Bound and Determined

This book was recommended to me by someone in a 24/7 D/s relationship. And I'm so glad I read it. Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow have managed to make me, pure Vanilla with only the faintest traces of kinky swirls, understand the Dom/sub relationship a little better. And honesty compels me to admit to a degree of yearning for the type of connection described between Owen and Sterling. *sigh*

Beautifully written, Bound and Determined is a book that does not disappoint. I’ve got books by both authors and their styles compliment each other hugely and make for very cool reading.Sterling is such a brat and I loved his spark and innate cheekiness. It is such a perfect foil for Owen’s more reserved nature and theirs is a relationship that doesn’t always go smoothly as a result. The conflict was well written with the focus centered on the characters internal struggles. It was easy to read and didn’t devolve into any silly BDSM tropes and Nancy Drew and the gang did not make an appearance I was pleased to note. heh.The relationship between Sterling and Owen is what carries this book. The slow development of trust between show more both men and the exploration of their boundaries, desires, and the chemistry that has drawn them together, was what made this a cut above other BDSM novels I’ve read recently. Nothing was rushed and the authors seemed to allow Sterling and Owen to stick to their own timetable. The slow building of sexual tension as a result was off the charts and appealed to me immensely. The sex is incredibly good and they nailed that sense of trust implicit within a D/s relationship. Rawr. It was totally hot and made for magic reading.A lush, intense and engaging read I got totally wrapped up in. If you’ve not read, then I highly recommend you get your backside over to Loose Id and buy it. One of my favourite reads this year. http://sharrow.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/bound-and-determined-by-jane-davitt-and-... show less

Bound and Determined pushed my comfort boundaries on the BDSM world, but strange is, not so much for me to not like it. In a way Owen, the dominant in this story, is similar to me, he thinks that a D/s relationship not necessarily means that the submissive has to loose his independency.

Sterling is not a virgin to gay sex, but he is a virgin to the BDSM world. He met Alex, a submissive, and since their relationship remained on a friends with benefits level, everything is all right, but when they tried to deepen it on an upper level, both Alex than Sterling realize that they are not right matched. At first they think it’s only a question of experience, and so Alex brings Sterling to a BDSM private club to give him an introduction on show more the world, but as soon as Sterling tastes that reality, he also understands that he doesn’t need to learn how to be a good Dom, he wants to be a submissive.

The author well explains Sterling’s reasons, he comes from a very difficult relationship with his father, a relationship that was always a challenge to prove that Sterling was not alike his own father due to the fact that his father wanted for him to be his own replica. Even if Sterling has never really done coming out, his father knows and obviously doesn’t approve; Sterling has opposing feelings on that, he doesn’t want so much his father’s approval to deny his own sexuality, but unconsciously he is trying to prove that he is man enough always playing the top in his relationship. But that is not Sterling’s true nature, he is unwillingly trying to follow his father’s step, and instead Sterling needs a strong hand to lead him.

Sterling is quite the bratty type, both in his public than private life. He is always challenging the people he meets, something that he is probably projecting from his own experience with his father. And more the person on the other side is an authoritative figure, and more Sterling challenges them. So it was with Owen, Sterling’s literature teacher when he was a freshman in college. Now Owen is no more Sterling’s teacher, but when they meet again in the club, Owen would like to not move their acquaintance on a deeper level. Owen well remembers Sterling, his bratty behaviour, his stubbornness… for any other Dom those would be faults, for Owen instead are reasons to be attracted by Sterling. Owen knows that, if he accepts to be Sterling’s Dom, he will not be able to remain detached, since Sterling represents the perfect “submissive” he is searching, ab absurbo a submissive who is not immediately ready to submit.

In a way Owen is a teacher both in College than in the Club: he likes to teach how to behave, in all the fields he plays on. And so Sterling is a temptation, since teaching to him how to behave is a very satisfying challenge. Problem is that Owen also understands that Sterling is searching a D/s relationship to fulfil a void he has on his relationship with his father, and of Sterling doesn’t understand that, he will not be ready to have a real relationship with Owen.

