The Devil’s Submission (Fallen Book 2)

4 1/2 stars, rounded up for the sheer enjoyment!I loved this book. From the blurb, we know that "Devil" Lord Grayson is a man who craves pain with his pleasure, and a loving lady to instruct him.This is in effect, a role reversal of the Dom/submissive trope. In a time when men are meant to be alphas to their women, Dev is a secret sub. And Eliza becomes a Dom in training, in order to save their marriage.[She took a deep breath, her shoulders straightening, like she was preparing for battle. “Actually, what I want is you. Upstairs, naked, and bent over. You require discipline, Grayson, and I have a brand new cane I am eager to try out.”]And that she's rather good at it...[“You heard me,” she said in a steely voice. Then she circled him, one hand caressing his backside, and he groaned, shuddering in anticipation as his c**k hardened to stone. “Upstairs. Now.”]This was another wonderful read from this series, with lots of great progressive and inclusive themes. And it was very, very sexy.

I guess I could put this book in the 'Erotica Light' catagory. The second book of the Fallen series - of which I haven't read the first - features the story of Grayson and Eliza. We have two interesting characters here, who outwardly behave contrary to what they really are and want, when it comes to sex. The Devil - Grayson - is a sub through and through, while his estranged wife has some definite dominant tendencies. Nice...(I really liked Grayson).I enjoyed their story, but I don't think that I'll be diving into the rest of the books in the series. I'm not a big erotica fan, even though this book had more substance than what I'd expect an erotic read to have, which was nice...it had a plot! There were some editing issues with missing words and a few awkward sentences, but they didn't really take away much from the reading experience...with the exception of the profuse use of 'f***' and 'p****' which was not only crude, but it made the story sound too modern. Ugh.Historically, I found some issues though. For example, how are these people, i.e. the club owners, workers, and even some of their known 'high class' clients able to mix with the ton so easily? With the exception of members from the highest echelons of society, they would have been shunned during Great Britain's Regency period. I didn't find much in the way of societal issues for the characters here. And speaking of that society and its issues...how in the hell could Eliza's mother run a charm school for girls, yet not know or care that her daughter was married to a man who co-owned a sex club?Still, this was an entertaining read.

While this novel had some endearing qualities, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I liked the characters well enough, however, male submission is not my thing. I’m more of an alpha male type of girl. The main characters were also already married in this story and I prefer when things start at the beginning of a relationship and progress from that point forward. I did enjoy the journey of admission and discovery that the characters went on and how that drew them closer to one another. Alas, this novella was too short to really get to the depth I would have preferred.

Submissive male lead and budding dominatrix mixed with Regency romance makes for a touchingly sweet and tantalizing novella. This particular romantic power structure is not usually my thing, but it was done so well and it was refreshing get to have that reversal of the norm that I quite liked it after all. Since the characters were already married, it made the novella format work, taking time to just develop and resolve things that were already established. Overall, quite sexy and well done. To be noted, as with the first in this series, the wording is somewhat modern, but does not really detract.

This is good historical story, however there is a definite BDSM portion to the story and of course you might have expected some as the Hero is one of the part owners of the Fallen Club, it is clear that Fallen is a sex club, but is also certain that it is a BDSM club as well. There is a bit of a twist to the story that is only fully revealed at the end and I think it is a nice sort of twist that works well in the story, I am sure that you will think so too. I recommend this book.

Book two in the Fallen series. Novella length can be read and enjoyed as stand-alone. Fallen is a pleasure club in London. Secondary characters are the same throughout the series, but each book is about a different club co-owner finding their HEA. Grayson married Eliza believing she was the perfect woman for him and his needs. Their failure to communicate leads to a 6-month separation. Her anger turns out to be exactly what he needs to finally share his desires. Great book, I loved it!

Hard to find books that hold my attention during this weird time in the world, but Davidson's work always does the trick.Even in this novella format, the characters are dimensional, the motivations are clear, and the sexy times are varied and thorough. Other highlights of Devil's story: plenty of ripped chemises, reconciliation of brothers, and well-deserved comeuppance.

I really enjoyed this novella. A geeky submissive hero who co-owns a London sex club? YES! A thousand times yes. I thought the characterization was really well done, with the reasons for the falling out believable. All in all, a book I'll definitely be re-reading soon!

