Asking For Trouble
Kristina Lloyd
Read 17 reviews from the world’s largest community 
    for readers. Seduced into an underworld of kinky intrigue...When Beth Bradshaw - the manager of a fashio…
/favicon.ico
Goodreads
October 3, 2011

As a writer of erotica, there are many things I've tried to learn from this book. How to make condoms sexy. How to coarsen my vocabulary. When to let my heroine wear knickers with a gusset. And many other tricks of the trade.

But there's one thing that, for my money, Kristina does better than any other writer of erotica, and that's to use her sophisticated mastery of language to describe quite complex physical sensations. She does it very simply and accurately and the effect is very powerful.

Don't be fooled by the simplicity of her language. What she is doing is very difficult. For she doesn't just focus on the physical. She manages to dig out and express the emotional roots of desire.

I recommend this book to every writer. Kristina can be lyrical at times but she is never self-indulgent. And when she needs to be crude she is definitively crude. Above all, she strives to be accurate. Her touchstone is undoubtedly herself, her own body, her own desires, her own responses. For this reason alone the book is very daring. Many writers of erotica fall back on well-worn phrases. They do not make best use of the raw material available to them – themselves.

As an example, here is a description of Beth walking along the beach in Brighton.

The wind buffeted me and, every now and again, my steps went crooked and drunken because it was so ferociously strong. It was warm and arid too: my eyes didn't stream the way they would do in a chill wind. That rushing air had the opposite effect; it made my eyeballs feel strangely dry.

There are some emotions lying beneath the surface of those stark sentences but even if you are not aware of them, because I have lifted the words out of their context, you get a sense of how clinically accurate Kristina can be.

Stephen King once wrote in one of his introductions to Salem's Lot (June 15, 2005):

So turn off the television … and we'll talk about vampires here in the dim. I think I can make you believe in them, because while I was working on this book, I believed in them myself.

Whenever I pick up Kristina's book and re-read her sentences about Ilya and Beth, her vivid descriptions of Brighton, her sharp and swanky dialogue, I believe that what I am reading is real. Because while Kristina was writing this book, it was real.

Not everyone can handle this kind of authenticity. This book isn't for everyone. Beth degrades herself in ways that are sick and disgusting. She does things that no woman should ever do. But I believe in her. I understand her. I care about her. And for that Kristina earns my everlasting respect.

March 6, 2010

Initially I really liked this one, and then went through a longish phase of being annoyed by all the main character was willing to put up with. I guess this is mainly when Tony and his crew got involved... but basically found it an interesting power play. Bit over the top though. Interesting to read about Brighton which is probably one of the few cities in the UK where I've actually hung out and so can relate to some of the places described.

May 11, 2023

Ah, this is what I call great erotica. Deliciously well-written with strong characters and a well-developed plot that shores up the sex.

Dubcon and noncon are some of my favorite kinks, so the edge play in this novel was hot for me. It may definitely make others uncomfortable. I will say that I wish the protagonist’s reasons for putting up with so much made just a little clearer. Or maybe I thought her feelings should be a bit more mixed about the situation.

Degradation is less of a kink for me, but I still dig the scenes for the most part. Something less well-written might have turned me off in places.

Also, this is unequivocally not a romance. It’s unapologetically erotica, and I adore it for that. I’ll definitely be looking into Kristina Lloyd’s other work.

November 5, 2013

Waaaay outside my comfort zone. I usual pride myself on being able to handle some pretty gnarly things in books, but this took me too far. The blurb kind of clues you into what will happen between Beth and Ilya, but be advised, there are some seriously upsetting things that go one between the two of them. The idea that Beth wants to be degraded was very difficult for me to stomach, but I soldiered on. I had heard good things. At the end of the day, with no HEA and with intensely graphic and disturbing sexual exploits I just couldn't get behind this book. I wanted to like it, I really did. Though I will say that others have noted the extremely adept characterization that Lloyd employs-- she certainly does. In a less well-written book I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to finish the story.

November 29, 2017

No just no, I don't know what it was about this book but it just didn't do anything for me. I've read lots of erotica, mainly paranormal and I thought 'wow I'm gonna love this'. perhaps I'd hyped it up too much before hand. Nether the less, I didn't like the style in which the book was written. The plot was too raw for the Gothic style of writing. The characters were unbelievably dense. Maybe I will go read it another time but for now I wouldn't recommend it.

February 18, 2017

The ending stole my breath. Inhales. Whew. Just perfect.

Truly smart erotica.

October 19, 2010

i love this book but i've read it in dutch (becouse i live in the netherlandss)and i wonder if it is difrent in englisch .there just one thing i dont like and it has nothing to do whit the book it self but because it is translated de name of the book is 'vurig velangen' that i dont understant but i dont mind but also the cover of the book has changed that i do mind .

but a fact is that i love this book and i cant get the characters out of my head its like i'm looking for them in real live

August 2, 2014

Really uncomfortable to read. I thought I was able to handle a lot but this book showed me otherwise. I'll leave it at that.

However, the author really does have a captivating quality to her work and that's why I forced myself to finish it. It's the first work I've read by her and maybe I'll chance reading her stuff again but only with different subject matter.

April 17, 2016

neen, dit was niet mijn ding. ik heb al veel erotische verhalen gelezen maar dit ging mij een beetje te ver. het spel op zich, de fantasie en het rollenspel was ok maar sommige dingen vond ik te veel over the top. het was wel leuk dat ilya zo mysterieus was en dan wou je wel weten in wat hij allemaal verwikkeld was.

March 12, 2010

This book wasn't what I thought it would be. It's not exactly my cup of tea yet I found myself reading it with repulsed fascination.

November 2, 2010

Awesome book that I couldn't put down.

May 22, 2016

Finally something different! Uncomfortable yes, but so much fun to read.

January 26, 2018

Very hot erotica, suspenseful and dark in places

Read

December 30, 2019

i thought the sex scenes were raunchy. i wasn't that interested in the plot.