Mistaken Identity by Donna Jay (#lesbian #romance)

Although my wife would likely never forgive me for such a misunderstanding, the case of Mistaken Identity at the core of Donna Jay's kinky little romance is a lot of fun. It is an honest mistake, even if it was helped along a little by alcohol, and the moment Kelly realizes the confusion is beautifully handled.

Just imagine if you had orally pleasured the wrong woman, a woman who knows who you were, but who remains a complete mystery to you. It is a delightful way to kick off a comic, sometimes kinky, romance.

As is often the case with Donna's work, it is the characters who make it so enjoyable, and the honesty of their encounters that keep the story grounded. I loved the age difference between Kelly and Paula, and thought that was a great way to bring us into the story, but the other romance was even more intriguing. The BDSM elements are subtle and playful, entirely suitable to novice readers to dabble in, and the emotions are even more exciting than the physical sensations.

I was afraid this was going to get dark, sad, or confrontational, given the fact that it opens with an accidental act of infidelity, which leads to distracted longing, with at least one partner who is kind of a witch-with-a-b, but Donna keeps it tight and positive. I was equally afraid the 'big reveal' of Kelly's lover might not live up to the anticipation, but it does . . . and then some. Mistaken Identity is a fun read, a delightful romance with as much heart as humor, and far more chemistry than kink. Another fab read!

Donna lives in the land of the long white cloud, otherwise known as New Zealand. Living in a picturesque country and enjoying the outdoors has provided many opportunities for her to create stories featuring dominant, loving women. 

Reviewed by Sally

New and Notable - Upcoming Trans & Non-Binary Reads

If you are like me, then there is nothing quite like the joy of anticipation that comes from pre-ordering a book that speaks to your heart, and then having it arrive days, weeks, or months later . . . like a little present to yourself. There is just something special about a book you have waited for.

So, without further ado, here are the New and Notable releases coming to shelves for Summer.

Summer 2018 Releases

♥ The Trans Generation

   by Ann Travers [June 5, 2018]

A groundbreaking look at the lives of transgender children and their families

Some “boys” will only wear dresses; some “girls” refuse to wear dresses; in both cases, as Ann Travers shows in this fascinating account of the lives of transgender kids, these are often more than just wardrobe choices. Travers shows that from very early ages, some at two and three years old, these kids find themselves to be different from the sex category that was assigned to them at birth. How they make their voices heard—to their parents and friends, in schools, in public spaces, and through the courts—is the focus of this remarkable and groundbreaking book.

Based on interviews with transgender kids, ranging in age from 4 to 20, and their parents, and over five years of research in the US and Canada, The Trans Generation offers a rare look into what it is like to grow up as a trans child. From daycare to birthday parties and from the playground to the school bathroom, Travers takes the reader inside the day-to-day realities of trans kids who regularly experience crisis as a result of the restrictive ways in which sex categories regulate their lives and put pressure on them to deny their internal sense of who they are in gendered terms.

As a transgender activist and as an advocate for trans kids, Travers is able to document from first-hand experience the difficulties of growing up trans and the challenges that parents can face. The book shows the incredible time, energy, and love that these parents give to their children, even in the face of, at times, unsupportive communities, schools, courts, health systems, and government laws. Keeping in mind that all trans kids are among the most vulnerable to bullying, violent attacks, self-harm, and suicide, and that those who struggle with poverty, racism, lack of parental support, learning differences, etc, are extremely at risk, Travers offers ways to support all trans kids through policy recommendations and activist interventions. Ultimately, the book is meant to open up options for kids’ own gender self-determination, to question the need for the sex binary, and to highlight ways that cultural and material resources can be redistributed more equitably. The Trans Generation offers an essential and important new understanding of childhood.

♥ The Luck Of The Devil

   by Steph Bennion [June 15, 2018]

Susan Jones, a transgender woman struggling to get by in the economic woes of 1990s Britain, is under the care of psychiatrist Doctor Mordussen. He in turn is obsessed by her disturbing nightmares. But are her demons real?

