The Diary of a Submissive is touted as a real-life Fifty Shades of Grey. Honestly, I get why publishers want to piggyback on that book’s popularity, but in many cases it undersells the book in question. This is a perfect example. Though it’s true life, and not fiction, The Diary of a Submissive is an incredibly well-written, absorbing read.

It tells the story of Sophie Morgan, a young woman who discovers her submissive side and starts to explore it. It gives a unique insight into what BDSM can be like for certain people – emphasis on the fact that not everyone is the same – for example how it can go from subtle power plays, to light spanking, to something much more extreme. But Sophie is keen to get the point across that she always consented – even when she was crying and begging for certain things to stop, she never used her safeword, therefore she didn’t really want to stop.

We follow Sophie’s story as she receives her first spanking and embarks on a friends-with-benefits relationship with a Dom, how that progresses and teaches her all kinds of things about herself and her submissive tendencies. We’re also right there as she meets James, who becomes much more than a friend and is a much harder taskmaster. This is where Sophie truly discovers how far she will go in pursuit of pleasure, and pain.

What I liked about this book was its honesty. Sophie openly admits she’s not a perfect submissive – she’s stubborn, but this in itself is what often makes her do things and accept what’s given to her – she’s unwilling to give up or admit defeat. But we’re also made aware of the fact that in the rest of the areas of her life, Sophie isn’t submissive. She’s a confident, independent woman and successful journalist. She is keen for us to know that she’s submissive just because that’s what gets her off, not because she had a terrible childhood or some other past issues. She is what she is because she wants to be, and she’s happy. And isn’t that ultimately what everyone wants?

Overall, this is an eye-opening, interesting read. If you want to know more about real-life BDSM, not just perfect instances, then you should definitely check out this book.

Available from:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
The Book Depository
Waterstones