Tag: Chintzy Lady 3

05

Straits Academy – Alice Liddell

Title: Straits Academy
Author: Alice Liddell
Publisher: Blushing Books (29 September 2012)
ISBN: 9781609688363

A novel of punishment, pleasure and intrigue set against the exotic backdrop of 1920s Singapore, Straits Academy will almost certainly appeal to those with a penchant for sexual discipline. I was really intrigued by this book’s synopsis – I’ve not come across many contemporary erotic novels set in the early twentieth century – and the promise of crops and correction within the context of a colonial girls’ boarding school was too much to resist.

In the first few pages of Straits Academy, we are introduced to our intrepid heroine, Adelaide Hartley (Addy), as her boat makes its way into Singapore harbour; she is excited about meeting her new fiancé, Arthur Fitz-Bowman, after a long-distance courtship and looking forward to the prospect of embarking on a new life in a foreign country. Her joyous anticipation quickly fades, however, in the face of the news that her future husband has been murdered – possibly as a direct result of an opium smuggling investigation he was conducting at the time of his death. Mr Thomas Drake, the man responsible for delivering Adelaide an account of the terrible event, suspects that his murder – and the smuggling – is somehow tied to the beautiful Madame Ong who runs a well-known girls’ boarding school, Straits Academy. A close friend of the deceased, he has been doing his utmost to solve the mystery surrounding his acquaintance’s untimely death. Yet as he speaks with Adelaide (who despite her age of twenty-two years resembles, in stature, a teenage girl) he is struck by a somewhat unconventional idea that results in an even more outlandish proposal: will she consider posing as his niece and attending Straits Academy in an attempt to glean information about Arthur’s murder? To his surprise, Addy  agrees to his suggestion – and thus begins a wonderful tale of raised school dresses, lowered drawers and very pink bottoms. Continue reading →

04

The Wartenberg pinwheel: the sharp edge of sensation play

What we used: Wartenberg pinwheel
From: Bondara
Price: £8.99
Material(s): Stainless steel

The Wartenberg pinwheel, while originally invented as a medical device for neurological use has become something of a BDSM staple over the years. So what does one feel like? Should you be afraid of those rather sharp looking spikes? Lizzie and Thomas find out.

 

First thoughts …

Lizzie
I’ve wanted to try a Wartenberg pinwheel for ages but, for various reasons, Thomas and I just never seemed to get around to purchasing one. As you’ve probably gathered from my previous toy reviews, I’m not averse to a bit of pain during sex but, on balance, my experience runs to impact and pressure toys (such as floggers, paddles and clamps), so anything sharp has the power to make me shiver a little. Continue reading →

18

Seduced in the Dark – C.J. Roberts

Title: Seduced in the Dark: The Dark Duet (Volume 2)
Author: C.J. Roberts
Publisher: Neurotica Books (30 August 2012)
ISBN: 978-0615680040

dark
adjective
1. with little or no light
2. (of a colour or object) not reflecting much light; approaching black in shade
3. (of a period or situation) characterised by great unhappiness or unpleasantness
4. hidden from knowledge; mysterious

noun
1. (the dark) the absence of light in a place
2. a dark colour or shade, especially in a painting

I have picked through the above definitions numerous times, trying to decide which one best reflects C.J, Roberts’ Seduced in the Dark, but it’s virtually impossible, because they all apply. It is a story with the barest glimmer of light visible at the end of a long, dark tunnel. A story with a plot that borders on pitch black. A story with characters and situations that twist your stomach. A story that, perversely, arouses you and mere seconds later makes you want to weep. A story of secrets. And, yes, I realise that the title refers to the noun form of the word ‘dark’ but the adjective is equally relevant, equally valid, when describing the fabric of this book. Similarly, I cannot help but pick apart the meaning of the title word ‘seduce’ and ponder its relationship to the story: ‘to attract someone to a belief or course of action that is inadvisable or foolhardy’. Because who is ultimately seduced in and by this murky tale? The characters, the reader, or both? Continue reading →

10

Squeeze. Tease. The agony and ecstasy of nipple clamps

What we used:  Squeezer Teaser clover nipple clamps
From: Lovehoney
Price: £7.99
Material(s): metal (unspecified) and nylon

Intrigued by nipple clamps but not sure if they’re for you? Lizzie gives her opinion of You2Toys’ Squeezer Teaser clover clamps.

*This post is NSFW (not suitable for work) as it does contain an image of a bare breast and a nipple (shock horror). If you choose to read on, please take the time to peruse the Behind the Chintz Curtain disclaimer before doing so.

First thoughts …

Lizzie
I’m quite a fan of nipple clamps but I’ve always had a bit of a thing for the pleasure/pain dynamic, so I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise to me. However, this is the first set of Japanese clovers or ‘butterfly’ clamps that I’ve tried – previously, Thomas and I have stuck with the tweezer design – and I’m dying to see if I can handle them because, from an intensity perspective, they’re pretty near the top of the tree when it comes to pressure. Just how intense will they be? Will they be too much? Will I back out?

