Review of Laura Antoniou’s Book: 
The Reunion
Part of The Marketplace Series

Laura Antoniou

By Sensuous Sadie
SensuousSadie@aol.com
www.sensuoussadie.com 

Read the SCENEprofiles Interview with Laura Antoniou 


I never thought of myself as a reviewer of erotica, particularly BDSM erotica. Maybe it’s because my approach to sex is so orgasm-centric, or maybe it’s because as an editor myself, I read an awful lot of, well, drek. It was only by sheer accident that I came to be reading Laura Antoniou’s Marketplace series of erotica. It came about because I was doing an interview with her, and couldn’t very well say “hey, love your stuff,” when I hadn’t actually read any, could I? So I picked up The Marketplace, the first in the series, and am now wrapping up with her latest, The Reunion, which at twice the size certainly gives you a lot of bang for your erotic buck.

I may have started out reading Laura’s stuff in order not to embarrass myself, but I finished reading it because Laura is one heck of a writer. I expected long, drawn out erotic fiction detailing the usual hours of oral gratification, but no real characters or  plot (a.k.a. drek). Instead, The Reunion is about real kinky folk, young and old; thin and fat; sometimes fearful, sometimes confused, but always focused on their slave natures. I soon found a character who I could relate to, and liked the rest of them enough to get hot with them on their various adventures.

The beginning of her novels have a real storyline, which in this case is a reunion of many of the former slaves who went through the “Marketplace,” a training center of international renown. Robin, a slave who was introduced in the second book of the series, travels to Ireland for this reunion. She has just been freed from her slave contract and is struggling with living without a collar. On the way she meets up with Chris Parker, a veteran trainer who will help her, and himself find their way to new relationships. It is in Kaleigh castle that Robin, Chris and many other slaves engage in some lively drama, as well as plenty of steamy scenes!

So thank you Laura for writing something that’s kept me warm all though this Brrrr cold Vermont Winter. I look forward to your next book.

Note: Laura’s Marketplace series of books do not have to be read in sequence, but I still recommend it for context.

ABOUT LAURA ANTONIOU:

Contact information:
laura@lantoniou.com
http://lantoniou.com

Laura Antoniou's work has become well-known in the erotically alternative community for her "Marketplace" series (The Marketplace, The Slave, The Trainer, The Academy, and The Reunion), described by Libido magazine as "an elite and secretive world organization, dedicated to the auctioning and overseeing of the world's finest lifestyle slaves... a world so vivid in sequel after sequel, it takes on a reality of its own, one that's visually hard to let go of once the reader has put down the book." The fifth book in this series, The Reunion, is due out from Mystic Rose books in February 2003.

Antoniou has also had great success as an editor, creating the groundbreaking Leatherwomen anthologies; as well as By Her Subdued, a collection of stories about dominant women; and No Other Tribute, which features submissive women. Her non-fiction anthologies include Some Women, and an homage to author John Preston entitled Looking for Mr. Preston. Antoniou's novels and anthologies have been published in the United States, Germany, Japan, and Korea, to international acclaim.

Antoniou has been a featured speaker and presenter at the University of Washington (where her essay "Unsafe at Any Speed" was first presented), as well as Columbia University, the New School, and New York University, as well as leather, s/m, lesbian, and writers' conferences throughout the United States.


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Sensuous Sadie is the author of It's Not About the Whip: Love, Sex, and Spirituality in the BDSM Scene (http://www.trafford.com/robots/03-0551.html). She is the founder and leader (1999 - 2001) of Rose & Thorn, Vermont 's first BDSM group. Comments, compliments and complaints, as well as requests for reprinting can be addressed to her at SensuousSadie@aol.com  or visit her website at www.sensuoussadie.com. Sadie believes the universe is abundant, and that sharing information freely is part of this abundance, so she allows reprints of her writing in most venues.

Copyright 2003 Sadie Sez Publications