23 October 2014

How to Train Your Dom in Five Easy Steps by Josephine Myles

 Sometimes the little head really does know best.
Jeff White’s needs are simple. All he wants is a submissive to help him explore the dominant side that his ex-girlfriend couldn’t handle. Problem is, inexperience in both dating and domming has resulted in a string of rejections.
What he needs is an experienced sub willing to show him the ins and outs of controlling a scene. Unfortunately, the only one willing to take him on is male, and Jeff is straight. One hundred percent, never-gonna-happen straight.
Easygoing painslut Eddie Powell doesn’t care that Jeff is younger, working class, and shorter. Eddie likes a bit of rough, and Jeff fits the bill perfectly. The trick will be convincing him to follow Eddie’s five-step training programme—which would be easy if Eddie wasn’t starting to have feelings for the rough-around-the-edges landscaper.
Once Jeff lays his hands on Eddie, things definitely get out of hand. But it’ll take more than hot, sweaty, kinky sex to persuade him to come out of the closet—especially to himself.
Warning: Contains a happy sub, a confused Dom, a high ratio of sex to plot, misuse of root ginger, and a suitcase of kink. Written in Jo’s usual exceedingly “English” English.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22474278-how-to-train-your-dom-in-five-easy-steps?ac=1

BDSM is a common theme in books today, but this author took a multitude of qualities and weaved a story that touched my heart in many ways.  She showed us what I felt was a family, not created by blood but by trust, loyalty and friendship.  While Jeff and Eddie would never be two people that I would pair up for anything more than a casual friendship, they venture into a kind of relationship that will take the most intimate part of themselves to succeed.  They were lucky to have some friends who could see what needed to be done and pave the way for an awesome story. 
As you read the synopsis you know that Jeff has new kinks that he recently has begun to explore.  Finding that he was in a strictly vanilla relationship that would not allow him to fill his needs he went on the search for someone who would not only submit but be patient with him while he learns how to be the perfect Dom.  I loved Jeff, even though he was head strong and “thought” he knew what he wanted, he really had no clue what he needed in this quest.  I admired that the author made it clear that looks wasn’t the first thing he was going to use to pick his sub, he wanted what was inside of her and needed to make sure she desired the same thing he did. I can’t tell you how many time I laughed out loud watching him try to make sense of his feelings.  The author also made it clear that there was no room for anything to happen unless it was consensual.  Well that was until she introduced Eddie. 
I have no clue how many times I fell in love with that man.  Yes it was clear from his first words in the book he was a gay man and proud of it.  He was also a pain freak.  He knew what Jeff was looking for and he expressed his willingness to the test subject for Jeff to practice with.  Bless Eddie’s heart this was so easy for him in his opinion, Jeff wanted to learn how to be a Dom and inflict pain, Eddie loved the pain and was willing to teach Jeff, why did sexuality have to get in the way.  Problem solved.  Not so fast Eddie, he still has to convince Jeff.
It took a bit of talking and explaining to Jeff but he finally agrees and the sessions begin and so does the heart of the story.  I won’t go into details but trust me if you want sizzling scenes this book gives it to you. With each lesson the heat rises and you might want to turn on a fan, get a glass of cold water and sit back and enjoy.  The author did a wonderful job at not only building this relationship but we see the soul searching and doubt that Jeff will go through as to who he really is.  Sometimes you never reach your dreams because they were never what you really needed in the first place. 
The book read very smoothly and didn’t leave me feeling bored at all.  The group of characters was entertaining, loving and at times I wished I was part of their little inner circle.  I want to make sure you understand that you will watch a relationship start with refusal, turn into acceptance and grow into something that it was meant to be all along.  That is the glory of this story and why I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre.   

WARNING: If you’re an American reader and you don’t enjoy reading books written by an English author, then you will likely want to steer clear of this book. This book is set in England about two English blokes, so if you don’t like or can’t read books that aren’t in American English then this isn’t the book for you. That said, if you can read such a book or are like myself and enjoy it, then find yourself a comfortable place to read and prepare to be entertained.

Jeff is straight, Straight, STRAIGHT as they come and newly single after being in a committed relationship with his high school sweetheart for over a decade. As she was the only person he had ever been with, he doesn’t do well on the dating scene and even worse when he attempts to enter the BDSM scene – something his partner had refused to explore with him. As a gardener, Jeff has met a myriad of people and befriended one of his clients who happened to be a Dom. When Niall introduces Jeff to the sub he has found to work with him, Jeff is taken aback because Eddie is a man. A gay man. As expected, Jeff balks at the idea of working with Eddie, but Niall and Eddie planted the right seeds during their interactions with Jeff and Jeff ends up contacting Eddie to chat about the BDSM scene. What follows is a lovely tale of two men finding their perfect match.

I absolutely adored Jeff and Eddie. Jeff has a tendency to alienate people due to his unflinching honesty (a.k.a. rudeness); whereas Eddie is extremely personable and tends to put people at ease. This works in Eddie’s favor as it allows him to work his way into becoming Jeff’s “training” sub as Jeff is everything Eddie ever wanted in a Dom, except his heterosexuality. The interactions between the two are quite entertaining as they walk the path of discovering Jeff’s sexuality and many of their conversations left me snickering at them. Actually, Jeff’s inner monologue as to whether or not an action was gay or not was laugh out loud funny. The sex scenes are hot, which honestly surprised me with the “educational” feel Eddie tried to infuse into them to keep from scaring off Jeff. Of course, my heart broke for both men on the night of their fifth and final lesson and I seriously wanted to smack them both for their failure to communicate.

How to Train You Dom in Five Easy Steps was a thoroughly enjoyable book that I couldn’t wait to get back to each time I got interrupted. I loved watching Jeff discover a new side to his personality and the way in which Eddie helped him do this. Watching the relationship develop between the two men was a treat that I will get to experience again as this book has definitely made it to my re-read list. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Myles’ work. 
 

This was such a sweet and fun read.  I loved Eddie and Jeff from the beginning.  I wanted them to come together and it was so fun to watch their bonding process.  Eddie is an out, proud and bossy sub looking for his perfect Dom.  When he hears about Jeff’s misfortunes on his first forays into the BDSM scene his decides to take him under his wing and train his perfect Dom.

It is so interesting to watch Jeff try to rationalize his feelings for Eddie so he wouldn’t have to admit to himself that he might be gay.  The whole book is about learning to accept ourselves for who we are and being happy with that person.  While the book is pretty light there are always going to be some tough times when you are doing self-discovery but it is a wonderful ride.  I loved the ending and I would love to read more about these two in the future as they continue to bond and Jeff hones his craft. 

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