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Seventy Three
Located in central London, England, the offices of the Oakham Group provide an outlet for submissive women, both single and married. With membership through word of mouth and recommendation only, the group are able to safeguard their own, and the members privacy. With names and locations altered, and for the first time, the group have approved one of its ladies to tell her story…
Catherine Adams is fairly typical of the women who apply to join the group. Happily married to Richard for eight years the couple enjoy a comfortable lifestyle without putting themselves in the ‘wealthy’ bracket. Together with her friend Helen, Catherine owns and runs a small art gallery in the city centre. At 42 years of age and with a close knit circle of friends and caring family Catherine would be the envy of many who were unaware of her secret – her desire to be sexually submissive.
Supressing her urges for many years seemed to be the sensible option. With husband Richard aware of her interest in such matters, the couple had dabbled with some light bedroom bondage, and whilst good fun it didn’t go far enough to satisfy her desire to take things much further.
On a studio visit, Catherine becomes aware of the artists submissive nature and her involvement with the Oakham group. The excitement of finding somebody actually doing what she had only dreamed about provided an opportunity not to be missed.
Facing the possible repercussions of admitting the true depth of her feelings to Richard proved to be a risk worth taking. With his active support the couple set out to fulfil her dreams, searching for that elusive goal.
Accepted by the group, Catherine is sent to Colonel Mason for training. Being the middle aged, middle class product of a conservative upbringing conflicts begin to emerge. Facing the demeaning use of her body for sexual acts and punishment proves to be more demanding than expected, causing Catherine to question her previously held moral values and beliefs. Not wishing to keep her activities concealed from her close friends, Catherine begins to wonder whether they too have needs similar to her own.
When in service at the Boardroom, a London club owned by Oakham, Catherine is recognised by a malicious adversary from her previous life. Misuse of his power over her causes major conflicts which escalate to the point where her dream could be shattered…
Catherine Adams is fairly typical of the women who apply to join the group. Happily married to Richard for eight years the couple enjoy a comfortable lifestyle without putting themselves in the ‘wealthy’ bracket. Together with her friend Helen, Catherine owns and runs a small art gallery in the city centre. At 42 years of age and with a close knit circle of friends and caring family Catherine would be the envy of many who were unaware of her secret – her desire to be sexually submissive.
Supressing her urges for many years seemed to be the sensible option. With husband Richard aware of her interest in such matters, the couple had dabbled with some light bedroom bondage, and whilst good fun it didn’t go far enough to satisfy her desire to take things much further.
On a studio visit, Catherine becomes aware of the artists submissive nature and her involvement with the Oakham group. The excitement of finding somebody actually doing what she had only dreamed about provided an opportunity not to be missed.
Facing the possible repercussions of admitting the true depth of her feelings to Richard proved to be a risk worth taking. With his active support the couple set out to fulfil her dreams, searching for that elusive goal.
Accepted by the group, Catherine is sent to Colonel Mason for training. Being the middle aged, middle class product of a conservative upbringing conflicts begin to emerge. Facing the demeaning use of her body for sexual acts and punishment proves to be more demanding than expected, causing Catherine to question her previously held moral values and beliefs. Not wishing to keep her activities concealed from her close friends, Catherine begins to wonder whether they too have needs similar to her own.
When in service at the Boardroom, a London club owned by Oakham, Catherine is recognised by a malicious adversary from her previous life. Misuse of his power over her causes major conflicts which escalate to the point where her dream could be shattered…
376 pages, Paperback
First published January 20, 2014
1 person is currently reading
263 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Symmons
2 books6 followersAt night Rebecca Symmons, 44, is a freelance writer of erotic fiction. By day she can be found in the shop of her south London picture framing business. After studying art history at university she moved abroad with her husband, living in the south of Spain until 2009. Acting on the slogan ‘everyone has a novel inside them’ she finally put finger to keyboard in 2013. Following the often quoted advice ‘write what you know about and are interested in’ she produced Seventy Three, the first book telling the story of Oakham, a discreet London society.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 16, 2014
I found this book extremely uncomfortable to read. Being a wife myself and interested in BDSM, I was fascinated in this subject. It was an interesting take on this subject, but I hated Kate's husband. It felt like he slowly morphed into her pimp. He seemed to have no boundaries, or any care for her thoughts/ concerns. In fact he made her feel like a failure because of her refusal, when yet she'd gone so far and taken so much to achieve her dream. I found it uncomfortable to read, and felt like a by stander...someone watching a play. I found it difficult to be part if the book. Not sure why, as generally I like to become one with a book and loose myself, but I found with this I couldn't.
