For The Love Of The Writer: Midnight Caller by NJ Cole

As hard as it is not to write a good review for someone, I feel being honest is one of the more important things one can do. I can’t tell you about the end of the story Midnight Caller because, in all honesty, I couldn’t get past page 97 of this book. In the pages that I did read, there were so many inconsistencies, illogical reactions, and misrepresentations of the BDSM lifestyle that it became distracting. I feel that lack of patience , general publishing knowledge, and writing experience are big factors contributing to the errors in this book.

*From here on out are major spoilers to the story, so if you do not wish to know more about the plot then please stop reading now.*

The way this story started out made me feel like it was out of order, and to be honest, a lot of what I read continued to feel that way. In one moment, the character Oliver “Sir/Master” Durant says he likes one thing, or won’t do something, and a few sentences later he says how he has done it before. For example: Oliver is telling us how he doesn’t usually use a leash and collar on his submissives, and then in the next paragraph, he is telling us how he has put it on a few different submissives. Farther in the story, Rebecca “Butterfly” Summers is talking about how she shaves and keeps her bikini area trimmed and neat, but in just the next sentence she talks about her curls. Now, I know you can be trimmed and neat and still have hair, I’m not disputing that, but if it is neat then they wouldn’t be curls at all, they’d be short hairs. These are just a couple of examples on some of the inconsistencies that were in the pages that I did read.

Another thing that bothered me was the incorrect use of words. The author has written how Gretchen puts herself in the inspection position – which is kneeling with legs spread shoulder-width apart – but then she describes it as Gretchen in the prone position as in prayer. The Webster definition of the word “prone” is lying in a face-down position. This would be an incorrect use of the word as she has it in the story.

Now going to the illogical reactions, I don’t know anyone in fiction, or real life, who wouldn’t completely freak out at having a complete stranger know personal information about them and be okay with it. I know that this story is fiction, but even fictional characters have to have normal human reactions. The character “Butterfly” is completely fine with a stranger being able to see her while she pleasures herself. I understand that submissives, and people with submissive personalities, have the tendency to let dominant people decide how things are, but it was uncomfortable to read a woman who lacked any sense of self-preservation. Not only that, but she lets him have power over her body to the point that she’s not even allowed to physically see him. I can’t fathom doing something like that, but then, maybe that is just me.

Now the way the BDSM lifestyle is presented here, IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, is obviously distorted. The reactions that “Sir” expects “Butterfly” to have – without ever having true experience as a submissive – are profoundly unrealistic. In a way, Oliver expects her not to make any mistakes the first time he is giving her commands, but for someone – regardless of her tendencies – to not make those mistakes is too farfetched to feel correct. The amount of trust Oliver is expecting out of Rebecca from the very beginning is not the amount of trust a complete stranger would be given. Respect and trust is something that is slowly earned through time, which is not respectfully portrayed in this story.

Now I don’t want you all to think that there wasn’t anything good in the book. The sex scenes that I did read were actually very well written and quite enjoyable. The author was able to describe those moments with an abundance of passion and enthusiasm that would rival any other erotica story.

Overall, I can only give this story one flower, and that is due to the well-written sex scenes. I wish this author the best of luck when she begins to write her sequel, but my journey with these characters will end here.

(review by oneof eddiesgirls)