I don't think this should be marked as a romance as I didn't find the main story that romantic and that is how the book ans the blurb was sold to me as. I thought that there were moments that were good but there were too many moments where the story was a miss and not worth continuing with.

not a lot of bdsm themed romances with f/f and age gap. showcased a polyamorous couple. was really sexy.

I didn't finish this one as there was too much sex for my personal taste, but the writing quality was good overall so I'll offer it a midling rating as I didn't finish it.

Despite a few teething problems I really enjoyed reading this book. (To be honest about a fifth of the way through I would not have envisioned giving this a 4/5 star rating but it redeemed itself). Octavia, Bridget and Vivian are all very well drawn and fleshed out characters and it's fascinating to see the dynamic between the three develop as Octavia and Bridget struggle to deal with their new 'free' lives.

Therein lies the rub for me, other than a few very brief allusions we know very little about their former lives in Rowan House (a bdsm 'pleasure hours') but it feels like we should, almost as if this book is a sequel. I've checked, it isn't. Either this is bad editing or a really shitty attempt at creating dramatic tension. Anyway, I got over that pretty quickly as I wasn't really reading this for the intricate plot layering, I was reading it for D/s erotica and Brenda Murphy delivers that very well. The best recommendation I can give is to say that I have bought another one of her books!

Not quite a traditional romance but definitely an erotica novel this story breaks barriers not usually delved in with the addition of a romance involving a triad when Vivian is welcomed to already coupled up Octavia and Bridget. Their journey includes an interesting twist of BDSM, leaning heavier on the SM side. Each woman has certain tastes and personality when it comes to their kinks, and gradually they work on the aspects of their Domme/sub dynamic and not only to make room for Vivian, but to hopefully discover in each other something that was missing before their triad. And, even though I wasn’t a fan of some of the kinks these women preferred, it was their journey to find that perfect balance in their miraculous triad that became fascinating to observe. I can’t fully decide whether the BDSM content worked or not in this novel, but it certainly added an interesting twist and I’m still contemplating and analyzing it long after. That is what I love most about this book.

Both Bridget and Octavia decide to leave Rowan House, an exclusive pleasure house and move to Italy. They get jobs at Vivian’s vineyard where they realize Vivian is a Domme. Together these three explore and discover things about themselves. I found the characters interesting and the sex steamy, could have used a bit more story. A good read.

OMG. So. Much. Love.

Both Ends of the Whip is lesbian, polyamorous, power-exchange romance with real characters, legitimate relationship drama, underlying secrets and mysteries, and some exquisite BDSM-themed sex. As much as the cover blurb enticed me, and sounded like it has the potential for an interesting read, I did not expect Brenda Murphy to so thoroughly feed my love along with my lust. This is exquisite.

What I loved most about this were the complexities. Being able to love more than one woman unconditionally. Craving both submission and domination. Wanting to be loved, cherish, owned, and controlled, all at the same time. Needing that bedroom power-exchange, yet also needing some degree of independence and self-control outside the bedroom. The intersection of jealousy and intimacy, being able to watch your lover surrender sexually, yet getting upset over unseen kisses. Craving total, absolute, powerless surrender, even as the use of safewords is respected as a gift for the dominant. Murphy brings fantasy and reality together here, exploring a relationship that makes it work.

Octavia and Bridget are a wonderful couple, even if - perhaps because - they tried my patience so often. There is a lot of emotional baggage there, both in their shared past at Rowan house and in their secret pasts before that. It is not a perfect love, but one that rings true. Their negotiations regarding their situation with Vivian are outstanding, giving us real insight into how you balance physical and emotional needs, and how you cater to a relationship where one woman is a caring, protective submissive, and the other a conflicted, loving switch. Vivian was an enigma for much of the story, but I am so glad Murphy explored her as she did, making her internal doubts and uncertainties such a driving force. She is a natural dominant, still hurting for the loss of her one great love, and as much as she comes to care for these two young women, she struggles with the blurred lines between caring employer and loving dominatrix.

The only place I felt the story stumbled a bit was in reconciling its non-erotic conflicts. A lot is resolved very quickly following the fiery climax, but most of it is done off the page, and only summarized in passing. I was particularly perturbed that the neighbor's rude, arrogant, abusive son (the only significant male character in the book) gets off so easily, and without directly addressing his racial slur against Vivian. This is one of those rare cases where a novel could benefit from a little padding at the end.

