Saturday Spankings - "I’ll put you over my knee and give your bottom a damn good spanking"

Happy Saturday everyone! This is the first time I have participated in #SatSpanks for a looong time. I took a break from writing for a while but I'm back now and my new book The Liberation of Miss X will be published on the 6th of February.

The book is set in London in 1890. Flora Taylor has been estranged from her beloved brother, Edward, for five years after their father banished him from the house and refused to have anything to do with him. When she is reunited with him, she is delighted to have him back in her life but, sadly, her happiness is short-lived.

Edward and his lover, George, are arrested and imprisoned for Gross Indecency. The laws of Victorian London mean that the two men are facing the prospect of prison with hard labour for the crime of being in love with one another.

Flora must work with Edward’s friend and solicitor William Beech to secure their release. However, the more time she spends with Mr Beech, the more she finds herself opening up to feelings and passions that she has never had the chance to explore before.

As Flora and Mr Beech fall in love, they explore a world of spanking, restraints and submission. A world that is new to Flora but already familiar to Mr Beech, a member of London’s notorious Spider Club. Flora discovers a world that she never knew existed and that she is all too happy to embrace.

This snippet is part of the build-up to Flora's first spanking from William:

“Right now, I would suggest that you eat.” William gestured towards the dinner on the table. 

Flora shook her head. “I can’t right now. My nerves would not permit it.” 

“You mustn’t jeopardise your health,” warned William. 

“I do not intend to,” said Flora, taking another sip of her whisky. “You’re not eating either, I see. Should I berate you for endangering your health?” 

“No. You can curb that attitude, though. Or I’ll put you over my knee and give your bottom a damn good spanking.”

Check out the rest of the Saturday Spanks! Linky list below.

Book Review - Daddy Shark by Maren Smith

He's not actually that big. That'd be impractical.

 

Five Stars!

There are some superhero powers which really lend themselves to being a Daddy Dom. Super strength would be a great one. Or mind-reading. Kinda turning into a shark, though? Hmmm, not so much.

Shark-like transformation, though, is the super-power that Daddy Shark’s hero Ommin has been blessed with. The poor lad has spent a lifetime not feeling comfortable in his (sometimes shark-like) skin and has hidden away rather than embracing his magical fish powers.

This is not what Ommin looks like.

Happily, as our story starts, Ommin bravely – and very publicly – saves a man’s life and suddenly everybody wants to know all about him. This brings him into the path of the very delightful Britney, a junior reporter on a local radio station.

There is a lot of wonderfully written Dommy sex ‘n’ spanks in this book. Maren Smith is very good at this sort of thing. Ommin’s expert Domming skills are even more impressive given that at the start of the book, he is a complete novice in all things BDSM. He’s obviously a natural at it though. It turns out that fish transformation isn’t Ommin’s only super-power.

Nor is this.

For all its outlandish superhero antics (and I haven’t even mentioned Ommin’s friend Liquidman yet), this book actually provides one of the most down-to-earth and realistic depictions of someone learning about the BDSM lifestyle.

Inspired by a tell-tale indicator of Britney’s kinky preferences, Ommin takes to the internet to do some research. This might be the first erotic novel I’ve read that directly references Fetlife. (And I’ve read hundreds of the things, believe me.) Maren Smith also cheekily throws in references to fellow authors like Allysa Hart, Rayanna Jamison and Maggie Ryan, whose book blurbs Ommin uses as part of his research.

What the dickens is going on with this one's legs? No wonder he's cross.

The romance between Ommin and Britney ignites quickly and soars like a rocket. They are clearly a very good fit for one another. The chemistry between the two is beautifully drawn and the dialogue is very, very funny. Supporting character Jim (the aforementioned Liquidman) is a brilliant addition to the cast. Every scene he is in is hilarious.

Of course, this is a superhero story. And inevitably, Ommin and Britney’s D/s time gets interrupted more than they’d like by “Superhero needed to save the day”-type business. Goes with the territory, you see. Throughout the book, Ommin really grows into his role. He transforms from hermit-like self-conscious ‘freak’ to super-cool confident day-saver. This is in no small way down to Britney’s encouragement and support.

This is absolutely the last Manshark picture. I promise.

You know that he will save the day. You don’t mess with the Sharkman. Or his sassy little submissive.

