Thomas was everything a woman should want. Smart, sweet, gorgeous… but that first spark I’d felt between us had fizzled. There’s something wrong with me, something broken. Or… at least I thought it was broken. Then I met Steve. We went from spark to raging inferno with one flick of his eyebrow, one dangerous smile, and now all I can think about is the side of myself I’d tried so hard to lock … lock away. He’s everything Thomas isn’t. He’s everything I’ve been missing. Fire and passion… and dominance. If I was a good girl, a vanilla girl, I could have been happy with Thomas. But now that I’ve met Steve, I know that’s impossible.
My name is Jen. I am a submissive.
I’ve deceived everyone around me about who I am, and I’ve lied to myself. But this time I won’t.
This time I will choose happiness… even if it hurts.
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Dynamic Debut Author & Story!!
Submissive Lies is a fantastic debut novel from start to finish. Mr. Starrett has written a wonderful story about the damage created when we lie to ourselves, other people, and ultimately coming to terms with those lies.
Mr. Starrett has captured the true essence of a D/s relationship with Steve and Jen. As with any couple, the foundation of a long-lasting, meaningful, relationship must be built on trust and communication. Submissive Lies shows us the repercussions and eventual outcome/resolution when these two key elements are missing from the very beginning.
The story revolves around Jen, Thomas, and Steve and the havoc that Jen creates with her lies to herself and others. There were moments in the story where all I wanted to do was SMACK the crap out of Jen and other times when I just wanted to hold her when she cried. The hurt and pain she leaves in her wake is so palpable that you wonder how anyone is going to survive without permanent damage.
The brilliance of this story is that Mr. Starrett has written certain parts from a woman’s POV and he has captured it perfectly IMO. This can be a slippery slope for any author regardless of gender and if they don’t get it right, you end up with a convoluted mess. Well, that is not the case here with this thrilling story. Mr. Starrett’s novel is written in such a way that one would suspect he speaks from experience. It has all the elements I look for in a Contemporary Romance; believable characters, hot sex, and an edge-of-your-seat plot.
If you are looking for a well written book that exemplifies the subtleties and nuances of relationships, then I highly recommend this debut release. Mr. Starrett is an excellent storyteller, a breath of fresh air that won’t leave you disappointed. I for one will be following his career closely and cannot wait to see what he gives us next!!
Well done, “Dude.” Well
I really like Jen our leading lady she discovers that sometimes it’s best not to fight what you are but embrace it instead. I really enjoyed this book. Story plot kept my attention and I felt invested into the characters and I couldn’t wait to see how everything turned out.
Submissive Lies is the first book that I have read by Shane Starrett and this is his debut romance.
Jennifer Boyd is a submissive. She broke up with her boyfriend/Sir after finding him with another woman/submissive. Jennifer gave up her way of life after that breakup and met a “vanilla” man. Denying her true self as a submissive. While at a trade show she met another dom and she knew what she was missing in her life. This is Jennifer’s story.
I loved reading this story. You say it’s your first book but, I couldn’t tell and I read a tremendous amount of books. It shows that people aren’t perfect and we all make mistakes. This author made me feel the raw pain that Jennifer was going through. I didn’t want to put this book down and I definitely didn’t want it to end. I will be waiting to see what is what’s next for this new romance author. Good job, Mr. Starrett!!!
I got this book from Kindle Unlimited.
In this story we have Jen, who lies to herself and her significant others. The lies are told innocently enough but still painful to all involved. Mostly, we get to hear through self criticism, Jen’s own personal lies. The pain that her lies cause just might be irriepairable. There is a lot of inner dialogue that does get to be a bit too much at times, but they aren’t unbelieveable as I know that is exactly what we do to ourselves as we try to justify our feelings or understand them as we reflect. Jen is a submissive that, through her self denial, tries to live a vanilla life. That cannot last forever and it ends when she meets Steve, a Dom who fits Jen perfectly if it wasn’t for her lies. I couldn’t wait for Jen to finally stop her lies to herself and those that mattered in her life. In the end, all that inner dialogue and self doubt have to be dealt with in order to live the life Jen wants for herself but is so hard to do. I enjoyed this first book of this author’s and I look forward to see what he comes out with next!
