The Duke and the Domina by Jenn Leblanc
Time travel/historical BDSM romance
3/5 stars
Blurb
He's poor. She's rich.
He's a sub. She's a switch.
It's not love.
It's a marriage of Kink-venience.
Grayson Locke Danforth, in his wildest of dreams, would never have expected two things.
The first was to be recalled from India by Queen Victoria where he worked for the quiet purposes of the crown. He must now become the Duke of Warrick after the tragic deaths of his father and brothers. However, tragedy is entirely in the eyes of the beholder and Grayson never wanted the title, or to return to his family. Grayson wanted to remain invisible, an outcast, a man in exile for the way his body and mind behaved.
The second was to be forced into marriage with a woman from the 21st century.
Lulu is no mere woman, however, she was a switch and worked as professional Dominatrix. When she wakes up in a strange house, a strange world, a strange body, she isn't quite sure what to think and is certain she's dreaming. Until the next day, when she's married off to a man she cannot control her want of.
Lulu and Warrick begin a life together that she could never have imagined. A life she could never have hoped for after being taken from everything she ever knew. Trust doesn't come easily to either of them, but it's the only thing they have.
Grayson will have to give in to his need to submit in order to get his wife to open up and allow him to posses her fully in return.
It's a cautious dance between two people who have never known trust, or love.
He's a sub. She's a switch.
It's not love.
It's a marriage of Kink-venience.
Grayson Locke Danforth, in his wildest of dreams, would never have expected two things.
The first was to be recalled from India by Queen Victoria where he worked for the quiet purposes of the crown. He must now become the Duke of Warrick after the tragic deaths of his father and brothers. However, tragedy is entirely in the eyes of the beholder and Grayson never wanted the title, or to return to his family. Grayson wanted to remain invisible, an outcast, a man in exile for the way his body and mind behaved.
The second was to be forced into marriage with a woman from the 21st century.
Lulu is no mere woman, however, she was a switch and worked as professional Dominatrix. When she wakes up in a strange house, a strange world, a strange body, she isn't quite sure what to think and is certain she's dreaming. Until the next day, when she's married off to a man she cannot control her want of.
Lulu and Warrick begin a life together that she could never have imagined. A life she could never have hoped for after being taken from everything she ever knew. Trust doesn't come easily to either of them, but it's the only thing they have.
Grayson will have to give in to his need to submit in order to get his wife to open up and allow him to posses her fully in return.
It's a cautious dance between two people who have never known trust, or love.
Review
Before I start this review I have to be honest and say that I generally don't enjoy time travel stories, but the blurb and BDSM aspects of the storyline appealed to me so I gave it a chance. There were parts of this story that I loved, and others that didn't work for me. I enjoyed the first and last thirds of the book, but the middle section felt slow and a little messy to me.
The BDSM part of the storyline was great, I really enjoyed the scenes and the dynamics between the two main characters. Grayson's struggles to cope with his submissive side in a time when BDSM was not known about and definitely not accepted by society was fascinating to read. This all worked really well for me.
As expected it was the time travel element that I struggled with, but that's probably more down to me than the author. Lulu just seemed to accept the fact that she traveled back in time and ended up in someone else's body too easily. I expected her to have many more problems accepting this and fitting in with her new life.
This is a unique book with intriguing characters, and I am glad that I read it. While I didn't love it, I did like it, so The Duke and the Domina receives three stars.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
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