Bound in Blue

By: Monica Belle

Narrated by: Betsy Garden

Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

"My misbehaviour during the exam added to my awareness of what I wanted sexually. For all that Tiggy was perfectly friendly and polite, she represented everything I wasn't, and everything I'd set myself against. So, in different ways, did all the macho-men, the stuck-up landowners, the crude farm boys, my archetypal males, all the figures from my fantasies. Given that I wanted to be restrained, it made sense for it to be done by those types rather than the nice guys. After all, just because somebody turns me on doesn't mean I have to like them."

When university lecturer Hazel Jones takes the most popular of her female environmental-science students as a lodger, she is expecting a procession of attractive men to follow. What she doesn't expect is Tiggy's diary to be left out every day. Knowing what her lodger gets up to, she is unable to resist reading it. It's not quite what she expects, and the revelations quickly lead her down a path she never expected to take.

©2007 Monica Belle (P)2007 Virgin Books Ltd

Critic reviews

"Written especially for women so will hit the right buttons." (Maxim)

Quite good

Although it starts slow, and the very ending is a bit silly and contrived, what makes this book great is the slow burn through the middle. The characterisation is realistic, and the sex satisfying. The narrator's voice is interesting, and on the whole it's a compelling listen.

Bound in Blue

This book had a surprisingly good story line and was pleasantly humorous in a number of places. I thought the eroticism was a bit much at times, but all-in-all was a good read. The narrator was very good in her character distinction and delivery. Mind you, the explicit nature of this story isn't for everyone, but if it is your thing you won't be disappointed.

Good read

I thought the beginning was also kind of slow and at first thought that it was a mistake to buy it. It did get better and you were suddenly reading it for the storyline and not anything else.

I was sort of confused at the end though since it seemed as if it cut off suddenly at an unlikely spot in the book.

I would still definitely recommend this book. I loved the accent of the narrator and it didn't seem hard to follow at all.

Tame

Pretty tame overall. Funny, eventually, but hardly erotic.
A bit disappointed. Thought it might eventually become raunchy, but it never really does. The build up is dreadfully slow.

Good book ...

I really enjoyed this book, however, I HATED the way it ended. Sure, it was funny, but it leaves you hanging.

Fun and Steamy!

As erotica goes, this was a well written story. I didn't like the narrator but loved the sex scenes.

Smut with an IQ

The best thing about this book is its ability to intelligently raise the issue of the social bondage that can arise from the 'sensitivity' of today's liberated male. (The heroine's first boyfriend refuses sex play because he finds it insulting to women.) I very much enjoyed the author's perceptiveness and found her points convincing and thought provoking. The sexual scenes were quite secondary for me but she does her best there too and succeeds nicely once. The unfortunate thing about the novel is that it has one of those 'you decide how it ends' non-endings that irritate me beyond all else. Other than that - I'd say it's a cut above the rest in the genre. The narration is also among the best I've heard. Top notch.

Throw away your copies of 'Fifty Shades'...

Any additional comments?

Hazel Jones, a 35-year-old professor and honored academic at the fields of Biodiversity and Environment, lives a quite common life, dates a nice and understanding colleague, works for sustainable development, fights against bad use of natural resources, so and so, but something bothers her... Not exactly what is there, but what is not, what is missing in her life, more specifically, in her sexual life...

Dr. Jones is not satisfied at all. She wants more: her fantasies of being taken by several man at once, fantasies of being tied, bound and even spanked torment her incessantly. Muscular men aligning in front of her, giving and receiving all pleasure she had been denying herself for so many years... Wow, that's a lot happening inside her mind... That's when Tiggy, one of her most brilliant female students, asks for being her lodger. Nothing special happens, however, until Hazel starts to secretly read Tiggy's private diary... That small and delicate notebook turns Hazel's life upside down...

Listening to the story is highly enjoyable. The author cleverly approaches several delicate subjects, in a well-humored and intelligent way. That's probably one of the best features of this book: the witty ways the author leads the reader along the story. Background and parallel plots are quite shallow, but there is no problem about it, the way Hazel's intimate dilemmas are presented are so nice... as well as her sexual adventures... Reader's performance is also very good, specially the impersonation of the obnoxious but highly-seductive Miles, who brings the listener most of the finest moments of the narrative.

Highly recommended!

Good Story

I enjoyed this book. This is a nicely told story that kept me in suspense and wanting to listen longer. Relaxing yet stimulating at the same time.

witty and fun

A good surprise for an erotic book, very well written, giving credible characters and situations and above that, funny. It describes the internal travel of an ecological activist to get in touch with her innermost desires. The sex scenes are not overdone, meaningful and well placed, the context is fleshed out and the story catches the attention.
I enjoyed this book a lot, and thus recommend it.