An unexpected road trip to Ireland awakens traumas of the past. A seventeenth-century sorcerer, evil nurses, a castle reborn from the ashes and a bloodthirsty sheep do not making getting to the bottom of the mystery any easier. The old wise woman of the village knows more than she's telling. Susan must confront her demons in more ways than one. Can her love of heavy metal, her battered Volkswagen camper van and two best friends save the day?

The Luck Of The Devil is a thriller of both comedy and tragedy, set in a contemporary world of superstition, psychiatry and the metaphysical.

I am not sure it should be legal for a book to have this much awesome, but I am so desperately anxious to read this - Sally

♥ Trans Like Me: Conversations for All of Us

   by CN Lester [June 19, 2018]

A personal and culture-driven exploration of the most pressing questions facing the transgender community today, from a leading activist, musician, and academic

In Trans Like Me, CN Lester takes readers on a measured, thoughtful, intelligent yet approachable tour through the most important and high-profile narratives around the trans community, turning them inside out and examining where we really are in terms of progress. From the impact of the media's wording in covering trans people and issues, to the way parenting gender variant children is portrayed, Lester brings their charged personal narrative to every topic and expertly lays out the work left to be done.

Trans Like Me explores the ways that we are all defined by ideas of gender--whether we live as he, she, or they--and how we can strive for authenticity in a world that forces limiting labels.

♥ Yes, You Are Trans Enough: My Transition from Self-Loathing to Self-Love

   by Mia Violet [June 21, 2018]

This is the deeply personal and witty account of growing up as the kid who never fitted in. Transgender blogger Mia Violet reflects on her life and how at 26 she came to finally realise she was 'trans enough' to be transgender, after years of knowing she was different but without the language to understand why.

From bullying, heartache and a botched coming out attempt, through to counselling, Gender Identity Clinics and acceptance, Mia confronts the ins and outs of transitioning, using her charged personal narrative to explore the most pressing questions in the transgender debate and confront what the media has gotten wrong.

An essential read for anyone who has had to fight to be themselves.

♥ Confessions of the Fox: A Novel

   by Jordy Rosenberg [June 26, 2018]

A love story set in the eighteenth-century London of notorious thieves and queer subcultures, this genre-bending debut tells a profound story of gender, desire, and liberation.

Jack Sheppard and Edgeworth Bess were the most notorious thieves, jailbreakers, and lovers of eighteenth-century London. Yet no one knows the true story; their confessions have never been found.

Until now. Reeling from heartbreak, a scholar named Dr. Voth discovers a long-lost manuscript—a gender-defying exposé of Jack and Bess’s adventures. Dated 1724, the book depicts a London underworld where scamps and rogues clash with the city’s newly established police force, queer subcultures thrive, and ominous threats of the Plague abound. Jack—a transgender carpenter’s apprentice—has fled his master’s house to become a legendary prison-break artist, and Bess has escaped the draining of the fenlands to become a revolutionary.

Is Confessions of the Fox an authentic autobiography or a hoax? Dr. Voth obsessively annotates the manuscript, desperate to find the answer. As he is drawn deeper into Jack and Bess’s tale of underworld resistance and gender transformation, it becomes clear that their fates are intertwined—and only a miracle will save them all.

Confessions of the Fox is, at once, a work of speculative historical fiction, a soaring love story, a puzzling mystery, an electrifying tale of adventure and suspense, and an unabashed celebration of sex and sexuality. Writing with the narrative mastery of Sarah Waters and the playful imagination of Nabokov, Jordy Rosenberg is an audacious storyteller of extraordinary talent. 

I have had my eye on this one for a while now. I love Victorian era fiction, and this sounds absolutely delightful - Sally

♥ Him Her Me You Us

   by Savannah Blue [June 30, 2018]

I've always felt like a foreigner in my own skin—like I didn't fit in with anyone at any time in any place...

Then as I got older, I realized I didn't want to.

Nowadays, I don't live and breathe for what the "people" think.

I just want to be me.