I've given 3 stars because apart from my discomfort, it's very well written..the fact it created such strong feeling within me and how wrong I felt the situation was. I did try to keep an open mind, but I still couldn't reconcile Richard's actions and changes and what he perceived as support!
I've given 3 stars because apart from my discomfort, it's very well written..the fact it created such strong feeling within me and how wrong I felt the situation was. I did try to keep an open mind, but I still couldn't reconcile Richard's actions and changes and what he perceived as support!
March 17, 2014
A BDSM club which trains women to be sexual slaves and owned by a consortium is definitely a popular fantasy. For said woman to be a happily married wife with a husband who isn't into BDSM, this could be problematic and unfortunately all too common. In Seventy Three, Catherine Adams is finally making the move to fulfill her secret submissive desires. She revels in sexual humiliation and public exposure. The more depraved, the wetter she becomes. She longs for punishment and sexual torment. Her loving husband, Richard is hesitant to commit any of these acts upon her. Fortunately, he has no qualms about watching someone else do it to her.
How does this work when the woman is sexually active with many people other than her husband? Is this cheating? Especially if she isn't thrilled to have her husband sexually interact with other female sex slaves. One specific quote in this book is key to understanding how people in relationships cheat on each other. This is explained to Richard from the man running the secret sex slave club.
“Richard, a woman doesn’t have an affair between her legs; she has it in her head. If the activity between her legs is not emotionally attached to her brain then what provides the activity, and often pleasure, is of no consequence to her relationship." (pg. 24)
One must separate the sexual act from the love between husband and wife. If that is not possible, this story will only piss a reader off. There are times in this story where I'm ill at ease. I will get to those in a moment. First, let's discuss the BDSM in this story. There are parts to it which are very realistic. Many of the sexual acts in this story are possible in real life. The spanking, strapping, caning even the watersports are all easily possible. Serving as a waitress in a skimpy outfit and then later used as a common whore is also quite feasible. The sex acts in this story are all fantasies which can be played out and some do have consequences. From a fantasy perspective, this book hit all my erotic buttons and kept me in a constant state of arousal.
Second, the story is well written with at a good pace. There are enough lulls in between the BDSM sessions. There is a decent character development of Catherine in her erotic awakening journey. The conflict in this story is also nicely done and resolved in the end.
The parts that bugged me are ones which I don't subscribe to in the BDSM lifestyle. First, Catherine is a slave who must do everything she's told otherwise she's out of the club. There was no negotiation about her hard limits. This is a problem for me. Second, if all the dominants in this club were adjusted and good dominants, it wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, there is one who is clearly an abusive domineering asshole. And when he does something which I still think is unsafe, the expectation is for Catherine to take it. Because she didn't, she's in the wrong and has to go through a rough session to be taught her place. What is her place? As a slave she should be willing to service everyone, even those who are unattractive and have no use for her other than just to abuse and use. Even someone who is purposely abusive and violating the purpose of an erotic power exchange. This was particularly vomit worthy and I didn't like it at all. I nearly gave the book a two star on this alone. Third, the exposure of the lifestyle to family and friends is not something I can condone. This is because it cannot only ruin a person's livelihood but it is also irresponsible. To non-consensually force our lifestyle to a vanilla is déclassé. In this story, I'm not surprised by it because while it is constantly talking about respecting these intelligent independent women being sexual submissives, the actions didn't align. For the most part, I found the men and women in this book disrespectful of the women. I never saw a reason to trust this group. For a group who is so secretive about its male members, they certainly didn't do shit to protect their female members. And this is why the book lost a star from me. Despite the well written story and smoking hawt BDSM sexual acts, the lack of respect and caring for the slave was hard to swallow.