Wow!… seriously wow.
Where did this author come from? I need to know more, I need more books like this one!!
This was fantastic… actually it was better than fantastic.
I often struggle with this trope (bdsm). Not because I’m against it, quite the opposite actually… I love it when I find an author that knows their stuff, they know what they are writing about and they make it realistic. Bdsm romances can be ripped a part, and look at in all kinds of ways, depending on how the author has written it out.
Well thus author has nailed it, in my opinion. I absolutely loved it. It holds all the right elements and the character is perfect. It’s told as a woman’s POV, and her name is Jennifer, so many things were relatable when it came this character. She lives a somewhat normal life, and has been hurt by someone in her past, which ultimately turns in to a lie, a lie so big that it’s enough to take over her life as it has, but as the book progresses, so does she, she grows, her story grows, and her way in finding herself gets deeper. The deeper I got into the plot, more addicted I got. I couldn’t put it down. This whole story was captivating. I got lost in it. It felt so real. The raw emotions, the lies, the betrays, the self discovery. The fact that it’s a male author, writing a female POV, it compel eye spun me out on how much the author got inside my own head. It’s a read that I’ll be sure as hell visiting again!
I’m not sure where this author came from but I am now on the look out for his next book! I can’t wait to see what else he has up his sleeve.
5 glowing stars!
I thought this was a very good debut novel. I felt for each of the characters in their own ways without loving any of them except for Shane. The author did a great job of giving us a female POV. I did find myself not liking her very much but I definitely felt like I understood her struggle. I would definitely recommend this for a good read!
What a Great First Novel! This book takes us on a journey into the mind of Jennifer, our main character. She is a self sufficient modern woman who has been hurt by someone close to her. This hurt has morphed into a Giant Lie….a lie that will lead Jenn on a journey of self-discovery. Shane captures the essence of this character and allows us to see into her very mind. Told entirely from Jenn’s perspective this story is captivating. I am looking forward to the next offering from this up and coming Author.
I’m quite certain that I didn’t like this story. The characters were brilliant. Well thought out. And so damn realistic, it threw me out of my comfort zone and into a vast pit of …gags…FEELINGS that left me desperate for the safety of fantasy. And yet, I kept reading. Over and over, my insides were shredded, twisted, turned around. And yet, I kept reading. More than once, I verbalized my thoughts aloud. I kept grumbling at my Kindle every time Jen wouldn’t do the right thing. That grumbling took the form of talking to my Kindle (it clearly wasn’t me talking to myself) along the lines of: “No-no-no-no! Don’t do that! Quit that negative self-talk! Tell the truth, you’ll feel better! Do the right thing! No!” Admittedly, I sounded a bit like my own cheerleader and really didn’t have an appropriate snarky response to questions from those around me as to who I was talking to other than, “Shhh, I’m reading.” The scenes between Steve and Jen were tangible, so much so, I could feel the myriad of emotions Jen went through (yes, more going on with the feelings) and the utter despondency that comes with betrayal—to herself. This story twisted me up into such an emotional wreck, I was desperate for a happily ever after.
I wouldn’t change a thing.
This is Shane Starrett’s debut novel and for a man supposedly raised by wolves (photographic evidence is required), he has excellent skill with the words.
Buy the book.
Wellllllllll I had my doubts…….and not because it’s a male author writing sexy romance from a womans POV, sheesh, who cares about that? My doubts were if I would be able to connect to Jen, to feel for her, I was in serious doubt about this…….not a huge fan of well……liars and such. But…….I was wrong, was pulled into her life, her inner conflict, everything. The emotions came through, she felt so real to me, the way she reacted to Thomas and Steve, very heartfelt. She was harder on herself then anyone else ever could be.
Was an amazing story for a first time author, think this one must have been brewing for a while in someone’s head!!!! Can’t wait to see what is coming up in the future……may have found a new author to add to my one click list!
