Top to Bottom

Starred review from April 11, 2016
In the third Escape contemporary erotic romance (after The Unicorn), BDSM maven Drusilla moves back to her hometown, the sunny West Coast suburb of St. Andrews, with plans to set up a new kink club. She calls on friends—including Amie, her ex-girlfriend—for assistance. Dru just wants a little help getting her registration system set up, but when she and Amie meet again, sparks fly and the two of them decide to enjoy a quick fling. As old flames reignite, Dru must also contend with a saboteur who seems determined to see her fledgling club shut down for good. Dru and Amie’s relationship is tender and sweet with a healthy dose of hot, responsible kink, and the main characters are deliciously well-rounded and engaging, with vulnerabilities that threaten their ability to commit even as they strive to learn how to love each other. Readers who have been dismayed by the paucity of respectful erotic stories about bisexual and demisexual women who switch will be beside themselves with delight at Dryden’s tender portrayals. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary Agency.

May 1, 2016
Personal trainer Amie (or Mistress Amie, as she is known by the people in her town's kink community) has her life all figured out, until her ex Dru shows up and throws everything out of whack. Amie believes very much in control. As a physical trainer and gym instructor, she lives a very organized life. As a domme, she maintains control in any encounters she may have in the kink community. She trusts very few people in either aspect of her life. An uncomfortable reunion, however, sends Amie whirling into feelings she hasn't acknowledged in more than a decade. Dru, her first everything--sexual partner, BDSM partner, true love--has returned from Seattle and just opened a new kink club in town. She's good at the front-of-house stuff but needs Amie's expertise in some of the business aspects. Amie, feeling a sexual attraction she probably hasn't felt since the last time she and Dru were together, agrees to help...but proposes the pair meet for a scene, to get it all out of their systems. The sparks fly, just in time for someone to sabotage the club and its reputation. Author Dryden (The Unicorn, 2016, etc.) writes a well-considered, sex-positive story of two real women with real issues. Dru's grief over a lost loved one and Amie's budding understanding of her own sexuality create the necessary undertones to make this particular novel more than bare-bones erotica. While some of the writing can be a bit flat, the overall tone is both sexy and heartwarming. A racy story of love, honesty, and the willingness to lose control.

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from July 1, 2016

Amie Templeton is a longtime Domme fatigued by the St. Andrews club scene and her apparent inability to connect in vanilla relationships. Her lackluster routine is shaken up when old flame Drusilla Stasevich comes back to town, with a new kink club and Amie's once-dormant romantic notions firmly in tow. When Dru needs some serious programming assistance for club Escape, gym manager Amie is the only logical option. The two encounter more than they bargained for as old feelings well up, just in time for an anonymous saboteur to threaten Escape's burgeoning reputation. Dryden's (The Unicorn; How To Tell a Lie) writing is dry and clever, deftly imbuing Amie and Dru's reconnection with aching familiarity as each adjusts to the person she is meeting after a decade. Nuanced depictions of D/s scenes prevail; every moment isn't mind-blowing, as Amie and Dru struggle to rekindle their old dynamic and finally decide to start anew. Demisexuality is also explored, as Amie considers her intimacy issues and the significant shift in her "stone" feelings when playing with Dru, someone she knows and trusts. VERDICT This novella is short and sweet, with a fair dose of smut for good measure. Highly recommended for folks seeking a delightfully quick, kinky F/F read.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.