Lastly, the characters in this book kept harping on how the women were the ones in power. I call BULLSHIT. They were not. I say this because not a single woman could say no. The only way they could say no was to leave the club. This all or nothing attitude isn't the kind of BDSM I practice nor the kind of organization I would be involved in. It is unsafe and demeaning. While it is stated that the scenes are designed for a mutual benefit of the dominant and the slaves, I saw no evidence of this in the book. All I saw were scenes becoming progressively difficult for Catherine to swallow. She had to keep reminding herself that this is what she wanted and it was okay otherwise she would be kicked out of club she so desperately enjoys. In this, I lost all respect for Catherine and didn't really care what happened to her in the end.
In the end, Catherine is just a prostitute for any wealthy man or woman to use and abuse. It demeans the D/s in BDSM and really, this is a book just on sexual gratification. Albeit some very erotic and pleasurable sexual acts, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth from a healthy BDSM lifestyle perspective. Since this is all fantasy, it does work out and is a good read. I'm interested to see the next erotic awakening journey in this series. My guess is it will be with Helen, Catherine's good friend. This BDSM fantasy is recommended to those who love rich men and ladies of leisure getting filthy kinky.
*provided by BDSM Book Reviews
How does this work when the woman is sexually active with many people other than her husband? Is this cheating? Especially if she isn't thrilled to have her husband sexually interact with other female sex slaves. One specific quote in this book is key to understanding how people in relationships cheat on each other. This is explained to Richard from the man running the secret sex slave club.
“Richard, a woman doesn’t have an affair between her legs; she has it in her head. If the activity between her legs is not emotionally attached to her brain then what provides the activity, and often pleasure, is of no consequence to her relationship." (pg. 24)
One must separate the sexual act from the love between husband and wife. If that is not possible, this story will only piss a reader off. There are times in this story where I'm ill at ease. I will get to those in a moment. First, let's discuss the BDSM in this story. There are parts to it which are very realistic. Many of the sexual acts in this story are possible in real life. The spanking, strapping, caning even the watersports are all easily possible. Serving as a waitress in a skimpy outfit and then later used as a common whore is also quite feasible. The sex acts in this story are all fantasies which can be played out and some do have consequences. From a fantasy perspective, this book hit all my erotic buttons and kept me in a constant state of arousal.
Second, the story is well written with at a good pace. There are enough lulls in between the BDSM sessions. There is a decent character development of Catherine in her erotic awakening journey. The conflict in this story is also nicely done and resolved in the end.
The parts that bugged me are ones which I don't subscribe to in the BDSM lifestyle. First, Catherine is a slave who must do everything she's told otherwise she's out of the club. There was no negotiation about her hard limits. This is a problem for me. Second, if all the dominants in this club were adjusted and good dominants, it wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, there is one who is clearly an abusive domineering asshole. And when he does something which I still think is unsafe, the expectation is for Catherine to take it. Because she didn't, she's in the wrong and has to go through a rough session to be taught her place. What is her place? As a slave she should be willing to service everyone, even those who are unattractive and have no use for her other than just to abuse and use. Even someone who is purposely abusive and violating the purpose of an erotic power exchange. This was particularly vomit worthy and I didn't like it at all. I nearly gave the book a two star on this alone. Third, the exposure of the lifestyle to family and friends is not something I can condone. This is because it cannot only ruin a person's livelihood but it is also irresponsible. To non-consensually force our lifestyle to a vanilla is déclassé. In this story, I'm not surprised by it because while it is constantly talking about respecting these intelligent independent women being sexual submissives, the actions didn't align. For the most part, I found the men and women in this book disrespectful of the women. I never saw a reason to trust this group. For a group who is so secretive about its male members, they certainly didn't do shit to protect their female members. And this is why the book lost a star from me. Despite the well written story and smoking hawt BDSM sexual acts, the lack of respect and caring for the slave was hard to swallow.
Lastly, the characters in this book kept harping on how the women were the ones in power. I call BULLSHIT. They were not. I say this because not a single woman could say no. The only way they could say no was to leave the club. This all or nothing attitude isn't the kind of BDSM I practice nor the kind of organization I would be involved in. It is unsafe and demeaning. While it is stated that the scenes are designed for a mutual benefit of the dominant and the slaves, I saw no evidence of this in the book. All I saw were scenes becoming progressively difficult for Catherine to swallow. She had to keep reminding herself that this is what she wanted and it was okay otherwise she would be kicked out of club she so desperately enjoys. In this, I lost all respect for Catherine and didn't really care what happened to her in the end.
