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Updated version of "The Story of O" with less humiliation (just a little) and an articulate, intelligent woman. I never read about pony play, and I'm intrigued. I also bought the sequel, and I"m going to start it soon...very interested to see what happens next. ( )

I have had this book on my shelf to read for some time; I can’t even remember why I got it now...I think I was in this erotica phase a few years back and decided to pick it up. It’s an okay book, very similar in some ways to the Story of O...but not nearly as entertaining as Tipping the Velvet was. The story doesn’t really wrap up at all but just ends in the middle and the main character isn’t all that likable.

Carrie is a young woman going to college at Berkeley for her PhD when she meets Jonathan. Jonathan sees Carrie and thinks she might be into being his submissive and invites her to his house. From there Carrie is introduced to the world of BDSM and signs on to be Jonathan’s slave. When Jonathan decides to sell Carrie at a slave auction Carrie is sent through many rigors to get her ready for the auction. This includes a stent at a human stable where she learns pony play (how to be a human pony).

You can’t help but compare this book to the Story of O (which I read last year) it’s very similar and I think I actually liked the Story of O better. I feel like the Story of O did a better job at addressing the psychology of why O wanted to be a slave and also did a better job at showing how O has subtle power of her own even as a slave.

I think the best part of the book is how it shows Carrie trying to balance her modern job and life with her sessions as a slave. I also think that it was interesting that she was able to make a career out of being a slave and found the contracts and laws that Carrie had to sign and go through to be intriguing. The Story of O was set in a different time, but this book shows how BDSM can work in our modern day systems and lives.

There is some discussion between Carrie and one of her friends about why people feel the need to treat others as slaves, but there isn’t a lot of discussion on why Carrie feels the need to be a slave. Carrie is a witty and intelligent woman who has a high sex drive and for some reason just really enjoys being at the whim of those around her. Carrie’s internal dialogue is snarky and witty. She seems to think of this whole journey through the BDSM scene and into slavery as some sort of adventure (which I guess it is).

There is a lot of sex of all types in here. I mean a lot. Again, just like the Story of O, the pure quantity and repetitiveness of the sex makes the sex itself a bit monotonous. Again there are some more elaborate scenes where Carrie’s tops work to screw with her mind in creative ways but for the most part the scenes are pretty similar. There is a lot of whipping and sex. I continue to wish these erotica authors would put a bit more effort and creativity into their sex scenes. I did enjoy the ponyplay section; that was just so bizarre and intriguing.

I had a couple issues with the book. First of all you never really get to know or care about any of the characters in here; everything just feels kind of distant and that makes the story less engaging. Also the novel ends right in the middle of everything, so you never really get to find out what happens to Carrie.

Overall an okay novel about BDSM culture and pony play. I enjoyed the Story of O more, I just thought it was more engaging and better written. I also enjoyed Tipping the Velvet a lot more (although this is more about GLBT culture, there is quite a bit of BDSM in this book was well). If you are really interested in BDSM culture this is probably worth a read, otherwise I would skip it. ( )

Very well written without just being a recounting of sexual encounters. ( )

after STORY OF O this was a natural sequence to read. More theory, not so many sex details more what was going on in her head. But in the second half when the auction part starts, they lost me. I am not sure if these kind of things happen, but it sounded very unbelievable and to much of a nice happy ending. ( )