I want to make it clear that I have no desire to step back thru time to when women had no rights--certainly the fact that women have rights is what makes it possible to want to be submissive. How else could a sub (female or male, for that matter) ever have that requisite element of trust if equal rights were not part of the picture? I'm just thinking that it has to be difficult for a sensitive guy who has tendencies toward domination, especially with society being the way it is. After all, he's been trained all his life to respect other people. In most books, the sub is central, and the Dom controls even the progress of the book, because in most literature, Doms are born, not made. But what about that initial point--where an outwardly ordinary guy has spent his life hiding his inner Dom?

There may be some Doms who have known all their lives just how far to go and who with, so for them, there's no real "beginning." But active Doms don't pop up full-blown out of the sea foam like Venus on the half-shell. Everybody has to begin somewhere, even Doms. That's the almost unique perspective of Dare to Dominate. This is the story of Jonathan, a prosperous world traveler, businessman and outwardly "ordinary" guy who has just come out of a failed (but "normal") relationship. We first meet him at a club where he is observed watching a scene--the sort of thing that goes on in his head but which has never moved from fantasy into life.

But that all changes for him when free-spirited Laurel sees him at a German club, follows him to his hotel and manages to meet him--and gives him a chance of a lifetime to explore his untapped secret tendency (and hers.) World travelers that they are, their second meeting in New York begins a journey of exploration for them both.

I found the change in perspective to be refreshing, especially since the developing Dom's point of view is one that fiction rarely manages to examine. With the blurry edge between domination and sadism, it seems an impossible dichotomy that such innate tendencies could co-exist with love. Realistic motivations, believable characters weaved together with a healthy dose of heat. As ever, Claire Thompson serves up rich food for thought in her erotic buffet.

Reviewed by Maîtresse
© March 2008