This debut novel is a story that peers into the feelings of real life and brings you through the drama, heartbreak, thrill, and anticipation of a realization that you are not happy. With great internal and external dialogue, the story flows and builds a picture for you to follow as the drama unfolds. The characters were easy to connect with and you felt the emotions with them. A great start to this authors career, I can’t wait to read more.
This is a great first novel.
There’s everything here. D/s, vanilla, betrayal, heartbreak, denial, new beginnings, and loads of scorching dominance, and lubricating submission.
The female part is written with great empathy, especially her inner dialog, by a male author of all people!
Although it gets tedious in it’s accuracy after a while, most of us will know the feeling of “shut up and get over yourself”. Eye-roll!
And she’s infuriatingly adept in keeping her mouth shut when she shouldn’t.
Both male parts are equally likeable although they are vastly different. And of course there’s the bad guy.
The beginning chapters of the book could do with some tightening. They are extremely “wordy”. But from about the half-point the story has a nice pace and some surprise twists.
Keep the stories coming Mr Starrett.
SUBMISSIVE LIES .. My first reaction to this book was, oh, it’s so long. As I was reading, I knew Submissive Lies wasn’t going to be long enough. Mr. Starrett knows how to weave a story and I was enthralled every step of the way; I didn’t want it to end and I was a sobbing mess when it did. One of the finest written books I’ve ever read.
I thought this was a great first book and in general I really enjoyed it, but I found myself in the unusual situation of not liking the main character. It wasn’t that she cheated on Thomas , that I could understand to a certain extent, however for someone who was so badly hurt by Ben it seemed almost inconceivable to me that she would do that to someone else. I thought Thomas and Steve were great and certainly deserve better than Jen. I think what bothered me the most was her selfishness, she rationalized every negative thing she did and although she said it was her fault somehow she twisted it back to ‘poor little me’. Notwithstanding my feelings about Jen this was a good book.
My first read by this author and he did not disappoint. The characters were very well written, the situations were so well written. So hot and so so worth reading. Can’t wait to read this author again.
Well that was great!
I haven’t been reading romance long and I haven’t read many male romance authors. I think the character of Jen is brilliantly realised here and I felt for her, even as she made a string of poor choices which came back to bite her you-know-where.
These characters felt real to me. I loved the angst and the insight into D/s relationships.
Very recommended.
A sexy, steamy literary gem that takes you from the depths of despair to the highest heavens of hope! After a broken relationship, Jennifer denies her true self and creates a new persona that almost destroys her. She meets Steve, who could be her salvation if he can navigate her web of lies. It is intense! At times, I was so angry with her actions that I didn’t know if I could keep reading for fear of what would happen next. Thankfully I persevered to finish one of the best stories I’ve read in a long time. Read it!
I have a hard time believing this is Mr. Starett’s debut novel. Not sure what his prior career WAS, but he has a NEW one now! It was so darn hard to put this book down. The characters, OMG, the emotion level, OMG x2 or 3 or 4! Jen had issues, which I love, making her real. I want a Steve! He was amazing! So well written! I can’t wait to see what’s next!
2.5 Stars
Reviewed by Allyson
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night with Books Blog
Submissive nature and content was on par and addictive!
Lies can ruin the ground work in any given relationship, it can ultimately damage our mind sets when we start living those lies full on and become one with them. Within Submissive Lies by Shane Starrett, I believe the author captured the D/s attitude, emotions and dynamics to a perfect ‘T’, but for the whole novel itself… I think the amount of details and description was a bit overdone.
Submissive Lies revolves around Thomas, Jen and Steve; a story of being strong enough to follow your needs and desires in hopes that you can return to the full potential you once were. Overcoming past heartache from cheating and learning to trust again, as all D/s relationships must rely on trust and communication.
Even though Starrett had a good outline for his debut novel, my opinion felt that he went a little overboard with the heroine’s inner emotions/feelings and he truly could have reduced those pages and could have included more dialogue intake. This might be a great book for others, and I hope that is the case, however, this book did not hold my attention span for long.