A couple of months ago, an email arrived in my inbox from an author, Anneke Jacob, asking if I’d be interested in reviewing her book on my blog. Since it was a bdsm book I thought, why not? I hadn’t heard of the author before, but it turns out that As She’s Told is her second book (the first being Owned and Owner) and that it won the 2008 National Leather Association Pauline Réage Novel Award.
As She’s Told is the story of Anders and Maia – a couple who first become aware of each other in an online chat room for kinksters and later meet at a local munch in Toronto (like many kinksters, they are introduced by a mutual acquaintance). What draws Anders and Maia together is their mutual desire for a truly 24/7 total power exchange (TPE) relationship. They don’t want just the illusion that he’s in charge, they both want for him to truly be in charge and her to be enslaved.
Their relationship starts off gradually, and like any good Dom he makes sure things like her studies (to be an information professional – yes, a librarian!) are given priority. The book is realistic in that Maia isn’t instantly able to submit easily to all of Anders’ orders, but it follows her struggles in making her desire to be a slave real.
Interspersed in the text are IM conversations between Anders and his also kinky cousin Karl in Denmark. (Anders is Danish.) Karl is also a Dom, but one who’s in a Dom/Domme relationship. I like that various other kinksters interested in various types and levels of bdsm relationships are included. Anders and Maia are unique in the extent of the relationship they want, but other kinksters around them, like Val the lesbian dominant who works for Anders’ construction business, can relate on some levels, even if the relationship that develops between Anders and Maia is not what they’d want. There’s even a colleague/friend of Anders’ who appears a couple of times who is into kink, but whose wife isn’t and so he contains his desires and merely lives vicariously through others. There are certainly kinksters who choose to repress their kinky selves in order to make a vanilla relationship with someone they love work. While reading the novel, however, the fact that these various “types” are depicted is pretty subtle. It doesn’t knock you over the head with – “and here’s another type of bdsmer!”
Eventually, Maia moves in with Anders into a house that he’s worked on himself. He’s made sure that wiring and such is up to code to make the fact that she will be locked and chained in the house regularly a safer prospect. Indeed, he thinks carefully about a variety of scenarios and does what he can to ensure her safety. He’s also soundproofed the place and installed cameras so he can watch her from his computer at work when he’s not home. Anders encourages Maia to have a part time job in an information centre, but her commute to and from work is monitored so that if she’s late she is punished for not making sure she got home right away. He has her in a leather harness every day, and she is very much aware of her bound status underneath her clothes. He gradually gets her to the point where she’s in a chastity belt and her orgasms are strictly controlled. The text goes back and forth from Maia’s personal view (where we get to see her struggles and happiness) and the third-person omniscient view of Anders and the rest of the characters.
I think that the novel is hot, and I like the realism in its presentation of a 24/7 relationship. I think that while 24/7 TPE is a fantasy for some, the reality takes so much careful work and consideration that it’s not feasible for many. While TPE is not my fantasy, I can still relate to the internal struggles to behave and please your dominant. I can relate to how hot and horny Maia would get when in bondage, objectified or beaten. The relationship progresses steadily and by the end of the book Maia gets to feel dehumanized and objectified completely. I had a little discomfort reading this, only because it’s not what turns my crank. People whose kink is objectification/dehumanization will totally love it. (And Maia and Anders are happy.)
Maia and Anders seem real. I was quickly involved in their developing relationship. He is a strict but loving Master and the relationship blossoms into something they’ve both only dreamed of. While he’s a sadist, he does clearly love and cherish her. The journey they share into the M/s dynamic is engaging. If you’re into power exchange, no matter what level of it, you will enjoy this book. It’s not surprising that Jacob’s writing won the Pauline Réage Novel Award.
As She’s Told by Anneke Jacob is available from Pink Flamingo Publications, PO Box 632, Richland, MI 49083.
While I received this novel for free for reviewing purposes, I was not expected to give any particular sort of review. The views expressed here are my honest opinion, and I received no other benefits for this review other than a copy of the book.
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