Unique. Powerful. Confident.

My name is River Peyton Roth and this is my story.

WARNING: This novel contains strong language, strong sexual content and adult subject matter. Intended for 18+ years and above.

♥ Kock Rider of Khymeera: An Epically Naughty Sci-Fantasy Adventure 

   by Joanna Noor [June 30, 2018]

Welcome to the wild and uninhibited world of Khymeera: a place where men, women, aliens, monsters, and mythological beings mingle in a way that would make the Greek Gods blush!

When a conversation with his girlfriend about his sexuality goes horribly wrong, Karl retreats to the forest to lick his wounds and enjoy his own company. There he is mysteriously transported to the city of Hungri’La on the strange planet of Khymeera—and into a voluptuous new female body as well.

Endowed with an insatiable sexual appetite, Karl—now Karli—must fulfill her destiny and train to become a Kock Rider, one of the fabled nubile warrior femmes who take to the sky on the backs of fierce dragon-eagles to defend Hungri’La’s sacred Milk Stone.

But Karli can barely keep her hands out of her chainmail underpants, much less off the numerous pleasure slaves, to concentrate on her fighting preparation. Tasked with a secret mission to steal her enemy city’s Milk Stone, Karli sets off with nothing more than a hunky manservant, a throbbing libido, and an order to kill whoever gets in her way.

There in the fortress towers of Vulgaria she almost succeeds, until she falls under the spell of feisty raven-haired princess Ulva, who will stop at nothing to protect her father’s honor. Karli must choose between her passion for the beautiful maiden and her duty to Hungri’La—between satisfying her unquenchable sexual thirst and the chance to earn glory as a Kock Rider.

Will her lust for Ulva cloud her judgement and condemn her city to ruin? Or will Karli manage to restrain herself long enough to return Vulgaria’s Milk Stone to Hungri’La and defeat the evil warlord Kunta-Muncha?

You have to read this hot, erotic adventure full of kinky passion, wicked ninjas, horny futanari, naughty dragon-eagles, and sexy warriors to find out!

Does this not sounds completely awesome? A gender-swapping, futa-fueled fantasy, complete with monsters, ninjas, and more? Yes, please!  - Sally

♥ Alters Volume 2

   by Paul Jenkins & Leila Leiz [July 3, 2018]

With her nemesis, Matter Man, finally under control, Chalice begins a new chapter of her life as spokeswoman and primary recruiter for the Gateway Army.

However, when she encounters a brand new Alter living in extreme poverty, she is forced to recognize that not everyone wants to be found, giving her a new perspective on the complexity of her own situation.

From the writer of Wolverine: Origin, Sentry, and Hellblazer.

For those not familiar with Alters, Chalice is no ordinary superheroine - she's transgender - and the writers have been lauded for their research as well as their handling of identity issues - Sally

♥ No Man of Woman Born (Rewoven Tales)

   by Ana Mardoll [July 10, 2018]

Destiny sees what others don’t.

A quiet fisher mourning the loss of xer sister to a cruel dragon. A clever hedge-witch gathering knowledge in a hostile land. A son seeking vengeance for his father's death. A daughter claiming the legacy denied her. A princess laboring under an unbreakable curse. A young resistance fighter questioning everything he's ever known. A little girl willing to battle a dragon for the sake of a wish. These heroes and heroines emerge from adversity into triumph, recognizing they can be more than they ever imagined: chosen ones of destiny.

From the author of the Earthside series and the Rewoven Tales novels, No Man of Woman Born is a collection of seven fantasy stories in which transgender and nonbinary characters subvert and fulfill gendered prophecies. These prophecies recognize and acknowledge each character's gender, even when others do not. Note: No trans or nonbinary characters were killed in the making of this book. Trigger warnings and neopronoun pronunciation guides are provided for each story.

Transgender and nonbinary characters subvert and fulfill gendered prophecies. Seriously, what more do you need to know? - Sally

♥ Annex (The Violet Wars)

   by Rich Larson [July 24, 2018]

In Rich Larson's astonishing debut Annex, only outsiders can fight off the true aliens.

At first it is a nightmare. When the invaders arrive, the world as they know it is destroyed. Their friends are kidnapped. Their families are changed.

Then it is a dream. With no adults left to run things, Violet and the others who have escaped capture are truly free for the first time. They can do whatever they want to do. They can be whoever they want to be.

But the invaders won't leave them alone for long...

This thrilling debut by one of the most acclaimed short form writers in science fiction tells the story of two young outsiders who must find a way to fight back against the aliens who have taken over her city.

It is not mentioned on Amazon, but what caught my eye in the Goodreads blurb is "a young trans girl who must find a way to fight back against the aliens who have taken over her city". - Sally

♥ Reflections of Me

   by Yumoyori Wilson [July 29, 2018]

Surviving my first semester at Brighten Magic Academy wasn't as simple as I thought it would be.

Being a male was HARD, especially for a girl like me, but who would have thought I'd enjoy the pleasures of being a male, such as learning how to aim my weenie correctly in less than a week? As adventurous as it all sounds, it led me down a path full of trials and a near-death incident I'd never want to experience again.

After four weeks, two of which I was unconscious and recovering from my wounds, I struggled to regain what I'd forgotten, which left a strain in my friendships; or should I say relationships?

With bullies from Maximus’ past returning for round two, Braxton dealing with personal issues he'd rather fight alone, Kage being followed by a mysterious person, and Nixon experiencing nightmares every night, I had my hands full.

Logan tried his best to keep us from tearing at one another's throats, but with the tension of the next set of classes and with expectations rising higher with each passing day, his attempts only acted to add gasoline to the fire. It's Zane's turn to prove himself and help bring us back together.

But with crazy mage competitions, intense familiar battles, and haunting silver eyes that continued to watch my every move, would we even last long enough to find the real culprit of this game?

Or would we die trying?

♥ This Body's Not Big Enough for Both of Us

   by Edgar Cantero [July 31, 2018]

From the New York Times bestselling author of Meddling Kids comes a mind-blowing, gender-bending, genre-smashing romp through the entire pantheon of action and noir. It is also a bold, tautly crafted novel about family, being weird, and claiming your place in your own crazy story.

In a dingy office in Fisherman's Wharf, the glass panel in the door bears the names of A. Kimrean and Z. Kimrean. Private Eyes. Behind the door there is only one desk, one chair, one scrawny androgynous P.I. in a tank top and skimpy waistcoat. A.Z., as they are collectively known, are twin brother and sister. He's pure misanthropic logic, she's wild hedonistic creativity. The Kimreans have been locked in mortal battle since they were in utero...which is tricky because they, very literally, share one single body. That's right. One body, two pilots. The mystery and absurdity of how Kimrean functions, and how they subvert every plotline, twist, explosion, and gunshot--and confuse every cop, neckless thug, cartel boss, ninja, and femme fatale--in the book is pure Cantero magic.

Someone is murdering the sons of the ruthless drug cartel boss known as the Lyon in the biggest baddest town in California--San Carnal. The notorious A.Z. Kimrean must go to the sin-soaked, palm-tree-lined streets of San Carnal, infiltrate the Lyon's inner circle, and find out who is targeting his heirs, and while they are at it, rescue an undercover cop in too deep, deal with a plucky young stowaway, and stop a major gang war from engulfing California. They'll face every plot device and break every rule Elmore Leonard wrote before they can crack the case, if they don't kill each other (themselves) first.

This Body's Not Big Enough for Both of Us is a brilliantly subversive and comic thriller celebrating noir detectives, Die Hard, Fast & Furious, and the worst case of sibling rivalry, that can only come from the mind of Edgar Cantero.

