Italian immigrant, Carmen Astrella, has lived half her life in her adopted Canadian country, alone. Running her successful rehabilitation centre for dogs and having her faithful Doberman companion, Lupo, by her side, the unfathomable thought of a loving, committed relationship with someone was a foreign idea to Carmen. At the age of 45 and a dominant in the kinkier side of sex, contractual relationships were all Carmen ever needed to fulfill her desires. That feeling implodes after Carmen’s submissive of one year abruptly leaves her, leaving Carmen to reassess her life, asking herself where her heart truly lies and what it wants.
Sweet, submissive Cassandra Harte has been living her life on autopilot. Always following the rules with a polite smile. At the age of 40, Cass assumes she knows what she wants – a mellow life with someone safe to come home to. When her world gets rocked after discovering her girlfriend’s adultery, Cass suddenly questions her calm and quiet life. Rocketing from neutral to top speed, Cass’s existence flips upside down and she seeks out something to take the edge off. Carmen Astrella, the fiery Italian dominant is just the elixir for the sweet submissive.
Come follow two very different women as they sort through their lives that were once thought to be concrete, and into the arms and beds of others before realizing they were meant to be together all along.
A light BDSM erotica with twists and turns that reaches deep into the psyche’s minds when it comes to powerplay of dominance and sex that inevitably succumbs to the power of love.
The Kitten series will always remain my shining star. Rae and her family is what got me into writing and what's kept me going. As I venture off towards new characters and storylines, one thing that will stay the same is the butch/femme dynamic. I have even dabbled with butch/soft butch non-binary characters. I love masculine women and everything about them, from their charm, chivalry, style and everything else in between.
This past spring I happily signed a contract with Painted Hearts Publishing for my new book, A Jade's Diamond, that will be released in the new year. I hope to continue working with the lgbtq publisher for more great stories I write.
I look forward to hearing your opinion toward my older books and my newer books that will be published in the near future.
Sometimes the heart refuses to acknowledge the truth, that finally a match has been found and loneliness is no more. This romance with lots of heat, some kink and drama is at the core a love story of a strong confident woman coming to the realization that she's found her someone special - and that warm someone recognizing she too can be daring and maybe also find love. Carmen is a no nonsense domme and runs a rehab centre for dogs, Lupo her steady side kick, she has stifled dreams. Her love life controlled by contracts but is she really fulfilled? Sweet Cass, a soft butch on the rebound from being dumped decides to walk on the wild side of things but is still looking for love. Along comes Carmen in all her controlled glory. No love involved, just physical satisfaction. But this is not a simple tale as the author proves once again. The side characters with their own dynamics add twists to the plot which is both raw and tender. Recommend without reservation.
Cover star Carmen Astrella is a joy to spend time with. She has a lot going on in her life, and a lot she has to work out over the course of this book, but she's a strong and resourceful woman who brooks no fools and is always ready to stand up for what (and who) she believes in. That she's gorgeous and a commanding Domme only add to her allure.
Our story begins with the ending of two relationships. Carmen (45) and Cassandra (40) both break up with their girlfriends. They meet not long afterwards and both feel a spark, but for reasons that are important to them both women feel that they have no future together, we then follow their paths as they orbit around each other and a handful of mutual acquaintances while they experience the necessary growth to get their HEA.
The drama comes hard and fast and not always from expected directions, and along the way you'll be treated to some hot hot hot sexual encounters which are sure to leave you gasping.
• Dominance of the Heart • Author Char Dafoe • MC Carmen Astrella & Cassandra
Cass is 40 years old, who works a regular job as a banker teller. With blonde hair and blue eyes she is more masculine presenting. Cass loved stability and bring calm.
Carmen was hit right away when her girlfriend/submissive left her. Carmen is 45 years old. Carmen did need and want love. She just had to walk her own road to find peace and move forward on her own terms.
Cass meets Carmen at a bar. After drinking away her pain from her break up, and ends up getting a ride home from Carmen.
This book is definitely unique in a lot of ways. There are a lot of twists and turns in this book. There is a lot happening. Things you won’t see coming from a mile away. The supporting characters are very well written and help move the story along. I love how Cass pushed Carmen to go for her goals and dreams no matter your age, it’s never to late to do what truly makes you happy. There is some BDSM in this book, but it’s very light and written very well. I really enjoyed this book I plan to read more by the author.
