Holding the Cards

By: Joey W. Hill

Narrated by: Maxine Mitchell

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Book 1 in the Nature of Desire series.

Lauren is a successful doctor with a healthy attitude toward sex, unashamed of her proclivities as a sexual dominant. She wants love and a family, but she's beginning to believe there is no Mr. Right willing to stand by her in sickness and health...and be cuffed, stripped, and smacked with a riding crop. Then her friend Lisette invites her to spend a long weekend on a private island. It turns out Lisette can't come with her, but Lauren opts to go anyway, with no one for company but Joshua, the island caretaker, and his visiting friend, Marcus. Though both men are beautiful, it is Joshua that catches Lauren's attention, and not just because Marcus prefers men. Something in Josh's stormy eyes calls to her. When Marcus facilitates a game of submission and control between the three of them that will last throughout the weekend, Lauren embraces the opportunity. Josh overwhelms her with his willingness to submit to her body's desires, but her heart wants to get to the secrets behind those eyes. She is going to have to tear down his defenses and make him give her everything. And this is one Mistress who doesn't take no for an answer....

©2002 Joey W. Hill (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Cool female Domme/male sub story

The voice didn’t always command in scenes but it was a bdsm story with actual plot so the voice worked for most the story.

It had elements of mfm/ménage which fit but wasn’t expected. The heroine and the hero had pasts that needed each other and the major supporting character was just having fun as a Dom himself. Sexy but still a story there.

What I have been looking for in FemDom Literature!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! Not only was the sex scenes hot the story was amazing, the characters believable and the setting idyllic. Some might think the story setting was too fantastic but I felt like it worked for what the author was going for with these characters.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Holding the Cards?

I could say that the elephant on the tropical island was the most memorable part. Or that the author described this one artists work in so much detail that I had to Google them to make sure they were not a real artist. But both of these things pale in comparison to the amazing climax. It had me in heart-wrenching tears. So perfectly done that even a hard topic to talk about came out natural and well developed.

What aspect of Maxine Mitchell’s performance would you have changed?

I did not like the voice of Josh. It could have been a combination of the sound the voice actor used and the dialog of the author for Josh. When his character cussed it sounded like he was a petulant child or young adult. It threw me out of the story a lot. Marcus's voice was perfect, the narrator voice was great, I even loved Lauren's voice, which was different than the narrator. But Josh did nothing for me.

PS: All of the other Joey W Hill books by Maxine Mitchell I have listened too have been great. No voice problems at all.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

There are a few slow parts, which was easy to stop listening during, but I like a book that has a good pace like this one.

Any additional comments?

Will buy anything from this author!

chilln in WI.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes and no i enjoy some erotica, this book pushed the bounds a little more than i was comfortable with. Little to fantasy.

What other book might you compare Holding the Cards to and why?

virtual reality

What about Maxine Mitchell’s performance did you like?

she's a great narrator nice voice good charator separation.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

Ive gotten all of jodis books and like most dont like a couple this was a take it or leave it one.

Betrayed Souls

If you could sum up Holding the Cards in three words, what would they be?

Hearts Seeking Comfort

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lauren and Josh. Both were seeking lifetime love and were betrayed.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene when Lauren final earned Josh's submission. The way he broke down and then the way she held him up. Breath taking. I could imagine myself there witnessing the scene as it took place.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

At the end, while Lauren and Josh were holding hands, yet telling Marcus he should go get his Thomas. Soul inspiring

Any additional comments?

I love Joey W Hill. To hear the stories, well, Maxine Mitchell is one of the best narrator's in the business. She truly differentiates voices extremely well between male and female throughout.

Slow build to a steamy climax!

Book was slow at first, very wordy and the narrator was hard to adjust to (for me). But the some super hot scenes!! The last few chapters were my favorite as they dove into the psyche of the character Josh and the "scene" in the end will wake up your body. Super hot!!

2.5 Stars I Could Not Connect

I always feel a bit badly rating less than three stars. I know this book/series really worked for a good number of people. Sadly, I'm just not one of them. So why? I came up with four main reasons...

First, aside from the sex, the main part of the plot was the re-telling of personal histories. Nothing really happened in real time except sex or situations that lead to sexual situations. 4 hours into the book no sex had happened so it took a while for even that to happen. I needed some real life stuff. It also didn't make sense to me that they shared their deepest hurts so quickly. They both were people whose trust had been horribly broken so the sharing didn't ring true for me, especially considering there was very, very little D/s trust building IMO. (Although honestly the was very little BDSM play. Submission, yes, but very little BDSM play.

Second, I have a hard time with what I feel like is the cookie cutter build up leading to MMF ménage. I takes away from the excitement when I know pretty much what will happen next.

Third, Marcus. Although I liked him as a character, but he felt out of place to me. (view spoiler) It almost felt like inviting Dr. Phil into your bedroom to supervise.

Fourth, Lauren wasn't a convincing Dominatrix to me. I realize she had gone through some stuff, but she went from being a bit weak (IMO), insecure, and uncertain to Super Dom overnight. I just couldn't buy it.

I've read Natural and liked that book by this author and but this one just didn't click with me. There are a lot of other people liked this book, so keep that in mind when considering my review. 2.5 stars

Maxine Mitchell did a solid job with the narration

Great story, horrid narrator

I love Joey Hill's writing, but it was all I could do to finish this audible version because of the narrator. She has a VERY annoying lilt in her voice that makes every sentence sounds like a question. Especially the parts that should have Bern sensual... they are copy and hearing. Such a shame. I finished it because A. I really do love Joey Hill and B. I paid for it. I will never download a book read by the same narrator again... I'll get them in print for kindle instead.

Nope, not my favorite

Well, not my favorite. I don’t understand why she would want his best male friend to have sec with him if she really liked him. I have. More reasons why I didn’t like this story o just don’t feel like posting all of them.

My last Joey Hill!

Horrible... Just Horrible... so boring... I get that female can be doms, but really this was just... eh! The man was just sooooo... I don't even have words...

I think me and Joey don't see eye to eye...

Narration was ok...