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Journey to Submission #1
Secret Submission
When Phillip asks Sarah if she is a compliant sort of woman who will do anything he asks of her, she plays along, wanting a bedroom romp that will quiet the urges within her. But Phillip has much more than a "bedroom romp" in mind. As he introduces Sarah to the world of bondage and submission, she discovers a need to be dominated. Phillip invites her to explore her sexuality each weekend at his cottage - as his slave. The question is: how willing is she to give up her hard-earned independence? Even to a man so meltingly handsome as Phillip Townsend... Winner: JERR Gold Star Award
237 pages, Paperback
First published March 25, 2004
5 people are currently reading
354 people want to read
About the author
Diana Hunter
81 books39 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 11, 2011
This book was awesome. I haven't read too many BDSM books but this one did an amazing job of tying in the lifestyle with actual romance. Even though this book is filled with sex it was ultimately about falling and love and putting things into perspective.
September 5, 2011
This was a rough one for me. The beginning of the book had be rating it at a 1 star. I couldn't read this in one sitting because it not only dragged but irritated me. Why did it irritate me? Because for a slice of life contemporary erotic novel incorporating BDSM, the immediate jumping into calling a man Sir, let along Master is unbelievable to me. Seriously, a woman who's never been into BDSM or even read up about it and she's independent and dominant during her work suddenly rolls over and calls a man, Master? Un-f-ing believable. Annoying too. From there it kind of went down hill for me because of the constant switching of points of view between the two main characters. I'd use their names but I can't for the life of me remember them. How sad is that? That's generally a bad sign for me when it comes to books. If I can't remember their names, it is rated a low star. Even sadder, I just finished this book earlier today.
I can remember the secondary characters names - Beth the best friend who is only mentioned once. Master Dominic the dickhead who only made 1 appearance. And of course Will and Jill because their names rhymed. Yet I can't remember the two people who fucked each other silly. Now you may be asking, why did I end up giving it a 3 star?
Despite the irritating POV switching and the rapid descent into slavedom for the main character, the actual BDSM scenes were hot. I liked them. I enjoyed each one and wished it could have been me at times. What would have made this story better if more of it was edited. It felt overly long in some aspects that I could rather care less. Still, as a first BDSM book from Ms. Hunter, I give it kudos. Hot BDSM scenes will always melt me a bit and soften my ratings.
I can remember the secondary characters names - Beth the best friend who is only mentioned once. Master Dominic the dickhead who only made 1 appearance. And of course Will and Jill because their names rhymed. Yet I can't remember the two people who fucked each other silly. Now you may be asking, why did I end up giving it a 3 star?
Despite the irritating POV switching and the rapid descent into slavedom for the main character, the actual BDSM scenes were hot. I liked them. I enjoyed each one and wished it could have been me at times. What would have made this story better if more of it was edited. It felt overly long in some aspects that I could rather care less. Still, as a first BDSM book from Ms. Hunter, I give it kudos. Hot BDSM scenes will always melt me a bit and soften my ratings.
June 11, 2018
A really good M/s story that shows not only the lifestyle in a good light, but also the characters relationship dynamic and how it slowly progresses.
The only real problem I have with it is that they didn't really negotiate before play or figure out a different safe word/signal when Sarah was gagged, but other then that, it's in my top ten list for good D/s portrayals in literature.
The only real problem I have with it is that they didn't really negotiate before play or figure out a different safe word/signal when Sarah was gagged, but other then that, it's in my top ten list for good D/s portrayals in literature.
May 15, 2019
Well written, believable characters. Sarah's transition from a shy, vanilla girl to a woman that embraces her weekend submission is quick, but does outline difficulties that she and Philip have to resolve to grow into their respective roles.
September 27, 2010
Romantic and highly erotic domination and submission, not for the faint of heart.
STORY BRIEF:
Sarah meets Phillip in a grocery store. Phillip is a dominant in his relationships. After a few dates he asks Sarah if she would do what he asked her to. She has never had that type of relationship and is willing to try. He binds parts of her body. He cuffs her, ties her up, puts her in cages, and much more. Their activities take place privately and publicly. He is a good dominant. He never hurts her in a permanent way, but he causes temporary pain and pushes her mentally.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
For someone wanting to experiment with domination and submission, this book provides tons of ideas. For those not interested, it makes for great fantasy. Many may find themselves hot and breathless. I was amazed that the author was able to write over 200 pages of sex and submission scenes without seeming repetitive. She has a fertile imagination to come up with so many ideas. Normally I count the number of sex scenes in a book and the length of them. I started doing that for this book, but I gave up. There is so much of it, and I was having trouble defining what a sex scene was. Many of the submission scenes have effects similar to sex scenes. For a count, I estimate 90% of the book consists of submission and sex scenes.
DATA:
Story length: 233 pages. Sexual language: strong/erotic with rear door activity. Setting: current day unspecified location. Copyright: 2004. Genre: erotic contemporary romance.
