Asking For Trouble – Kristina Lloyd

Being a fan of Black Lace, I jumped at the chance to read Kristina Lloyd’s Asking For Trouble and review it for Orgasm Army. I started reading straight away and was impressed by the book almost immediately. The naughtiness starts very early on, and it’s really fun. You get the impression that the lead character Beth is a real naughty girl that knows what she wants, and how to get it.

Then when Ilya arrives in her life, things really start get sexy. There’s a hot scene where Beth and Ilya (who have apartments across the street from one another) end up exposing themselves to one another through the window. And that’s where it starts. Soon they’re playing a game of flirtation, which inevitably leads to them sleeping together. However, Ilya has more than just bog-standard sex on his mind. He’s tapped into Beth’s deepest dirtiest fantasies, and wants to make the most of them.

They begin a game where Ilya will push Beth’s boundaries in the bedroom to see how far she will go to achieve her deepest desires. However, as is common ground in BDSM (and similar) circles, they have a word that means stop, in this case – “Cuttlefish.” Whenever either of them say the word, their ‘arrangement’ is off, and there’s no going back.

Beth gets increasingly infatuated with Ilya and his sexy games. However, she soon comes to realise she’s in a scary situation, as Ilya really wants to see how far he can push Beth… and he’s not exactly a savoury character. So when other, much more dangerous, characters arrive on the scene, expecting to be involved in their sordid games, Beth is hesitant. Will she do it, or will she call the ‘C’ word and Ilya is out of her life forever?

I’m a little torn by this book. The beginning and middle are really hot and fun, and although some of the fantasies weren’t my cup of tea, I still found it sexy. However, as the plot progresses and Beth is drawn deeper into Ilya’s sordid games I found myself switching off a little. Not because of the quality of writing, which I found excellent throughout, but more because of the subject matter. There was no non-consensual sex involved in the novel, but it was pushing it pretty close and there are scenes which many readers may find disturbing. It’s definitely one of the most controversial Black Lace novels I’ve read. Overall I’d say I enjoyed most of it, but some of it was just too dark for me; but it won’t put me off reading more of Lloyd’s novels in the future.

Order from Amazon.co.uk
Order from Amazon.com
Order from BookDepository.co.uk
Order from Waterstones.com