REVIEW: 'Tenderly Wicked' by Katerina Ross
Title: Tenderly Wicked
Author: Katerina Ross
Published: September 12, 2016
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer/Simply Defined Art
Genre: Erotic Romance; Contemporary Romance
Length: 168 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; BDSM; HEA; Kink: Bondage, Breathplay, Figging, Masochism, “Non-Conventional” Toys, Object Penetration, Sadism, Sex Toys, Spanking
About Tenderly Wicked
Max has always been interested in the wicked ways of BDSM, but his unusual tastes haven't always been well received. But now he has Vadim, an eager Russian sub willing to fulfill his most daring fantasies.
There’s one problem—Max isn’t quite ready to accept what's right in front of him. His deep-seated insecurities threaten to spoil what's growing into more than just a kinky pastime. Will Max embrace Vadim's love or throw away his chance at true happiness?
4 HEART READ
REVIEW:
Katerina Ross’ Tenderly Wicked should be required reading for BDSM novices. It’s a delightfully cautionary tale of what can go wrong (and right) in a 24/7 lifestyle relationship.
Max is a language teacher and US ex-pat, fulfilling his aspiration to live in Moscow. He’s only dreamed of domination. After all, who would want an average looking newbie who can’t fake an air of mastery.
...Tenderly Wicked should be required reading for BDSM novices.
Summoning nerve to enter a club, he sees Vadim, smoking cigarette after cigarette in front, as if the gorgeous man is also nervous to enter. Vadim agrees to go home with Max without negotiation. Max is concerned about his sub’s negligence of his safety, especially when it is confirmed by bruises on Vadim’s back.
It’s a pattern. Vadim has little respect for his body. While Max and Vadim have oodles of chemistry, neither man communicates limits. Ross indicates Max “was so excruciatingly nervous about doing something wrong that he wanted to get as specific as possible… and so shy at the same time that he didn’t dare to.”
Vadim is scared to acknowledge his desires or distastes because his prior Dom abandoned him after Vadim wisely safe-worded. My heart broke as Vadim tells Max, “I knew of masochists of course, but nothing more than that they were sick perverts. A few psychos. I also knew about homosexuals to the same extent. If I was one of them, I must be not right in the head either, and it was better to hide it from others.” Readers know disaster awaits the new couple.
Set in the luscious, gritty city of Moscow, Tenderly Wicked could be a travel log, with its generous descriptions. But perhaps the choice of cities isn’t by chance. Because Russia‘s prejudice against gays is government-instigated, Max and Vadim have no support to ask questions of seasoned BDSM community members.
In Tenderly Wicked, I was finally treated to answers I’ve hungered to pose.
Will Max and Vadim be capable of honesty? Their road is circuitous. And yet, when they finally do communicate, they never break character. Ross conveys their words starkly, their emotions tucked in. And it flows just beautifully, poignant, yet realistic.
In Tenderly Wicked, I was finally treated to answers I’ve hungered to pose. Aren’t sadists ever insecure? What questions would ethical Dom’s ask themselves as they learned how to provide pain without harm? If Dom’s enjoy the bliss of their sub’s, are they truly sadistic,? And who is serving whom?
A copy of Tenderly Wicked was provided to Kimmers’ Erotic Book Banter, by Katerina Ross, at no cost and with no expectations in return. We offer our fair and honest opinion on behalf of our readers.
Meet the Author
Katerina Ross lives in Moscow and works as a journalist. She travels a lot but always returns to her home city. In her opinion, it’s hugely overcrowded, but beautiful nevertheless.
