Customer Reviews

Comfort Object (Comfort series)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What I liked: well written story with mostly interesting characters.

What I didn't like: The anger in the Dom.

I've read two of this authors stories so far and both show a 'broken' dom and a 'broken' sub. His need to dominate comes from a well of anger and her need to submit comes from a place of, I dont know, insecurity? In both of the books of Annabel Joseph's that I've read, the Dom and the sub need some serious time on a psychiatrists couch.

The Dom/sub relationship is supposed to be based on trust. The strength of a sub is in her ability to give over control to her Dom. The strength of a Dom is his ability to take into his possession that control and keep his sub safe.

Annabel Joseph's Dom/sub relationships have no basis in the beauty of that kind of trust and it never develops. Its abuse, pure and simple.

And in no way would I call her books romantic....I kept hoping that at some point the Dom's would redeem themselves but they dont, not really. And the subs lack any kind of strenght, except that to endure with no hope. Not very admirable, in my opinion.

To be completely truthful, this story and the previous one I read leave me with a bad taste in my mouth.

I found this book a terrific read. Intelligent, sensual writing, engaging characters and plot tension you could cut with a knife! The plot centres around a bdsm love relationship that pretends it's only for show and convenience, with all the pain and misunderstandings that could keep two people at an emotional distance, while they continue to engage in kinky sex up to the hilt (pun intended).

The kink isn't mild; I'd call it medium, but hot as hell! (Yummy, actually.) Jeremy's character can be hard to take at first, but that's central to the plot. And I loved Nell's private book obsession, because books obsess me, too. Unspoken love, lingerie, whips, canes, sex scenes so well described you're almost experiencing them yourself...wow! Best bdsm romance I've read in ages!

WOW what a great read! The writer did a wonderful job writing this story. It will get your sexual juices flowing, stir your emotions, and invoke your curiosity about the characters' motives and actions. I think novels are voyeuristic in nature and this story provides a peep hole into the BDSM world. Nell and Jeremy are very strong characters. The suspense in this story really made the storyline stand out. It took me some time reading before I fully understood the title and by the end I had gained a better insight into its meaning. I enjoyed how the characters interacted. There was a beginning, middle and end to this story with both characters providing their views or speaking on how they viewed the relationship. This approach was insightful for anyone not involved in this lifestyle. The sexual interaction was creative, passionate, and powerful and at times pushed the lines of consent. There was no guessing the next move the characters would make or how the story would end. The suspense and intensity held on to the very end. I look forward to enjoying many more stories by Annabel Joseph. This story is not for the faint at heart it includes strong BDSM content. - Michele

The Plot:

This is the story of Nell, a Harvard-educated professional submissive. Nell's down on her luck, and when she finds herself blacklisted in the BDSM community and unable to find a job due to the manipulative ploys of sadistic celebrity, Jeremy Gray, she finds that she has nowhere to turn but to his unusual job offer to be his "comfort object" (i.e., sexual slave).

As a successful actor, Jeremy doesn't have the time or energy to cultivate a true relationship. He also knows that finding a girl who shares his sexual kink is not an easy task. So he does what any wealthy, kinky celebrity would do, he hires someone to meet his needs. Once Jeremy sets his sights on Nell, he knows that he has to have her -- by hook or by crook -- and it may just take a little of both to keep her where he wants her.

Zelda's Take:

I loved Nell's story. She's smart and kinky and on an unfortunate psychological roller coaster with Jeremy Gray. This is a great tale of forced submission that blurs the boundary of mutual consent. While Nell enters into a contract to work for Jeremy, she is doing so under duress. He's taken away everything that she's worked for -- her job, professional marketability and her apartment. She has nowhere to turn but to the open hand in front of her, which just happens to belong to Jeremy. She signs Jeremy's contract with full knowledge that she's signing away her freedom.

This book appeals to the fantasy of pseudo-consensual sexual coercion and moral ambiguity. Jeremy forces Nell's submission, but Nell is a professional submissive before Jeremy even comes into the picture. She is willingly employed and paid to submit to clients within the boundaries and restrictions of the BDSM club she works at, Eden. On paper, contracting with Jeremy is just an extended and more extreme form of her contract with Eden. In reality, Nell is strong-armed into the contract through Jeremy's emotional and financial manipulation, and his actions begin to change Nell's submissive proclivities from a professional endeavor into a lifestyle choice. Nell is on a twisted ride through Jeremy's life -- jumping from city to city, hotel room to hotel room, with no one to confide in and no one to comfort her aside from her dominating new boss and his wily sidekick. She is essentially lost in the world, isolated from home and completely at the mercy of Jeremy and his contract.

