Octavia Vargus had everything she wanted at Rowan House, Skye’s most exclusive pleasure house, except the one thing she craved. Longing for the freedom to explore both sides of her nature, she leaves Rowan House and her mistress, for a new start in Italy with her partner Bridget Murray.Vivian Abiola is a connection to a past Octavia would like to forget, and a love she never expected to see … to see again. After Octavia’s past relationship with Vivian is exposed, Octavia and Bridget explore the limits of their desires with Vivian. When an arsonist threatens to destroy their vineyard, past loyalties and secrets endanger their lives, and the three women’s relationship. Their love may be the only thing that helps them survive the firestorm of doubt, intrigue, and jealousy.
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Alluring characters, creative S/scenes, more Euro fantasy fodder [for the untraveled 🙂 ]. Again, a great depiction of exploring levels of relationships that are expanded rather than limited by gender and bdsm lifestyle; more connections to other books in the series that are done smoothly and realistically. Emotional development with kinky edges. Read all the books!
OMG. So. Much. Love.
Both Ends of the Whip is lesbian, polyamorous, power-exchange romance with real characters, legitimate relationship drama, underlying secrets and mysteries, and some exquisite BDSM-themed sex. As much as the cover blurb enticed me, and sounded like it has the potential for an interesting read, I did not expect Brenda Murphy to so thoroughly feed my love along with my lust. This is exquisite.
What I loved most about this were the complexities. Being able to love more than one woman unconditionally. Craving both submission and domination. Wanting to be loved, cherish, owned, and controlled, all at the same time. Needing that bedroom power-exchange, yet also needing some degree of independence and self-control outside the bedroom. The intersection of jealousy and intimacy, being able to watch your lover surrender sexually, yet getting upset over unseen kisses. Craving total, absolute, powerless surrender, even as the use of safewords is respected as a gift for the dominant. Murphy brings fantasy and reality together here, exploring a relationship that makes it work.
Octavia and Bridget are a wonderful couple, even if – perhaps because – they tried my patience so often. There is a lot of emotional baggage there, both in their shared past at Rowan house and in their secret pasts before that. It is not a perfect love, but one that rings true. Their negotiations regarding their situation with Vivian are outstanding, giving us real insight into how you balance physical and emotional needs, and how you cater to a relationship where one woman is a caring, protective submissive, and the other a conflicted, loving switch. Vivian was an enigma for much of the story, but I am so glad Murphy explored her as she did, making her internal doubts and uncertainties such a driving force. She is a natural dominant, still hurting for the loss of her one great love, and as much as she comes to care for these two young women, she struggles with the blurred lines between caring employer and loving dominatrix.
The only place I felt the story stumbled a bit was in reconciling its non-erotic conflicts. A lot is resolved very quickly following the fiery climax, but most of it is done off the page, and only summarized in passing. I was particularly perturbed that the neighbor’s rude, arrogant, abusive son (the only significant male character in the book) gets off so easily, and without directly addressing his racial slur against Vivian. This is one of those rare cases where a novel could benefit from a little padding at the end.
Those concerns are minor, however, and did nothing to take away from my love for this. Both Ends of the Whip is a true delight, the perfect story for those of us who crave the collar as much as a cuddle. Just a wonderful read.