I highly recommend this book.This is a story with life lessons that every reader can appreciate. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
That was a huge roller coaster of emotions. At least for me! Cass won my heart very quickly. She is so soft inside and a classic soft butch and therefore androgynous in appearance. I loved her way of dressing! She has a very sweet personality that I fell in love with immediately. Carmen is a Dom/me wet dream! She is kind of unapproachable and always tries to keep it emotionally that way. She has her way of life and it has worked very well so far for her. After an unexpected breakup, she sets out to find her next sub and this journey brings many different women into her life. It's a lot of emotional and real drama and therefore not a easy love story. BDSM is part of the book, of course, but not too heavy and the hot scenes aren't too clinical or too detailed. Despite everything, it's a love story for everyone, not just for BDSM fans. At more than one point my heart broke and then melted again. It was constantly: "Oh come on, why?" and then "Thank God, finally!"
I love books where the gender boundaries are fluid. Char Dafoe creates wonderful characters with the beauty of gender freedom!
Carmen is into contractual relationships and it has been all she’s ever needed until she meets Cassandra, who thought she knew what she wanted from life. With everything now uncertain, Cass’ path crosses Carmen’s and everything changes for them both.
This is another great story, and what I love about Char’s stories is they are always down to earth, about real people, all with different backgrounds and experiences. They are never your typical characters, they have been through things that have built their character and that shines through from the moment you first meet them to every single one shared where we get to know them better.
The way Cass and Carmen’s lives became intertwined was most intriguing. Fate was definitely at play and even once they had come into one another’s lives, nothing was that simple. They established boundaries, and there were other crossovers in the characters they knew and situations they found themselves in. Carmen you could just tell was a woman of heart, she was a little rough around the edges but she had so much love to give to anyone in need of a friend or just someone to care. I admired her greatly, both for her strength and her kind nature.
Cass was very different and my heart just kept breaking for her. She had so much to figure out, more heartache and pain, which then became shared with Carmen’s own emotional experiences. That deep exploration of the emotions surrounding Cass and Carmen’s slowly developing connection was brilliant. They went through so much to get to where they ended up and they both deserved to have the time to assess whether a life together, whatever the arrangement was really best for them.
With every turn of the page there was a surprise, an unexpected event, or a wonderful moment of intimate connection shared that kept me intrigued from the very start. A story I recommend for anyone who likes romance with a little erotica, edge, and a whole lot of real at heart emotion and feeling packed in.
This was a nice read with MC’s I liked, especially the Doberman 😘 At one point towards the end, the storyline had a bit too much drama followed with more drama in rapt succession. The easy writing style of Dafoe made up for that fact and I enjoyed the book. There is some light bdsm play in this book and the sexy scenes are well written.
And, kudos to Dafoe for writing about MC’s in their 40’s 💚
I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. This book was a lot different than what I assumed when I read the description. The book was very tastefully done and the main characters, Carmen, her dog Lupo, and Cassandra all worked together well and made the story more enjoyable even with its twists and turns. Carmen, being 45 &and afraid of commitment, goes through many emotional scenarios in this book. Just when it appeared that things between all the characters were going to work out, some other upset occurred to change the course of the story. I’m vague for a reason. I don’t want to post any spoilers. The book was great and well worth reading and kept me turning the pages. Char Dafoe did a very good job bring all the elements to together, the sexual scenes were done very tastefully and she created an amazing story well worth reading! I look forward to more books written by this author.
Carmen is the main character in this book. She is a Dom and lives her life that way. Carmen is in her mid-forties and is questioning her life choices. Cass is a soft Dom and is attracted to Carmen but was love and commitment. The character also includes Nicole, a new lesbian, and Lee, a submissive. There is also Lupo, a Great Dane owned by Carmen. The plot revolves around how Carmen is trying to find herself and working towards love rather than meaningless sex. There is BDSM and also sex scenes in the book but it is part of the story. There is drama and action along with emotion. The book is a love story that involves all the characters as they find themselves. I recommend this book for love story readers. It is more than sex and BDSM but a person fining their heart after years of being lonely and wanting to be cared for. I received this book as an ARC from the author in exchange for a
Char isn't afraid to challenge gender stereotypes while playing with our emotions and this latest book is no different. As a story it combines all different identities of butch / femme, Domme / sub and all mixes in between.
The story takes more twists and turns than a hairpin road up an Italian mountainside but every one has you rooting for several beloved characters who grow on you increasingly.
