The Initiation of Ms. Holly by K D Grace

The Basics:
The Initiation of Ms. Holly by K D Grace
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Erotica
Published Feb 4, 2014
Source: Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Blurb:

Sex with a mysterious stranger aboard a train leads Rita Holly to an initiation into the exclusive and secretive Mount club. Sophisticated and erotic rituals await Rita, as do the endless intrigues and power struggles within the organization. Rita learns that club membership is not for the sexually repressed. During her initiation, sex with her lover from the train, Edward, is forbidden, but Alex and Leo are happy to step in. With more and more titillating punishments in store and the club’s leader intent on her failing, will Rita pass her lengthy and lusty initiation?

My thoughts:

Holy smoking hot! This book is about sex, through and through. There's no tiptoeing around it.

I don't know that there's really anything innovative at all about the club initiation plot here. Mysterious stranger, love at first lusty moment, social intrigue, lots of hoops to jump through - these are some familiar elements for the BDSM subgenre. I found Edward's refusal to open up to Rita about the truth of things difficult to swallow alongside his declaration of love after having spent so very little time getting to know her. He, of all people in this book, should know that sexual compatibility does not equal love.

That said, I think The Initiation of Ms. Holly pushes sexual boundaries even farther than I've read previously. There's a lot of very hot, very kinky (sometimes slightly unsafe seeming) sex happening here.  Open-minded readers will appreciate some of the innovation.

Rita's an excellent main character - she's unafraid of testing her own sexual boundaries, she's got enough of a backbone to stand up for herself when she needs to, and I cheered her on as she faced off against Vivienne, the reigning Queen of the Mount.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was that all of this crazy sex happens without any sense of shame. Everyone enjoys themselves and each other without judgement, which makes for a very pleasant, erotic reading experience.

Bottom line:

If you're a fan of BDSM club erotica, you're bound to love this one. It's got plenty of steamy scenes, all strung together with some intrigue that has a reasonably satisfying conclusion. I heartily recommend this one to open-minded readers!

4.5 stars
For fans of BDSM erotica, sexual experimentation, a little bit of mystery