DNF @ 15%

I almost couldn't get through the first page. Very amateur writing was clear from the first few sentences. I could deal with that, but I started to wonder if I should continue or not, and decided to look at some ratings and that's when I started to see things about dubious consent. Nope. Nope Nope. Especially when thrown in with a BDSM aspect? Nope. Won't read it, ever. Am surprised and disappointed that this book was published by a company as is. If allowing the dub-con, I'd like to at least see a warning of such. And allowing such a poorly written book? Sad.

This is definitely going to be a mixed review. In Helen’s Hands by Nanisi Barrett D’Arnuk tells the story of Mickey, a young classically trained pianist who meets her idol, Helen Robins, a world famous jazz pianist. Mickey goes to work for Helen transcribing her music, and eventually becomes Helen’s submissive. The story is told in the first person POV through Mickey’s eyes.

The technical part of this book is not bad. The story is well written and edited with a good pace. The characters are well defined and fit their roles in the tale.

Unfortunately the content of the story is where I have problems. I like reading a good erotic story as long as I can connect with the characters and there is some romance/love to go along with the explicit sex and BDSM elements. Some of my favorite authors and stories do this well. This book does not. It is an intense BDSM tale with little to no romance or real feelings between the characters other than through the dominant/submissive experience. In fact the first explicit scene seemed more forced than consensual, and came off almost as an assault in my eyes. I need some romance or love between the characters to be able to enjoy a book, and this one did not give me those feelings. There is never any mention of safe sex practices which there should have been with this story. I also did not like the ending to this book. Some folks may not mind it, but I try to avoid novels that end this way.

I’ve rated this book 2.5 stars. I considered moving it up to three on the technical merit, but in the end I decided to leave it at two stars. If you like a well written novel with intense BDSM elements and little romance to speak of, this might be a book for you. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good one for me.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

This was just an awful representation of bdsm culture. I absolutely did not enjoy this book, there was no happy ending and that ending just seemed pointless and unnecessary. So ignoring the failed romantic aspect maybe you could look to this novel for the erotic elements but no thats was awful too, all the bdsm scenes just seemed so ridiculously performative, it almost felt like satire. There was nothing fulfilling about reading this novel.

A Love Story to Remember

THIS IS A REAL BDSM NOVEL!! It is not role playing or a fantasy, this is what hardcore, real BDSM looks like!!! Ms Barrett D'Arnuk has done a THROUGH job on research.

This is an incredible tale! Beautifully written and descriptive, I was PART of the story, not just a reader. So insanely hot and sexy this drama has wonderful, hard BDSM scenes and love against a musical backdrop. Classically trained pianist and composer Mickey is doing some work for Jazz pianist Goddess Helen when she walks in on something that leaves her scared, curious and more turned on than she has ever been. She finds herself in a position she never even suspected she would ever experience. However, her insane attraction to Helen gives her the courage to go places she could not have imagined. Much to my pleasure, it doesn’t take long at all for Mickey to fall head over heels with the older woman and she finds herself willing to do anything to please her and make her happy and proud. I have to warn you that there are some hard scenes in this book. The “play” gets a bit out of hand in one spot (but Mickey ends it when she has to) and there are some places where Mickey has to be nude with males as part of her training even though there is no sexual contact. These are minor bits and while I was not happy about the man part, it DOES make the story much more realistic. This is a beautiful and endearing story that had me feeling a wide range of emotions, and in spite of the emotional pain (be prepared to cry) and the parts where Mickey had to be naked in front of men, I feel like a different and better person for having lived this book.

