Story of L is not a typical romance, but rather a unique, intriguing and engaging love story that runs deep and tells the tale of a woman on a search for something. Without even realizing it, that elusive thing is satiated by a woman that is revered and respected in the lesbian BDSM community as very nearly an icon. She offers Liv the chance to become something more and they embark on a journey of discovery and deliverance.

This is such a hard book to review because its nuance and depth are difficult to put into words, but it is a fulfilling and engaging read that gripped me throughout.

3.5 stars - Story of L by Debra Hyde was a very well-written BDSM full-length novel between Dominatrix Cassandra and her sub, Liv (L). I think the dom/sub dynamic between the two main characters was extremely well depicted in a way that was believable and healthy. Cassandra always asked for consent and gave Liv the space to think before taking major decisions. I really enjoyed learning more about the lesbian BDSM scene through Liv’s experiences at the BDSM club. The author describes scenes vividly; I never read anything like that and it was quite fascinating. However, some kink made me a bit uncomfortable (i.e. humiliation kink?), but that’s on me.

The part that has me dubious though is their profession of love for each other. There isn’t a moment where the two women talk about themselves, their lives, let alone their feelings for each other. And whenever they talk to each other, it’s about their arrangement or the lesbian leather scene. I can believe there’s an infatuation, but love?

Nevertheless, this is a really good story to just immerse yourself in and learn more about different facets of the scene. This isn’t just straight up smut for the sake of it, so don’t go in thinking that’s all there is. It’s a book about self-discovery, connection and trust.

Thank you to Riverdale Avenue Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect with this book. Having read the synopsis, I was very intrigued. I definitely enjoyed this book and I believe the sexual scenes were written very tastefully.

Thanks to the well-crafted publisher’s blurb and several well-written reviews on NetGalley, I went into this book eyes wide open about the subject matter and about the potential graphic nature of the content. Which was important because I could see how some consumers of the Fifty Shades of Grey brand (or even the Crossfire brand) might not be able to dive in headfirst into this book - let alone finish it. There are no brand names or trendy music sprinkled throughout. The sense of place remains vague. And there is definitely no renunciation of the lifestyle or other return to the mainstream at the end. Yes, there is profound self-reflection by the characters and a happy ever after ending. There is true love at the end. But it all works out in a way that makes sense for the reality that the characters live in. This all may be uncomfortable for those who don’t live in - or fantasize about - that reality. But if you’re open to it, this is definitely investing a few hours in reading.

I received an ARC of this book via #NetGalley.

I felt like this was a very solidly written BDSM story. It seemed more realistic than most. I didn’t realize that it was a solidly lesbian story, which I am personally not into, but I did still enjoy the story and thought it was quite well done. I took a star off the rating because I felt it could have used a bit more proof reading. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but I did get confused in some areas when transgenders were referred in some places as female and others as male with pronouns. I do recommend this story to fans of BDSM erotica.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

erotica, dom/sub/ bdsm, lesbianism;

definitely a sexy read. i'm a huge fan of erotica that touches down on submission and bdsm. i'd read others by this author

DISCLAIMER: The book is given by NetGalley, the author and the publisher in exchange of an honest review. All the review written is not related to any personal issues or connection.

TRIGGER: This is an erotica book which offers several sexy and steamy scenes or things related to BDSM. Get your vibro ready!

“By contrast, Liv fell somewhere in the nebula of androgyny. No doubt in form and soul, and a lesbian in love and desire but neither butch nor femme in either presentation or whom she found attractive, Yet she did not feel undefined; being queer was being enough, and she liked not having to fall into a strict dichotomy. It was like having your cake and eating it too.”

Defo a very sexy book to read

Full review https://literatureisliving.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/story-of-l-by-debra-hyde/

I've loved reading books by Debra Hyde for awhile and this one did not disappoint. While a quicker story than some, this is well developed and intense. A lot of emotion and not gratuitous sex scenes but things that really advance and add to the story.

