She’s ready for a pampered vacation in paradise… But somehow ends up in the hands of a dominant Master…Claire Devon works hard and plays… never. Forced on vacation, she journeys to the exotic Paradise Islands, expecting romantic moonlit walks and sweet kisses over candlelight dinners. But when a mix-up lands her on the resort’s BDSM island, she is ensnared by an exacting Master who demands one thing—her full obedience.
Master Ayden, a professional BDSM trainer and strict taskmaster, eagerly takes this bratty sub girl firmly in hand. She needs to learn that he’s the one who makes—and enforces—the rules. Breaking them earns her a spanking she won’t soon forget…
Claire’s wild attraction to this dark, controlling Master shocks her. But once Pandora’s box of forbidden desires is open, there is no going back… for either of them.
Submission in Paradise is a novel in the Erotic Awakenings Series.Dare to take a journey of D/s discovery. Experience the edgy passion, power, and romance of erotic submission
Claire has been writing for nearly two decades, and has published over 85 novels. She writes BDSM romance and abduction tales, spanning both m/f and m/m genres. She has received numerous awards for her bestselling work, including the NLA-Int’l Pauline Réage Award and the Golden Flogger Award for best BDSM fiction.. Her darker works press the envelope of what is erotic and what can be a sometimes dangerous slide into the world of sadomasochism. Ultimately her work deals with the human condition, and our constant search for love and intensity of experience. Connect with Claire and get a FREE starter library! https://clairethompson.net
Hmmmmm... well.... I'm a wee bit embarrassed to admit this book rather quickly went in a different direction than I expected, and I was kind of disappointed about that. I had expected several scenes where our workaholic heroine is treated to shocking, but delicious, BDSM punishments because of the misunderstanding laid out in the blurb. I was looking forward to the dubious consent angle being played out a bit longer. Claire Thompson can write some pretty harsh scenes, at least in my opinion, and here she had the justification for those scenes all set up nicely so I could set my, often misplaced, sense of outrage aside and enjoy the show. I think I'm pouting a little....
What I got instead was one scene of dubious consent, thanks to the aforementioned misunderstanding, followed a very sweet romance with a fantasy dom (complete with English accent! Oooooh, I do love English accents, sooooo sexy! ;D) teaching a strong, intelligent woman how to appreciate and enjoy her submissive side. In retrospect the fact that Liam picked up on the problem so quickly gave him some real domly Dom cred. It was lovely really, very well written with several very consensual and hot BDSM scenes and a growing romance with an HEA I could get behind...
Now... if only I could stop pouting about those hoped for scenes of dubious consent. ;-)
Fantasy island complete with a sexy male dominant and a BDSM dungeon? Is this Exit to Eden? Where does one book this trip? It would be fabulous! For Shea Devon, it's a forced vacation which goes awry. Her fantasy is romance with candle light dinners. Instead, she's been thrown into the lion's den with spankings, floggings and a cage. Poor Shea doesn't even know what a safeword means!
Liam Jordan helps out a friend by taking on the one week job to be a dominant on her sex fantasy island. A careless employee mixes up the questionnaires and Liam is becomes a nightmare date for Shea. Liam is even more embarrassed than Shea. This bit of comedy of errors is pretty amusing from a reader perspective. Ms. Thompson does a great job of turning a nightmare into a dream come true.
The BDSM in this story is pretty hawt. The floggings and the D/s 101 are perfect for those just learning about BDSM. They are pretty realistic, even down to Shea trying to force herself to take the pain she clearly doesn't want in order to please her dom. The realities of life intruding on a newbie learning the ropes of BDSM is also pretty dead on. It's not easy to balance the two at times. On top of this, a new relationship which becomes long distance across the Atlantic makes it even more complicated. Ms. Thompson does a good job of showing how an independent woman with a high pressured job needs to make decisions on how she wants to live her life. Sometimes having the cake and eating it too is just not possible. But what happens when that cake is no longer the flavour desired? This is what made the story interesting for me. The almost "mid-life" crisis Shea goes through, so that she can reprioritize and determine what she really wants out of life is relatable for many career women.
The reason why I categorized it as GlitterKink is because of the exclusive private BDSM island. It has nothing to do with the BDSM scenes or the degree of BDSM demonstrated in this book. This is a great beginning BDSM romance for those wanting a little more heat than just handcuffs and a blindfold. Recommended as a Gateway to BDSM book.
I've managed to purchase this twice, both as an individual book and as part of the box set. I enjoyed the story so much that I don't even care! I fell in love with this engaging, well written, and captivating story of a woman exploring her submissive side. The author knows not to overly stretch things out, so the "mistake" scenario was fairly quickly resolved. I very much appreciated that she didn't try to make this overly angsty or a larger part of the book than it needed to be.
Instalove is a pretty hard sell for me, so my one criticism of this story is that I didn't find it convincing or necessary. The timeline could have been extended so that the job offer came later in their relationship. Other than that the relationship was portrayed maturely, Ayden was very careful to consider and account for Claire's lack of knowledge and experience. I enjoyed that some of the sex scenes were fairly vanilla, for me it made the relationship feel more real.
