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Order of the Black Lily #1
Gabrielle's Awakening
Unexpectedly widowed, Gabrielle, an affectionate but sexually inexperienced author/historian, turns for emotional support to her late husband's closest friend, a courtly cosmopolite who radiates masculine appeal. When Michael reveals that he desires a slave willing to exist solely for his pleasure, his shocking invitation resonates on some gut level within the woman married for fourteen years to a man afflicted by periodic bouts of impotence. Gabrielle agrees to let Michael spirit her away to a retreat where he subjects her to a rigorous regimen designed to teach her to welcome the infliction of pain during sexual encounters. To achieve that purpose, Michael employs a variety of electronic devices that stimulate nerves to feel pain, but cause no injury. Determined to annihilate Gabrielle's will without breaking her spirit, the master of erotic art subjects his slave to a complex regimen incorporating constant stimulation of all sorts, including fear, pain, pleasure, and violent physical exertion. Michael conditions Gabrielle not only to submit and obey, but also to crave the pain he combines with intense, breathtakingly erotic stimulation, so as to lift her to astonishing heights of ecstasy. Having successfully completed her probationary period, Gabrielle accompanies Michael to a new retreat, where she learns that he is a member of the Order of the Black Lily, a mysterious brotherhood of men who share both a stern code of honor, and singular tastes in sensual pleasure. Just as the initiate rejoices in having learned how to please her demanding master, a magnetically appealing stranger enters her life as Michael's guest. Raoul levies a bold demand, which an old vow renders Michael obligated to grant. Raoul asks that he be invited to join Michael in enjoying his slave, and that Gabrielle be allowed to choose freely on the following day whether to stay with her current master, or leave with a new owner. Hiding his mental agony, Michael agrees. Both virile, dominant lovers strive with all their skill at erotic art, all their compelling mastery, to win the slave's permanent favor. The two members of the mysterious Order jointly conduct the ritual whereby the initiate rises to the rank of adept. Ever more emotionally distraught at the thought of having to choose between these two cruel but fascinating masters, Gabrielle achieves a startling new insight into her own sensual nature that enables her finally to resolve the dilemma tormenting her. Although this novel stands alone, it forms one of three works describing the erotic adventures of members of the Order of the Black Lily: Gabrielle's Awakening, Evolution of an Affair, and Eternal Triangle. The latter two books will soon be published by Double Dragon Publishing, Inc.
239 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 26, 2007
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Adams
36 books7 followerslong-time resident of Wyoming, Alexandra Adams loves the sagebrush deserts, the picturesque ranchland and the towering mountain peaks she can see from the windows of her home. Happily married for many years to a man who is friend, soul mate and lover as well as husband, she lives a rather secluded life devoted chiefly, these days, to creating works of romantic fiction.
An admirer of classical erotica, Alexandra Adams most emphatically believes that no social stigma ought to attach to the reading, writing, or publication of well-crafted literary works that celebrate sensual pleasure. Her erotic novels target mature, sophisticated, uninhibited readers who frankly enjoy character-driven narratives featuring explicitly sensual scenes. An author who writes passionately and evocatively of adventurous lovers, she consistently strives to fire the imagination and liberate the sensualist living within each of her readers.
From February of 2000 to November of 2006, Ms. Adams sold downloads of four of her erotic novels from the Web site she owns and operates: http://www.sexynovels.com/. Doubleday’s Venus Book Club published two of those works, offering to the Club’s members hardbound editions of Gabrielle’s Awakening in November of 2001, and Evolution of an Affair in September of 2002. In November of 2006, Double Dragon Publishing, Inc. acquired the digital rights to the four erotic novels she formerly sold from her Web site. The other three novels will be published at DDP in 2007.
An admirer of classical erotica, Alexandra Adams most emphatically believes that no social stigma ought to attach to the reading, writing, or publication of well-crafted literary works that celebrate sensual pleasure. Her erotic novels target mature, sophisticated, uninhibited readers who frankly enjoy character-driven narratives featuring explicitly sensual scenes. An author who writes passionately and evocatively of adventurous lovers, she consistently strives to fire the imagination and liberate the sensualist living within each of her readers.
