked up the judgmental tone to her inexperience with the BDSM lifestyle. However, as the story progressed and the play became more and more extreme even crossing the line into bestiality and child porn, it became clear that the BDSM lifestyle was purposefully being misrepresent as corrupted and evil.

Then the toward the end when it's revealed that he show more did in fact kill her sister I felt like throwing the book out a window. It was a very obvious ploy on the part of the author show his involvement in the BDSM lifestyle as indicated his villainous nature. Not only that to drawing these parallels between BDSM and despicable abuse like bestiality and the exploitation of children is as harmful as it is completely inaccurate.

It is even more disturbing that the tone of the ALL the content is written in an erotic tone, even the obvious abuse. I strongly suspect it was done purposefully to make the reader identify with the protagonist's own confusion about where to draw the line, unfortunately it ends up coming off as eroticizing the despicably abuse. Not to mention it gives the very inaccurate impression that any "normal" person can being turned into a twisted abuser by participating in BDSM play. ugh!

It's hard enough being a sexual minority. BDSM doesn't need authors and books exploiting common misconceptions to characterize everyone involved in the community as abusers and/or murders.

I would actually go as far to say this is thinly veiled anit-BDSM propaganda. A cautionary tale meant to scary sexual adventurous women away from exploring their sexuality for fear of being raped, murdered or turned into a "perverted freak."


Note: I edited/updated this review after receiving an messaging requesting I give more details and plainer language around why this misrepresents BDSM. This was one of the first reviews I posted to GoodReads and I own that it was very short, vague and passive in it's tone. I hope this makes it clear why I gave this book a 1star review, but also why I enjoyed the first parts of the story. If you have questions feel free to leave a comment or seem me a message. show less

There was something about Panic Snap that seemed vaguely familiar. And, by "vaguely", I mean extremely familiar. Almost like I read the exact same thing before. Then I remembered, it was called Topping From Below and I finished reading it a few days ago.

It was very similar: the protagonist, a supposedly strong willed modern woman, is on a mission of revenge to find out the truth about the murder that closely affected her. In Panic Snap, it was the protagonist own attempted murder that show more occured 15 years prior to the story taken place. The result, besides from the coma and retrograde amnesia, was an entire new apperance where she could go and confront the gulity party incognito as it were.

Along the way, things do not go as planned and the gulity party finds out her true identity but it's okay because the gulity party will give her all the information she wants about past for absolute submission to him. Sadomaschism shenagians ensued.

It was amazing how both novels by Reese were so similar to one another. In fact, Panic Snap could have been called Topping from Below 2: Napa Valley. Seriously. Once again, it was well written and probably will make Lifetime a bunch of money one day when it becomes a Saturday night movie.

However, it was so gross! I am not just talking about the very graphic sex scenes (I will never look at the word 'jut' the same way again), I am talking about the S&M things. There were catherers and enema and breast pumps and lambs and eww! Something tells me Reese knew that both her stories were sounding a little too alike and wanted to push the envelope even more.

Just like with Topping From Below, she went way too far and maybe that is what she meant to do. With everything in life, S&M has been romanticized in recent years especially with the Shades of Grey trilogy. However, this is a very hard, unflinching, and very gross light of S&M and bondage. Sure, if you're the dominant, you have it made. But if you're submissive, kiss your rights away, it can be sold to the highest bidder. show less

I will admit this right now:

I am way too much of a prude to read erotic fiction.

In fact, I rarely read it. Although, I will interact with it in other mediums. I am fond of the movie Chloe. However, with the heightened craze of books like the Shades of Grey trilogy, which I cannot get passed Chapter 7 in Book one, it is that horrible, I decided to give Reese's Topping From Below a try after seeing it in my local bookstore.

Topping from Below is well written. The voices of the characters are show more very distinctive: Franny, the young naive desperate girl whose tragic end jumpstarts the story. Nora, Franny's older sister and protagonist, is self assured, arrogant, and confident. Although, in the beginning she thinks she can resist the charms but ultimately falls under the dizzying and captivating spell of M also known as Michael, a Music theory professor who is a sadomaschism aficionado and suspected murderer.

Had it been just a psychological thriller with battle of the wills between M and Nora, I might have even bought this book or wait for it to become a movie of the week on Lifetime. But the rough sex, torture, and beastiality scenes were too much to take. Especially the latter. I got what the Reese was going for. It was supposed to be degrading and immoral. It was meant to break Nora's, and Franny's before her, will but I have my limits. show less

There was something about Panic Snap that seemed vaguely familiar. And, by "vaguely", I mean extremely familiar. Almost like I read the exact same thing before. Then I remembered, it was called Topping From Below and I finished reading it a few days ago.

It was very similar: the protagonist, a supposedly strong willed modern woman, is on a mission of revenge to find out the truth about the murder that closely affected her. In Panic Snap, it was the protagonist own attempted murder that show more occured 15 years prior to the story taken place. The result, besides from the coma and retrograde amnesia, was an entire new apperance where she could go and confront the gulity party incognito as it were.

Along the way, things do not go as planned and the gulity party finds out her true identity but it's okay because the gulity party will give her all the information she wants about past for absolute submission to him. Sadomaschism shenagians ensued.

It was amazing how both novels by Reese were so similar to one another. In fact, Panic Snap could have been called Topping from Below 2: Napa Valley. Seriously. Once again, it was well written and probably will make Lifetime a bunch of money one day when it becomes a Saturday night movie.

However, it was so gross! I am not just talking about the very graphic sex scenes (I will never look at the word 'jut' the same way again), I am talking about the S&M things. There were catherers and enema and breast pumps and lambs and eww! Something tells me Reese knew that both her stories were sounding a little too alike and wanted to push the envelope even more.

Just like with Topping From Below, she went way too far and maybe that is what she meant to do. With everything in life, S&M has been romanticized in recent years especially with the Shades of Grey trilogy. However, this is a very hard, unflinching, and very gross light of S&M and bondage. Sure, if you're the dominant, you have it made. But if you're submissive, kiss your rights away, it can be sold to the highest bidder. show less