I like this story since it’s not simple a means to show a kinky way to have sex, the dynamics of the BDSM world are well explained, without going into too much to be worrisome for who is not into it, and the reasons behind it are clear and understandable. Both characters are well developed and I really like Sterling, bratty and pretty at the same time, but what I like most is that also Owen likes him like that, and for him involving Sterling in a D/s relationship doesn’t mean to deprive him of that side.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/889904.html show less

I really enjoyed this book!

When reading BDSM books, I am often disappointed. Some books almost feel cartoonish, as if the author really doesn't understand the spirit of the culture. You know the books, it's "oh spank me, spank me!" in the sex and there is no mention of the psychology behind it. When I read those books I don't feel any tension, I am not squirming with the intensity and confusion.

One author to seems to get it right in the f/f work is Cherise Sinclair. I can now add Jane Davitt to that list for m/m.

I loved the care and protection that Owen gives Sterling, but at the same time there are actual rules that Serling must follow.

If the BDSM world is something you are curious about, then this is a good book to try.

There is no show more humiliation (definite hard limit for me), and I didn't feel any of the play sessions were too extreme. show less

This was another re-read for me after over a year. I had to bump it up to 5 stars. I don't remember why I gave it 4 to begin with, but the second read was definitely 5! Fuck yeah M/M BDSM! Love that shit. :)

Recommended if you like kinky BDSM M/M play between consensual adults who eventually fall in love. *sigh*

dnf @50%

In my head I started to list the things I didn't like and then switched gears and wanted to list the things I did like... and came up blank. Which... can't be. It's not a bad book. But I didn't find a single thing I liked at this point. (Except one scene that made me go further and read one more chapter.)

I didn't like the characters. Sterling, the sub is really petulant and I think Owen is too, in a different way. I dunno who Owen is looking for, coz no one seems to be good for him and Sterling is not that different from the others who came before him. Sterling wanted to be a Dom, but upon seeing Owen in a club, he instantly changed his mind, which I found too swift. He explained it later and it made sense, but I expected more show more struggle.

I didn't like the relationship development, if it can even be called a relationship, because they had an arrangement at best. Despite that, Sterling was already in love after like 2 sessions. But they weren't even in a normal D/s relationship yet. Sterling was still learning and Owen had to relearn some things. They both struggled with this dynamic from what I've seen. So how Sterling fell in love that fast is a mystery to me. I also didn't find and ounce of chemistry between them. It didn't sizzle, didn't burn, didn't even tingle.

I didn't like the writing. It's, good, great even, but it didn't work for me. Mostly because my native brain couldn't comprehend the overly long sentences. I had to read them 2-3 times to make sense of them. And it was exhausting.

I thought this book was written as a serial, in that case the tiny time jumps would have made sense, but it's not a serial. A few days here, a couple of weeks there. Which means we skipped over some - in my opinion - important things. As a BDSM book which happens to have a main character who is completely new to this world, I would have expected to see everything on page. From the moment he first knelt in front of Owen, to the first time he got a plug shoved up his ass. There were plenty of on page punishing though (spanking, fingering, nipple play with clamps, ball gag, wax play? etc), but I expected to see the exact process how he got from doing the easiest thing to the hardest that required trust. I thought I would see each step. And here is why I'm conflicted: that was all just expectation on my part, but in the end this current scene was too much for me. What with the wax and the nipple clamps. I like BDSM more without toys. Blindfold and some bondage is okay but anything more makes me uncomfortable. Why not use your own hand? It's perfectly capable. But that's just me being picky.

I'm not sure what I was waiting for, but it didn't come.

Edit: one more thing I forgot momentarily. If felt like they were putting on a show. Like they were doing this BDSM thing for others not themselves. Owen was worried about his reputation as a Dom, and Sterling desperately wanted to be up on display at the club. show less

This was another re-read for me after over a year. I had to bump it up to 5 stars. I don't remember why I gave it 4 to begin with, but the second read was definitely 5! Fuck yeah M/M BDSM! Love that shit. :)

Recommended if you like kinky BDSM M/M play between consensual adults who eventually fall in love. *sigh*