Review: Divine Torment by Janine Ashbless

With everything moving around, I wasn’t sure where the best place to put reviews would be. They didn’t really seem… appropriate for my main site, since I didn’t write them, but I wanted to let people know when I’ve read something lovely and would recommend it.

That would include <em>Divine Torment</em> by <a href=”http://www.janineashbless.com/”>Janine Ashbless</a>. It is a <a href=”http://www.blacklace-books.co.uk/”>Black Lace</a> imprint book, which just means it is erotica by women for women. In my case, since I don’t associate with any gender, I got it since I’ve been trolling those blog sites and participating, or at least commenting when it sounded like fun. Naturally, I like talking but I’ve been remarkably good about not trying to tout my own horn too often. It’s hard, but that’s a tangent. I got Divine Torment when I commented on a contest blog post (and where I got the idea for my own novel contests) for the Japanese version of the book. I love Japanese books, and while I can’t read Japanese worth a crap, I do try and I do love seeing the words. To my surprise, I actually got an English copy also. Unlike the Japanese one, I could read the English one quite well and decided that since I got a free copy, I’d give a review.

So, Divine Torment. This is a erotic fantasy that I really can’t compare my own writing to. There is a certain sense of richness in the words, but it isn’t the overpowering descriptions that I enjoy so much. The details are terse but lovely, giving you just a hint of impressions and forcing your mind to make up much of the rest of the details. This, in itself, is a wonderful trait and Janine has a lovely way of expanding that details to the characters. Some of them are built up with lovely layers, mostly focusing on their sexual highlights of their life, which is appropriate in an erotic novel. The main characters are well done, with themes of free will and pre-destiny working very well together, along with a gritty descriptions of military life in a wonderfully crafted fantasy world.

I like the sex. Very much actually. There were some scenes that didn’t really get me going, mainly because I didn’t care for the characters or it was dealing with scenes I wasn’t really into it. The gay scene, a lovely diversion, was nice. I also liked that not everything ended with flowers and candy in the end, some of the scenes in the book ended on a down note which kept me reading it with only a few minor diversions (had the finish the book before it). But, most of the story between the sex scenes flowed so smoothly that I couldn’t put it down. For a 271 page book, it took me about an hour and a half to read, so that qualifies as a writing style with an easy turn to the pages and a captivating plot.

There were some things that seemed a bit off to me. The female lead of the story actions didn’t really fit with what the story was trying to tell me. I don’t want to ruin it, but I thought the character’s motivations and her desires were well made, it just didn’t fit with her actual actions. That discomfort for me lasted until the end of the novel. The ending, while appropriately romantic, seemed rushed and almost surreal. I read it twice and still never got into it.

The foreshadowing stood out like a burning brand to me, but it turned out differently than I expected and that was very nice. She does have a nice turn of words. As a writing style, the single quotes threw me for a while and the use of “cunt” surprised me, mainly because I don’t use that word in my own writing and really haven’t seen it before. But, there is a lot of cunts, pussies, and just a bit of bondage in this book.

I liked it. Nice and hot in all the right places, the right expositions in appropriate places, though the occasional lecture got kind of boring but that always happens. The world she created is novel and intriguing, I like the interplay of cultures as much as the interactions of characters. The sex was good, very good, the type of life most of us would enjoy where the juices flow freely and goddesses dip into both the fonts of sexuality and the pools of blood (only in one scene though).

Would I read it again? I think so. It seems like the type of book that would be perfect when I want to curl up in an easy chair, pick up a delightful book to read and basically read while frigging myself into a sun-soaked nap. This book would be perfect for that.