Submission Times Two

I found after reading books like "Deviations: Submission" and "The Complete Dr. Fell Volume I" that I really enjoy a gay romance with BDSM. However, these can vary greatly in terms of how real the BDSM is. Many romances throw in some spanking and bondage to spice up the mostly vanilla sex (which is fine), but they aren't BDSM. This novel is, though it is not real hard core. There are whips, restraints, clamps, orgasm denial, etc. There are scenes that could make a reader uncomfortable.

I'm not usually a fan of threesomes, but the occasional story does stand out. This is one of them, mainly because of the unusual scenario. Ethan and Cam are committed lovers, but they have a problem because both are submissives; unable to top one another. show more Until now, they have been going to clubs to meet this need, but with rules for no sex or intimacy. The problem is, submission in itself can be very intimate with the right Dom. When Ethan meets a real Dom, he feels guilty like he's cheating on Cam. Ethan realizes that no matter how much he loves Cam, he has needs that aren't being met. But, these two are in love and they talk about it and decide that Cam needs to meet Andrew. Their lives are changed by the encounter as Cam realizes his needs are also not being met. I have to admit that when Andrew entered the relationship, the story got a little uncomfortable. First, Andrew is love with Ethan. Ethan and Cam go to Andrew (at first) simply to be topped. But, he wants more than that; he wants a relationship, with both of them. And, they are struggling with the concern that their attraction to Andrew could break them up.

Ironically, there is not as much intercourse in this book as in most erotic gay romances. There is sex between Cam and Ethan at the beginning, but it's the dominance scenes that are highly erotic. Cam and Ethan are different in their submissive natures, and seeing how Andrew handles each is quite good. Overall, I thought this was an excellent BDSM romance. It is a little weaker than the Deviations series, mainly because it didn't address the everyday details, nitty gritty (like contracts) that those books did. However, the ending leaves room for a sequel wherein the author could go more in depth. I really hope there will be one as I would love to spend more time with Ethan, Cam and Andrew now that they have committed themselves. As it is, I have already started Thompson's other BDSM romance, "Switch". Highly recommended. show less

Claire Thompson is probably among the few writers that can convince me to read a BDSM novel, probably since she always doses it with romance; and, strange enough, even if they are almost always centered around the BDSM world, she is able to reinvent the story and make it fresh and new.

Like in this case, about the Dom Andrew who fulfils his teenager dream to “possess” the jock Ethan; Ethan who was deeply in the closet when they were in high school, is now a submissive who only plays during public scenes, since he has another submissive lover waiting at home. Ethan and Cam have an agreement, since they love each other, but they cannot completely fulfil each other needs, during the weekend they are “free” to go and have their show more fill, but in separate clubs and without having sex with the Dom of the time.

That is not what Andrew wants, and at the beginning he is all for prove to Ethan that he is not really in love with Cam; but little by little Andrew realizes that yes, he needs Ethan since in this way he will realize his dream, but also Cam can be a good addition to that dream. Actually, from my side, I plenty preferred Cam over Ethan, I found Ethan to be a little spoiled and a little young; that is odd, since he was same age with Andrew and even some years older than Cam, but of the three he seemed the less accomplished. Andrew comes out a little better as a character, but not so much; his evolution from geeky nerd to handsome Dom is hinted but not fully explained. Who really comes out in a perfect way is Cam, so no wonder that I was cheering for him all along.

I think that, of the three, who was really sincere from the beginning to the end was Cam; Ethan claims to be in love with Cam, that he doesn’t want Andrew if he cannot have him with Cam along, but sincerely I think that if he was faced with a choice, Cam would not the one. Andrew grew into Cam with the evolution of their relationship, but at the beginning Cam was only a “good” burden to achieve his purpose, Ethan. Cam instead was always open with his needs and desires: he doesn’t jump into the chance to have a threesome with Andrew, even if he is attracted by the man, until he is not sure that this will not jeopardize his relationship with Ethan, and even when he agrees to give it a try, he is always not only the one more cautious, but also who is able to read Andrew’s needs, better than Ethan for sure, and maybe even of the same Andrew.

Another point that I liked is that this is really a BDSM novel and the BDSM is not mixed with sex or love; actually the three of them doesn’t have sex together until their relationship is not defined and steady, and this will happen well after they started to have a scene all together.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/143924622X/?tag=elimyrevandra-20 show less

Claire flavors up vanilla sex with an addictive potion of poignant restraints and orgasmic dominance. The trio - magnetic Andrew, vulnerable Ethan and seductive Cam, are a faultless fusion of heartbreaks, emotional explorations and sexual captivation.

I thought that this book had and interesting premise. Two subs who are very much in love but missing something in their lives, separately go looking for 'publlic' ways of submitting, excluding sex from those encounters. They keep the emotional side of their relationship, expressed in having sex, between themselves. In essence, they attempt the quintessential separation of the physical/BDSM from their love/emotions/sex.

This "experiment" manages to tide them over for a while, but leaves Ethan openly unsatisfied. He is looking for "the romance of BDSM" and a loving relationship with his Dom. When he runs into Andrew (who he went to school with) the arrangement with Cam is challenged. Ethan wants more with Andrew, but is scared of losing show more Cam's love. Cam is scared of losing Ethan's love and goes along to avoid pushing Ethan away.

I did like the book. But - if the idea was to show that these two subs were looking for more than a powerful Dom (i.e., what they called "the romance of BDSM"), this book (for me) didn't succeed. There was caring, needing and wanting - but no actual romance or love. A hint of it appeared at the very end of the book - but it was a hint only and, as such, left me missing the emotinal satisfaction of seeing these three men build something they all wanted. show less

My first introduction to the world of BDSM came through the books of Joey Hill such as Natural Law (m/f) and Rough Canvas (m/m). After a year of searching, I've finally found Claire Thompson with Masked Submission and the above Submission Times Two. Thompson comes very close to reaching the very high bar Hill has set for BDSM romance.

Submission Times Two is a m/m romance until Dom Andrew comes onto the scene making it m/m/m. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome in their relationship and the D/s scenes are intense. It is obvious that Thompson has a great deal of knowledge of the BDSM lifestyle and I learned a few things reading this story.

A thoroughly engrossing read.

While I love me some [a:Claire Thompson|15560|Claire Thompson|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1344894478p2/15560.jpg], I was unmoved by this tale of two subs looking for a Dom. There was too much uneasiness and jealously and not enough hot sex and BDSM for my liking. It ended with a HFN which I honestly didn't even really believe. *shrugs*

Can't recommend.