Bondage on a Budget - erotic fiction by Pretty Things Press - review by StrawberryEve

This is the first book of erotica that I have ever owned, and I'm very impressed with the authors. There are stories for every lifestyle and level of BDSM. Each story is unique and presented in an easy-to-read way.

Bondage on a Budget is full of different stories that tempt and inspire different ideas for cost-effective yet spicy play both in and out of the bedroom. Tyler and Davidson also give handy tips at the end of some of their stories about alternate ideas that you could try out or safety tips to make sure that even the wildest of excursions are safe. The writing style is simple yet engaging in a way that you can't just read one. The text is also large enough that it will not strain the eyes under normal lighting conditions.

The introduction of the book sets down some handy tips to remember when you're improvising toys for bondage play, and it is suitable for any reader with an interest in bringing extra things into their sex life without breaking their budgets. After all, it's very easy to find cough drops and plastic wrap at the grocery store, right? Each of the tips and stories are presented in a way that makes it easy to understand the character's actions, and it also includes the easiest ways to replicate them in real life.

The stories in this book are mostly softcore BDSM, but there are a few hardcore stories spread throughout the 312 pages. Each story is about three to four pages long, and most of them are very centered on the actual sex and stimulation beforehand rather than setting up any sort of plot. Each story stands alone, is written by one of the two authors, and there is a wide variety of straight, gay, and lesbian stories, with one or two based on solo play and orgies.

My favorite parts of the book ranged greatly with my all-time favorite being Cars (Auto Erotica, in which the couple plays an interesting game on the drive home), Rollerblades (Cleaning the Garage; finding new uses for things they find), and Aftershave (Sailor Boy, a story where a woman fulfills her man's forbidden fantasy). Each one of them is so unique in their settings and ideas that I'm just dying to try them out.

The cover on this book is a little obvious, but it is tasteful. The most incriminating thing on the cover is the title, so if you leave it out in the open, someone might notice. I can speak personally to that fact after having to recover it from one of my friends in a public place.

The soft-cover binding on the book seems to hold up to the worst wear and tear that I'd willingly put a book up to, and it even stood up to some accidental water damage. The pages are the sturdy and durable; they are the ones you would expect in any soft cover book that is expected to be read again and again.

The reason I got this book was to help me think of new ideas and inspire me in my private life. This book succeeds 120%, and I'll never look at some things around me the same way again. I've already been busy trying to find ways to repurpose things on my desk at home. Binder clips can be used as very intense clamps if you get the small ones. The book also gives tips for safe play including where to avoid hitting with the larger spankers (like after the cutting board story).