2.5 starsThe plot line in one line:A woman under the thumb of her over-bearing mother returns to her estranged husband and discovers the reason it didn’t work out between them is because he secretly wants to be submissive but she cowed to her mother’s demands to be less bossy.The good and the bad:This is a fun little novella if you’re looking for a cheap BDSM thrill. Particularly if the kink you’re keen for is male submission. Male submission doesn’t seem to be that popular a fiction topic – the straight female romance genre is largely about alpha men who dominate in the bedroom, be that just by taking charge of the sex or indulging in physically punishing pursuits. This book is a good introduction to the idea of male submission as it doesn’t veer into the more extreme side – sissy boys, anal penetration etc. It’s about a guy who gets off on being bossed about in the bedroom by his wife and caned when he misbehaves. There is a decent level of sexual tension and the sex scenes themselves are titillating.Wrapped into this was a little side-story/tension device involving the mother of the heroine putting her daughter under pressure to wheedle money out of the hero, Devil.What I don’t understand is why this book is set in the 1800s because the era has no relevance whatsoever. Apart from the occasional reference to chemises and stays, there is nothing that really attributes this book to the era. The language certainly doesn’t (I’m pretty sure the term ‘clit’ wasn’t being used back then). The story would have worked better set in the current day, where the language would have been appropriate therefore not distracting.I have only two other complaints. First, Devil is ashamed of his sexual desires and yet part owns a sex club that caters to and accepts all manner of desires, including male submission, so I struggle to see why he has such a big issue with coming out as a male submissive and instead is burdened with shame.Second, the bit in the story where he explains how as a young man he was beaten by his father was a bit “urgh” for me. In short, he gets off on having ten bells knocked out of him by his dad. Masochist or not, I just can’t find the idea of someone climaxing when their dad beats them up sexy.

Too short. Very naughty! A good read for an hour's indulgence! 😳Looking forward to the next instalment which I am assuming will be Vice's story.

There's a lot to recomend this- it's nice to see a submissive male hero be depicted as sexy, but a few things that, for the price, are acceptable draw backs.The sex is universally well written, and if the language can err a bit modern (calling doms "Alphas" in 1814 and talking about consent like a modern dungeon monitor) you won't get any funny or unsafe ideas about kink. Davidson never sacrifices safe sex for drama.The family related twist at the end seemed a bit tacked on and really added nothing in particular to the story, and the heroine, Eliza, seemed less interested in most of the kinky goings on of the environment that she is in keeping her husband happy. The hero is a jerk, and trauma or not, a bit selfish.The hero was depicted as having gone through quite a bit, but to be honest he wasn't very likeable- we get to see him defending a maid, but he keeps the books and wears a mask with folks.I am sympathetic to his trauma and personally into hurt/comfort but he really seemed more interested in how Eliza made him feel than her happiness. Despite being 1/3 of a sex club's ownership he doesn't seem particularly inclined to examine why Eliza behaves as she does or what a woman of her age an era was likely to have access to.We open with our couple already married and the hero having put her aside because she stopped being as bossy and assertive as he wanted. He had hoped her being forward would turn her into a domme- which you would think given her easy acceptance of helping him run his sex club he would take the time to expose her to things rather than apparently only letting her into the offices...?He is the problem in this story as far as conflict. At our story's open, Eliza has returned to borrow money to bail out her family (but he is unaware of that) and he instantly moves to being outright mean to her. This is played for erotic drama, but it's a pattern that he never apologizes for.It's a flaw in Davidson's work I found in other materials, that she tends to rush from point to point in periods of high emotion, so pieces don't nessarily flow- here he is being intentionally hurtful out of nowhere. It would have taken little further writing to stretch out their separation is because he had reacted poorly to her post marriage docility, causing her to pull away further.Eliza has an over bearing mother and an over developed sense of responsibility- her own dominance largely focuses on her maternal "take charge" interest in things and enthusiasm to do stuff, which I feel is a bit unfortunate. It's an easy character to project the self into and I found her quite likeable, but as the story progresses and the extent of the hero's masochism is revealed her rushed dominatrix lessons don't feel an act of personal self discovery as much as her own desire to be able to care for her partner.It's extremely realistic, but also disappointing. Nonetheless that's a personal quirk and not worth knocking a star off. Definitely a step in the right direction, in a very under served niche, and well worth to see what Davidson would cook up in femdom with a bit more time and budget.

Just as wonderfully sexy as the first! Devil and Eliza were such a perfect match, and now I'm hankering for Vice's book :)