Sophie Morgan bares all in her controversial sequel to Diary of a Submissive, No Ordinary Love Story.
Sophie Morgan is a submissive. An ordinary, successful young woman who in private surrenders her body and mind to a dominant man. Some of these relationships have been loving, others casual, one just cruel. But what happens when she meets the dominant man of her dreams? When they move in together? When life, love and play collide?
In Adam, Sophie has found a man to respect and cherish her, as well as a lover who'll take her to the very limits of pain and pleasure. But how do you decide who's cooking dinner when later one of you will be whipping the other? Can you be curled up together watching TV one night and the next indulging in a serious punishment session?
In this follow-up to the number-one bestseller, The Diary of a Submissive, Sophie tells us what she did next, how she struggled to combine an ordinary relationship with her sexual needs. It's a controversial, honest and erotic story of trying to find her kinkily romantic happy-ever-after. No Ordinary Love Story is Sophie Morgan's real-life Fifty Shades of Grey.
Sophie Morgan is the author number-one best-selling The Diary of a Submissive, and is a journalist in her thirties.
Amazon lists this title as being available in paperback and Kindle format. I read it on my Kindle.
Here's my review of the first book:
- How kinky?
Actually, surprisingly less so than I expected. The original book and the sequel have the same amount of kink as each other, really, but I suppose I was expecting Morgan to cover kinkier territory in this continuation of the story. Possibly a case of overexpectation. There is a lot of kink in there, don't get me wrong, but it was pretty much the same stuff as in the first book. Plus a cage.
- How sexy?
Very. Like its predecessor, this book falls squarely into the "erotica" category, as opposed to "porn" ... but that is to be expected. Real life just isn't porn. Morgan's writing evokes a sexier reality, where everyone is living their everyday lives, going about their business, including the protagonists, but all the boring stuff is just edited out. She shows us only the sexiest encounters, only the juiciest bits. It's what all our lives would look like if there were remote controls for life. It's sexy as hell.
- How inspiring?
Quite. The original book and the sequel together tell the story of Morgan's journey of discovery. Like any good journey tale, the challenges and obstacles get harder and greater as the story progresses. Likewise, Morgan's experiences get more and more "hardcore" (for want of a better word). It was here, in the sequel, that I came across stuff I hadn't come across in reality-erotica before - such as cages, pet play and even detailed aftercare descriptions. Knowing about a practice and reading a full scenario are two different things. Exploring cageplay, for instance, for the first time right along with Morgan is a pleasant rather than nervewracking experience, and could help novices along their own path of discovery. In that sense, yes, inspiration abounds.
- How engaging?
Very. Again, this is mainly due to the realism of the story. The relationships depicted, not just the central one but also those of the satellite friends and family, are realistic enough to be thoroughly engaging, but never is so much pointless information given that it becomes boring to read. I found myself excited to find out what happened next, all the way through. Of course we can see a happy ending a mile away, but that doesn't stop us wanting to be there when it happens. And it didn't disappoint - I read the whole thing in two sittings.
- How well executed?
Mmm ... could have been better. I mentioned there is just enough information given to render each scene and conversation wonderfully realistic. In fact, there was a little less detail in this book than in the previous one, leaving me with a sense that I couldn't picture the characters in my head as the conversations rolled on. We read about Adam's hair, but not what style it's in. Charlotte's curls, but not their colour or length. We know that Morgan and Adam are of a similar height, but what height is that? When it comes to imagining scenes of this intensity, we really should be given logistical and aesthetic details like these - otherwise how do we know who to picture as we drift off into our own inspired reverie! These sorts of details aren't irrelevant - in fact they are taught as a fundamental part of writing fiction and biographical non-fiction. The ability to conjure images of your characters in the minds of your readers through creative description is generally considered to be a fairly important skill. Morgan, unfortunately, either doesn't have it, or has been the victim of ruthless editing. Either way - I am disappoint.
- Negatives?
I sometimes feel that perhaps Kindle novels aren't as well copyedited as their paperback counterparts, or perhaps this one was rushed to publication in both formats. Either way, there were one or two instances in which the wrong word was used for the situation - a simple mistake that many writers make, but needs to be picked up in editing. It wasn't. Considering Morgan is meant to be a journalist it just came off as lazy, and inconsiderate of readers who've paid money to share her story.
- Overall reaction
Overall, I actually liked this book better than the first. After reading Diary of a Submissive, I admit I was dying to find out what happened next. What happened was both unexpected and fantastic, at least in the context of the storyline. The male protagonist, much better in every way than his counterpart from the first book, just happens to be one version of my "ideal Dom" ... and I am certain that this is not a coincidence. It is entirely possible, of course, that he has been idealised for his role in this story, as he really sounds too good to be true. Cynicism aside, he made reading the story all the more engaging, right up until the not-so-surprising-really ending. I don't know if I'd be impatient to read another sequel, if it were to be written - after all, stories about kink with kids in the house tend to be just slightly less erotic than otherwise. But in case Morgan is considering a third in the series, I suppose I'd just have to read it, if only for the sake of this blog. Ah, the things we have to do in the name of research! :)
4 cocks!
Please also check out the first book:
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