A Nix Steampunk BDSM Review – Steel Dominance by Cari Silverwood (5 Stars)

This trilogy has been one of the most fascinating BDSM series that I have come across.  Shying away from the BDSM-club trope, Cari Silverwood blends BDSM with Steam-Punk in an erotic suspense novel that blew me away. None of these books are easy reads; they are complicated, innovative tales that are unlike anything that I have read in the erotic genre.

The world building within this trilogy is the most complicated thing to get your head around as a reader. It is set in a world where clockwork machinery is used to make most everyday of objects (and some not so every day in the shape of a clockwork crocodile!). It is this that makes the world strange, a little bit different, but at the heart of it, as with the others in this series, this is a very sexy love story. Although this is a series, I would say that you only actually need to read the first in the series to be able to read this one. I don’t believe that it works as a standalone, as it is far too complicated, but the second in the series feels very different to both this and the first. In this, our hero and heroine are searching for the truth about an ancient artefact during a period where this very action puts them in perilous danger.

I loved the concept. Sophia, an intelligent woman who was put into position because of her inate ability to solve puzzles, was to be smuggled into the country of Byzantium disguised as the sex slave of Dankyo, a warrior who serves as her protector. I loved Danyko in the first book and he didn’t disappoint in this one! He was introduced to Dominance through the events of book one (which I highly recommend), knows he wants someone to Top but hasn’t found that special someone. Of course, then he sees Sophia in her see though harem outfit and his little brain starts thinking for him. I loved seeing him straddle the line between fantasy and reality. He had to pretend to be her master but he wanted the role for real and he did struggle to reel himself in so she wouldn’t run a mile. He was just so fricking dreamy. When she finally admitted that she wanted him as much as he wanted her he blossomed as a character. He transformed from a slightly smug, playful man who completely owned his sexuality to a Dom who could completely own her sexuality without suppressing her character. The things that man could do with some rope….*swoon*.

Cari Silverwood writes awesome female characters. They are completely sexually submissive but ultimately they are quite feisty women. The lead role in the plot to find the clockwork warrior wasn’t Dankyo’s; it was Sophia’s. She was a woman who was willing to do whatever she had to to get to that statue. She was willing to be someone’s slave, be made to crawl on her hands and knees and be brought to orgasm in a room full of strangers. As long as it got the job done, she was happy to do it. She was also a woman who could admit to her sexuality. Dankyo forcing her to submit, being watched, being spanked; these were all things that she wanted to do.  This strength of character is seen throughout the book not least in the scenes where someone makes attempts on her life. I just really enjoyed her character!

There is A LOT of sex in this book. From the scene where Danyko has to take her to the orgy at the beginning of the tale (which is sinfully hot) right through to some MFM and FF action, there really is something for every taste. I think the scene where Sophia first independently submits to Danyko is my favourite but the mechanical vibrator scene is one to look out for too! This is a BDSM book at heart; there is spanking with hands and belts, anal play, FF action, ménage action, restraints, sex-toy play, some lovely water scenes and some fantasy play. I loved it.