Safe Word

At the end of Carrie’s Story, Carrie had committed to a full-time submissive life by allowing her mentor, Jonathan, to sell her to the highest bidder. As she travels around Greece with occasional jaunts elsewhere in Europe, Carrie willingly submits to her new master and learns the art of competitive dressage (also known as human pony training). Weatherfield tries to elevate BDSM to an art form with a literary tone and a functioning storyline, but the endless sex is reduced to a boring clinical recitation of “insert tab A into slot B.” (“It was all simple physics,” Carrie thinks as every item in the household is turned to carnal purpose.) The sex isn’t tied to emotion, just power, which may not appeal to romance-minded readers, and those who haven’t read the first book will be confused by sections from Jonathan’s point of view. (Aug.)