After the Ordeal by Kylie Gable

When a story opens up After the Ordeal, and not just as a tease before delving into an extended flashback, you know you’re in for an interesting story. I love that Kylie Gable has done here, getting the ugly business of forced feminization and humiliation out of the way in the first few pages, and then inviting us to join in exploring the long-term consequences of Blake’s sexist, chauvinistic ways.

As you might expect, the first day back at work as a rather convincing sissy isn’t easy for Blake, especially since he’s so adept at walking such high heels. It’s rather fitting that the man who sexually harassed a woman out of a job is suddenly on the other end of the equation, but it’s not until he gets home that he begins to understand just how far and how long this game is going to last. As it turns out, of course, he’s not the only man at the office who enjoys harassing the female employees . . .

The real appeal here is in both the details of Blake’s predicament and in the theme of sexual harassment. The politics of gender and power are reversed here, and used to teach more than a few lessons. As suits those themes, it’s very light on the erotic details, most suggestive than explicit, which actually adds to the power of the story.

Reviewed by Sally