Tender Mercies
~Kitty Thomas
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 283 KB
Publisher: Burlesque Press
Publish Date: May 6, 2011
Language: English
ASIN: B004ZR9OGU
From Goodreads:
“Grace. That word that finally meant something again. Mercy. Favor. Good will.”
Fed up with play kink, Grace Warner moves to an island that embraces erotic slavery to be with a man she met online. Within hours of her arrival, everything is ripped from her, and she quickly learns play is preferable to the realities of actual enslavement.
Asher Collins has spent the past year mourning and blaming himself for the death of his slave, Darcy. When Grace catches his eye at a showing, obviously abused, he becomes obsessed with buying her and finding a way to atone for his own past sins.
Grace Warner wants to be an erotic slave. So much so that she's been considering moving to a private island where it's legal...and binding. She's been communicating with Lucas Stone, a resident of the island nation Eleu, for almost a year. He wants her to come out and be his slave, but she's just not sure she's willing to give up her citizenship and become his legal property. After they have an argument and quit communicating, she realizes it is what she wants and agrees to go to him.
What happens once she gets to the island is not at all what she'd envisioned - he's a vicious and sadistic master. Eight months into it, she barely recognizes her beaten, bloodied appearance or even her own name. Then, when she thinks things can't get worse, he sells her to Asher Collins, a man reputed to have killed his last slave.
What Grace doesn't know is that Asher didn't kill his slave, but feels responsible for her death anyway. His guilt has prevented him from purchasing another slave,until he sees how Lucas has been treating Grace. He sees in Grace a chance to atone for his mistakes and save a life where previously he did not. But has Grace been tortured beyond repair? Can she unlearn the lessons taught by such a sadistic master as Lucas was? And is Asher a strong enough master to save her?
Kitty Thomas writes darkly erotic novels that are not easily forgotten; Tender Mercies is no exception. Her psychologically disturbing yet erotic stories take the reader on a journey of submission and trust as a way to fulfillment. Comfort Food, Guilty Pleasures, and Tender Mercies all explore the slave/master dynamic, but she manages to make the story different and intriguing each time. Her stories are well-crafted and even though the scenarios are fantastical in a kinky, masochistic sense, I don't have any trouble falling right into her stories and becoming fully vested in the characters and their experiences. I am slightly disturbed by how much I enjoy her books; as if something this dark should not be enjoyed, but I do. Very much.
Note: This book contains non-consentual sex scenes, so if you have difficulty reading those types of scenes, this may not be the book for you.
My Rating:
This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Aahhhhh, great to hear from you that Kitty Thomas delivers again :)) I've got this one on my wishlist as well but need to be ready again for such a tale ;)
ReplyDeleteI love the darkness too, very much. I've said it once, and I'll say it again - Kitty Thomas is the dark chocolate of erotica (not for the faint of heart!). I loved this book, so glad you did too!
ReplyDelete"the scenarios are fantastical in a kinky, masochistic sense"
- while I was reading TM I was wondering "does stuff like this really happen?". I mean, seriously. I don't know much about the world of kink beyond my bookshelf... but do you think there are people who live their fetishes to the extreme like this? What a thought! I almost want to go to an internet search on the topic, but am concerned about what sites I may be directed to :)
I've heard such great things about Kitty Thomas. I have her first book on my to-read list, but I really should move these up the list!
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
~ Sarah ♥ I'm Loving Books
I am still too afraid to read her books. But they do sound good, and I would love to see how she manages to write those scenarios.
ReplyDeleteLeontine: You do have to be ready for it, that's for sure :) It was very good though.
ReplyDeleteDanielle: I wondered the same thing, lol!
Sarah: They're definitely dark, but if you're open to something a little different you'll enjoy them.
Blodeuedd: I do enjoy them...
Awesome review! I loved this book and I love the Dark stories Kitty writes!
ReplyDelete