Hold Me Down (Carolina Girls #1) by Sara Taylor Woods

Hold Me Down by Sara Taylor Woods was everything I never knew I needed.

Talia Benson has always been independent, unafraid to go after what she wants, regardless of setback, injury, or failure.  But between her father’s conditional tuition payments and her mother’s nagging concern over her emotional state, Talia’s suffocating.  So when Talia meets doctoral student Sean Poole, she can’t figure out why she wants to control her.  Why she wants him to boss her around.  Why she wants him to hurt her.  Talia learns the hard way that not all control is create equal and sometimes submitting is the most empowering thing in the world.

If you read romance, then there’s a good chance that you’ve come across Fifty Shades of Grey.  I don’t want to start a riot or anything, but we all know that Fifty Shades is not the most stellar rendition of a health BDSM relationship.  I’ve read many books that were good examples, but as someone not familiar with the BDSM world there has often been questions I’ve had regarding the relationships and ins and outs of this particular kink.  Hold Me Down is the book to answer all those questions and more.

Hold Me Down should be the book you read before you go down the BDSM bunny hole.  It’s a wonderful, informational book regarding BDSM that also delves deep into the shame associated with certain kinks.  Watching Talia struggle with her desires and others perception of those desires was a painful experience, even for someone who doesn’t live the BDSM lifestyle.  For those who do live the lifestyle I’m certain that Talia’s struggles would be reminiscent of much of what they had to go through from the judgmental public.  In fact, after I read this book I went straight to Goodreads to see what others had to say and found a good number of readers wishing that they had this book back when they were struggling to identify and normalize their own kinks.

I love an author who doesn’t take long to get to the point and that’s the case here.  Sean and Talia meet mere pages into the book and the connection is immediate and explosive.  He’s patient and understanding while she tries to sift through her desires, emotions, and outside pressures.  The perfect alpha male in my eyes.  Talia was frustrating at times, but it was more because I wanted to help her than anything.  I wanted to give her a hug and tell her not to bother listening to those whispering in her ear about things they don’t understand.  Watching her slowly discover and become sure of herself was quite the rollercoaster of emotions for me.

This book did a really wonderful job of spelling out a healthy dominant/submissive relationship.  Anyone who has ever read Fifty Shades of Grey should also have to read Hold Me Down to balance out the inaccuracies with a healthier alternative.  I learned a lot about the BDSM kink and I positively adore this book.  Not only was the writing spectacular but the message behind it was as well.  If you’ve ever struggled with accepting your kinks and who you feel you are then I strongly suggest you read this book.  This novel is a welcome addition to the erotica genre.