This book was requested by a previous Lesbrary reviewer who did not finish or review it. In order to keep my Netgalley feedback up to date, I am submitting this review marking it as a DNF, though it was another reviewer who requested this.

Certain Requirements by Elinor Zimmerman was a fun, well-written romantic romp with a nice dash of kink tossed in. It was a pleasant surprise to see a dominant character like Kris—one that felt down-to-earth, despite being fairly closed-off in the beginning. I really enjoyed the premise of this book and the sex scenes were great. The build-up in their romantic feelings felt realistic and not rushed. I really only had a few gripes with the story. This may be a side-effect of the first-person narration, but I felt like Kris wasn’t quite as fleshed out of a character as I would have liked. Phoenix also seemed a bit emotionally immature to me and her whining grated at times. Overall, this was a really enjoyable read for fans of kinky romance.

The premise of this book is that a broke aerialist moves in with a butch lesbian as her live-in submissive.

That checks so many boxes for me.

I liked the premise of this book, I loved the San Francisco setting, and I liked the sex scenes. In fact, I wish there had been more of them and they were longer, because they were suuuuper hot! I also really liked the length of the build-up for the romance--Phoenix doesn't move in with Kris and then two weeks later they're ~in love~. I think the whole books takes place over the course of a year, maybe a little less, so the timeline for their relationship's development totally makes sense.

However, I did not love the character development. This book is in first person, which at first I felt was a nice change of pace from a lot of romance/erotica novels that have alternating chapters from the perspectives of each person in the relationship. I quickly realized that because Kris is so stuck in her ways and doesn't show her feelings a lot, her character felt flat. It would have been helpful to have chapters from her point of view so I could see and understand her thought processes a little better.

I did like the side characters, made up mostly of Phoenix's found family. I thought they were really cute and helped her work through her feelings when there were issues. I ended up liking this book pretty well, and I will be keeping an eye out for more from this author!

My main feeling coming away from this is boredom.

I‘m not much of a fan of a first person narrator anyway, but it really didn’t work for me here.

The premise of the book was extremely interesting and unique so I was very keen to read it. Unfortunately it didn't work for me. I couldn't connect with either of the lead characters - the book was written in the first person from Phoenix's perspective and I didn't particularly care for her. Kris, which started off as an interesting character, left me disappointed as I had no idea what she was thinking or feeling. I felt the two leads spent hardly any time together and when they did, there wasn't much connection, even though the subject matter - BDSM play - could have provided that connection massively. In the end I didn't see how the characters got close to another and developed feelings. The ending felt rushed and out of character for Kris. On a positive note BDSM was portrayed very realistically, especially in the beginning. I enjoyed the bits about Fetlife and lists.

This was a good read for me. I found the story entertaining and the characters interesting. Phoenix is trying to live her dream of being an aerial dancer but doesn’t have the money to do it. Now in need of a new place to stay she meets Kris, who has certain requirements for Phoenix to live with her. Will Phoenix agree? Entertaining read with steamy chemistry.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s about Phoenix, who is an aerial dancer, that just quit her job to follow her dream of doing it full time. Unfortunately she finds out that not only is her rent being increased but her roommate and friend is moving across the country with his boyfriend. Phoenix hears through a friend that someone she knows in the BDSM community is looking for a live in submissive and she becomes interested in this position.

Kris and Phoenix meet and hit it off and both wish to try it out. Kris has certain requirements for Phoenix and one is that they are not dating. Phoenix sometimes struggles with the loneliness of the requirements and they renegotiate a few times. I really liked how Phoenix slowly brought Kris out of her shell and how Kris came to see that there was more to life than working all of the time. I think that the two of them balanced each other out and were good for the other.
I really liked the story and would recommend it to others. There is BDSM scenes in the book. I really liked the end of the story as well. I’m certainly going to checkout more from this Author in the future.

This was a really good story. Phoenix and Kris had a long, hard road to find what they really want. Both of their pasts kept them from being able to let their feelings take the lead. They were very much compatible in the bedroom. And the scenes were very erotic. I loved watching them fall in love and would like to see a novella of how their relationship progresses in the future.

Certain Requirements is an adult erotica novel. The main characters were nicely developed showing their different strengths and weakness as women. If you enjoy Dom/Sub lesbian relationships, this book is for you. Although well written it was not my favorite book.

Thank you, NetGalley, for introducing me to this book and this author. I had no preconceived notions and no idea of what to expect. I loved this book. What an interesting premise for introducing two characters who obviously need each other in similar and different ways. I always enjoy first person point of view and for me it was really effective for getting to know Phoenix. The BDSM was very well written as well as informative. I literally didn’t put the book down till I finished it. The ending was a little rushed, but the positives completely outweighed that one negative. I can’t wait to read more from Elinor Zimmerman.

Certain Requirements by Elinor Zimmerman was a really pleasant surprise. Because of the blurb, I was expecting a plot driven by BDSM and not much else. The opposite is true. While the plot is built around a BDSM relationship, there is also a very dear romance that blooms over the course of the book.

