She has nipple rings AND vanilla sex?

because my first reaction was, Why would her jewelry tell us anything about her lifestyle? But now that I see Jessica’s reply, I read it differently:

I take it the nipple rings were a step in the direction she wanted to go.

It sounds as though the piercings were being used that way in the book, i.e. the author feels that nipple rings = intent to lead kinky lifestyle. That’s a whole different layer of discussion. I’m still not convinced that nipple rings are a universal symbol, though. I know people who have a piercing, or a tattoo, or a streak in their hair, as their one “fun” touch in an otherwise conservative style. On the other hand, some pop culture histories say that 30 years ago tattoos were always signals of biker/outlaw/scariness. (That makes me picture people crossing the street to avoid drawing a tattooed biker’s notice, rather like sliding down the bar to escape Wyatt Earp’s gaze But isn’t that biker/rough hero image used in a number of romances? So perhaps the nipple rings fit the genre’s norms: a character with an un-aspirational personal style may be read as unconventional or perhaps culturally incompetent.

Not having read this book, I may be completely off base, but this reminds me of the type of authorial signaling that I tripped over in Megan Hart’s Broken. My take there was:

I’m pretty sure Hart intended some subtext about Joe that’s not well supported in the text. … I’d thought his whole character arc was a minor life transition, from Carefree Single to Guy Wanting Relationship. I missed the big redemption arc from Utter Manwhore to Good Guy. And why did I miss it? … The leap to Manwhore isn’t in the text.

I’m blinking here. She has nipple rings AND vanilla sex? Maybe it’s just my suburbanite mentality talking, but I would have thought–not that I’d know–that you turn your back on vanilla sex once you’ve your nipple rings firmly in place.

I take it the nipple rings were a step in the direction she wanted to go. I agree that it is kind of an odd first step, but it’s the one the character could do on her own — she didn’t have a male partner who was willing to try out the other stuff. So nipple rings it was!

I’ve not reviewed the book but suggest you check out Dear Author’s review – which is what prompted me to check it out

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2006/10/25/equal-opportunities-by-mathilde-madden/#more-1000

I think the book actually raises more questions than it answers. It’s not a judgemental book that puts forward a view on whether the heroine’s fetish is ok or not. Perhaps that neutral quality is down to the fact that it’s written in revolving first person POV so you get both H/Hs very subjective take on what is happening and therefore the difficult issues it raises are left open. I didn’t shut the book thinking “oh, well, it’s fine for someone to lust after someone in a wheelchair BECAUSE they’re in a wheelchair”. But I did finish really liking the H/H and with my view that relationships are very complex reaffirmed.

I would really LOVE to know what you think of my fave Madden – Equal Opportunities – about a woman with a thing for guys in wheelchairs.

That sounds dreadful. I would love to read any good romanc,e and if the h/h has a disability, great. But paraplegia as a fetish? Sounds demeaning.

RfP wrote:

The implication was that that constraint was loosening. That may be the case, given there are a number of erotic romances with equivocal (2+1) endings, or perhaps there has always been a variety and my perception is entirely about my reading path through the genre.

I was surprised, too, but maybe you’re right — I find my erotica via romance websites, so my path through the genre may not be reflective of the “average” erotica book.

jaq wrote:

Just delurking to say the publisher is Samhain, not Loos-ID.

btw, love your posts here. I come by every day.

Thanks for visiting and commenting, and complimenting. And thanks for the correction.

to my great surprise, Banks has Luke and Gracie not only fall in love, but throws in a Big Misunderstanding, and a marriage proposal (!) complete with bended knee and ring (!!). Holy Harlequin Presents, Batman!

I’ve read Harlequinlandia endings in a number of earlier erotic romance novellas and some Ellora’s Cave erotic romances a few years ago (e.g. Lacey Alexander, Rhyannon Byrd).

I’ve read that the quick wrap-up was about feeling pressure to conform to the “rules” of romance with a happy ending comprised of 1 man + 1 woman. The implication was that that constraint was loosening. That may be the case, given there are a number of erotic romances with equivocal (2+1) endings, or perhaps there has always been a variety and my perception is entirely about my reading path through the genre.

maybe he will continue to be a very special kind of best man in their lives after the wedding

I’ve read a couple of similarly suggestive kisses from fiances’ BFFs, and even some explicitly stated agreements to remain a threesome. Emma Holly’s Menage comes to mind, and there are a lot of Ellora’s Cave books involving brothers in menage.

Just delurking to say the publisher is Samhain, not Loos-ID.

btw, love your posts here. I come by every day.