Another huge positive for me is that the author writes Doms who respect the heroine's autonomy when she is at work or not in a scene. I get so irritated by books where the D/s relationship is meant to be only during intimate/pre-agreed times but the Dom starts imposing his demands on the sub whilst she is at work, out with family or friends etc. Particularly demands that could affect her job or relationship with others. I always feel that suggests the Dom is more interested in his desires than her welfare. Ayden showed great respect for Claire's career, even accepting the very long hours she worked and consciously made a choice NOT to put his wants above her needs.
The story included genuine character growth, no trite clichés and a perfect epilogue. Highly recommended for those who enjoy and adult erotic romance.
Wow!! I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the story, and the characters, and all of the beautiful emotions throughout this book. It explains the sensitive connection between a Dom and his sub in so many ways it makes your heart full.
Very well written BDSM story, loved the characters Aydan and Claire who's meeting is a clerical error but sets them on a journey together. Would recommended this book.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
When I was asked to review Submission in Paradise by Claire Thompson, I jumped at the chance. I have been a fan of Ms. Thompson’s for quite a while. She is superb at writing darkly erotic novels that grip you from the first page. I was sure after reading the blurb for Submission in Paradise that I was in the same wild emotional ride as some of Ms. Thompson’s other books. But Submission in Paradise isn’t really about the darker side, it’s really a sweet romance and that’s okay because it’s a terrific book and I definitely recommend it.
Shea has spent her adult life working hard and proving herself to be just as competent as any man. She has always been in complete control of her life and she likes it that way. Her boss, and best friend, insists that Shea needs to relax and take a vacation so she buys Shea a week at Paradise Islands where Shea can live out her romantic fantasy.
An unfortunate mix up results in Shea being placed in the hands of Liam, a Dom specializing in submission and domination. Yet after an erotic spanking, Shea realizes that maybe she needs to submit and let someone else take control. She and Liam embark on a sexual journey exploring submission and erotic pain. Along the way, they find themselves falling in love with each other.
The characters were a huge part of this novel’s success. Shea and Liam were such believable characters and I related to each of them. Shea was like so many of us women today; she focused so much on Shea the career woman that she’s ignored the actual woman. Shea’s need for control is also something I think many women will relate to. Her intelligence and independence made her interest in submission especially fascinating.
Liam is pretty much perfection. Putting aside his handsome good lucks and British accent, he is an alpha male who isn’t afraid to take control but still has a sweet, loving and sensitive side. He was the perfect man to teach Shea about BDSM and I think I fell for him as deeply as she did.
In addition to great characters, Submission in Paradise has some of the hottest sex scenes. Make sure the fan is on when reading so you don’t overheat. The chemistry between Liam and Shea jumps off the pages and adds to the believability of their relationship.
Shea had to overcome the negative connotation of submission. As Liam explained “Despite a slowly gaining acceptance of BDSM into the mainstream, most people’s understanding was limited to badly written erotica and tacky porn sites.” Well, Submission to Paradise is definitely not badly written. Ms. Thompson is able to take BDSM and showcase the beauty behind power exchanges, and in fact, this is where she excels. You need to put this one on your TBR list.
Shea Devon is driven by success and is a very successful women who has no time for romance in her life. Shea’s boss sees this as an opportunity to surprise Shea with a one week paid all exclusive trip to Paradise Island. Jacki books Shea the “ultimate package” that includes wine, fine dinning, and a boy toy! Shea will have her feet rubbed, partake in romantic walks along the beach, and romantic candle lit dinners. Shea likes how that sounds and figured maybe a vacation will do this workaholic some good.
Shea has no idea that there is a mix-up with her request (of what she wanted) with another ladies request on Paradise Island. Shea is in for the thrill of her life, and is about to be introduced to a world of domination and excitement that will bring Shea to pure ecstasy.
Liam Jordan worked for Paradise Island as one of the best Dom’s, where he would offer Domination services for ladies who wanted to have a sexy hunk dominate them. Liam has opened his own BDSM dungeon and no longer works for Paradise Island until his old boss calls him to ask for a little favor. Liam’s old boss sends him a picture of Shea Devon explaining to him that this lady would like to have the ultimate BDSM experience and that Liam is the only Dom who could supply this service. He wants him to service this customer for one full week. Liam immediately hesitates but with one look at Shea, he agrees to dominate and teach her in the arts of BDSM. Liam has no idea that Shea Devon is at the island to be pampered romantically, and NOT there for BDSM training at all!
Will Shea Devon accept Liam as her personal Dom? Will Shea lose her inhibitions and hang-ups towards BDSM? Will she surrender herself to spankings, whippings, and evening public nudity, and all for a man she barely knows?
I really enjoyed this novel and just loved the tenderness that Liam showed Shea when he was being shown the world of BDSM. I also loved how Shea became such a confident women who learned to love herself and further express herself through BDSM. This steamy novel has it all, romance, passion and loads of steamy hot erotica that is sure to get your juices flowing!
