I liked LIv a lot. She is hardworking, loyal and unafraid to ask the important questions. Her submissive side did not turn her into a mindless idiot with no sense of precaution; instead, she was sensible in giving in to her wants without risking her life.
Cassandra is harder to place. She doesn't really play a major role until halfway through the story, so she has less page time overall and suffered for it in my opinion. While I was happy she was not put on a pedestal, I still found her role as the love interest/dominant to be underdeveloped and more wish-fulfilment than an actual three-dimensional character. I loved seeing her flaws and reading about her differing perspective on the scene.
But Reese was definitely my favourite. His role in Livs and Cassandra's dynamic was very interesting and I loved it whenever he was on the page. I also think he was the best-portrayed switches in the entire story.
As for the plot, I am undecided whether I liked it or not. I understand that this is partly a fantasy that I can totally get behind and enjoy. Who wouldn't want this infamous dominant suddenly be interested in you? And I think most of the risks were avoided or at least prepared for. Do I disagree with some of LIv's choices and Cassandra's demands? Yes, but I can also see the appeal in taking a chance.

The writing was okay in my opinion. Some metaphors were too dramatized. The author sometimes went off on tangents that ripped me out of the moment. So did all the classification in femmes, butches, and so on, it felt very artificial and robotic. Liv makes several remarks about her (too) femme clothing; the importance placed on that confused me. And Liv calls her submissive cravings the Void was something I just could not get behind, it disconnected me to the story. And, personally, I just was not a fan of the ending.
I feel the balance between smutty BDSM scenes and everyday life was well done.

I received this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first BDSM F/F novel I have read, so it is definitely a departure from what I am used to reading. In some ways I found it to be easy more intense than M/F SM books I have read. It was very well written and the characters well developed as the story of unconventional love is portrayed. That said, it wasn't the type of story I am into. For those that are really into the lifestyle, I feel you will enjoy this a lot.

A very sexy quick read. My first book by this author. I enjoyed the writing style. Would definitely read another book from this at.

Story of L was my very first book from Debra Hyde. And I'm conflicted on my review. I went into this book totally blind. But I love erotica, especially BDSM erotica. However I didn't know going in, it was about lesbians. That's normally a genre I don't read. I Just don't like gay romance, and I struggled finishing this one. The writing is good at times, other it's way over the top. Sometimes I was really confused.

The Story of L is about Liv, who's trying to battle her inner self, wanting to submit to Cassandra. It was interesting to watch. But I can say I don't plan on reading any other books in this series.

We’d like to start by saying that BDSM is totally not our genre. Pain is not sexy to us. We picked this book more on a whim than anything else; and we must confess we were surprised. It doesn’t convert us to BDSM, but the author has managed to write cringe-worthy acts without making them torture. Little wonder that it is Winner, Lesbian Erotica, 2011 Lambda Literary Awards.

The book, as it says in the blurb, is the story of Liv, a switch, with bottomless sexual hunger that she has dubbed The Void. She tries to fulfil the hunger with SM acts performed on her, but it always returns. During one search for curbing The Void, Liv is serviced by Cassandra, a legendary Dom. Liv ends up having a crush on Cassandra after this, so when Cassandra reaches out to her with an offer for Liv to become her submissive, Liv gladly takes the opportunity. The rest of the book details the steps towards Liv becoming Cassandra’s submissive, L.

What really works in the book is that the author narrates the story through Liv’s perspective. Her thoughts and emotions are detailed through every step, every act showing her willingness and excitement for what is happening. In fact, there are times when the author has got into practically a lyrical vein with the emotional reactions making it almost a regular romance. However, since we do not comprehend this world, we could not develop any sort of positive emotion about Cassandra, who only seemed to want a plaything and recapture her past time without an iota of real emotion (despite the best efforts of the author to make her vulnerable and giving). Nope, give us regular people with their love and loving any time. (Confession: we actually had to take a break from this book and this world and read a couple of romances in between to get stabilised).

If you are at all in the BDSM lifestyle or genre, this is a great book to get ahold of. If romance floats your boat, steer clear of this because despite some sort of loose romantic elements, this is certainly not romance.

The rating is for the author’s ability to wax eloquent about arousal and emotions rather than the story or the BDSM elements.

The Story of L is the journey of Liv as she is trying to fulfill The Void as she calls it and decides to switch character and become a submissive. Enter Cassandra who is a legendary dominant and creates a series of tests for Liv to pass as a submissive.
BDSM is not a typical read for me and I found this book intense and I contemplated whether to finish it or not. I'm glad I read through to the end and as I got used to the role play between the characters I was given an insight into the world of BDSM. I found the characters were well constructed, particularly L and her transformation and the emotion surrounding her transformation was well written.
If you're looking for BDSM erotica then this book is for you.