Phoenix Gomez is a hardworking artist. Her medium happens to be aerial dancing. She is creative, open minded, and a free spirit. However, that doesn’t really pay the bills. After her rent is increased and her roommate decides to move out, she feels like her dream won’t come to fruition. A friend introduces her to tech genius, Kris who happens to be a seasoned top in the world of BDSM. Kris is looking for a live-in sub. Phoenix has always wanted to explore her kinky side and with the promise of free room and board she decides to give it a go.

The book is told in the first person, past tense from Phoenix’s point of view. I tend not to like first person narration because I don’t feel like I get to know the other characters in the book. This was NOT the case here. Even though everything is revealed through Phoenix’s point of view, it is through Kris’s actions that I got to know her and Zimmerman did a great job of developing Kris’s character in this manner. The dialogue really paints clear pictures of who these women are. In Kris’s case, it’s often the lack of dialogue, but that is who she is.

The best part of this book is how Phoenix and Kris bring out the best in each other. They don’t try and change each other; rather they support each other in attaining what is important to them. They are an improbable couple, but they have great chemistry as seen through the sex scenes. To say that the sexy bits are good is a heinous understatement. Zimmerman does an excellent job is portraying a sexy and safe BDSM relationship.

I liked this book and would recommend it.

I was provided with an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My review is 4 stars.

This is not like the erotica that read all along because there is something deep that was not there in the other ones. First talking about the characters. Phoenix and Chris both are a quite strong character and the way they are written is nice. When I started this book I was a little bit disappointed and thought that I'm not going to like it and would end up like rating it around 2 or 2.5 stars. But as I progressed in the book I was enjoying myself every bit and I felt connected with the book as well as the characters and end up rating it 4 stars.

Both the characters are hot and the story is very erotic, what else you expect in an erotica but you will definitely be surprised to know that there is more to that. An impactful story with deep emotions and that was quite surprising and I must add very good surprise which I liked at my best. That why I will not put this book is in the genre of erotica but I'll mark it as a romantic book but a hot romantic book and I would definitely like to recommend this book.

*** I would like to thank Publisher for providing me with an ARC copy to review ***

Woah, this was one intense read. There wasn't a moment that I thought the story was slowing down, or turning boring.

It was steamy, sexy, kinky and heartbreaking all at the same time. To be honest, this was the LGBT form of Fifty Shades, only Certain Requirements was hundred times better.

The characters were well crafted, easy to relate to, despite their different careers and fun to read.

Though I loved all the characters, my absolute favourite will have to be John, because he was such a good friend. The kind of friend everyone should have.

Certain Requirements is the kind of book that won't let you go until you turn the last page, and when you do that? You'll be smiling widely, making everyone think you've gone crazy. (Thank God I finished it at night!)

So yeah, go on and preorder this really awesome book!

3.25 Stars. I thought this was slightly better than okay, but I didn’t connect to it like I hoped. I’m not a big BDSM fan, but I don’t mind it. As long as it is pain for pleasure and not pain just to cause pain, I’m okay with it. This book fit into that first category and the actual premise was interesting, but something was a little off for me.

Phoenix is an aerial dance looking to move into dancing full time. She has finally saved up her money so she can afford to only dance or teach dance. With the sudden notice of a rent increase and her roommate moving, all of her dreams seem to be crumbling. When Phoenix hears Kris, a friend of a friend, is looking for a live in submissive/household caretaker, this could be the answer to all of her problems. Will this pay to play situation work out of will feelings get involved?

First I want to mention, I loved Phoenix’s job as an aerial performer. I have been lucky enough to see some performances in Las Vegas and it is absolutely mesmerizing. It was such an interesting job for a character to have and I really enjoyed those parts. If anything I could have used even more.

This book is in first person so everything is seen through Phoenix’s eyes. I actual like first person, but in this case I don’t think it worked as well. I really struggled with any sort of connection with Kris. She was a very dull character half the time and not knowing what she was thinking didn’t help. I didn’t feel like she was a main character. I like when an author can write in first person but still make it feel like you know the other main.

Here comes the part that really surprised me, I did not care for the sex scenes. They were fine, but they were not steamy to me which was shocking. You know when there are certain books you have to be careful not to read in public? For me I learned do not read a Meghan O’Brien book, at work, on my lunch break. It is just too hot and steamy. This is what I expected in this book, and I didn’t get it. I felt almost numb reading it. I’m all for steamy and like I said I’m fine with BDSM, but these scenes just didn’t move me. I felt very detached. I don’t know if it was the first person or not connecting to Kris, but I was disappointed.

I want to make clear; I seem to be a bit of an outlier here. Other reviewers really enjoyed this book, and many thought the sex scenes were very steamy. I wish I could say the same. My suggestion is if the premise sounds good to you give the book a try. Hopefully you will enjoy it more than I did. I would be willing to give this author another read.

I received an arc from Netgalley. I am sorry but this book was not my cup tea.

This is a erotic book with some romantic tendencies.... The arrangement seemed a litte odd to me but I guess just not for everyone.

As for the story itself, I did not enjoy the writing style and I did not like Kris’s character...

