I’m am not immune to the compelling and erotic world of submission, so when I was offered the chance to read this anthology of short stories built around that subject I jumped at the chance. I’ve read some of Rachel Kramers Brussel’s other anthologies and always enjoyed them so I had high exceptions as I began to read.
Over the coming week, I found myself regularly looking for and picking up this compelling book. I love shorts as they are easy to digest and like most people I have a busy life. So it’s always nice to escape into someone elses world, if only for an hour or so, which is all the time you need for many of these stories and some much less. As the title of the book suggests all the stories this anthology contains deal with one subject, submission, and more to the point female submission. What I love about this particular collection is that while all of the women characters are submitting to the will of their Dom, they do so with thought, and in many of the stories we get a glimpse into the emotional connection that the female character has not only with their Dom but also with themselves.
Many of the stories refer to the freedom that is often experienced by the very act of submitting. I adored the story, Silver Fish In The Crystal Pool by Gina Marie which is an awesome example of this. In the story the female sub is bound to a tree, but it’s more than that she becomes one with the tree as she feels the pleasure her Master administers. I loved the imagery the authors words create in my mind. I loved these lines for example: “ You’re not wet, lover. Why aren’t you wet?” The breeze catches the river of juice streaming down my thighs and my mind is tumbling. There is symbolism in this story that reaches far beyond the juices that I found running down my own thighs as I read.
I have a few favorite stories in this collection, but one of my absolute favorites is Shining In the Dark by Bex VanHoot. I’m not sure why this touched me so deeply but the basic synopsis for this short is that the female sub becomes a piece of art work. Perhaps its the images that the author so skillfully created in my mind as I read, or maybe I love the idea of submission as a form of art in it’s own right, or maybe it just appealed to some part off me that could identify with the female character who is the reluctant center of attention. Whatever the reason, if you get the chance to read this particular story, I highly recommend it.
Coffee Break by Kristina Wright was another of my favorite stories and in many ways kept me guessing till it’s conclusion. The idea of giving up control of ones own actions as the main character does or more to the point obeying someone elses, can be both frightening and oh so very exciting. In theory the females in submissive stories obey their Doms thoughts without question, yet, here we get a glimpse into the anxiety felt by the sub as she obeys. I love the fact that at the end of this story the sub is rewarded in an expected way. Let’s just say since reading this story I can’t look at my local Barista in the same light and leave it at that. I enjoyed all of the stories but as I always true with these anthologies some more than others. This is because I can identify with some characters or situations, they just resonate with me.
What I really loved about Serving Him is that it allowed my mind to wander through the corridors of other people’s dungeons and kinky lifestyles whilst going no further than my comfy reading chair. I mean what’s not to love about that?
Want you own copy of Serving Him? You can purchase it HERE.
[starthumbsblock tpl=25]
If you want to get to know the editor of this anthology, Jenne interviewed Rachel Kramer Bussel and you can read that Interview HERE.