Want to know more about the book review star rating system? Or find out what other books I've reviewed? Check out this page here.

Book Review - The Academy by Isabella Kole

The Academy

Three Stars

This is a strange book. Ostensibly it’s the story of a young woman, Karia Daly who is sent to a super-strict academy of higher education in order to study journalism. However, there’s something slightly otherworldly about the whole set-up that is never really addressed.

There are occasional references to magic in the text (such as when she is “magically” bound to a chair prior to punishment) but these are so few and underdeveloped that it’s difficult to tell if they are there on purpose or not.

It’s like the author started off writing spanking-based Harry Potter fanfic and then decided to change it to something set in our Muggle world instead.

There’s very little sex in this book and all the spankings are – on the surface at least – all disciplinary rather than erotic. Which is fine and good and what you’d expect if you’ve chosen to read a book called “The Academy”. What’s annoying though is that almost every single one of those spankings is undeserved.

Karia is repeatedly strapped for things she hasn’t done and occasionally just on the whim of other people. It made me lose respect for the Academy’s Masters (you can be as firm as you like, in my book, but you have to be fair). It also made it difficult to respect Karia who just seems to docilely accept it all.

There is a nascent relationship between Karia and fellow student, Prince Henry. (For a supposedly strict establishment, the Academy does seem to provide an awful lot of freedom for its students to hook up.) This relationship is not the most interesting one in the book. In fact, the story pretty much tediously grinds to a halt whenever Karia goes to visit Prince Henry’s palace. In stark contrast, every scene that contains both Karia and her Discipline Master, Oliver Armstrong, brings the book back to life.

Master Armstrong. Possibly.

This is the first book of a series. It covers Karia’s first academic year so I’m guessing there will be three altogether. “The Academy” leaves the reader with a lot of unanswered questions – particularly regarding the character, history and motivation of Master Armstrong.

Hopefully, the next book will give the guy a lot more screen time. He is the best thing in it.

Want to know more about the book review star rating system? Or find out what other books I've reviewed? Check out this page here.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2020 everyone!

This is going to be an exciting year for me as I will well and truly have my Author Hat firmly back in place.

I have two new books scheduled for the early part of this year -  "The Liberation of Miss X" which will be released on 6th February and "Challenging Chelsey" to be released on  5th March.

Two very different spanky romances! More details soon.

New Christmas Book! Her Christmas Carol

I have a new book out! It's a Christmassy Christmas book for Christmas called 'Her Christmas Carol'.

It is published under the name of Charlotte Cockens (did you see what I did there?) but it's still me!

On sale now!

Did you know that Ebenezer Scrooge wasn’t the only person who was visited by three Christmas Ghosts? Those hardworking spirits have helped many others learn to be better people at this time of year.

The year is 1844 and Elizabeth Stitch is a newlywed has already become jaded and mean-spirited in her marriage. She shows no affection towards her husband, James, and pushes away any attempts at intimacy.

On Christmas Eve she is visited by her long-dead Grandmother who warns Elizabeth not to ignore her passions as she did in life and foretells that she will be visited by three spirits that very night.

What follows is an affectionate homage to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, full of Victorian charm, Christmas wonder and all the sex and spankings that Mr Dickens unaccountably left out of the original story.

In the words of the Ghost of Christmas Present: “Come in and know me better!”

Amazon US
Amazon UK

Book Review - The Assassin and the Soldier by Carly Morgan

The Assassin and the Soldier

Four Stars

There’s more than a touch of The Hunger Games about The Assassin and the Soldier and that’s no bad thing. Especially when it is done as well as this. This dystopian story would make a cracking Young Adult Fiction book were it not for the frequent steamy sex and spankings which push it firmly into the Proper Actual Adults Fiction section of the virtual bookstore.

The book is set in a grim future where the citizens of what was once North America are governed by the dictatorial Amity party. As we learnt with the Capitol in The Hunger Games, bloodthirsty dictatorships love a bit of reality telly. Here, it’s a gameshow where dangerous convicted criminals are pitted against each other to compete for their freedom.

Kaelia Nemesis has been serving time in a brutal workcamp before she is selected for the show. Being a ruthless assassin with a large number of deaths on her hands isn’t going to win her any popularity points with the audiences at home but then all of the other contestants have pretty dark pasts too. It’s that sort of TV show.