This novel provides a glimpse into the world of submission and dominance , bondage, piercing, tattooing, and ownership, It may push the vanilla readers to look up terminology, grapics and piercing diagrams. In the midst of exploring a world of sex lies a love story. The fabled, older dom Cassandra and her submissive L. We follow the lovers as they meet at the H club full of sex and lust. Through L's journey to submissive and falling in love. This book is a must read for those who want to explore the other side of pleasure and pain. It can also be a guide for those seeking to be an excellent submissive. It is not a one and done novel, the reader will review it often and maybe incorporate some of the scenes into their bedroom. Happy reading and playing.

This was decent, I loved the relationship but erotica is not my favourite genre. I still recommend it though, if you enjoy a sub/dom relationship.

Although I'm a fan of both lesbian and erotic fiction, this book didn't hold my attention. There was nothing I actively disliked, and at times I was truly drawn in by the prose. But I found it all too easy to set aside to read something else, and ultimately gave up at about 50%. I won't be posting a review outside of NetGalley.

I liked LIv a lot. She is hardworking, loyal and unafraid to ask the important questions. Her submissive side did not turn her into a mindless idiot with no sense of precaution; instead, she was sensible in giving in to her wants without risking her life.
Cassandra is harder to place. She doesn't really play a major role until halfway through the story, so she has less page time overall and suffered for it in my opinion. While I was happy she was not put on a pedestal, I still found her role as the love interest/dominant to be underdeveloped and more wish-fulfilment than an actual three-dimensional character. I loved seeing her flaws and reading about her differing perspective on the scene.
But Reese was definitely my favourite. His role in Livs and Cassandra's dynamic was very interesting and I loved it whenever he was on the page. I also think he was the best-portrayed switches in the entire story.
As for the plot, I am undecided whether I liked it or not. I understand that this is partly a fantasy that I can totally get behind and enjoy. Who wouldn't want this infamous dominant suddenly be interested in you? And I think most of the risks were avoided or at least prepared for. Do I disagree with some of LIv's choices and Cassandra's demands? Yes, but I can also see the appeal in taking a chance.

The writing was okay in my opinion. Some metaphors were too dramatized. The author sometimes went off on tangents that ripped me out of the moment. So did all the classification in femmes, butches, and so on, it felt very artificial and robotic. Liv makes several remarks about her (too) femme clothing; the importance placed on that confused me. And Liv calls her submissive cravings the Void was something I just could not get behind, it disconnected me to the story. And, personally, I just was not a fan of the ending.
I feel the balance between smutty BDSM scenes and everyday life was well done.

I received this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first BDSM F/F novel I have read, so it is definitely a departure from what I am used to reading. In some ways I found it to be easy more intense than M/F SM books I have read. It was very well written and the characters well developed as the story of unconventional love is portrayed. That said, it wasn't the type of story I am into. For those that are really into the lifestyle, I feel you will enjoy this a lot.

A very sexy quick read. My first book by this author. I enjoyed the writing style. Would definitely read another book from this at.

Story of L was my very first book from Debra Hyde. And I'm conflicted on my review. I went into this book totally blind. But I love erotica, especially BDSM erotica. However I didn't know going in, it was about lesbians. That's normally a genre I don't read. I Just don't like gay romance, and I struggled finishing this one. The writing is good at times, other it's way over the top. Sometimes I was really confused.

The Story of L is about Liv, who's trying to battle her inner self, wanting to submit to Cassandra. It was interesting to watch. But I can say I don't plan on reading any other books in this series.

We’d like to start by saying that BDSM is totally not our genre. Pain is not sexy to us. We picked this book more on a whim than anything else; and we must confess we were surprised. It doesn’t convert us to BDSM, but the author has managed to write cringe-worthy acts without making them torture. Little wonder that it is Winner, Lesbian Erotica, 2011 Lambda Literary Awards.

The book, as it says in the blurb, is the story of Liv, a switch, with bottomless sexual hunger that she has dubbed The Void. She tries to fulfil the hunger with SM acts performed on her, but it always returns. During one search for curbing The Void, Liv is serviced by Cassandra, a legendary Dom. Liv ends up having a crush on Cassandra after this, so when Cassandra reaches out to her with an offer for Liv to become her submissive, Liv gladly takes the opportunity. The rest of the book details the steps towards Liv becoming Cassandra’s submissive, L.

