Reviewed:
This is the first story that I've read by Rachael Jane - a very prolific author on SOL.
I enjoyed the story, and I am looking forward to reading more from this author. I want to provide some stylistic caveats:
1. It's written in present tense. That isn't a deal breaker for me, but it is a bit jarring, like roleplaying. "I move to the window" when in reality this happened in the past.
2. There is a Victorian feel to the main character's manner of telling the story. It's very standoffish, as if they are writing a detached scientific report of observations and trying not to be too vulgar.
The quote that got me was from the latest chapter; ""My grunts and moans give the spectators a clear idea of the state of my innards""
Wow, it gave me an awkward boner, which I didn't think a mental visual of "innards" would ever do.
The main character begins in a world that reminds me of the Story of O, or a Danielle Steele novel. This is not my world, and I have no frame of reference. I know trailer parks, suburbs and I'd better relate to Star Trek, than I would to the setting. However, it's still well written, and grammatically no issues - it's very creative.
The language choice is what stands out to me.
It's a world of busy (yet kinky) Billionaires who have an exclusive mansion replete with the latest AI just to ensure that their employees have access to certain rooms at certain times.
It is a world of yachts, mansions, British nobility that is above concerns for petty things like paternity tests, and who have the time to select a woman with no interest or desire to be involved in BDSM, to be involved in BDSM.
One way that Danielle Steele's novels would have made sense, is if the guy just hired a porn star that charges a few thousand bucks a day to film scenes. She'd already know how all the BDSM stuff works, and saved himself a lot of drama instead of trying to convince a literature student who simply wanted to interview him to form a TPE with him.
He has maids and butlers, all standing by who are aware of his proclivities, but for whatever reason - he needs Anastasia.
This story has a more plausible twist to that idea. The main character is hired as a maid, but selected to be a personal assistant to someone at the mansion.
In reality, one would think there may be some disclaimers, an NDA, an orientation, a few more questions before just assigning this person to work in the mansion. As an example, the main character has to wear a chastity belt to avoid having sex with her employer's brother, and never asks "Wait, when do I take this off?" until quite sometime into the story when we discover the answer is "only to poo and then right back on"
There would certainly be some challenges to doing that, especially with pubes, periods, etc but as long as you can get past the niggling questions. Her only training was a 15 minute walk to get a uniform before being assigned task. I would expect "Wait a minute, why do you want me to wait here with my hands on my head?" and "When is my next day off?"
It starts to really grow on you.
The BDSM/submission dynamic in the story is very organic and part of the culture of the house, not so much anything I've ever found domestically here in the states. It's fancier and more decorative than the raw versions I've seen, as well.
It's hard to put that into words or context, but it feels like you are watching a 1970's version of one of those softcore movies like Emmanuel or Lady Chatterly's lover - in your head when you read it.
If you are looking for something different, this is it! check it out.