The Gift of Shame

by Sarah Hope Walker

Book Review by Victoria Blisse

Sarah is very sad and feels distanced from the world. Her Husband died in a diving incident and she has always blamed herself for it. Even a one night stand with Jeffrey cannot free her from that memory, as much as she enjoys the experience.

Jeffrey is not willing to be merely a one night stand, though. He drives Sarah to her Mum’s for Christmas and pushes her sexual boundaries to their very limit but once he takes her past what she believes is a very firmly set boundary she discovers the freedom of letting someone else take control.

The Gift of Shame is a very interesting book because you really get to see Sarah developing before your eyes. At first she is very much caught up in her own life and her own problems, she comes across as fairly mousy and although you are incredibly sad for her loss, you find her a tad boring.  Then Jeffrey is introduced into the mix, he’s rich, arrogant and instantly attracted to Sarah. Her interactions with him bring out her personality and you see that very clearly on every page.

She does not like the idea at all of being submissive and giving into someone else’s will at first, but as the book progresses you see she becomes much more aware of that desire within herself and she embraces it far more and the shame she first feels, so prickly and awkward changes into a different kind of shame, an emotion she learns to enjoy and revel in.

It is a fantastically decadent book, released originally in 1994 and I must say it has certainly aged well. Sarah jets between England and France and the Caribbean in search of herself and sexual satisfaction. The different settings are written well, you can feel the difference between each place and even if you have not visited them you recognize each of them instantly.

The sexual encounters in this book are certainly hot and not at all boring. You get a great variety, and unlike some erotic novels, each encounter seems to really have a place in the story to move it on. Whether it reveals something about Sarah’s personality or her inner guilt or brings in new characters or explains old ones there is something to pick up in each one. I appreciate that. Sex for sex sake is often found in novel length pieces and personally I find those kind of scenes dull and lifeless. There are no sex scenes in this book which could be called dull, not by a long chalk!

I thoroughly enjoyed this well written book, not only is it entertaining it makes you think about your own personality and the way you deal with emotions like grief and guilt and anger. It is very enlightening and I found it to be a very enriching reading experience.

Victoria Blisse
July 2009

The Gift of Shame Sarah Hope Walker
(Virgin Black Lace, January 2009; ISBN-10: 0352342021)
Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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© 2009 Victoria Blisse. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Victoria Blisse is a mother, wife, Christian, Manchester United fan and erotica writer. She was born near Manchester, England and her northern English quirkiness shows through in all of her stories. Passion, love and laughter fill her works, just as they fill her life. To read more about Victoria, check out her website: www.victoriablisse.co.uk or her myspace page www.myspace.co.uk/victoriablisse

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