Those concerns are minor, however, and did nothing to take away from my love for this. Both Ends of the Whip is a true delight, the perfect story for those of us who crave the collar as much as a cuddle. Just a wonderful read.

Interesting story, gorgeous cover. I thought the author did a great job with the f/f/f storyline by having all three of the leads switching roles with each other, plus giving each of the three leads a nice backstory. The plot was a little thin until the end when a conflict that I didn’t know was a conflict was resolved. The sex alone was enough for me to give four stars, but the editing needed another round. I found several wrong words (though vs thought) and dropped periods at the end of paragraphs.

I thought this story was okay. It wasn’t quite what I was looking for but it was decent. This is an erotic romance. The reason I wanted to read this is because it is more f/f/f which we don’t see quite as often. I was interested in how Murphy would handle this threesome relationship. This book does include moderate BDSM and several explicit sex scenes.

The story is about Octavia and Bridget who are employed at a well-established pleasure house. Octavia is a stable master and does some sex work, while Bridget helps in the kitchen. They are a committed couple who want to leave the sex work behind to start their life over. A friend, of their old boss, Vivian gives them a job as head cook and stable master at her home in Italy. Sparks quickly fly and an attraction grows between the three women. Can a relationship work for them all?

I thought all three character were likeable, especially Octavia who’s headspace we are in. I was happy with the diversity of two out of the three main characters. Obviously being an erotica book there are plenty of sex scenes. I found myself enjoying the threesome scenes more than the couple sex scenes. Since Octavia and Bridget was a couple already, there were sex scenes with just the two of them. I found those scenes became a little repetitive and felt a few of them could have been cut.

What stopped me from really enjoying this story was I needed more plot. I enjoyed the scenes the characters talked about their feelings, jealousy, interesting conversations. But I really needed more. Even the scenes with Octavia taking care of the donkey, I found myself looking forward to them. I was so desperate for conflict or a storyline that wasn’t sex, that it just didn’t working for me. Cutting some of the Bridget and Octavia sex scenes, would have added more time for some plot. There was a small thread about arson, but I felt it wasn’t developed enough.

Lastly, and this is a quick little complaint that I’m trying to phrase this without being offensive… I thought there was an excessive amount of bodily fluids. Whether dripping, running, gushing, what have you, I felt like the author was talking about faucets, not women.

In conclusion, while I enjoy a good steamy erotic romance, I need to have enough story to go with it. While this book was almost there, it just wasn’t enough for me personally. If you are a fan of erotica, this might work for you. It was decent, just not what I hoped for.

When I go through the long lists of releases of recent romance books I am always excited when I see a F/F in the amount of the mostly M/M dominated genre. It was no surprise my attention was picked when I spoted Both Ends of the Whip under all of them. I was especially excited to read that this book is not just only a F/F romance, it has actually BDSM elements and on top features several menage scenes, so we get another "F" in the mix, so to say. :3 And finally the cover by the amazing Natasha Snow settled the deal. :D
(Never say you don't judge a book by its book, artists like her proof you really can pick a book because of its cover and not regret it. :D)

The way the book started was promising and I can truly say I was entertained. Unfortunately I can't give 5 full stars because something in the writing wasn't that established as I was used to it. There were a few repetitive parts (not in events, more in sentence structure), not easy to unseen if you've spotted them and hence a small annoyance in the flow of reading. :D But this is only a problem for people who are really sensitive in this matter as I was, even more when I discussed it with a friend of mine. :)

What I really enjoyed in the book was the POV: we focus on Octavia, it's written in third person but it's full of internal monologues by her, which give the scenes a different touch, more insight and a lot of reflection about important things and reveals a lot before the events are actually set in. Her internal monologue is actually close to a stream of consciousness and pretty unfiltered.
I have also to mention that I love the connection of Octavia's name and the safe word she's using in the scenes. ;) I won't say what it is, if you know the meaning of her name (I'm giving you this hint), you come across what word she uses. :) This is a pretty smart move by the author in my opinion. :)

The whole plot was really good, satisfiying and entertaining. I liked how there was a tension there, caused by a lot of different things, some of them seems first not connected but make sense later in the book.
Under the obvious and clearly shown way of how Octavia and Bridget lived before they head towards Italy to Vivian's vineyard, where they start there their new life, after being sex workers in the Rowan House, being responsable for the customer's pleasure and under the control of a mistress, the characters show they have a lot of secrets and revealing.