I have to admit that this book really was one that blew me away with how well it was written compared to most other BDSM erotica out there. I felt that it was real people telling me about what all had been going on in their lives. It didn't focus on the lifestyle that Liv and her friends enjoy as being abusive or too harsh. I felt like it gave it just the right amount of positive attention. I also liked that there was a representation of all different kinds of people such as transgendered Reese. Honestly, through the whole book, I think Reese was my favorite character. I really got into the story. The only downside was that I did notice in some places it switches to using just initials for everyone such as using C for Cassandra for about a page or two. That kind of bothered me and made that section a bit harder to read, but the rest was excellent!

I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I started reading this book, the author is new to me and the genera is not something I typically read (not ever to be exact). I don’t read the genera because it turns me off or I am against it I just usually pick up books around contemporary romance of the vanilla kind.

With that being said, I unexpectedly enjoyed/stayed interested in this book. The author does a wonderful job in her narratives, and her vocabulary, well let’s just say I had to look up a few new words that just added to this story (not bad words, just not your normal conversation vernacular-think almost Victorian). As other reviewers have noted, this is a Dominatrix/Submissive story line and yes it is a romance as well, in my opinion. I had no clue to the whole scene so if the author truly painted the story line as D/S works, well it definitely gave me a glimpse into this world, and not in a bad way.

I found the characters to be believable, and as Liv continued to submerge herself in the Sub life and falls in love with the true Cassandra, I was cheering for them both to the end to find piece for one and the true self for the other. Again this is not a usually vanilla love story, but I did fall in love with it and this author.

This is primary a Lesbian story line, and all the erotic scenes are of Liv and Cassandra, but there is one scene that involves Liv and a secondary character (but I don’t see ‘him’ as that), Reese. Reese is a female to male trans person, and even though the author doesn’t give a whole lot of background, how he is written into the story line is great-in fact I would like to learn more about him and how he became Cassandra’s right hand man (maybe a future book).

All in all I was pleasantly surprised I enjoyed this book as much as I did, it really gave me a glimpse into a world I know exist for other out there, and more power to them. I may even look to picking up a future story by this author, the tease at the end of this book for At Her Hand peeked my interest, oh my!

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this book on my own.

To see my Amazon review, it will be under CC-Didn’t expect that, when the book is published.

3.75 rounded up. This was a solid read. Both main characters are like-able and we get some backstory for each of them. I probably have a bit of a crush on Cassandra. The secondary characters are also enjoyable. I wasn't totally invested in the beginning but as the story progressed I went all in. There was a lot of good info shared regarding the domme/sub lifestyle. There were a few times that I was a little bored by some of the internal thoughts/descriptions, but not enough to really affect my overall feelings about the book. The book ended with a satisfying conclusion.

(The cover on netgalley of the most recent edition in my opinion is much nicer than the one goodreads uses as the thumbnail. The original cover has two women who don't resemble either of the mains.)

-An ARC was given to me from the publisher through Netgalley for my honest review-

If you're a fan of the 50 Shades series, you'll want to add this to your list of evening books to curl up with. Not often do I encounter a good LGBTQ novel in which the characters are a mix of poor construction mumbling the author's personal views on society or just written as if it was a smut book, and in this case Hyde has kept her mind where any author should; on the story.

With complex and dynamic characters uncertain about their place in the world or who they perceive themselves to be, Story of L is something that whispers softly to its readers that it's okay to be scared of new things, but do decide if you're willing to take the next step.

4.5/5

This book is a true love story set in an unconventional relationship. I read a lot of BDSM erotica and erotic romance. This is one of the best. The entirety of the subject matter was written with honor and respect. The characters were believable. When they hurt, I hurt. When they experienced love, lust, joy — I felt like I experienced it as well.

I will be honest, I’ve never read a f/f romance, and certainly not one set in the BDSM/ leather realm. I was nervous (I’m not sure why m/m and m/m/f romances don’t bother me), maybe intimidation? Possibly it was my lack of familiarity in the relationship dynamics. I’m use to male D and female s, once I straightened myself out the love story and friendships read beautifully.

If you’re looking for genuine BDSM, power shift, dungeon and private residence scenes, this is the book. Exceptionally steamy and graphic sexual scenes, I totally recommend this book. Transgender explicit sex, yes! Complex characters, and even more complexity within their storylines look no further.