OTHER BOOKS:
For a list of my reviews of other Diana Hunter books, see my 5 star review of Table For Four http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
STORY BRIEF:
Sarah meets Phillip in a grocery store. Phillip is a dominant in his relationships. After a few dates he asks Sarah if she would do what he asked her to. She has never had that type of relationship and is willing to try. He binds parts of her body. He cuffs her, ties her up, puts her in cages, and much more. Their activities take place privately and publicly. He is a good dominant. He never hurts her in a permanent way, but he causes temporary pain and pushes her mentally.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
For someone wanting to experiment with domination and submission, this book provides tons of ideas. For those not interested, it makes for great fantasy. Many may find themselves hot and breathless. I was amazed that the author was able to write over 200 pages of sex and submission scenes without seeming repetitive. She has a fertile imagination to come up with so many ideas. Normally I count the number of sex scenes in a book and the length of them. I started doing that for this book, but I gave up. There is so much of it, and I was having trouble defining what a sex scene was. Many of the submission scenes have effects similar to sex scenes. For a count, I estimate 90% of the book consists of submission and sex scenes.
DATA:
Story length: 233 pages. Sexual language: strong/erotic with rear door activity. Setting: current day unspecified location. Copyright: 2004. Genre: erotic contemporary romance.
OTHER BOOKS:
For a list of my reviews of other Diana Hunter books, see my 5 star review of Table For Four http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
December 28, 2010
Phillip finds someone he thinks he can mold into the perfect slave. Sarah isn't into it at the start of the book and doesn't enjoy all of it immediately. Phillip is very thoughtful as he plans each step in her conversion to a willing sex slave. And it's not a drug induced brainwashing like those sleazy books do it. Sarah is seduced by how much fun and pleasure she gets from Phillip. Also, he taps into her everyday acts of submission and teaches her about herself. I was hoping the book would be more sexy and erotic but it turned out to more about a couple in love than hot kinky sex. Still it was a good book and I hope more writers take Diana's lead and write books about loving and consensual BDSM. I give it a solid recommendation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2011
I liked it. I didn't love it, but I did like it. I guess I didn't like the writer's voice in this as much as some other books. I thought the boundary pushing was good. I thought Phillip was a great Dom. But, I couldn't really get lost in the story. It actually took me several days to get through this which is unusual because I read pretty quickly, but I just found myself finding reasons to put the book down. To me that's a sign that it's more work than pleasure.
However, I liked the characters and I really liked the subject matter. I will read more of this author before I decide if it's just this one particular book or if it's the writer's style in general.
However, I liked the characters and I really liked the subject matter. I will read more of this author before I decide if it's just this one particular book or if it's the writer's style in general.
May 20, 2023
Back when I first read this I was impressed with the story - & tickled with the BDSM descriptions/ideas...
What a difference nearly 20 yrs makes: I've achieved a more critical dislike of Philip, simply because of his "I know everything" macho persona, his (not really caring) attitude towards Sarah; & the assumption (of the story) that a Newbie can turn into a fully fledged slave after only a few weeks.
I also recognised the doormat Sarah becomes in her effort/s to please Philip all the time.
If you can ignore the aspects of the OTT kink, & pretend it's fantasy instead, it's an OK read.
What a difference nearly 20 yrs makes: I've achieved a more critical dislike of Philip, simply because of his "I know everything" macho persona, his (not really caring) attitude towards Sarah; & the assumption (of the story) that a Newbie can turn into a fully fledged slave after only a few weeks.
I also recognised the doormat Sarah becomes in her effort/s to please Philip all the time.
If you can ignore the aspects of the OTT kink, & pretend it's fantasy instead, it's an OK read.
December 16, 2013
I enjoyed this book as it showed her struggle with coming to terms with her submissive nature. I thought it showed both their struggle with wanting to come together in best way possible for them both. His need to be true to himself but also bring out what he saw in her was exciting. I enjoyed the sexual play as well as the actual regular vanilla periods they shared as well. I definitley enjoyed his dominance over her.
September 10, 2014
I am not really sure how I feel about this book. Overall, as a piece of fiction it was good and I kept reading. SPOILER...At first everytime he refers to her as a slave or slut I felt myself cringe. It didn't matter if he said "my" slut or "my" slave. It bothered me. I guess being new to this type of book, it was a little to much for me. I prefer for of the ligher BDSM than this.
March 13, 2010
This was the first book that I found with a BDSM theme and it is still my favorite. She was inspired to write this book after reading some bad ones that she did not feel represented the lifestyle accurately. Classic that I still read!
May 15, 2011
This is my favorite BDSM of all times.
January 3, 2012
Sweet story about a woman's discovery of her submissive nature.
September 13, 2016
removed from system
July 13, 2013
Ugh. Good thing it didn't take long to read because it was poorly written & unbelievable
Read
January 23, 2018 I first read this several years ago, and was intrigued as the characters are so completely commonplace. Although we never discover how Phillip earns his living, the heroine goes off to work during the week and worries about things like tights, having a decent change of clothes, and not wearing the same outfit to church too often. This juxtaposed to the Master/Slave life style she is introduced to, struck me as an appealing original mix. Now years later I have read it again, and this confirmed many of my initial impressions. Written years before Shades of Grey, this is almost claustrophic in contrast, but potentially more authentic.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews