Black Widow

by Lena Austin

BDSM Contemporary

Calder must infiltrate the local BDSM community for a magazine article. All he wanted was a clinical, unprejudiced view of the world of BDSM. He wasn’t counting on the Black Widow.

Kelly’s profession as the infamous Dominatrix, The Black Widow, has brought her fame and fortune, but not love. She accepts a passionate challenge from this man who won't submit.

Their journey of discovery will lead into the depths of both their souls where dominance and submission have no meaning. But through it all, Calder must keep his occupation secret, or risk the bite of the Black Widow.

Genres: BDSM

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 13, 2004

About the author

Lena Austin is a "fallen" society wench with a checkered past. She has been a licensed minister, haidresser, and a realtor, radio DJ, exotic dancer, telephone service tech, live-steel medievalist swordswoman, BDSM Mistress, and investment property manager. Not necessarily in that order. She never finished that degree in archaeology, but did learn to scuba. After a life that, gardening is pretty restful. Of herself, Lena writes, "I'm tall, presently red-haired, and I look like an holy mating between an Amazon and a librarian."

Reviews

[Praj · Rating 3 out of 5]

The depiction pales in comparison to the strongly worded title ‘Black Widow’. Calder Burgess, an investigative reporter is assigned to write a clinical take on the psychological aspect of the functioning of a BDSM club and its members. Kelly, the vicious female Dominatrix and the power behind the nuances of the club becomes the main subject of exploration for Calder. Well, so much for the storyline. Now, let’s move on to the execution of the ongoing plot. Kelly, although portrayed as the obstinate ‘Master’ to all the soft submissives in the club comes forth as vulnerable and uninspiring both as a DOM and a SUB later on when she switches her role-playing acts. Calder seems quite dorky and does not exhibit any attributes of a ruling Master even though it can be taken into consideration that he is still learning the ropes of BDSM techniques. Since, it is a plot based on educational (politely speaking) reporting of an exclusively feral facet of sexual exploration; one can appreciate the basic elucidations of BDSM lifestyle. As to what happens to a SUB during a flogging scene and the subsequent spellbinding subspace - a trance overpowering sexual shock and the three categories of S & M indulgence. Nevertheless, this does not seem quite the reason enough for feeble sex scenes. The sexual encounters of both Kelly and Calder; chiefly Kelly, does not ignite that required spark let alone the fierce chemistry that one wishes to see (or read in this matter) between a master and the submissive. So, yes, I was a little displeased with the sex portion of the script and would have adored the prospect of some untamed exploits. Jeez! A quantifiable report on a BDSM clique along with superior sexual drama, even Freud would have loved it.

[Jim Lyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A common storyline in BDSM literature involves some variation of the entrée into the lifestyle by an individual with a natural predisposition to become either a dominant or a submissive. While the theme of Lena Austin’s Black Widow definitely incorporates this basic scenario, her take on it is certainly unique.

A freelance writer with a background in law enforcement, sociology and psychology is presented with a lucrative proposal to write a somewhat scholarly article about the BDSM culture for a prestigious psychology journal. He accepts the challenge and cajoles his roommate from college, who is active in the local scene, to help him go undercover as a potential participant in order to observe the lifestyle in action unfiltered. Things are going well with his research until Calder realizes that the D/s dynamic appeals to him, as does Kelly, a beautiful domme who goes by the name Black Widow.

Unfortunately, Calder’s attraction to Kelly is problematic since he is in no way interested in becoming a submissive. As the reader is to learn, Calder is definitely dom material, and Kelly’s D/s radar detects it. But by good fortune, she has been seeking someone like him to be her equal partner, so at this point the story morphs into a BDSM romance progressing at lightening speed - but not without a few bumps along the way!

Within the context of Calder’s research, this book functions as a sort of BDSM primer for outsiders and newbies. In addition to showcasing basic protocols and conventions, some representative “scenes” are also highlighted. Since the Black Widow is a part-time pro domme, the author carefully differentiates lifestyle and play-for-pay activities and sensibilities.

Whereas I mostly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to new and long term readers of this genre, it has some issues that should be acknowledged. First of all, if lots of kinky sex scenes are on your wish list, you will be disappointed by this book. Virtually all the kinky stuff is devoid of sex, and the really steamy scenes between Kelly and Calder are hot but fairly normal – equal partners, remember?

In many respects the romance has a kind of high school giddiness to it, which seems at odds with the strong personalities of both lovers. Kelly transforms into a domestic goddess to bake a truly decadent cake as dessert for their first dinner date at her house. And within weeks of meeting her, Calder presents Kelly with his mother’s wedding ring and asks her to marry him.

Soon afterward Kelly discovers that Calder is a member of the press club - a fact that he failed to mention - and a major tiff ensues that temporarily scuttles the walk down the isle. After they patch things up and seal the deal with some naughty make-up sex, the story segues to an epilogue that primarily chronicles a slightly schmaltzy idealistic BDSM wedding ceremony in which the bride and groom and all the guests are decked out in fetish-wear while the “official” iterates the meaning of “the bond” and punctuates the occasion by reciting a version of the Apache Wedding Blessing. HEA then fade to black.

[Charly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story with likeable characters

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 6/10

PROS:
- The sex is hot and the romance is sweet and giddy.
- Informational/explanatory descriptions of the BDSM world, which I found particularly useful because I’m not into the lifestyle. If you participate in the scene, you’re likely to find them elementary and superficial, but I found them interesting.
- Amusing epilogue. A bit long-winded, but overall pretty funny and sweet.

CONS:
- The characters speak to themselves out loud when the thoughts could be conveyed by narration, which makes the writing seem amateurish at times. Example: “Oh, yeah. I’ve got to call Brad before he goes to work. Coffee. Need coffee.”
- No condom the first time (or any time) they have sex? Really? I understand that some women think birth control is foolproof and thus don’t see the need to wear protection to prevent pregnancy, but what about STDs?
- After the characters’ big argument, Calder leaves rather prematurely. If he’s the Dom all the other characters think he is, I would expect him to push and assert himself a little more before leaving. Granted, his absence inspires the emotional, angsty period of separation they must endure before getting back together, but his reaction to their argument strikes me as contrived.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was very hard to get through a bit boring to me, it did start to get alot better and then it ended.
It was nice to have a BDSM book that had ALOT of info about the lifestyle in for the ones who arent totally familar with it I mean there was a few things I read that I didnt know about!

I liked all the characters as well which helped, all in all it was an ok read!