I'm not an expert by any means in the "kink" department, but it seemed pretty realistic to me. The author's writing and the book itself was an easy read with very few grammatical mistakes. I did find myself getting a little bored with the amount of time Phoenix put in to whining about wanting more from Kris but not asking her directly for it. Also, there is a lot less sex scenes that you would imagine in a book like this. Maybe that's why it seemed more realistic to me, but it's definetly not an erotica book if you're expecting that.

I think this must be the loneliest romance I’ve read in a long time. Phoenix has finally resigned from her boring office job to pursue her dream – being a full-time aerial dancer. She’s worked hard for years, saved whatever she could, built up contacts and lined up some teaching gigs only to find her rent has been increased. Not only that, her housemate (and best friend) tells her he is moving out. While trying to figure out if she has to get her job back, another friend tells her of a woman who wants a live-in submissive – a scenario which could solve Phoenix’s problem. Phoenix is submissive but has only ever played within a relationship so she’s not entirely sure this will work for her but she makes contact anyway.

Kris is a workaholic, suit-and-tie wearing lesbian dominant who has no interest in a relationship. Her house keeper is retiring so she needs someone to do housework and as an added bonus be available to play for an hour, five nights a week. In exchange, Phoenix gets accommodation, the use of a car and her own free time to pursue her dreams. With some of the finer details of the agreement worked out, Phoenix moves in.

This is written in first person from Phoenix’s point of view so a little distance from Kris is to be expected but the first 30% is just cold. Kris is barely present and the occasional on-page sexual encounter is just sex, no intimacy. They don’t see each other or really talk to each other beyond the contract. It’s not until halfway through that they have a meaningful interaction that isn’t just business. Kris remains emotionally shut-down and physically distant for most of the book so I found it difficult to empathise or connect with her.

I had a much better understanding of Phoenix. I liked that she, and her family, didn’t fit the stereotype. Her thoughts were well-expressed and she came across as a complex three dimensional character. Aerial dancing takes incredible strength, agility and flexibility (and that’s just to prevent you from hanging yourself) and I’m sorry that there weren’t more expressions of the physical demands of the training and performance.

I enjoyed the last 40% of ‘Certain Requirements’ and I will read more by Zimmerman because I liked the premise. I’ve read ‘Close Edge’ too which is beautifully erotic, in part due to the characters’ emotional connection, and it’s that eroticism and connection that is lacking in this novel.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Phoenix is an aerial dancer who quits her desk job, that only served to pay her bills, to pursue her dream. She has her life all figured out, she's happy, until her roommate decides to move across the country with his boyfriend, leaving her with an apartment she can't afford on her own. A friend of her's puts her in contact with Kris, who is a dom looking for a live-in sub. To Kris, this is the perfect fulfilment for all her fantasies. To Phoenix, this is the answer to all her money problems and sexual fulfilment. But neither were prepared for the beginning of a slow and tentative romance, with a healthy splash of erotica.

I unexpectedly loved this book. I am not usually someone who can get into stories told in the first person, because it's such a narrow POV. Even though this story was told in first person, from Phoenix's POV, I loved it because her voice was not self centred at all. It was easy to overlook that this was told in first person, because you get a good understanding of who Kris is and her feelings, and the descriptions of the surroundings were outstanding. Especially in the sex scenes, the description was so well done that you forgot that it was from one persons point of view, the descriptions were charged and magical, and left you totally lost in the moment.

Although Phoenix and Kris are both very sexual characters, they are also both very human, and you can see how they complement each other not only sexually but as partners in life. I was rooting for them so hard! The chemistry between them is there from the start, but so was the mutual respect, and the importance of communication and consent, which puts them on equal footing even though one is the dominant and one is submissive. I'm not usually keen to read BDSM or erotica because of the repetitiveness, but each and every sex scene was unique and played a role in bringing the characters closer together, allowing them to open up, and move their relationship forward. I really loved this story, because on top of the erotica there was this really nice overarching romance story, that was nicely paced, very realistic, and with no unnecessary drama.

This book is the whole package. A gorgeous mix of romance and erotica. And the writing was out of this world.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a oddly weird book, I say oddly because when dealing with a BDSM topic, of which I am not an expert or especially interested, I found it quite entertaining, which has not happened to me with other books on this subject. But, however little this topic interests me, I think it is treated rather superficially, although I can not judge it with certainty. Maybe this is the reason why I have endured it this time.

So the book is about a dominant / submissive relationship between the owner of a technology company, Kris, and an aerial dancer, Phoenix, whose personal circumstances and fate lead to find one another,  just when one can offer the other what they need or what they are looking for at the moment.

But being their personalities so different and Kris being almost a secondary character in most of the book, appearing only in their interactions with Phoenix and also as the book is narrated in first person from the point of view of Phoenix, the evolution of the relationship is a little skewed. In addition, Kris is in some way incoherent with her behavior, being the dominant and successful businesswoman, there are inconsistencies in her way of solving the issues that are developed in the book.

In short, for people who hope to find a BDSM erotica book, in the first half of the book they will find something interesting maybe, but my opinion is not an expert one. In the second part of the book, the sexual relationship is in the background without being the main thing in the final development. And all in all, the book is entertaining.

 <i>An ARC was sent to me from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley for an honest review </i>