Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When I found this series as part of a boxed set, I was immediately intrigued. A school that would teach willing young women how to be successful submissives? That is definitely a new concept for me as most of the BDSM stories I have read have experienced Doms training vanilla girls to be what they want. So I went into this story with high hopes and expectations. And came away feeling very disappointed. The book started off strong, we meet Brie unhappy with her life as she works in a small-time tobacco shop wasting her degree in film-making. She meets a handsome stranger, she receives an invitation to an elite school for submissive training, and well, curiosity gets the better of her and she applies. The moment she steps foot in the training center is the moment (for me), the story starts falling apart. Now don't get me wrong, I love a well written erotica/BDSM book as much as the next person when there is a plot, character growth and a story-line that is more than just a series of strung together sex scenes (all for the purpose of "teaching" of course). Now, I don't claim to be an expert of the D/s lifestyle by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems to me there were a couple of things in this story that didn't seem to add up to the limited information I do posses on the topic. To begin with, there is no talk of birth control at all. No talk of STD testing. NOTHING. Brie attends her first "lesson" followed immediately by sexual encounters. Each night, different partners, and no one bats an eye. Another issue I have with this story is that girls are brand spanking new to the lifestyle. Heck, some of them aren't even sure the life-style is for them, and yet the "trainers" not only seem to overlook what the girls have listed as "fears" or "limits" and force them to do it anyway. One girl actually quits the program after they push her to do something she considers off limits. There is no aftercare provided after any scenes (unless partnered with one specific trainer), for people who are supposedly experts they are certainly lacking. The characters are all mostly one-dimensional. Brie has a crush on one of her trainers (although she is attracted to multiple other Doms as well), but the chemistry is lacking. It seems as though they only reason she is attracted to them is because "they are sexy" and they are really good in bed. Touching on something I mentioned earlier she flat out uses her safe-word to end a scene and tells the trainers why she couldn't do it yet just a few "days" later, one of the trainers pretty much does the same thing and yet she is ok with it? Out of the three, I enjoyed the third installment the most (and considering I only rated that 3 stars that should tell you something). Brie is all set to graduate from her submissive training, and decides instead of exploring the new community of which she is a part of, she would rather be "collared" to one Dom. As much as I hate to agree with anything Mary (someone who has been a bit of a brat throughout the story) I felt Brie was an idiot. Why rush into something without fully exploring what your new world holds? Anyway. Stuff happens during her graduation ceremony, and while she does end up collared it wasn't to the person I expected. In my honest opinion, this story really begins to flow and explore its potential when Brie is finally collared. That is where the author begins to really explore the dynamic of the full-time BDSM lifestyle. Speaking to Brie's naivety, she quickly makes mistakes (one of which even I saw coming from a mile away), but I enjoyed watching her and her chosen Dom work through them. I am sure that there are some people who will very much enjoy this story (as evidenced by the numerous 4 and 5 star reviews), however it is very doubtful at this point if I will continue on with this series. Some of the potential I was hoping for began to shine through with this one, but after the first two I am hesitant to take a chance.