From February of 2000 to November of 2006, Ms. Adams sold downloads of four of her erotic novels from the Web site she owns and operates: http://www.sexynovels.com/. Doubleday’s Venus Book Club published two of those works, offering to the Club’s members hardbound editions of Gabrielle’s Awakening in November of 2001, and Evolution of an Affair in September of 2002. In November of 2006, Double Dragon Publishing, Inc. acquired the digital rights to the four erotic novels she formerly sold from her Web site. The other three novels will be published at DDP in 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 15, 2011
Just read & reviewed Gabrielle's Awakening by Alexandra Adams :
This book is beautifully written in both the literate skills of the author, which are absolutely excellent, as well as her knowledge of the BDSM scene and certain high ranking orders/societies of this way of life; its Masters & Submissive probationers, initiates & adepts. This seems too knowledgable or extremely well researched to be by someone's imagination alone. I would debate & argue the terms S & M on an intellectual & philosophical level with anyone over the freeing, emancipation that this novel's content provides. Sadism is the pursuit of own pleasure without any due regard for the life, pain or needs of another, but this is the absolute opposite, there's no sadism in this book; as the main Master character, Michael goes to extremes to take Gabrielle through pain & selfless commitment to her Master to transcend physical pain into pleasure's & ecstasy many wouldn't dream was possible! There may be enlightenment, pain - pleasure principles but this is about the ultimate in passion, caring & commitment I've ever read in this genre; better even than Esme Ombreux's books which I hold in high esteem. Alexandra Adams, Order of the Black Lily Trilogy of which this is book one has the most sublime descriptions that will carry anyone of either Submissive/slave or Dom/Masters persuasion into the realms of her scenes and your mind & bodies responses will be with Michael, Gabrielle & Raoul every step of the way! A gorgeous book & journey accepted in its explicit clarity but not for those squeamish or lovers of 'vanilla sex'. A Sub's dream! 5 stars for content, character development, description & literary skill. If more stars could be award for exceptional I would. Beautiful. I adored it & have just purchased the rest of the trilogy. Can't believe it's amazing value either!!
This book is beautifully written in both the literate skills of the author, which are absolutely excellent, as well as her knowledge of the BDSM scene and certain high ranking orders/societies of this way of life; its Masters & Submissive probationers, initiates & adepts. This seems too knowledgable or extremely well researched to be by someone's imagination alone. I would debate & argue the terms S & M on an intellectual & philosophical level with anyone over the freeing, emancipation that this novel's content provides. Sadism is the pursuit of own pleasure without any due regard for the life, pain or needs of another, but this is the absolute opposite, there's no sadism in this book; as the main Master character, Michael goes to extremes to take Gabrielle through pain & selfless commitment to her Master to transcend physical pain into pleasure's & ecstasy many wouldn't dream was possible! There may be enlightenment, pain - pleasure principles but this is about the ultimate in passion, caring & commitment I've ever read in this genre; better even than Esme Ombreux's books which I hold in high esteem. Alexandra Adams, Order of the Black Lily Trilogy of which this is book one has the most sublime descriptions that will carry anyone of either Submissive/slave or Dom/Masters persuasion into the realms of her scenes and your mind & bodies responses will be with Michael, Gabrielle & Raoul every step of the way! A gorgeous book & journey accepted in its explicit clarity but not for those squeamish or lovers of 'vanilla sex'. A Sub's dream! 5 stars for content, character development, description & literary skill. If more stars could be award for exceptional I would. Beautiful. I adored it & have just purchased the rest of the trilogy. Can't believe it's amazing value either!!
June 9, 2012
Gabrielle's Awakening is an unusual novel for reasons spanning the whole gradient of literary critique. I'll start with the problems.
Most people will be troubled by the prose, which is ornate, tediously over-adjectivized and burdened by the constant deployment of conspicuous terms like "beguiling", "supine" and "voluptuary". The author also has difficulty structuring complex sentences to an elegant result--page by page the experience of reading this novel is damaged by the constant obligation to parse coordinate clauses lacking all demarcation by the em-dash and semicolon; indispensable tools for intricate prose. The dependent clauses are the most seriously abused--it was quite taxing to reconfigure them into comprehensibility again and again.
