The Seduction Hypothesis

Author: Delphine Dryden
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: May 6, 2013
Description:

(1 Curious Sub + 1 Dom in Denial) – Inhibitions = 4 Naughty Nights
Wildlife biologist Lindsey thought attending a fan convention with her new boyfriend Ben was a great idea—until their relationship imploded. Lindsey still lusts after her ex—but if he wants her, he’s going to have to prove he can give her what she needs.

Ben will do anything to win Lindsey back, and when he sees her in her skimpy black vinyl convention getup, he realizes what she’s been craving all along. And he’s inspired to finally give in to his own dark desire to take complete sexual control…

Lindsey is surprised by her reaction to Ben’s kinky new seduction techniques, and suddenly sees the brilliant but boring code guru in a different light. After several erotic encounters in hotel rooms and stairwells, she’s falling for him all over again. And wondering if the intimate connection will last once they head home…

My Thoughts:

I fell in love with Delphine Dryden with the first book in her Science of Temptation series with Callie and Ian. I mean, c’mon, what’s not to love in that book? I’m a HUGE Big Bang Theory fan and Ian clearly resembled Sheldon (well, if Sheldon was a closet Dom…and trust me, I’ve never looked at Sheldon in quite the same way since reading that book, esp. after a particular November 2012 episode of the show when Sheldon spanks Amy).

The Seduction Hypothesis is a very different, yet just as fabulous book from Ms. Dryden. Not only does she switch from first person POV (as in Theory of Attraction) to third, but the set-up was different. Lindsey and Ben had been a couple, but broke up not long ago. There’s some angst there, both with regrets about the demise of the relationship, and Ben not understanding quite why Lindsey broke it off with him.

Lindsey is really into a particularly kinky manga series and planned on dressing like one of the characters for one of the events at the convention the friends all travel to. As it turns out, she’s a dead-ringer for the character and is asked by the crew to stand-in as their regular player had to cancel out on showing up at the convention (yeah, a little suspension of disbelief here, but it worked for me). Ben sees her all duded up and suddenly comes to realize there might be something to the kink thing that, in part, was what had led to their break-up.

He turns to Ian and Callie for some advice (with a quite amusing Cyrano DeBergerac-like scene) and then leaps into some pretty heavy-duty research into the lifestyle, discovering he can get into the whole kink thing. I love that neither one of the pair, but ESPECIALLY the dom, had very little experience with the lifestyle, so they both got to learn together. The new-dom thing isn’t explored very often (at least in my limited BDSM reading). It’s usually the sub being drawn into the lifestyle by an experienced, sexy Dom. Add in the fact that Ben really wanted to get back with Lindsey and ends up discovering a whole new side to himself, and I was absolutely in love with this book.

And, of course…the sex was awesome. Completely, wonderfully, awesome.

Can’t wait for another book in this series!

Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

–Review by Victoria