Jeremy is both physically and emotionally merciless. Morality aside, this book is packed full of really hot scenes, although not for the faint of heart or BDSM-averse reader. Jeremy pushes Nell beyond her limits on more than one occasion, and he's creative as hell in his techniques. He beats her, tortures her, isolates her and messes with her mind, yet provides her seemingly endless sexual pleasure and makes her beg for more -- all ingredients for a happy submissive. Nell provides Jeremy a better understanding of his own nature and humanity, a warm, consistent body to return home to and talk to, a blank slate (er, body) upon which to act out his own whims and, above all, hope -- hope for love, hope for a future and hope for understanding. Lo and behold, tenderness grows between them out of their mutual understanding of each other's needs and desires and blooms into a sweet and sexy interdependence that surprises them both, something that they eventually find they cannot live without.

The emotional complexity and eroticism of Annabel Joseph's writing is really enjoyable. Comfort Object is a great read and I can't wait to pick up more of her books.

What can I say about this book? I really really loved it. It starts with Nell working at a kink club as a professional submissive in LA. But she definitely has a lot of walls and boundaries put up. She's been in a few real life kinky relationships but she's never "submissive enough" for the dominant partner.

One of the themes that seems to pour through this book is that most submissives are not universally perfectly submissive with every person. Which I definitely agree with. It takes the right dominant to call it out. To blame the submissive to me is like blaming the victim. Not that I see a submissive as a victim, I don't, but telling someone they aren't a "real submissive" just because YOU don't know what to do with them, is abusive, and is casting that submissive in the role of the victim.

There is also one female character, the "mistress" of the BDSM club who I think is just an abusive (insert word I can't type at most of the places I'm leaving this review.)

Nell, like me, would rather kill a woman than submit to her. There is just something about dominant women that turns me the hell off. A lot more cruelty than I've seen even in some of the worst dominant males. I'm sure there are decent dommes out there, but the awful ones are just very loud about their awfulness.

In Comfort Object, Jeremy Gray is a big-time movie star, an absolutely depraved sex fiend, and a bit of a cold a-hole who has put up his own walls for his own reasons.

He orchestrates it so that Nell ends up homeless and in desperate need of money, so he can whip out a job scenario she wouldn't take under ordinary circumstances... a full time job... being his fake girlfriend in public for the paparazzi, and being his real submissive in private behind closed doors.

The list of things he expects from her and the depth of submission is more than she has ever done or been exposed to, even with her experience at the club. She's terrified but she accepts his offer and signs his contract.

This book is about these two people having their walls broken down to move toward trust and relationship.

I'm told a lot of people don't like Jeremy. But I love him. He is a hard dominant. I really don't care for a lot of these pussy doms in a lot of BDSM books.

Kindness and mercy are lovely qualities, but they're only erotic when juxtaposed against the fear and realization that the person your with has some actual power and isn't afraid to use it.

The character of Jeremy Gray embodies this raw dominant power. There are a few moments in which one could consider his behavior abusive, and that might not sit well with some. But it IS fiction. No one is saying that everybody in real life should replicate this exact scenario.

At the same time though, actual BDSM relationships do have their bumps in the road and their risks. Jeremy gives her a safeword, would honor it, and would send her home, set up with the money she needs, at any time.

One thing that helps soften Jeremy to the point where most readers can take him is that the book is told in dual first person perspective, switching back and forth between Nell and Jeremy. I found that very effective in this book and think it was good for the author to allow the readers that deeply into Jeremy's head. It's the only way to really "get" him to a degree where most people would want them to be together.

Jeremy definitely has layers and is the consummate actor. Unless you're inside his head, you will think he's a shallow jerk movie star with a sexually sadistic streak, but he's so much more.

I highly recommend this book. Definitely something I would read again, and something I hope to be able to get in print also.

I held off on reading this one due to the review(s) that said the dom here was too angry. This was my problem with Mercy, so I was hesitant about another round, but I found Jeremy to be just delightful. I really did not get a very angry vibe from him, maybe just sometimes, but I never feared that he would go too far with her or hurt her (as I did in Mercy). Plus I felt we had a clearer vision of what it was that stressed him out. So, obviously it's a sliding scale of your own reading comfort zone, but if you normally like intense heroes and found the dom in Mercy to be a little too far gone, you may still like Jeremy. I, for one, am so glad I read this as I found it to be a lot of fun, very hot, in the moment, and also thought-provoking when it was finished. Perfect.

After being fired from her job and evicted from her home, professional submissive Nell agrees to become the personal assistant of movie star Jeremy Gray. However, this personal assistant position will require more of her than fielding emails and phone calls. Not only is she to portray his new girlfriend while in public, but also be his BDSM sex toy in private. In exchange, after Nell's contract with him is up, he'll set her up with a place to live and the funds to complete her college education.

What neither of them ever expected was for this simple employment contract between two strangers to bring out emotions and feelings and a fear of letting go of each other once their time was up.

Having read other BDSM-themed books by Annabel Joseph, I thought I was prepared for Comfort Object. I wasn't. This story starts off with a bang and doesn't let up until the words "The End". Much of my time was spent crying for Nell, as she touched my heart on a very deep level. Estranged from her family, fired from her job unjustly, evicted from her home due to some serious manipulation, she just couldn't catch a break. This was a woman who at first really didn't seem in charge of her own destiny.

At first, I'll admit to not liking Jeremy. He manipulated situations almost narcissistically, all the while bemoaning his situation as a Hollywood actor. It was almost incongruous. Or perhaps he was resigned to the annoyances that come with being a star and used that status to his advantage. Throughout the story, he was a bit moody and sometimes even petulant. Perhaps it was his kink, but he called Nell names often to the point of humiliation. It would have been more understanding had it being during a "scene" but he acted this way whenever she showed any fire or emotion. It was almost enough to make me want to strangle him. Almost.

His saving grace was, interestingly enough, the narrative. Some of the chapters were narrated by her and others were by him. Seeing inside his head tempered my anger with desire. It was then that I was able to glimpse his vulnerability and fear of being hurt. This altered my perception of him from demon to human.

The chemistry between Nell and Jeremy was off the charts scorching. When these two came together (and with Jeremy's robust libido, it seemed like every half hour!), it was nothing short of explosive. The addition of secondary characters Jess and Kyle made for some seriously spicy repartee and sexual interactions, and the secondary plot of a vicious stalker was enough to keep the story at a roller coaster pace. Having delved so deeply into these two characters, I was heartily disappointed when my nose left the book at the end of the story to realize I'd come back to reality. Brava, Ms. Joseph! I look forward to your next writing endeavor.

Reviewed at fallenangelreviews.com

Some spoilers ahead:

This was the first book I've read by the author and I've also purchased "Caressa's Knees" (had to find out what happened with Kyle). I did like "Comfort Object" and thought it was an interesting read, but must get a few things off my chest:

Jeremy could be a real pr*ck, and it wasn't even the physical punishments he handed out that bothered me--it was some of the mind games he played. That scene at his family's house and the fake engagement was really messed up. It creeped me out how he played with his own family as well as with Nell. Others have remarked on his anger, but what bugged me was his self-pity (because his subs "always leave").

Nell irked me because she just accepted whatever crap he gave her--though she was a submissive, I wished she had more backbone. Just once I wish she had really gone off on him. Because she never did, I felt robbed of the catharsis I needed as a reader. I wanted Jeremy to get his comeuppance before he came crawling back to Nell.

For those of you looking for a good BDSM erotica novel, look no further. It is hard, harsh, and hot. It is on the intense side for a bdsm novel and Jeremy is almost an a hole dom-person, however, he has his reasons even if they are not clear - not even to him.

I absolutely loved that Jeremy tries rid Nell of the master/sir response. This is very unusual with the bdsm genre. On a side note, there is just one action that Jeremy commits against Nell, very far into the novel, that I find completely unredeemable and I still don't understand the purpose of his actions within the novel (why he did it). I would love to ask the author "Why?"

I highly recommend this novel, however it is not for the faint of heart.

If you are 'faint of heart', READ IT anyway, just gird your loins and breathe deeply.

One of my favorite erotic books of the year- This book took me by storm!

If you look for a theme in my reviews, you will recognize I am all about well developed, interesting characters and Comfort Object has that in spades. Jeremy is dark and jaded by his Hollywood experiences. He is used to buying himself some modicum of happiness, all the while steeling his heart for the inevitable disappointment that invariably rules his so called `picture perfect life'. An innate Dominant, he uses his BDSM lifestyle as a release for the pressure his high profile life puts on him. As a new movie begins to film, Jeremy sends his assistant, Kyle, out once again to find the perfect sub to help him through filming. Kyle discovers Nell working as a professional submissive at an LA BDSM club. Through some cleverly written twists and turns, Jeremy ends up offering Nell a professional contract for her services.

Nell finds Jeremy overbearing and manipulative, but he just might hold the key to achieving her biggest dream, financing a college degree. She never imagines that he holds the key to her inner sub's unmet needs.

I enjoyed unwrapping both characters as I turned the page. Jeremy is a raw, hard dominant clearly experienced in the lifestyle and reading subs. To the outsider he may seem on the abusive side, as if he is only meeting his own selfish needs, but if you really pay attention, he is pushing Nell just as all subs craved to be pushed. She has a safe word and she chooses not to use it because she needs the extra edge. For the first time in her life she finds her barriers falling down. I love to watch barriers fall down! The book is definitely hawt and sexy filled with a kaleidoscope of sexual encounters (can you say yummy ménage?), but in comparison to other BDSM stories I am going to say the level of darkness sits on the medium side. It wasn't terribly uncomfortable to read, but I flinched more than once for Nell and found myself unconsciously rubbing my backside.

The pacing was quick and the tension perfectly thick. As the war within me raged between wanting Nell to leave his jerky butt and stay and heal them both, a side stalker storyline kept me further on edge. Nothing like a crazed wacko with no use for safe words to build suspense.

I finished the book with a clear sense of satisfaction and went straight to my Kindle home page and downloaded everything Annabel Joseph has written. I just love discovering a new author who lights my fire. Enjoy!

BTW: Carissa's Knees comes out Feb. 2011 and is the story of Kyle, Jeremy's assistant. You will LOVE IT!