Oddly, I don't think these problems are due to poor editing. To the contrary, there were no blatant spelling or punctuation errors in the book.
The author employs a mostly "romantic" writing style to depict what was essentially a 250 page sex scene between recently widowed Gabrielle, dominant Michael (her dead husband's business partner) and Raoul (Michael's pal in the mysterious Order of the Black Lily). But the language is grindingly precise about certain things like bondage setups and sex toys--almost like a patent application--to a decisively unerotic effect right when I wanted it the most.
And that brings us to the middle ground of the critique. Michael and Gabrielle have some interesting moments and I definitely found myself aroused a few times. Michael employs a variety of electrostatic whips and attachments to confer precise levels of pain on Gabrielle, sometimes using wireless telemetry to confound her instinct to secrecy. I don't personally find electricity sexually authoritative, and electrostatic devices typically work at 20,000-50,000 volts--unlike low voltage T.E.N.S. units (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), which are actually used as bondage toys.
The point-of-view starts exclusively with Gabrielle, then proceeds to shift over a series of awkward installments to include Micheal's inner voice, which I didn't really want to hear since it was just as predictable as his "I'm in charge" dialog. Frankly, I wish his character was more cryptically rendered. Raoul's arrival later in the story reduces Micheal to a Beta male anyway, squandering his long-cultivated authority.
Now on to the good.
The author is clearly infatuated with novel erotic toys, which is a rare and marvelous instinct. It is a theory of mine that human sexuality is about to fundamentally change--but not due to genetics or drugs or electro-neural stimulation. Our physiology observes a fundamental scheme of limitations and dualities designed by evolution (or otherwise) to keep us existentially centered between ambition and reward. There will be no dark future of "jacked-in" pleasure-fiends because such people would never reproduce or even strive to maintain their condition.
So whenever I discover mechanically inventive sex toys I am interested--because they are the real future of human sexuality. And there are several toy concepts in this book that I really liked, especially the "plumb-bob" vaginal stimulator and the "labial wheel" Gabrielle is suffered to endure.
There is also some great language. That's the confounding thing about Gabrielle's Awakening--had the whole narrative been executed to the level of its best moments it might have been a four-star work. Unlike most authors in the genre, Alexandra Adams is not limited by intelligence or ambition; were she to consolidate all her desire in one place for long enough I have no doubt something very remarkable would result.
And I absolutely believe she should try.
Most people will be troubled by the prose, which is ornate, tediously over-adjectivized and burdened by the constant deployment of conspicuous terms like "beguiling", "supine" and "voluptuary". The author also has difficulty structuring complex sentences to an elegant result--page by page the experience of reading this novel is damaged by the constant obligation to parse coordinate clauses lacking all demarcation by the em-dash and semicolon; indispensable tools for intricate prose. The dependent clauses are the most seriously abused--it was quite taxing to reconfigure them into comprehensibility again and again.
Oddly, I don't think these problems are due to poor editing. To the contrary, there were no blatant spelling or punctuation errors in the book.
The author employs a mostly "romantic" writing style to depict what was essentially a 250 page sex scene between recently widowed Gabrielle, dominant Michael (her dead husband's business partner) and Raoul (Michael's pal in the mysterious Order of the Black Lily). But the language is grindingly precise about certain things like bondage setups and sex toys--almost like a patent application--to a decisively unerotic effect right when I wanted it the most.
And that brings us to the middle ground of the critique. Michael and Gabrielle have some interesting moments and I definitely found myself aroused a few times. Michael employs a variety of electrostatic whips and attachments to confer precise levels of pain on Gabrielle, sometimes using wireless telemetry to confound her instinct to secrecy. I don't personally find electricity sexually authoritative, and electrostatic devices typically work at 20,000-50,000 volts--unlike low voltage T.E.N.S. units (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), which are actually used as bondage toys.
The point-of-view starts exclusively with Gabrielle, then proceeds to shift over a series of awkward installments to include Micheal's inner voice, which I didn't really want to hear since it was just as predictable as his "I'm in charge" dialog. Frankly, I wish his character was more cryptically rendered. Raoul's arrival later in the story reduces Micheal to a Beta male anyway, squandering his long-cultivated authority.