In the end, Catherine is just a prostitute for any wealthy man or woman to use and abuse. It demeans the D/s in BDSM and really, this is a book just on sexual gratification. Albeit some very erotic and pleasurable sexual acts, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth from a healthy BDSM lifestyle perspective. Since this is all fantasy, it does work out and is a good read. I'm interested to see the next erotic awakening journey in this series. My guess is it will be with Helen, Catherine's good friend. This BDSM fantasy is recommended to those who love rich men and ladies of leisure getting filthy kinky.
*provided by BDSM Book Reviews
September 27, 2014
Honestly I didn't finish reading this book.
Reason (this is on my point of view, no offence intended):
- I really can't stand the idea of letting someone else using my girl...(at 1st I thought that Richard would participate in the play which he didn't, Elizibeth's case was acceptable for me though)
- Let someone play (BDSM) with her is definitely ok but letting someone else fuck her...HELL NO.. (personal opinion)
- The club rules are a little to strict and biased
(Once the girl says no, she is nvr to return, which means if the play is too intense or hurting she cannot say no or will hav to leave 4ever, which i think she would'nt..and also means that the dom could actually abuse her, and trust me, humans have a tendency to hurt something that is beautiful or cute and there is NO hard limits discussion)
-Catherine is expected to bey EVERYTHING (no hard limits to negotiate) while Richard is supposed to agree with everything they do to his wife and force himself to let them to that in the reason his wife will enjoy them (there could be things that Catherine would not enjoy or is harmful for her).
- No discussion about hard limits and Dom who abused his power (YIKES!!!)
- Catherine treated like a slave without respect in my opinion (although the club master says everyone (dom) treats the sub with rescpect.
**- Read Book Adict's review about what bugged her and onwards. (I TOTALLY agree with that)
(This book somehow pours ice water towards my interest towards BDSM books for now)
I was trying to look a little at the ending to decide whether I should continue reading but than I saw this “There you are see Marshall, she’s used to being beaten and abused, and of course is available for sex in any form you like.” He couldn’t hide his lingering suspicions.” ~ excerpt from the book...
And I was like~ (OMG...this is a "little" too much for me *wide eyes* O.o ) and it officially creeped me out....(I would loved it if it was coming from the mouth of Richard)
This book has just gone down by one star for me...(anyone who has read the story correct me please if I'm wrong or if its just a statement to humiliate catherine)
and that part of the story seems quite wrong for me just not the statement. Furthermore I think I saw some parts where the dom tries to make Catherine thinks that she is always wrong which Catherine is not comfortable with.
Personally I would like to see Richard taking up the role to dominate Catherine and not someone else (not my cup of tea...sry)
It would be better (let me stress again *FOR ME* as I don't want any misinterpretation that I want to change the story as I've gotten in trouble for this b4 at some other sites while chatting to a fanfic author) if Richard was the one who learns the skill on how to train his wife to be a submissive and Catherine leaving the club. And the club changing its policy and filter through the Doms which should be expelled.
**But if you actually see past all these this book would be one of the best stories written. (One of the best plot plot and hot BDSM scenes(wrong partner though)...)
p.s. I've got this book from the author for read and review.(thx for giving me a copy Ms Author, but it's way too hardcore for me (not the bdsm part but the whole letting the club training Catherine (I really didn't knew that this book has contents that are hard limits for me when I requested this book so sry.)This is an honest review and no offence author.
Reason (this is on my point of view, no offence intended):
- I really can't stand the idea of letting someone else using my girl...(at 1st I thought that Richard would participate in the play which he didn't, Elizibeth's case was acceptable for me though)
- Let someone play (BDSM) with her is definitely ok but letting someone else fuck her...HELL NO.. (personal opinion)
- The club rules are a little to strict and biased
(Once the girl says no, she is nvr to return, which means if the play is too intense or hurting she cannot say no or will hav to leave 4ever, which i think she would'nt..and also means that the dom could actually abuse her, and trust me, humans have a tendency to hurt something that is beautiful or cute and there is NO hard limits discussion)
-Catherine is expected to bey EVERYTHING (no hard limits to negotiate) while Richard is supposed to agree with everything they do to his wife and force himself to let them to that in the reason his wife will enjoy them (there could be things that Catherine would not enjoy or is harmful for her).
- No discussion about hard limits and Dom who abused his power (YIKES!!!)