The packaging …

Lizzie
Ye gads. This is tacky sex toy packaging at its best. A woman sitting on the bonnet of what I can only assume is a police car and wearing nothing but a fake policeman’s hat and the Squeezer Teaser clamps on her extremely large nipples. Oh, and sporting the obligatory heavily deforested pubic area. The bit that has me in stitches, though? The hilarious ‘crime tape’ graphic emblazoned across the lower half of her body with the words ‘excitement area’. Continue reading →

15

Uncle Charles’ Girls – Anne Randolph

Title: Uncle Charles’ Girls (A Novel of Victorian Discipline)
Author: Anne Randolph (foreword by Alice Liddell)
Publisher: Blushing Books (30 June 2012)
ISBN: 9781609686963

If you have a bit of a thing for spanking and punishment, Uncle Charles’ Girls should be at the very top of your ‘to read’ list. Although penned approximately ten years ago, this little novella was only available via a private membership site until it was published as an eBook in June of this year and I can only thank Alice Liddell, who wrote the foreword, for encouraging Randolph to make this story more widely available.

To say that Uncle Charles’ Girls got me hot and bothered would be something of an understatement. It literally had me squirming in my seat – and I mean that in a good way. Such was its impact (sorry, couldn’t resist) that I had to lock myself in the bedroom during and after reading it. Windows were steamed. Sheets were wrinkled.

Set in Victorian England, the story focuses on eighteen-year-old Lady Clara Smithson and nineteen-year-old Lady Louise Wellington. Although not related by blood, an unfortunate series of events throws the girls quite unexpectedly into the guardianship of Louise’s half-brother, Charles – otherwise known as Baron Cladwell. Louise has little knowledge of her half-brother, having had no real contact with him during the course of her life, and both she and Clara are extremely curious about the man who is to oversee the remainder of their education and their introduction to society. Never in their wildest dreams (or nightmares), however, do they imagine that the Baron has a decided predilection for birching and that he intends to discipline their bare, youthful bottoms whenever the opportunity presents itself. Continue reading →

02

Breaking Free – Cherise Sinclair

Title: Breaking Free (Masters of the Shadowlands)
Author: Cherise Sinclair
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (30 Mar 2010)
ISBN: 978-1-59632-965-2

How’s this for an opening line:

‘Music, beer, tie up a willing woman, maybe use a flogger lightly … should be a no-stress evening.’

Breaking Free was the first book that I read of Cherise Sinclair’s and it made me an absolutely devoted fan of her Masters of the Shadowlands series. It’s well written, has excellent characterisation, a wonderful sense of tension and is hot with a capital ‘H’. (Did I mention it’s hot?)

Where to start? Well, I’m actually going to kick off with the message that Cherise Sinclair includes at the beginning of the book (and indeed all her others that involve BDSM):

‘This book is fiction, not reality … Good Doms don’t grow on trees and there’s some strange people out there. So while you’re looking for that special Dom, please, be careful.
.
.
.
When you find him, realize he can’t read your mind.’
You will have a safeword, am I clear? Use protection. Have a back-up person. Communicate.
Remember: safe, sane and consensual.’

For this alone, I applaud Ms Sinclair. Before the book has even begun, she’s taken a socially responsible approach to the reader and made it clear that, while Breaking Free is a contemporary erotic romance, it is fiction and you shouldn’t be running out to your nearest fetish club and asking the first person you encounter to tie you up and take a cane to your behind. This may sound like a no-brainer but a lot of people use books as inspiration – just look at the rise in sex toy sales since Fifty Shades of Grey hit the mainstream – and Cherise’s message is an important one. That’s not to say that other books don’t include disclaimers (many do) but the personal approach to the reader from the author, I think, is commendable. Continue reading →

11

Captive in the Dark: The Dark Duet (Volume 1) – C.J. Roberts

Title: Captive in the Dark: The Dark Duet (Volume 1)
Author: C.J. Roberts
Publisher: C.J. Roberts (29 Aug 2011)
ISBN: 978-0615429502

I’m pretty bombproof when it comes to subject matter – there’s not a lot that can shock me – but if I’m going to tackle something harrowing, the balance has to be absolutely perfect: the writing has to be solid, the story clever, the characters worth the emotional investment. So having read the synopsis for this book on Amazon and come face-to-face with the pretty blunt warning about its content (‘This book contains very disturbing situations, dubious consent, strong language, and graphic violence’), I wondered how I would get on with Captive in the Dark and what I might be letting myself in for.

An amazing book, as it turned it. I am not exaggerating when I say C.J. Roberts – who wrote and published Captive in the Dark herself – had me in the palm of her hand from the prologue. Lately, it’s been a bit of a struggle to find BDSM erotica books that stand out from the crowd and have something truly unique about them (one power exchange plot can start to feel very much like another) but Captive had me absolutely glued. To the point that I couldn’t even put it down to do the dishes – and let me tell you, scrubbing a dirty pot one-handed is hard. I devoured the entire book in a day, that’s how good it was, and then immediately visited C.J. Roberts’s website to find out when Volume 2, Seduced in the Dark, was due. (As you’ve probably guessed from the title, Captive in the Dark is part of a series.) Continue reading →