I enjoyed how the setting shifted and how Italy and Vivian's vineyard is their new home. With the new mistress there are a lot of hot scenes, full of commitment and agreement; never are they are forced in their decisions, the rules are clearly talked about and accepted. The dynamics finally felt right when the three started the scenes, and the first relunctant behaviour by the characters is something which creates a lots of tension.

I was also captured by the way how the characters were given a history, some parts mutually shared, other kept a secret and slowly - over the book - exposed.

If you are fond of books with a lot of sex in it, with dominance play, which includes pain play and orgasm denial, flogging and spanking (with and without whips), as well as bondage, this is your book. If you also enjoy a strong dynamics in a book, with a lot of troubled, different characters, you'll like it also. If this isn't all your cup of tea, you won't be satisfied with the menage BDSM story full of strong yet sometimes vulnerable women.
Pretty pleased was I when I read that not just Octavia has a mixed raced heritage (she's from Buenos Aires, Argentina), but also Vivian is a non-white main character, coming from Abuja, Nigeria. With Bridget as contrast with her red, thick hair and freckled skin the three of them are a nice visual you get by the author. :)

For me it was a refreshing, sexy read with a lot of promising scenes, nice fleshed out characters and a lot of revealings with a surprising twist and pretty unexpected. :) Because of a few flaws in the way of writing I can't give full 5 stars but solid 4. :)

Review originally posted on my blog with added content Mikku-chan / A world full of words

I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I must admit it wasn’t the best book to start with as it just wasn’t for me.

It is written from Octavia’s point of view (third person) as she struggles with her own feelings of self-worth.

I don’t feel a connection with any of the characters – Octavia, Vivian or Bridget. In my opinion there is too much BDSM and not much of a storyline. I only read up to chapter 10 and even that was a struggle. I never finished the book and don’t think I ever will.

I have gave it 2 stars for effort.

Octavia and Bridget, both employees of the exclusive pleasure house Rowan House, decide it is time for them to leave to explore their relationship and love for each other. Octavia has served there for years, not only as the owner’s stable manager but also as her submissive. In asking Martha to uncollar her Octavia is able to explore the dominant side of her nature with Bridget. Vivian, a friend of Martha’s, offers them employment on her vineyard in Italy. Both Octavia and Bridget find themselves drawn to Vivian but, for different reasons, both struggle with what to do with their feelings.

This is written from Octavia’s point of view in the third person as she battles her own feelings of self-worth while observing and trying to decipher the thoughts of Bridget and Vivian. It is an erotic account of Octavia needing to explore both the dominant and submissive parts of herself, of Bridget’s desire versus a belief in monogamy and of Vivian’s recovery from loss.

I’m torn between the parts that I loved like the constant negotiation and re-evaluation of each other’s thoughts and feelings when entering a poly-amorous relationship and the parts that irritated me like Octavia’s thoughts. Throughout the novel Octavia’s thoughts are italicised and on nearly every second page. In the beginning they have a short, repetitive, staccato quality to them like:
“Mine. Mine alone. All of this is for me.”
“That’s it. So good. My sweet girl. Give it to me.”
“Yes. For me. Mine.”
“Beautiful. Mine. So beautiful.”

As the novel progressed the thoughts became a little longer but I found they interfered with the flow of my reading and irritated me immensely, especially the use of the chest-thumping “mine” that was liberally scattered throughout. I started trying to avoid reading anything in italics which was almost as disruptive and from about half way through Octavia expresses some quite powerful feelings in those italics. This is probably one of my idiosyncrasies but I could have done with at least half of them gone.

There is a bit of suspense and intrigue in the form of arson running through the story but it is more circumstance and background than a central plot line. I enjoyed the fluidity of the D/s dynamic between all of them. The ethnic diversity is another big plus for me. All in all this is just under three and a half stars and mostly because of Octavia’s thoughts.

Book received from Netgalley and NineStar Press for an honest review.