Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas

Publisher: Burlesque Press

Publish Date: 21 March 2010

Genre: Erotica

Format: ebook 138 pages

Source: Own copy

Reviewed By: Claire

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Blurb

Emily Vargas has been taken captive. As part of his conditioning methods, her captor refuses to speak to her, knowing how much she craves human contact. He's far too beautiful to be a monster. Combined with his lack of violence toward her, this has her walking a fine line at the edge of sanity. Told in the first person from Emily's perspective, Comfort Food explores what happens when all expectations of pleasure and pain are turned upside down, as whips become comfort and chicken soup becomes punishment.

Review

I thought I was going to love this book as I enjoy reading stories that are taboo.  In fact I was a bit apprehensive that it might be too much for me but actually it wasn’t enough as nothing really happens.  Yes Emily is taken against her will held captive and suffers terribly from Stockholm syndrome but that is about it. For me I didn’t get any emotion coming through the writing and I felt no connection with the characters what so ever.  Maybe I am desensitized and I need a book with more of a shock factor but I didn’t have any wtf moments whilst reading Comfort Food.

The book is written in the first person from Emily’s POV except for the sex scenes which are written in the third person and not titillating in any way.  I think this was a mistake and the author should have written these from the first person POV as well.  It is explained later in the book why this has occurred but I feel it was a missed opportunity where the author could have really encouraged the reader to have mixed feelings of longing and wrongness.  There is an element of BDSM in there and I don’t know why.  It feels more like jumping on the BDSM band wagon than actually exploring that side of things.

On a completely different note to the writing I was disappointed to pay £3.90 for a Kindle book when the story ended at 70%.  It was only after reading it that I discovered the book was only 138 pages and the price should reflect this in my opinion, I felt cheated as I pay £3.90 for a full length book.  Comfort Food read to me as a draft copy of what could have been.  I wanted more emotion, sexier scenes and a longer book.  I was disappointed with Comfort Food and if you are looking for a similar read I suggest you read Captive in the Dark by C J Roberts instead.  I give this book 2.5 stars.