Though my ex once gave me am unofficial tour of the USS Forrestal, I myself have never been on an official cruise, enlisted, unenlisted, free or paid, competitive, commercial, freelance or imaginary. The closest I've ever come to a cruise is The Movies: the occasional "Love Boat" rerun, Speed II: Cruise Control, Titanic, Boat Trip, Out to Sea and The Poseidon Adventure--none of which inspired me to seek out the real thing. Not even stories of friends and relatives who've tripped the seabound light fantastic--admittedly the most exciting of which was about unlimited buffet tables--made me want the experience.

But I can't deny the allure of Kinky Kruising: The Big O. When the wedding ends with "flying wedding cake and flaring tempers," the best friends of estranged newlyweds end up taking the newlywed's honeymoon cruise. And it's not your mother's love boat either, but a BDSM themed cruise, along with Dom and sub classes, and other surprises. I was taken by surprise by this book because I had some pretty low expectations.

The pace is brisk because the story starts when the action starts and exposition is handled in dialogue. The characters are well developed and the story is logical. Chesney and Orlando--the big O--are definite character. For that matter, so are Tim and Janet. The unexpected zigs and zags zip the plot along. Events turn truly hysterical. I don't know if I was laughing out loud over the dialogue, the situation, or the particular character in his particular context. Whatever it is, the combination works, and with a lively delivery.

At the end when the erotica gets down to being double-decker (so to speak) the choreography got in my way a bit, but I didn't spend a whole lot of time picturing what went where with whom. Blame it on my own little quirk since group dynamics aren't in my personal recipe book. (Editorially speaking, the kind of visual direction I'd need for orientation would not have matched the pace or delivery of the rest of the book.) But that fine point didn't dim the alchemy of this little gem at all. This is a light fast read that leaves me happily anticipating the next installments of Lyn Cash's Kinky Kruising.

Reviewed by Maîtresse
© 2005