This was one of the more interesting BDSM based novels I’ve read in a long time. I’ve always been drawn to these types of books because I’d like to understand better what the lure is to this kind of unique lifestyle. While much of the lifestyle doesn’t fit with my personality I’m still utterly fascinated by the Dom/sub dynamic purely for curiosity’s sake. Having said that, I still struggled mightily with this book. It’s not because it isn’t well written (it is), and it’s not that the subjects weren’t interesting people with an interesting story to tell (it all was). This story is heavily into the “S” and “M” on the spectrum, and even for an open minded person like me, it was beyond what I wanted to experience. Now, that’s just my personal preference, and when Mickey agrees to the contract offered by Helen I wasn’t expecting how far she meant to push on Mickey’s limits, Mickey is not a brat, nor does Helen suffer brats for a single second. After all, Mickey DID agree to give up ALL decision making. This book will immerse you in every aspect of the aforementioned, so much so that I guarantee you will squirm, whether from discomfort or from fascination. I appreciate that the author doesn’t sugarcoat a single thing. It’s intense, and not for everyone so if this is your first foray into this kind of erotica I may suggest something different. This book is more about the intensity and devotion of the lifestyle rather than a love story with a little slap and tickle on the side so be prepared. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book is supposed to be erotica but it's more of a cautionary tale/list of what not do when it comes to bdsm, safe sex and consent. It is deeply fucked up. Mickey is obsessed with Helen, who as a famous and powerful figure in the jazz world, holds Mickey's professional future in her hands when she hires her to transcribe some music. Definitely a healthy background for a relationship.

The sex scenes themselves are deeply uncomfortable: lines like "added her fourth finger and her thumb and drove her whole hand deep within me" and "Then she rammed her fist even harder" are deeply unsexy and unsafe. This is their very first sexual encounter, there's no consent given and no lube! Things continue like this with unsafe sex, restrictions on Mickey's movements and free will to move around the city and other partners brought into their life without Mickey's consent (obviously). From the start of the 'relationship', Mickey is now referred to as the houseboy and as "he", again without any discussion. This is a new book from a publisher with the tagline "Quality and Diversity in LGBTQ Literature", surely they should be a bit more sensitive to the importance of pronouns?

To clarify, I"m not kink-shaming. I read this book because I really like kinky fic and I wish there were more books about bdsm. What I have an issue with is the fact that consent and safe sex are absolutely nowhere in this book.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Mickey is unsure what the next thing going to happen in her life she is classical pianist but would love to do jazz. Things change when she meets her idol Helen who is renowed jazz musician.

When Helen ask Mickey to transcribe some music she wants to record. Mickey learns there more to Helen then meets eyes.

When Mickey learns of Helen BDSM lifestyle she intrigue by it and agree to be Helen submissive as Helen pushes Mickey to sexual heights. Mickey realize who she really is but when feelings start to become more then either one of them wanted.

This was a good read I rarely like to read BDSM because it be a bit too much. I mean I like the BD side more then SM side and this author did her research because this was well written story. Yes you will love some characters but also hate some.

This one had me all over the place in my feelings. The description of this one is really really accurate. Mickey is trained as a classical pianist but would love to be a jazz pianist. She has a thing for jazz pianist Helen Robins. She ends up going to work for Helen by transcribing some music Helen wants to record. This all leads down a rabbit hole so to speak. She ends up signing a contract to be Helen's submissive.

So I have read many BDSM romances. Out of all of them, this was the most intense. In Helen's Hands made me realize that what i read before was NOTHING on this one. I was all of the place with this one emotionally. Excitement, confusion, anger, turned off, horrified and sadness. I am sure other adjectives can be inserted. This one is very well written and the details are incredible. If you are into the SM part of BDSM, this will surely be a good one for you. If you aren't into that then read this one with caution. I am pretty ok with the BD parts of BDSM, but I think the SM parts are a little too much for me.

Anyway, D'Arnuk does a good job with this one. Again it is well written and the details are great. I also liked the storyline. I almost gave this one 5 stars, but had to take a point away because it was a bit too intense for me.

4 stars

Mickey is coasting through life, unsure of her next steps until she meets Helen. Helen is her idol, a world renowed jazz musician. Helen asks Mickey to transcribe her music and what follows is an electric mistress/boy relationship. You will fall in love with the characters and some you will hate. Your emotions will swell just as the welts on Mickey's skin.