BDSM literature talks about the "brat." In the culture of BDSM, the brat is someone who is bitchy in order to provoke punishment. Personally, I have trouble getting my mind around that definition. I mean, are brats deliberately bratty to provoke punishment? I know plenty of people who are just plain bitchy (or bratty)--and they seem to be that way just because they are chronically catty or spiteful or simply spoiled rotten. According to the "brat" phenomenon, these bitchy people are carrying around submissive personalities which they all emphatically deny. Are these obnoxious, bitchy, bratty people all submissives at heart? How could a Dom recognize the difference between a submissive brat and an ordinary"run-of-the-mill-garden-variety-should-have-been-spanked-when-they-were-kids" type brat? Or are they the same thing? I mean, aren't there some Doms out there who are just ASKING to be Dommed themselves?

Since story Doms never seem to have trouble distinguishing true brathood, frequently a BDSM story starts off with a bratty sub rejecting a Dom. The Dom instantly knows said aforementioned brat is a sub, and pursues her accordingly.

This is how Reese Gabriel starts off her September release Chaining His Heart. Reese's Dom is Gordon; the bratty sub is Chelsea. Chelsea and her friend Cindy have gone slumming to a local BDSM dive known as The Silver Band, the name obviously referring to a slave's collar. While they are being sized up by some doms on the prowl, Gordon takes it on himself to stake a protective claim. The big conflict is that Gordon has been hurt before and no matter how much he wants Chelsea, he is not willing to risk getting hurt.

As for Chelsea, she can't resist "a sexually dominant man with a heart, one who was fascinating to talk to and a wonderful meal companion...one who made her laugh and feel at home..." Except that at the same time she's attracted, she's busy denying the attraction.

How we do complicate our lives...

I had a bit of an issue with one conflict which felt somewhat contrived. When a Dom sends someone away, how is the sub supposed to know if the Dom is being dom-like and naturally controlling for the moment, if he is sending someone away as a test, or for good ? Is being sent home by one's Dom going to provoke a tantrum in the sub-style brat--a tantrum that is going to result in an apology from the Dom? I feel like the reins of the Dom/sub dynamic got a little tangled in a hurry to get the story all tied up at the finish line.

Still, this is a well written short story with none of the grammatical and stylistic encumbrances that plague so much erotica; this is a snap-shot bird's eye view of a beginning relationship, and except for the rush to close, is typical of Reese's quality work and well worth the read if you're a BDSM aficionado.

Reviewed by Maîtresse
Copyright Dec 2006