Carmen is a self assured Domme who doesn't want to mix business and love. Cass is a mild mannered bank clerk who presents butch but has an unexplored submissive leaning. Lee is a cocky self assured charmer and Nicole is a newly out lesbian exploring her identity.
Through the story Char skillfully explores the relationships between them all. All I'll say is pay attention when characters are introduced because you could be surprised when they appear again.
Kept me on the edge of my seat, a truly captivating read. If you like hot soft butches, emotion, drama and sex (oh and loving dogs) then you won't go wrong here!
➬➱➫➩➪【1 Star】 This is my first book I have read by Char Dafoe. I was interested in BDSM being involved and I wanted to read more about the topic.
I ended up just not connecting with the characters enough to enjoy the book. There were so many instances how the drama in the relationship came from. I also have a hard time in books where a relationship feels hot and cold constantly. There did not feel like there was enough consistency. Additionally, there were events throughout the story in the plot that seemed so laughably unrealistic. I know this is fictional, but what the heck?
I could not get behind the romance side of the story and the various characters that were important in the story. Not a book for me.
P.S. I’m not sure if I took this the wrong way, but towards the end of the book, maybe 75%?, there is an implication of a derogatory term. That sealed the deal that this was not for me. ➢Happy reading!
Dominance of the Heart is a good read. I liked Carmen and Cass from the start. I wanted them together from the first time they met. But life happens for both. Carmen is trying to figure out what she really wants. And would she be happy. Cass is on her own journey. And having a hard time deciding who she wants. There is some BDSM, but it is handled very well. There is a lot going on in this book. Kept my attention on it. Very hard to put down. This author just has a way of telling the story. Just pulls you in. I did receive an ARC, but these are my views. Highly recommend.
You may think you know the end, but the road has many twists and turns. Masterfully written, rich characters, and a lush storyline. CW: DV, SA brief scene.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. She’s a new author to me and I will definitely be reading more of char’s stuff. Thank you for writing such a great story.
I was excited to read this book after purchasing it. Started off solid. MCs were established... a rectangle instead of triangle of pairings emerged and by 45% of the book I was no longer invested. Pushed to read to 60% but couldn't go further.
There's a fluidity to the writing that's missing. Ideas and sentences are truncated and the push and pull between the pairs, with coupling then uncoupling, but begging to be back, but in love with another, but maybe BDSM is for me, but nah vanilla tastes better, but maybe a whip sounds fun, then definitely not for the character.... it left me, the reader, outside their drama.
Too much revolving girl attraction. The triangles and quadrangles were too vexing for me to be happy with, creating far too much angst for far too long into the story. We were at 54% and the various tri- and quadrangles were still fully alive and affecting the different players each in turn. Not the way I want my MCs to interact.
The story was well crafted and edited, so there were no major editorial issues, just the character interactions.
I really loved the synopsis for this one but was sorely disappointed, DNF despite doing my best to persevere because I did enjoy the storyline and characters, the writing was just too bad to ignore. It reads like a 12 year olds fanfiction. A shame because it did flow well, was engaging, charismatic and has the bones of a good story, just the writing was awful as well as a lot of very obvious mistakes and flaws. It’s very clear this has never seen a professional editor. I would love to see this revised, majorly edited and then sent to a couple of decent editors, as it could be a good book. Just needs a lot of editing first.
This was not what I expected, it was much better and very hot!
Char Defoe has written a brilliantly sensitive story that brought tears of joy and anguish as the story unfolded. The topics of love, lust, consent, rape truly were brought out and defined so that a novice in BDSM would understand the differences. I enjoyed the writing style and the simple way she brought the reader along with the conflicts of the leading characters. This could have been such a confusing mess of emotions but the author was careful to lead the reader along the only path that made sense. I really enjoyed this book.
I really enjoyed how this book wasn’t quite like a “normal” romance as the two main characters took longer to get to each other having other thing’s constantly coming up. I enjoyed the overall storyline and the different friendships. The spice was fantastic and great with the different characters. It seemed odd to have 3 deaths thrown in. Although it played into the overall story as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Can an aloof Domme that doesn’t believe in love and hea find what she really needs in a natural submissive, though not familiar with the domme/sun lifestyle? First things first, make choices, make mistakes, realize what matters and how you really feel. A sweet realistic romance. Emphasizing consent and communication. Enjoy!
This a story of how things can happen in life. The struggles of finding the right person that your heart say" yes this is your person ". You follow through as the main two characters have to go through different people to find that specific person.