The adventures and misadventures of full-time college student and part-time Dominatrix/switch Felicia Culbertson continue in this sequel to Switch: A Tale of Spanking, BDSM, and Romance. Now in a serious relationship with Joe Guthrie, the Dominant she met almost by accident some months before and who helped to bring out her own submissive side, she discovers her new partner has a submissive alter ego she didn’t even know he possessed–but even so, submission Joe-style is a variant that would challenge the outlook and tax the nerves of even the most patient Domme and it almost always leaves her wondering exactly who’s on Top at any given moment, him or her. With Joe’s emotional and financial support she’s ready to step back from her off-campus livelihood and face her final semester of college head-on, concentrating on academics and doing her best to catch up on all the experiences she missed out on while she made a living as “Lady Antonia.” But as one might expect, she’s at the age for some growing pains as well. When she successfully auditions for the part of Katharine in her college’s production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, she finds herself leading lady to a young actor as handsome as Joe, but even more obnoxious than the character Petruchio. Both he and the actress portraying Katharine’s sister Bianca become smitten with her, and let her know it in no uncertain terms. How far would “too far” be in leading “Petruchio” and “Bianca” on, enjoying a little lighthearted romantic, erotic D/s horseplay like a proper college girl should, and yet still remaining committed to Joe–who, by the way, winds up being thrown into a few incidents and accidents of his own that challenge his relationship to Felicia? Which Shakespearean maxim will prove to be the most true for the couple, all’s well that ends well, or that life is a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more? There’s only one way to find out: open the book, turn the page, and… The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
- ASIN: B09W64TGXQ
- Publisher: Pink Flamingo Media (21 Mar. 2022)
- Language: English
- Print length: 339 pages
- Genre: BDSM Erotica Novels
The BookViral Review:
In Book 1 of the Switch series, Ardie Stallard approaches the tricky subject of BDSM with a stealthy tread, avoiding the dangers of making it either too offensive or too funny with Stallard’s particular brand of erotic tension proving convincing, complicated and sensual.
A novel like Switch II: The Taming of the Switch not only depends on the chemistry between its characters but risks making readers nervous if it doesn’t find the right balance between the plausible and the bizarre. Get it wrong and it becomes absurd but once again Stallard has it down to a fine art and it’s not hard to imagine adventurous couples who have never engaged in spanking reading it and rushing to buy a paddle!
As with book 1 in the series, Stallard’s overarching narrative approach is to never tell us too much whilst more erotic scenes prove both visual and tactile. Sexual experimentation is one thing, but the real human connection is something else, something incomparably deeper and more valuable and it’s the humanistic element of eroticism that Stallard conveys so well.
A lot of this is down to Felicia and Joe being perfectly pitched along with Stallard’s ability to make their relationship convincing so their story seems so much more than a soft-core escapade. Yes, there’s a degree of erotic brinksmanship between them but one of the strengths of Stallard’s plot is how thoughtful it is and how it gradually reveals different layers of their personalities as the dynamics between them change. How the secrets and fears they harbour gradually emerge and how they find the strengths in each other so that their story belongs completely to them.
Taking Stallard’s Switch series to the next level Switch II: The Taming of the Switch certainly raises the barometer and is unreservedly recommended!
ARDIE STALLARD 