Twice the Novice by Debra Glass

Story: 8.5
Presentation: 9
Total: 17.5
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Historical BDSM
To Purchase

Blurb: Shamed by secrets, Anne Meredith will do anything to fulfill her marriage contract to a mysterious Bavarian count. Even if it means submitting to Axel von Sommerhalder, the handsome stranger the count has enlisted to train her. She thinks the intimate punishments her trainer metes out will be a humiliating ordeal. Instead, as she finds herself surrendering to the dominant desires of a man forbidden to claim her, she discovers even more about herself than she ever dreamed possible.

Axel demands that his novice abandon every inhibition. But in doing so, they both embark on a dangerous journey, tempting each other’s flesh, relishing every forbidden touch—and breaking every rule.

Review: Ms. Glass is one of my favorite historical writers in erotic romance. The flavor makes me ache to tumble back in time. And while reading her stories, I do. The brilliance in this story is the depth in which we understand Anne. She’s complicated and yet simple. She is doing what she must…and finding herself in the process. As much as she struggles with her training, she also finds comfort in Axel. Her initial reservations soon turn passionate and the sexual risk explodes on the page. There was so much tension in this book from the sex to the risk of having their true feelings discovered and the risk of acting on them had me breathless and a turned on mess. I savored every word on the page. However, I was disappointed in the ending. Without giving too much of a spoiler, I expected there to be some consequence to the love between Axel and Anne. Instead, it the risk was only within themselves and the ending then proved to be anticlimactic. However, for 95% of the book I was spellbound and tempted. This is a journey of discovery and one any lover of historical BDSM will enjoy.