How can you not love a gender-bending, subversive noir thriller that cites Die Hard and sibling rivalry as influences? - Sally

♥ I'm Afraid of Men

   by Vivek Shraya [August 28, 2018]

A trans artist explores how masculinity was imposed on her as a boy and continues to haunt her as a girl--and how we might reimagine gender for the twenty-first century

Vivek Shraya has reason to be afraid. Throughout her life she's endured acts of cruelty and aggression for being too feminine as a boy and not feminine enough as a girl. In order to survive childhood, she had to learn to convincingly perform masculinity. As an adult, she makes daily compromises to steel herself against everything from verbal attacks to heartbreak.

Now, with raw honesty, Shraya delivers an important record of the cumulative damage caused by misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia, releasing trauma from a body that has always refused to assimilate. I'm Afraid of Men is a journey from camouflage to a riot of colour and a blueprint for how we might cherish all that makes us different and conquer all that makes us afraid.

♥ Trans Figured: My Journey from Boy to Girl to Woman to Man

   by Brian Belovitch [September 4, 2018]

Imagine experiencing life not as the gender dictated by birth but as one of your own design.

In Trans Figured, Brian Belovitch shares his true story of life as a gender outlier and his dramatic journey through the jungle of gender identity.

Brian has the rare distinction of coming out three times: first as a queer teenager; second as a glamorous transgender woman named Tish, and later, Natalia Gervais; and finally as an HIV-positive gay man surviving the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. From growing up in a barely-working-class first-generation immigrant family in Fall River, Massachusetts, to spinning across the disco dance floor of Studio 54 in New York City . . . from falling into military lock-step as the Army wife of a domineering GI in Germany to having a brush with fame as Natalia, high-flying downtown darling of the boozy and druggy pre-Giuliani New York nightclub scene, Brian escaped many near-death experiences.

Trans Figured chronicles a life lived on the edge with an unforgettable cast of characters during a dangerous and chaotic era. Rich with drama and excitement, this no-holds-barred memoir tells it all. Most importantly, Brian's candid and poignant story of recovery shines a light on the perseverance of the human spirit.

                          

Neuroplasticity by Chris Bellows (#femdom #chastity #pegging #lactation)

I have been familiar with Chris Bellows for years now, and have always been curious about his penchant for taking female domination themes to places many authors are afraid to go, exploring fetishes and limits too dark for Amazon.

For a first taste of his literary talents, Neuroplasticity is stunningly deep and dark, and yet surprisingly positive in its overall approach to gender and sexuality. If there was ever a book that lived by the old adage, "the ends justify the means," then this is it. I cannot remember the last time a book surprised me so completely, taking things in a direction I had not anticipated.

Robert Wells is not a bad guy, just one who made a bad decision, and who got caught in a bad situation. Wrongly accused (and summarily convicted) of rape, he agrees to an unorthodox treatment and an experimental therapy in order to avoid being labeled as a sex offender. His penis is shortened, the sensitive glans removed, and the remaining shaft tattooed a brilliant shade of purple. He is similarly tattooed with purple eye and lip makeup, leaving him half a man and visibly feminized.

Back in the United States, he undergoes experimental Neuroplasticity therapy, which aims to rewire his body's behavior and biological responses, giving him back the bliss of sexual release, but in a wholly different, largely feminine way. He is conditioned to be submissive to women, to take pleasure from anal penetration, and to enjoy the stimulation of his nipples. All sexy, kinky stuff, but it is the emotion behind it, the psychology of it, that is fascinating.

"And the post coitus male sense of conquering... triumph Dr. Becky termed it... has been replaced by a sense of giving... of offering... my essence oozing for my tending nurses for minutes rather than a brief instance."

I love the concept of a sissygasm, but I have never seen it described so beautifully, put in such simple, yet significant terms. It is that sense of giving, offering, and nurturing that drives the tale, turning an alpha playboy male into a beta submissive sissy. He comes to appreciate women in a whole new way, even going so far as feeling indebted to the surgeon who performed his penectomy. Without the experimental therapy, it would seem odd that he submits so easily, but the fact that Bobbi's actions are completely understandable is the brilliance of the story.

