The submissive by Tara Sue Me

Abby King is on a mission, even though she knows Nathaniel West only takes experienced submissives, she has always carried the secret fantasy that he will make an exception and take her on and train and mold her.  When he does agree to take her on for a trial basis it seems as though she is closer to her goal of being his, but right from the start things aren't quite what she expected - even though things seem to go well at first, it soon becomes clear that there is something wrong and Nathaniel wont tell her what it is.

As their relationship grows and changes, Abby finds herself moving further and further away from the safe and boring world of her safe library job, and safe circle of friends, and closer and closer to the world of full submission and belonging.   When things start to unravel Abby faces the heartbreaking choice of fighting for what she wants and needs, and letting Nathaniel walk all over her - to her detriment and his.  Will Abby and Nathaniel be able to break through their own preconceived ideas and find true contentment - or are they on a collision course with disaster?

The submissive is what Fifty shades of Grey could have been if it had been edited by a skilled editor and trimmed to fit neatly in a single volume with no repetition.  There are some echoes of Fifty shades here, but mainly because of the genre and the fact that Nathaniel plays the piano - there is also the fact that he is pretty wealthy, but that seems to be the case with most of these novels (otherwise they wouldn't be able to live decadent lives and fly their submissives to exotic locations).  The character development for Abby and Nathaniel was pretty well balanced, and neither character is more important than the other, the relationship they develop is one of equals (to a certain extent) and they develop individually and together over the course of the story.

Telling too much will of course ruin the story, but if you like your erotic fiction with a good storyline, strong character development, and some spicy action in the bedroom, then The submissive may just be the book for you.  The sex scenes are not as racy as some I have read recently, but they are steamy enough if you like this kind of book.  This is the first book in a series that was originally released as an e-book, but I have to say that it was a satisfying read in its own right, and after reading the extract from The dominant the second book in the series, it does appear there is some cross over between them anyway rather than a transition from story to story.

If you like this book then try:

• The dominant by Tara Sue Me
• The training by Tara Sue Me
• Fifty shades of Grey by E.L. James
• Sweet addiction by Maya Banks
• Velvet glove by Emma Holly
• Belong to me by Shayla Black
• Haven of obedience by Marina Anderson
• Fever by Maya Banks
• Burn by Maya Banks

Reviewed by Brilla