What really works in the book is that the author narrates the story through Liv’s perspective. Her thoughts and emotions are detailed through every step, every act showing her willingness and excitement for what is happening. In fact, there are times when the author has got into practically a lyrical vein with the emotional reactions making it almost a regular romance. However, since we do not comprehend this world, we could not develop any sort of positive emotion about Cassandra, who only seemed to want a plaything and recapture her past time without an iota of real emotion (despite the best efforts of the author to make her vulnerable and giving). Nope, give us regular people with their love and loving any time. (Confession: we actually had to take a break from this book and this world and read a couple of romances in between to get stabilised).

If you are at all in the BDSM lifestyle or genre, this is a great book to get ahold of. If romance floats your boat, steer clear of this because despite some sort of loose romantic elements, this is certainly not romance.

The rating is for the author’s ability to wax eloquent about arousal and emotions rather than the story or the BDSM elements.

The Story of L is the journey of Liv as she is trying to fulfill The Void as she calls it and decides to switch character and become a submissive. Enter Cassandra who is a legendary dominant and creates a series of tests for Liv to pass as a submissive.
BDSM is not a typical read for me and I found this book intense and I contemplated whether to finish it or not. I'm glad I read through to the end and as I got used to the role play between the characters I was given an insight into the world of BDSM. I found the characters were well constructed, particularly L and her transformation and the emotion surrounding her transformation was well written.
If you're looking for BDSM erotica then this book is for you.

I have to admit that this book really was one that blew me away with how well it was written compared to most other BDSM erotica out there. I felt that it was real people telling me about what all had been going on in their lives. It didn't focus on the lifestyle that Liv and her friends enjoy as being abusive or too harsh. I felt like it gave it just the right amount of positive attention. I also liked that there was a representation of all different kinds of people such as transgendered Reese. Honestly, through the whole book, I think Reese was my favorite character. I really got into the story. The only downside was that I did notice in some places it switches to using just initials for everyone such as using C for Cassandra for about a page or two. That kind of bothered me and made that section a bit harder to read, but the rest was excellent!

I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I started reading this book, the author is new to me and the genera is not something I typically read (not ever to be exact). I don’t read the genera because it turns me off or I am against it I just usually pick up books around contemporary romance of the vanilla kind.

With that being said, I unexpectedly enjoyed/stayed interested in this book. The author does a wonderful job in her narratives, and her vocabulary, well let’s just say I had to look up a few new words that just added to this story (not bad words, just not your normal conversation vernacular-think almost Victorian). As other reviewers have noted, this is a Dominatrix/Submissive story line and yes it is a romance as well, in my opinion. I had no clue to the whole scene so if the author truly painted the story line as D/S works, well it definitely gave me a glimpse into this world, and not in a bad way.

I found the characters to be believable, and as Liv continued to submerge herself in the Sub life and falls in love with the true Cassandra, I was cheering for them both to the end to find piece for one and the true self for the other. Again this is not a usually vanilla love story, but I did fall in love with it and this author.

This is primary a Lesbian story line, and all the erotic scenes are of Liv and Cassandra, but there is one scene that involves Liv and a secondary character (but I don’t see ‘him’ as that), Reese. Reese is a female to male trans person, and even though the author doesn’t give a whole lot of background, how he is written into the story line is great-in fact I would like to learn more about him and how he became Cassandra’s right hand man (maybe a future book).

All in all I was pleasantly surprised I enjoyed this book as much as I did, it really gave me a glimpse into a world I know exist for other out there, and more power to them. I may even look to picking up a future story by this author, the tease at the end of this book for At Her Hand peeked my interest, oh my!

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this book on my own.

To see my Amazon review, it will be under CC-Didn’t expect that, when the book is published.

Thanks to netgallery.

This is about total power exchange, falls under SM. The story of liv is well written and gripping story. Story of dom becoming submissive.