- Catherine treated like a slave without respect in my opinion (although the club master says everyone (dom) treats the sub with rescpect.
**- Read Book Adict's review about what bugged her and onwards. (I TOTALLY agree with that)
(This book somehow pours ice water towards my interest towards BDSM books for now)
I was trying to look a little at the ending to decide whether I should continue reading but than I saw this “There you are see Marshall, she’s used to being beaten and abused, and of course is available for sex in any form you like.” He couldn’t hide his lingering suspicions.” ~ excerpt from the book...
And I was like~ (OMG...this is a "little" too much for me *wide eyes* O.o ) and it officially creeped me out....(I would loved it if it was coming from the mouth of Richard)
This book has just gone down by one star for me...(anyone who has read the story correct me please if I'm wrong or if its just a statement to humiliate catherine)
and that part of the story seems quite wrong for me just not the statement. Furthermore I think I saw some parts where the dom tries to make Catherine thinks that she is always wrong which Catherine is not comfortable with.
Personally I would like to see Richard taking up the role to dominate Catherine and not someone else (not my cup of tea...sry)
It would be better (let me stress again *FOR ME* as I don't want any misinterpretation that I want to change the story as I've gotten in trouble for this b4 at some other sites while chatting to a fanfic author) if Richard was the one who learns the skill on how to train his wife to be a submissive and Catherine leaving the club. And the club changing its policy and filter through the Doms which should be expelled.
**But if you actually see past all these this book would be one of the best stories written. (One of the best plot plot and hot BDSM scenes(wrong partner though)...)
p.s. I've got this book from the author for read and review.(thx for giving me a copy Ms Author, but it's way too hardcore for me (not the bdsm part but the whole letting the club training Catherine (I really didn't knew that this book has contents that are hard limits for me when I requested this book so sry.)This is an honest review and no offence author.
May 7, 2014
I can not decide how I feel about this book. On one hand the Author wrote an excellent story but on the other I found it difficult to connect with the characters. The development and progression was there so I am not sure what my problem was. I am going with 3* because the story was not a bad story at all.
Kate is a successful professional who longs for total submission and loves the humiliation she endures as part of that submission. Richard loves his wife and is turned on by her submission to him and to others but he can not bring himself to physically hurt her. So he lets others do it for him for her happiness. I never figured out if Richard was being coached or if he progressively became more Dominate through out the story.
This book is based in England and my suspicion is that their much less uptight then we Americans are and the cultural differences made some of the situations in this story hard to believe but at the same time I hold out hope that we Americans will one day be as excepting of alternative lifestyles.
** I was given this book by the author for an honest review **
Kate is a successful professional who longs for total submission and loves the humiliation she endures as part of that submission. Richard loves his wife and is turned on by her submission to him and to others but he can not bring himself to physically hurt her. So he lets others do it for him for her happiness. I never figured out if Richard was being coached or if he progressively became more Dominate through out the story.
This book is based in England and my suspicion is that their much less uptight then we Americans are and the cultural differences made some of the situations in this story hard to believe but at the same time I hold out hope that we Americans will one day be as excepting of alternative lifestyles.
** I was given this book by the author for an honest review **
September 2, 2014
Such potential
This had the potential to be a dark erotica lover's dream. Full of non-con situations and dark elements but unfortunately the inner monologue stripped all the excitement away. So much of the h's thoughts were told and ad nauseam. Over and over, the same reasoning behind her need for that level of submission, her thoughts, her feelings. We get it! Her husband was just starting to display great Dom characteristics and even that was cut short. There's some great dark scenes in there but it's mostly talk. Could've been soooo good but instead I found myself skimming through paragraph after paragraph of feelings. Bummer.
This had the potential to be a dark erotica lover's dream. Full of non-con situations and dark elements but unfortunately the inner monologue stripped all the excitement away. So much of the h's thoughts were told and ad nauseam. Over and over, the same reasoning behind her need for that level of submission, her thoughts, her feelings. We get it! Her husband was just starting to display great Dom characteristics and even that was cut short. There's some great dark scenes in there but it's mostly talk. Could've been soooo good but instead I found myself skimming through paragraph after paragraph of feelings. Bummer.
December 3, 2014
This was a really good read for me. It was different then most BDSM theme books. It was a little dark in some places but then it also had me laughing out loud. I would like to see more about Oakham
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews