Title: Becoming Mistress Maye
Author: C.J. Love-Jones
Publication Date: November 17, 2024 by English House
Genres: Fiction | Erotica
Protagonist Gender: Female
In a world obsessed with size, Becoming Mistress Maye is an empowering tale of self-discovery.
Not only is Becoming Mistress Maye an empowering tale, it's a refreshingly deep and thoughtful one. C.J. Love-Jones refuses to rush things, and while that makes for a slower pace than some readers may be anticipating, it's nothing you'll begrudge. We get a chance to know and love Shelbi Mae, to understand not just issues with body image, but the deeper issues underlying that.
Bold, daring, and transformative—this novel celebrates confidence beyond appearances.
Neither Shelbi nor the reader see it at first, but if this is a story of body image on the surface, it's one of confidence underneath. We see it in her relationships with coworkers, her husband, her sister, and the coach she seeks out to help her. She's tried diets, drugs, surgeries, fitness routines, and all the rest, but none of them tackle what's really eating her up inside. It's only once she finds the confidence to take chances, to take risks, to take the initiative that her journey becomes something bold and decisive.
For readers who love bold, provocative stories of self-discovery, empowerment, and transformation.
It's heartbreaking to see all the ways in which Shelbi's journey stalls, confronted by challenges she can't control, and that makes it even more satisfying to watch her transform from a timid, insecure, apologetic woman into a bold, powerful, assertive Mistress. Love-Jones does a wonderful job of allowing her to explore that world, to educate herself about it, and to practice the role before risking a human engagement. She also doesn't shy away from the challenges of a husband who is so very much not submissive, and who has a hard time dealing with what his wife wants . . . needs . . . demands.
Becoming Mistress Maye tackles body image and sensuality with unflinching honesty.
In many ways, Becoming Mistress Maye can be separated into three clear acts. It's in the first that we empathize with her body image issues and understand how much she's done to 'fix' herself. The second is all about that unflinching honesty, as she starts to admit to herself who she is and what she wants out of life. And then it's the third where the sensuality kicks in, as we see a woman who was always beautiful finally come to see that in herself.
There were a few times when I found myself uncomfortable with things being said or done, but that's part and parcel of what Shelbi Mae endures to thrive - and, looking back, I know we're all better for that honest attention to detail.
Rating: ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀ 1/2
My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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