Samhain Publishing, $2.50, ISBN 1-60504-268-4
Contemporary Romance, 2008
Seducing Jane Porter is a very short story featuring BDSM elements like mild bondage – nothing too extreme here in case you’re worried about that kind of thing. Jane Porter, a submissive, has been burned by her previous relationship (the now ex-boyfriend turned out to be a married man with three children) so now she’s looking for temporary pleasures rather than long-term relationships.
At 36, Jane is older than the usual heroines in the romance genre, and I’m liking her already because of this. She also isn’t afraid to admit that she has a high sex drive and her past boyfriends had problems keeping up with her in the bedroom. What I like here is that Jane doesn’t view this as her problem – she knows that there is nothing wrong with her. She may just find the man who can dominate her the way she wants to be dominated in Antonio Villareal. Yes, that is the man’s name, believe it or not. He is the very, very rich half-brother of the host of the weekend-long BDSM party that Jane allows her friend to drag her to early in the story. It’s paddling time, and I don’t mean a trip down the river in a boat.
Strangely enough, for a story of its already short length, Seducing Jane Porter actually drags when it comes to pacing and there are some noticeable scenes that are pure filler. Scenes such as a flashback to Jane’s confrontation with her cheating ex and Antonio’s reminiscences about the time he lost his virginity don’t add anything to the overall storyline. A superficially treated secondary relationship between Jane’s friend and another Dom arguably adds some diversion from the main relationship, but it is also filler material. The story briefly comes to life when Jane and Antonio finally get down and busy, but it gets bogged down by filler scenes at other times.
So yes, Seducing Jane Porter is a rather unusual short story in that I feel that it would have been a more enjoyable read if it has been shorter.
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