Fascinating tale of raising a submissive

No Boundaries

By Allison Hobbs

Strebor. 304 pp. $15.

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Reviewed by Karen E. Quinones Miller

It's a dark world Allison Hobbs writes about in her latest book. A dark, perverted world most people know little or nothing about. A dark, perverted world about which, I knew ahead of time, I would find it distasteful to read.

I was wrong.

Forget Fifty Shades of Grey. I've become fascinated with the Fifty Shades of Hobbs.

No Boundaries - the 18th novel by Philadelphia native Hobbs - explores the world of BDSM (bondage, discipline, and sadomasochism) through the eyes of a young female devotee and a young male disgusted with even the idea of it.

Fonia Jenkins is only 11 when she meets her mother's employer - the mysterious Mr. Lord - for the first time. He's handsome, wealthy, "exudes masculine authority," and on their first meeting showers her with presents, telling her he's pleased to meet "such a good girl." When Fonia realizes that her mother's usually aggressive demeanor becomes passive in Mr. Lord's presence, she emulates the behavior and is rewarded with even more gifts.

Fonia, though, is mystified about the nature of her mother's relationship with Mr. Lord. She's pretty sure they're not boyfriend and girlfriend - neither she nor her mother ever call him anything but "Mr. Lord" - yet he moves them into a townhouse and stops by, for a short time, every evening.

One night she peeks into her mother's bedroom and witnesses Mr. Lord beating her mother with a wooden paddle. The next morning, Fonia sees her mother sporting a brand-new pair of diamond earrings. To Fonia's surprise, Mr. Lord gives her an identical pair, calling her his "little princess" when she thanks him. As years go by, he continues to spoil her, buying her expensive clothing and jewelry, and paying her tuition at a swank private school.

Initially Fonia sees Mr. Lord as a father figure, but as she grows older her feelings change and she begins competing with her mother for his affection. Realizing Mr. Lord is displeased the few times her mother disagrees with him, Fonia determines to stay pleasant and agreeable. And the more docile she becomes, the more she is rewarded. He proudly tells her one day: "I enjoy molding you into the perfect little submissive."

Jaguar Jackson was raised in the mean streets of North Philadelphia and has been hustling since he was 13. But when his best friend is gunned down and almost killed, Jag realizes he needs to turn his life around. He attends college on a basketball scholarship, then gets a law degree in New York.

But at 27 he returns to Philadelphia, broke. He's due to start a paid internship at a midsize law firm in September, to get experience before taking his bar examination. But he needs a summer job to pay his rent until then. When a childhood buddy offers him a gig bartending at a local dive, Jaguar reluctantly takes him up on his offer.

The tips are good and he meets an eclectic group of regulars, including an obese male wannabe porn star, a horny biker chick who wants to take him to bed while her boyfriend watches, and an elderly couple constantly seeking hard young bodies for a threesome. Well-endowed, and always horny, the good-looking Jag has plenty of opportunities to satisfy his overactive sex drive.

One night a beautiful young woman walks into the bar. She is much more refined than the usual clientele. Jaguar is immediately smitten, sensing in her a vulnerability that appeals to his male ego. He finds out her name is Fonia, but little else. She stays only a short time, but she promises to return the following evening. When she fails to do so, he is devastated, certain he'll never see her again.

Shortly afterward a buddy approaches Jaguar about bartending at private sex parties. But when he tells Jaguar of what goes on there - including bondage and S&M - Jaguar's narrow-minded response makes him rescind the offer.

But Jaguar is soon hurting for money, and he goes back to his friend, promising his prudish attitude won't affect his work.

Like her mentor, Zane, Hobbs is known for the sexually explicit content of her books, and No Boundaries is no exception. Make no mistake about it, the sex in No Boundaries is both abundant and hot. What separates it from many other books dealing with BDSM is the character development, and the detailed story of how a submissive can be groomed from childhood.

A disturbing tale, but an utterly fascinating one.