Review: The Slave

The second book in Laura Antoniou'sThe Marketplace Series is titledThe Slave.

After having been thoroughly introduced to the Marketplace in the first book, this one focuses on the training, sale and service of one particular slave, Robin Cassady. Robin begins her journey into slavery while still in college and after graduation she is spotted by a Marketplace spotter, Kendra Mandarin, commonly referred to as Ken. After being put through her paces by Ken, Ken decides Robin is ready to be sold and sets her up for further training with Chris Parker.

Chris, on vacation from his service to Alexandra and Grendel, agrees to polish Robin and get her prepared to be sold on the block at the next auction, which is scheduled in a few weeks. Usually, slaves train for much longer than that before they go to the block but since Robin is the only slave in training, Chris is able to focus his attention on her.

We get to learn a bit more about the ins and outs of the Marketplace. It is explained to us that slaves have contracts and when they are sold on the block, the majority of their sale price is put into savings for them when their contract runs out. Most spotters and trainers also get a percentage of the fee. Each slave has a different length on their contract in the matter of years.

We learn quite a bit about Robin and her background. She has served men and women in the past, before entering the Marketplace and she is anxious when it comes time for her sale. Along the way, Chris takes her to a Marketplace party where she can become more familiar with the people. There, she runs into one of the slaves from the first book of the series. The reader is given updates as to the four slaves from the first book in a neat and tidy way, which was a delight for this reader.

The book itself focuses entirely on Robin. We, the readers, get to follow her from her first BDSM encounter through her college years studying Art History to her first job in the Art world. We get to watch her fretting over how she can communicate to her family that she is giving up this 'vanilla' life to enter the slave marketplace. And yet she does. She gives it up all for the chance to serve.

We get to watch her training, the pain, the subservience, her triumphs and her failures. We get to watch her slowly fall for her enigmatic trainer, Chris Parker. We get to watch her walk to the auction block, naked as all the slaves are, and be poked, prodded and pinched as any piece of expensive merchandise will be.

We get to see her reaction as she views her beloved trainer with his employers, Alexandra and Grendel, just before her auction begins. We get to feel her heart racing as she waits to find out whom her contract was purchased by. Then we get to watch her excitement as she begins her new life.

It is not all roses for Robin and she has some difficulties settling into her Masters' home. She ends up being the only female in a house with two Masters and three male slaves. But she begins to feel comfortable and enjoy her new life only for it to hit a tragic detour.

We get to see Robin fall for one of her Masters' frequent visitors, a lesbian lobbyist from Washington DC and we watch as Robin triumphs once more over adversity to find her way into the arms of her lover.

The Slave is a wonderful second novel, introducing us to yet another character that will reappear often in the series, the delicious Robin. Her life as a slave is not an easy one and she has both good and bad experiences. But we watch her weather them all and cheer for her when she succeeds. It also gives us more of a look into the life of Chris Parker, who remains the most mysterious character of the series. It is a series full of BDSM, sex, leather, sex, slavery and sex. The perfect read for theLiterotica reader in my humble opinion. Neither of the first two books is overly long and both are available in paperback for easy toting. I took one along with me during a recent hospital stay as I couldn't possibly leave it in the middle. If you enjoy a touch of BDSM and a dash of Domination in your sexual readings, you will enjoy this series and I do again recommend this book, the second in the ongoing series.