Now on to the good.
The author is clearly infatuated with novel erotic toys, which is a rare and marvelous instinct. It is a theory of mine that human sexuality is about to fundamentally change--but not due to genetics or drugs or electro-neural stimulation. Our physiology observes a fundamental scheme of limitations and dualities designed by evolution (or otherwise) to keep us existentially centered between ambition and reward. There will be no dark future of "jacked-in" pleasure-fiends because such people would never reproduce or even strive to maintain their condition.
So whenever I discover mechanically inventive sex toys I am interested--because they are the real future of human sexuality. And there are several toy concepts in this book that I really liked, especially the "plumb-bob" vaginal stimulator and the "labial wheel" Gabrielle is suffered to endure.
There is also some great language. That's the confounding thing about Gabrielle's Awakening--had the whole narrative been executed to the level of its best moments it might have been a four-star work. Unlike most authors in the genre, Alexandra Adams is not limited by intelligence or ambition; were she to consolidate all her desire in one place for long enough I have no doubt something very remarkable would result.
And I absolutely believe she should try.
May 27, 2013
Got to 39% and abandoned.
Overly wordy (sounds bad for a book doesn't it!). I am totally convinced that the author, Alexandra Adams, has ingested not only the Oxford English dictionary but also the thesaurus which she then regurgitated during the production of this novel. The novel is set in recent times, it’s modern, but written in attempted Olde-English ultra- wordy style, Shakespeare would, I have no doubt, be proud possibly Marlowe and any other writers from the 16th Century Renaissance too!
I'm not convinced that the author knows the meaning of some of the language she has used. For example early in the book she, Gabrielle, is discussing wine with Michael and she says:
"I'm no judge of wines, Michael, but if you served this to a connoisseur whose plate equalled yours, he'd genuflect before imbibing it, would he not?"
Genuflect means to lower one's body briefly by bending one's knee to the ground.
So, are we saying that a connoisseur would drop to one knee before drinking this wine? If so, why not say so. But also surely only a prize prat would curtsy or bow to a bottle of wine, or have I missed the point?
The book continues along this vein.
The story itself I found very far-fetched, its theme is BDSM but his methods are peculiar to say the least, exercise bikes, rowing machines and tread mills!
Sorry, not for me.
Overly wordy (sounds bad for a book doesn't it!). I am totally convinced that the author, Alexandra Adams, has ingested not only the Oxford English dictionary but also the thesaurus which she then regurgitated during the production of this novel. The novel is set in recent times, it’s modern, but written in attempted Olde-English ultra- wordy style, Shakespeare would, I have no doubt, be proud possibly Marlowe and any other writers from the 16th Century Renaissance too!
I'm not convinced that the author knows the meaning of some of the language she has used. For example early in the book she, Gabrielle, is discussing wine with Michael and she says:
"I'm no judge of wines, Michael, but if you served this to a connoisseur whose plate equalled yours, he'd genuflect before imbibing it, would he not?"
Genuflect means to lower one's body briefly by bending one's knee to the ground.
So, are we saying that a connoisseur would drop to one knee before drinking this wine? If so, why not say so. But also surely only a prize prat would curtsy or bow to a bottle of wine, or have I missed the point?
The book continues along this vein.
The story itself I found very far-fetched, its theme is BDSM but his methods are peculiar to say the least, exercise bikes, rowing machines and tread mills!
Sorry, not for me.
May 20, 2015
The sex was red hot and off the scale. I struggled with the book in the beginning because the vocabulary is too highbrow and unrealistic. In parts I scammed over descriptions through boredom; however, overall a good story with ending I wanted.
May 3, 2012
wow, I made it less than a chapter into this one and had to stop. the over-the-top writing style was a total turn-off.
June 2, 2012
couldn't even finish it.
April 20, 2016
It does"t happen to me often but I dropped the book. Language used here was exhausting and completely NOT sexy.
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Gabrielle's Awakening - Nevisande : Alexandra Adams - ISBN : 970698704 - ISBN13 : 9780970698704 - Dar 240 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2001
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews