Customer Reviews

Taming Of The Brat: M/F Spanking Stories (Volume One)

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

 

 

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. The quality of the writing was poor enough to distract me from the story and made me question the author's grasp of the English language. The style was a bit pretentious, as if aspiring to be very "literary" and failing, and there were a large number grammar and spelling errors, oddly placed commas, and sentences that weren't complete or simply didn't make sense. I've come to expect, unfortunately, some amount of overlooked errors in erotica, and I can look past that--but being pulled out of the story to puzzle over just what in the world the author meant by something was a bit too much.

As for the stories, I was disappointed as well. Maybe if they'd been hotter, I would have been less bothered by the other issues mentioned, but they just weren't. If you like sex with your spanking, you won't find it here. I would have preferred that, but even so a story that is strictly spanking can be fun. A couple of these were kind of hot, but the rest were mostly dull and unarousing. Part of it was the overdone language, but there were also too many superfluous details (if I wanted 5 pages of nothing but history of the War of the Roses, I would be reading a different kind of book...I don't want that in my erotica!), and just plain boring scenes.

I allowed myself to be lured by the attractive tush on the cover. Unfortunately that ended up being the highlight of the book.

There are so many grammatical errors in the authors writing I have to wonder how he or the editor got this to print. I've read several British books and so am familiar with that style of writing and grammar, that wasn't the issue. I quickly got to the point where I was so distracted by the repeated errors than I was unable to picture what I was reading. There was some effort made to read like a lofty "Brit" style book, but I have a hard time giving the author more than a nod at the attempt. Most of the stories were so drawn out (and w/ all the errors) that I felt I needed to skip forward to get it over. The only other bright spot was his explanation of what being a spanko is.

I've read many spanko books, but this one will not make the bookshelf.

Firstly, the stories are not about spanking as a prelude to sex, or about spanking as foreplay; they are just about spanking. Which is fine, I suppose, if the reader is looking for stories of discipline and power and authority and stuff. I wanted stories about sex which involve spanking and this book did not deliver.
Secondly, the stories are not written very well. The author uses the same phrases in every story. For example, the spanker addresses the spankee as 'my girl', whether the story is set in present day, the 70s or during the War of the Roses. Or as another example, every story describes the spanking the female will receive as 'well-deserved'.
As another reviewer noted, the stories were ultimately a little dull and that is the reason for rating the book one star. The book would benefit from the use of a thesaurus and perhaps deployment of some similies/metaphors. Despite the authors discussion of the 'spanko vs. vanilla' dynamic in the introduction, the stories come off the page as flat and plain.

Despite the fact that this book is touted as having been written by someone with spanko sensibilities, the author just doesn't seem to get it. The stories are way below par with no insight into what makes spankos tick. In addition, I agree with others that the author's English skills are marginal at best. However, if you just want spanking stories and you don't care whether they're erotic or not and you don't mind miserable writing, then this book may just be your cup of tea.

For my review, I'll write of some of the pros and cons of the book, depending on how you like your spanking stories.

I should start with that the author favors British English to that of American English spellings, and as an American, this stood out quite a bit, but since I am aware of such, this was not a problem for me. I will mention during one story, `Mediaeval Desires', he does favor a couple of older looking English spellings to match, I'll obviously assume, the ambience of the story (for example, Mediaeval = Medieval; Isle of Mann = Isle of Man; and Gaoler = Jailer). At the end of one of the stories, the author quotes a short sentence from a text message, which he writes in text shorthand. Some might find this annoying, but for me it was not. He also makes use of the thought process, which he uses in continuous italics; chooses to use separated dark italics for an overview of the situation; and uses commas around the word `too' (when it is appropriate) and the debatable `indeed' (have seen it used by some writers, where others choose not to). He also uses open quotation marks for continuous speech and colloquialism every so often within speech. I thought I would mention this, just in case anyone is curious.

As for the style of the book, the author focuses on the fetish when it comes to writing the parts that make a spanko tick. Although there are spanko writers that blend spankings and sex, this author, though he does include some sensual moments when appropriate, decides primarily to hold the spankings as the main part for which turns on a spanko, whether disciplinary or sensual in nature. Some might be disappointed with that, but it was not an issue for me. After all, the spanking aspect is what I found attractive about the book in the first place, and when it comes to the spanking moments, he writes these very well.

A very good aspect of the book is the interaction between the spankos in the stories. The men (unless a specified villain) are likable and, although strict, are reasonable. The women, although bratty and in need of being taken in hand, certainly have their wits about them, even if a lack of judgment, perhaps self-consciously, has them ultimately over a firm but fair man's lap. The book also contains a level of humor, not surprising considering the brats within the book, which brings along another plus.

The author mostly writes of boyfriend/girlfriend and husband/wife spankings (which I prefer), as opposed to those of either teachers or mentors (though he does so twice). This will be down to personal taste, but still highly enjoyable.

Finally, if you want a sex story, a sex story with a little spanking or perhaps even BDSM (nothing wrong with that), I would stay clear of this book. However, if you enjoy Spanking Romance/Spanking Fetish stories and the thought of a little brat, kind of like me, having their bottom bared for a good old-fashioned (preferably over-the-knee) spanking, then I would highly recommend it.