(Disclaimer: novel obtained by Feb BOM comp in the BDSM Group on Goodreads). FM, Memoir, BDSM.
I’m
still not quite sure what to think about this novel. Yes it’s outside
of my comfort zone being M/F, but my rating isn’t affected by that. I
entered the Goodreads comp because I have a love of non-fiction, especially when
it concerns BDSM and the relationships surrounding this lifestyle.
I will say that Michelson captured the 1970-80’s era in a unique and fascinating way: Yoko’s incident with the washing machine was hilarious (I’m surprised she even remembered the rest of the Beatles’ names). But at other times, I struggled, more through socio-cultural differences than anything else (I’m English and I had to look up Norman Mailer etc). The majority of my stars go towards capturing that era as it did give you that "living-world-building" feeling. The part about the Saturday morning boxing club and Jeff’s encounter with Ryan O’Neal were priceless.
When it comes to the sex scenes in the novel, Jeffrey came across as having one hell of a libido. I know a little about coke and how it can stir rougher/longer sex scene for some users, which most certainly contributed to Jeff’s self-confessed sexual prowess, but I still felt as though it was a little too over-mentioned at times. Jeff himself comes across as your strong Dom, with the tendency to try and hide the little boy wanting to be loved beneath layers of macho roughness, yet the phrase too many sweets spoils your dinner kept coming to mind with theamount of ladies he bedded. I couldn’t rest easily on whether Jeff really wanted to settle in a long-term relationship or just run with sleeping with as many women as possible.
Laura. She had many strong characteristics: making sure her debts were paid, a tethering to a strong sense of fidelity to long-standing partners, and I like how she was handled during the narrative with Jeff. I did come away with that touch of a Cinderella feel with her.
I will say that Michelson captured the 1970-80’s era in a unique and fascinating way: Yoko’s incident with the washing machine was hilarious (I’m surprised she even remembered the rest of the Beatles’ names). But at other times, I struggled, more through socio-cultural differences than anything else (I’m English and I had to look up Norman Mailer etc). The majority of my stars go towards capturing that era as it did give you that "living-world-building" feeling. The part about the Saturday morning boxing club and Jeff’s encounter with Ryan O’Neal were priceless.
When it comes to the sex scenes in the novel, Jeffrey came across as having one hell of a libido. I know a little about coke and how it can stir rougher/longer sex scene for some users, which most certainly contributed to Jeff’s self-confessed sexual prowess, but I still felt as though it was a little too over-mentioned at times. Jeff himself comes across as your strong Dom, with the tendency to try and hide the little boy wanting to be loved beneath layers of macho roughness, yet the phrase too many sweets spoils your dinner kept coming to mind with theamount of ladies he bedded. I couldn’t rest easily on whether Jeff really wanted to settle in a long-term relationship or just run with sleeping with as many women as possible.
Laura. She had many strong characteristics: making sure her debts were paid, a tethering to a strong sense of fidelity to long-standing partners, and I like how she was handled during the narrative with Jeff. I did come away with that touch of a Cinderella feel with her.
I just couldn’t escape that there was more fiction than ‘non’ in this. The author does make a “note to the memoir police” in the beginning of the book, though, and that’s worth noting. Not a bad read overall, just a little too macho for my tastes. Others may differ.
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