Each contestant is paired with a trainer. The initial indifference and then vague animosity between Kaelia and her trainer, Callan Merone inevitably develops into much more interesting feelings.

Kaelia and Callan. Kinda.

There’s a good reason for this. It’s not just about the sexual chemistry and natural Dom/sub dynamic between two attractive (and frequently half-naked) people. Although that does help, obviously. Kaelia and Callan share a secret and a past which they never expected to share with anyone else again. I am being deliberately coy about what their secret is even though it’ll probably be spoilered in every other review on this page (and, it turns out, the actual book blurb). This is because I read the book not knowing anything about it and found the gradual reveal of Kaelia and Callan’s backstory quite exciting.

I'll just leave this here as a clue to the Big Reveal

Kaelia is an intriguing woman and her growing acceptance of her own vulnerability makes for a satisfying and unusual character arc. Sex between her and Callan is frequent and very hot. The discipline meted out is intense. Which when it comes to spankings, is always a good thing I reckon. I did wince at the scenes where rough anal sex is given as a punishment, though.

The story itself is fast moving with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing throughout. The televised competition seems a bit tame compared to, say, The Hunger Games. Hard to imagine people wanting to watch violent criminals taking part in a general knowledge quiz.  Eventually, though, by the last round all gloves are off. Even so the book’s body count is considerably lower than in dystopian books aimed at children.

Carly Morgan is a great writer but, boy, she does love a simile. Once you start noticing the inventive comparisons, it’s hard to stop. Callan kisses Kaelia “like a sculptor moulding some clay”. Removing her bikini top is “like trying to free a new toy from frustrating anti-theft packaging”. My favourite was the description of Callan’s heart swelling with love being “like a dead thing left out in the sun” which definitely wins points for eww-ness.

Turns out that there's actually a phrase for that 'frustrating anti-theft packaging' thing. Learn something new every day.

Judging by the end of the book, I suspect (and hope!) that there will be at least one sequel. Happily, although the book leaves itself open for more instalments, it doesn’t leave the reader dissatisfied with a “To be continued…” lack of closure.

Our heroes may not quite get their Happily Ever After just yet. But they’re happy for now. They’re enjoying plenty of sex and spanks and they have one another. Which is something to be thankful for even if they do live in a dystopian hellhole.

Want to know more about the book review star rating system? Or find out what other books I've reviewed? Check out this page here.

Book Review - Summer Storm by Marie Hall

Marshal Storm. Firm but fair.

 

Five Stars!

Marie Hall’s beautifully written Western is a delight to read. I loved it. Protagonists Marshal Chase Storm and Summer Rain are both intelligent, passionate, honourable and incredibly stubborn individuals. So naturally they butt heads for quite a lot of this book. Given that barely a chapter in – in an attempt to circumvent an unjust jail sentence – the two of them get married, they have more motivation than most to work things out. Which you know they will do because (a) it’s that sort of book and (b) they are both utterly lovely.

Summer has had a tough life. Her loving family was ripped away from her when she was still a child. When her path crosses with Chase’s many years later, she is working as a very successful bounty hunter with an independent streak so wide that it doesn’t really count as a streak any more and is just fundamentally who she is. She doesn’t need anyone in her life and she trusts no-one.

Calamity Summer

This is a problem if you’re married to a straightforward, fair-playing kind of a guy like Chase Storm. Happily, Chase gets his point across with numerous heavy-handed spankings. The relationship is beautifully balanced. Chase isn’t trying to break Summer’s spirit. He loves her pants-wearing sharp-shooting feisty independent nature. He also wants to keep her safe. It’s wonderful to watch Summer opening up to the possibility of love despite the numerous hurdles that they encounter on the way.

There’s plenty to enjoy in the meticulously painted portrait of life in the Old West. The narrative is crammed with saloon bars, jailhouses, railroads and pioneering spirit. Not to mention the small-town bitchiness and rivalry which comprise Chase and Summer’s biggest problems in their new life together.

Willow Creek. A town in need of a bakery.

To use a riding metaphor (which seems appropriate for a book which is joyously stuffed full of riding metaphors), this is a book you need to hitch your wagon to, go where she takes you and enjoy the ride.

Want to know more about the book review star rating system? Or find out what other books I've reviewed? Check out this page here.