Loose Id: "Desert Surrender" by Melinda Barron

Author: Melinda Barron

Publisher: Loose Id

List price: $6.99

Format: eBook

ISBN: 978-1-59632-923-2

Pages: 127

One of Melinda Barron's latest erotic romance novels, "Desert Surrender," literally beats out a lot of stereotypes while providing plenty of romance and erotic adventure for those who enjoy BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism) play and BBW (big beautiful woman) heroines.

If you think tattoos and intimate piercings are only for people of poor breeding and morals, "Desert Surrender" is not the book for you.

If you think people who are socially dominant (like the heroine Clarissa Alexander) cannot be a lifestyle or sexual submissive, another book is probably ideal for you.

Clarissa is a very socially dominant size 18 woman from a wealthy family who has traveled the world on a trust fund, also getting tattoos dedicated to various male and female lovers. She meets casino owner Maddox Perry, who is attracted to her but will not give in to her every sexual whim. This frustrates and captivates Clarissa. When she realizes he is a Dom and wants her to be his submissive, she at first bails on him with some rather harsh words.

But when she reads the books he sends her as a gift and thinks about her attraction to him, Clarissa decides to travel to Las Vegas from her New York home to see him again.

What starts as a desire to have wild sex with a handsome Dom turns into a new lifestyle for Clarissa, who must fight her family to have a relationship with any man other than Henry Isaacs, an annoying and bland man with ulterior motives. Her father insists she marry Henry even though Clarissa repeatedly says she is not even interested in a relationship with him.

Appearances can be deceiving. Society, especially upper class circles, do not expect trust fund ladies or casino owners from one of the wealthiest families in the world to have piercings on their genitalia. But both Maddox and Clarissa do, and wear it with their own special style and class. The piercings Clarissa has come into their sexual and romantic play, and the writing of these scenes is handled artistically and might even inspire someone to consider getting their own special adornments.

The BDSM elements of "Desert Surrender" go beyond just plain spankings and ropes during sex, but never cross the line into demented or causing serious or permanent physical or emotional injury. Clarissa does rush into being a submissive, which one might say is a foolish choice. However, the impulsive - and ultimately right - decision goes right along with Clarissa's socially dominant, risk-taking, sexually adventurous personality. She's also tired of being almost 30 years old and being commanded to marry someone she doesn't even like by her rather cold and devious father.

The writing of "Desert Surrender" is descriptive, and those offended by what some might consider profane four-letter words and non-traditional sex will want to select another book. "Desert Surrender," like other Loose Id books, never crosses the line into pornographic.

Ms. Barron, who has authored a number of books for multiple romance and erotic romance publishers, handles the pacing of the story quite well. Even after Clarissa decides to submit to Maddox, she keeps her fighting and socially dominant personality. "Desert Surrender" proves that not only can power exchanges work and be beautiful and romantic with highly-charged eroticism, it shows that appearances can be deceiving, BBW's are desirable, and being a submissive does not equal becoming a Master's personal doormat. For those who like plenty of erotic adventure and don't want to just read about a traditional model-type having vanilla sex, "Desert Surrender" is one blazing hot reading choice.