Shea Devon is a workaholic. It seems Shea’s average workweek is eighty hours. Therefore, she is surprised that her boss and best friend not just gave her the week off but paid for a trip to Paradise Islands. Shea picks a fantasy of moonlit walks on the beach with candlelight dinners. However, a mix-up lands her in the lap of a stern Master. Shea strikes me as someone who is very goal orientated that somehow lost what goal she is going after but still works just as hard for it.
Liam Jordon is a Master who helps others couples fix there BDSM issues. Liam is a hot and sexy Dom who helps a friend and owner of Paradise Islands. I loved how when he looked over the information he was not too happy. He could spot how dangerous it could be in a seconds.
My only issue with Liam is he started a scene with Shea and did not go over her safe word but on the other hand there would not have been any story if that happened but I still have mixed feelings about it. I liked that Liam was very observant and he could tell Shea was telling the truth when she protested. Too many “Doms” might have glossed over it and kept pushing.
The chemistry between Shea and Liam is blistering. The sex scenes were scorching. I enjoyed how supportive Liam was to Shea’s career. I also liked how slow they took it so they could see if there relationship would work outside the Island.
I found this story to be well written and interesting. The main characters were fascinating and realistic. I would have loved to see how the owner took the mix up as well as that side of the story. Overall, this was a great book. I have always loved Ms. Thompson’s books. I hope there is a sequel in the works because I would love to see more of Paradise Islands.
Shea Devon is a workaholic. It seems Shea’s average workweek is eighty hours. Therefore, she is surprised that her boss and best friend not just gave her the week off but paid for a trip to Paradise Islands. Shea picks a fantasy of moonlit walks on the beach with candlelight dinners. However, a mix-up lands her in the lap of a stern Master. Shea strikes me as someone who is very goal orientated that somehow lost what goal she is going after but still works just as hard for it.
Liam Jordon is a Master who helps others couples fix there BDSM issues. Liam is a hot and sexy Dom who helps a friend and owner of Paradise Islands. I loved how when he looked over the information he was not too happy. He could spot how dangerous it could be in a seconds.
My only issue with Liam is he started a scene with Shea and did not go over her safe word but on the other hand there would not have been any story if that happened but I still have mixed feelings about it. I liked that Liam was very observant and he could tell Shea was telling the truth when she protested. Too many “Doms” might have glossed over it and kept pushing.
The chemistry between Shea and Liam is blistering. The sex scenes were scorching. I enjoyed how supportive Liam was to Shea’s career. I also liked how slow they took it so they could see if there relationship would work outside the Island.
I found this story to be well written and interesting. The main characters were fascinating and realistic. I would have loved to see how the owner took the mix up as well as that side of the story. Overall, this was a great book. I have always loved Ms. Thompson’s books. I hope there is a sequel in the works because I would love to see more of Paradise Islands.
Claire, the workaholic on a forced vacation, meets Ayden the BDSM trainer on a tropical island where romance is definitely in the air. It's a mix-up that brings them together, as Ayden was expecting an experienced submissive and instead gets Claire who was expecting hearts and flowers. Claire gets a rather abrupt initiation to the world of dominance and submission with a spanking that takes her to places she never expected to go and after some discussion, she decides to give BDSM with Ayden a try. Sparks quickly fly and the two begin to develop something more than the simple introduction into BDSM that Ayden initially promises her. When they return to the real world, Claire finds she will have to make some serious changes in her life if she wants to keep Ayden in it.
I think the story works well as an intro to BDSM, but it ends a bit abruptly for the romance. Nevertheless, I very much liked that the real world conflict was with Claire's work, rather than some evil deliberately intervening between them. That note of realism adds something to the book. Overall, definitely enjoyable.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
Second book in the series, but it is a complete standalone. Claire is being sent on vacation by her boss. I want a boss like that and but a case of mistaken identity lands her on a BDSM Island. Claire never back down from a challenge and stays to be trained by master Ayden. I loved reading about her experiences and her journey. And that she starts living for herself and not her work. Ayden is very hot and I loved the BDSM scene
This is an intriguing book because Claire was a complete newbie to BDSM and Ayden was deeply immersed in the scene. I love the detailing of the scenes which allowed me to feel as though I were there myself. This book is just simply delicious. It was sexy and passionate with sweet tender moments. Thank you for another wonderful erotic adventure, Ms. Thompson.
W-O-W!!! Loved it. Letting go on a private island with a Dominant who knows how to make your dreams come true? Sign me up. Loved how Claire started with the idea of moonlight walks and lazy days and ends up getting the spanking of her lifetime. Lemons to lemonade. Nice.
There has been a huge misunderstanding! Shea knew she didn't sign up for this. Liam was sure he was going by the right script. How in the world did this happen?Turns out, it was the best thing that ever happened to Shea. She had no idea that this side of her existed, and Liam delighted in showing it to her and more.There are obstacles, (when aren't there?). Shea has to take a couple of chances to figure out what exactly she wants in life. Liam has to let her fly free to take those chances, hoping that when she figures out what she wants, that he is included.This is a HEA, with some BDSM training involved.I have a couple of pet peeves with this one, so spoilers ahead...Mini Rant