Velvet Glove Volume 1 Paperback – August 7, 2008

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS."Connor's Journey" - 7/10PROS:- I was reminded of  Pretty Woman  repeatedly as I read this story, especially when Desmond takes Connor shopping for new clothes. Unlike in Pretty Woman, though, they go immediately to the leather toy shop afterwards. (Wicked smirk...)- Each of these stories introduces new characters, all of whom are interesting. The best thing about this first story is that many of the secondary characters here appear as main characters in the later stories of the book.CONS:- A lot of Sean Michael's Dom characters use rather formal speech, but Desmond's speech seemed so over-the-top to me that I found it awkward at times.- It bugged me that Desmond continued to use Connor's last name throughout the story: "Come, Connor Dean"; "Thank you, Connor Dean"; etc."Peace within the Quiet"- 8/10PROS:- For some reason, Sean Michael's writing style is able to convince me almost always that two characters who have just met could truly be in love with each other. This story is just over 20 pages and covers a period of about 2 days, and at the end, I actually believed that these two guys were soul mates.- The Velvet Glove is an exclusive club, which means that at least one of the characters in each story has a good deal of money. As a result, each of the stories has a lush, decadent feel to it. In this story, Katashi's rooms at the club are so elegant that he has a room filled with essentially nothing but dozens of fountains.CONS:- Gloucester, the sub, appears briefly in the book's first story, and we get just enough background on him to suggest that he's been waiting a very long time to be claimed by a Dom. I was looking forward to just a little more background on him in Gloucester's own story, but there's almost none.- The speech in this story, also, seemed formal and stilted to me. The characters rarely use contractions, for example: "I do not believe I have ever seen you here before.""Love and the Farmer" - 6/10PROS:- I really liked the character of Love immediately. The story begins with him getting in trouble for not working, and his response to being yelled at is this: "Bah. [Eff] that. Love was comfortable and high."- The sci-fi setting is slight in these stories (they focus on the relationships, not the world in which the characters live), but there are some little details here and there that give the stories an otherworldly feel.CONS:- I've become quite a fan of BDSM fiction over the past couple of years, but one of the things I still don't love reading about is punishment. (Real punishment, that is.) Half of this story is a scene of punishment in which Love is bound and gagged and very angry about the way he's being treated.- This one has a Happy For Now ending. Nothing long-term here."Soaring with Hawk" - 8/10PROS:- There are 2 elements in this story that I particularly like reading about: one, Jester is not only a virgin, he's never even been kissed before. And two, Jester is incredibly poor. Hawk isn't as rich as some of the other characters who frequent the Velvet Glove, but he's able to expand Jester's horizons significantly simply by feeding him real meat and buying him soft clothes.- Each of the stories in this book contains some elements of BDSM, but they're all pretty different as far as what the characters like and how they behave with their partners. In this story, Jester is such an innocent that the BDSM element is extremely light, and that felt appropriate to me.CONS:- Jester's family doesn't approve of his relationship with Hawk, and when his mother finally tells Jester what she thinks, he's distraught about it. After Jester tells Hawk what his mother said, though, the topic never comes up again. It seemed to me like that topic was dropped rather abruptly.- Throughout the book, there are quite a few paragraphs that have no end punctuation. There's one page that has 5 paragraphs with no period at the end.Overall comments: These stories are all sweet, and each one contains BDSM to some degree; the only one that's very hardcore is "Love and the Farmer," and that story is the shortest one. The blurb on the back of the book says that the Velvet Glove is an "interplanetary exclusive club," but as far as I could tell, all the characters are human.

I enjoy all 4 BDSM stories here. This collection is simply pure indulgence. LouisaClark has given a great review. I just wish to comment that my favorite is the last story, "Soaring with Hawk". You know you love a story when you read several parts several times, which is my case in this one. There is just something terribly sweet and tender about "Soaring with Hawk". Not mushy at all. Just heartwarming and loving. Jester is such an endearing sub and his happily-ever-after story with Hawk is most gratifying. This couple's interaction with the other Club's members is also well told. The chapter where Jester meets Kestrel is delightful. I certainly look forward to more on this sensual universe of Sean's, especially Kestrel's story.