The contrast of emotions, and the conflict between the means and the end, is marvelous here. We see such darkness surrounding him, physical cruelty and medical anguish, and yet he is largely happy. He adapts to his situation, coming to find peace as well as pleasure in it. Even when he is forced to endure a final alteration to his gender, Bobbi enters into the future with eyes wide open, giving himself to the women who make him feel wanted, needed, and valuable.

The demented musings of author Chris Bellows, mostly fictional. Strong D/s. Sexual mayhem. No macabre. Not for the uninitiated. Certainly not for the timid. 
http://chrisbellows.blogspot.ca

Reviewed by Sally

Domme Quixote by Lissa Trevor (#femdom #bdsm #erotica)

Aside from a punch to the teeth in the opening chapter that I felt crossed a line between sadomasochistic pain and brutal violence, Domme Quixote was a stunning piece of erotic fiction. Lissa Trevor interweaves fantasy erotica, real-life romance, and crime drama in a BDSM-themed novella that more than delivers on the thrills.

Dulcinea is a professional dominatrix who runs Chivalry, a nightclub that is naked dungeon in the front, and exclusive, expensive, live-action theater in the back. Her wealthiest, most dedicated clients pay an exorbitant amount of money to be part of her inner circle, gaining access to the fantasy-themed live sex shows that thrive on audience participation. There are a couple of shows we see played out in course of the story, and they are worth the price of admission on their own.

What makes the story really thrive, however, is the human aspect of Dulcinea, the perfect dominatrix. Outside her role at Chivalry, she is an insecure woman who just wants to be loved. She is a great judge of character, but too trusting of herself, and blind to the faults of those submissive to her. It is fascinating to watch as she spars with the mobster who crashed her live sex-show, forcing him into chastity, and and usurping his submissive girlfriend. He chafes against the role, and . . . well, does typical mobster things to threaten her into giving him his release.

The sex here is so hot . . . so incredibly hot . . . with scenes of bondage, pegging, facesitting, chastity, corporal punishment, and more. Chivalry is a submissive's dream, and to be part of that atmosphere, part of the show, is a dream come true. Domme Quixote certainly has its darker moments, particularly with a betrayal near the end, but it also had a thread of romance that comes out in the end.

Lissa Trevor, 2016 Ippy Gold medalist in erotica, is a writer with very few boundaries. She's written a fictional tale of a real gigolo in The Vegas Virgin, and helped tell the story of an intersex love affair that turned into an adult movie in Going for the Gold. Not a stranger to controversy, her debut novel, Spank Me, Mr. Darcy, was a tongue-in-cheek (among other places) version of Pride & Prejudice.

https://lissatrevor.weebly.com/
@LissaTrevor

Reviewed by Sally

#TGCaption - Savin' the Haven Part 2 (#transformation #magic)

TG Captions are one of my favorite forms of storytelling. There is no narrative fluff, no extraneous details, just the hook, the twist, and the climax.

From Bow to Toe (aka Ali Bear) is sponsoring a SAVE THE HAVEN CAP-A-THON 2018 to help raise funds to cover upkeep of Rachel's Haven. For every one of her images captioned, she's donating $10 with a goal of raising $400 dollars . . . so here's the second of my contributions.

#TGCaption - Savin' the Haven Part 1 (#transformation #magic)

TG Captions are one of my favorite forms of storytelling. There is no narrative fluff, no extraneous details, just the hook, the twist, and the climax.

From Bow to Toe (aka Ali Bear) is sponsoring a SAVE THE HAVEN CAP-A-THON 2018 to help raise funds to cover upkeep of Rachel's Haven. For every one of her images captioned, she's donating $10 with a goal of raising $400 dollars . . . so here's the first of my contributions.

Freebie Fetish Friday - Putting the TG in TGIF!

Well, if it's Friday, then it must be time to bend our way into the weekend with Freebie Fetish Friday.

Every Friday I search through the weekend's free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might be of interest to similarly bent readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon's free reading applications, or covert it with Calibre to load onto a Kobo, iPad, or anything else.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

                                                                  

Enjoy!