I can’t wait to read more. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

I dont really have strong opinions. It was good for the genre. I would consider reading more from the author.

Wow! ‘Story of L’ was unlike any erotica book I’ve ever read.. I enjoyed every page, and couldn’t put it down. The writing was exquisite, the level of description the author went to, to describe scenarios and scenes was immense. You are taken on an amazing sensual journey, this isn’t the type of book I’d of wanted to read in a public space!
I also feel even if you have no experience or understanding of the sub/Dom world, you’ll thoroughly enjoy it and be dying to find out more.
The characters are very likeable and relatable, the storyline easy to follow.

I am not a fan of love stories, and am generally drawn thrillers, crime or erotica, but even I found myself rooting for the main characters to have a happy ever after!

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone who enjoys erotica, sub/Dom stories and lgbtq+.

I have only good things to say about this book. This book is a work of art. Clearly, it has a specific taste, for lack of a better word, but underneath the truly erotic scenes is a beautiful love story. I definitely received an education with this book, so I apologize if my review doesn't use proper language to describe this genre? But this author is one I will read again, for sure. I would love to hear more from this pairing, even if only as secondary characters in another book. I'm so glad I read this story.

This is very much a BDSM erotica with a lot of slave/master scenes, which I quite enjoyed about it. This is a good story about complete submission and I liked how L transformed from a switch to dedicated submissive. I didn't care for the term 'the Void' but I did understand the idea she was getting at with it, I just wish the term didn't bother me every time I read it. There's not a lot of Liv and Cassandra conversing and bonding but I could see the strength of their connection. I really enjoyed the lesbian take, which is something I haven't found a lot of in BDSM books.

I don't know what I was expecting when I read this book, but whatever it was, it delivered. The story of Cassandra and L is quite fascinating and reinforces the fact that you never know what's going on behind closed doors. It's a great peek into this world without being over done silly or unrealistic.The description of each scene was visual in reading each detail that I could picture everything that was happening. It was a quick, fun, and engaging read.
I got an ARC in return for an honest review on NetGallery.

This is about lesbians, trans men, bisexuality/pansexuality and BDSM (with practices like fisting and electrical play). The whole story is centered around L's journey to submission, if you're not up for this than it isn't the right book for you.

This is actually my first full lenght lesbian erotic novel, I could only find fanfictions and novellas before, I'm not sure if it's an underexplored genre or I just failed to look well enough (or both).

It starts with Liv headed to her favourite club, The Hippolyte, where she meets Cassandra. Well known in the BDSM scene, Cassandra is older and more experienced, that first meeting leaves both seeking each other.
It's obsessive and needy, the scenes are described by how the characters (mostly L) feel about them. Not a classic romance and not strictly erotic either.

I didn't fully like the writing style, I wished it was simpler and maybe used less french. I had to reread often, then google some terms, my e-reader's built in dictionary helped but some words weren't in it. English isn't my first language but reading a book has never been so complicated. It got easier after about the first third of the story though.

I was pretty confused at Quinn's pronoun changes, it kept switching even in the same sentence, beside that I only noticed small mistakes (like 1 instead of I). The cover I saw is the one with the tied hands, I probably wouldn't have picked it up with the other one. I know it's erotica but I can't take it seriously with a cover that looks like a bad sexy shop ad.

I loved this, but I'm not sure I'm capable to explain why in any coherent way.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley, for the chance to read an ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

A fun read different than what I normally go for. Wish the relationship was built on more than just physical chemistry.

A f/f romance that's intense and emotional and wonderful!!!! I didn't expect it to be so intense, to be honest, but the plot is fast and the story is just the right length to make for a wonderful read! I recommend to anyone interested in f/f love stories + a rather psychological plot.

I really enjoyed this book. I've read a lot of M/F and M/M BDSM based novels, so to read a F/F was a nice change. The story is based on two main characters Liv and Cassandra as well a character, they are both mature characters which I also found refreshing to read since I don't often find that in the books I read.

This book is a story about nontraditional love, two characters finding a love that suits them both perfectly and provides them both with everything they need and desire.

Liv classes herself as a switch within the scene, both able to be dominant and submissive. Once she comes in contact with Cassandra who manages to go beyond all of Liv's expectations, she finds herself craving a more submissive role. Cassandra is known as a hard dom, she'll push boundaries and get what she wants but there is a side to Cassandra that people don't often see. She is looking for the perfect submissive, someone both willing to love and bend to command.

This book was good, I liked the characters, I found the story easy and pleasing to read. The scenes were hot. .