Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Book Report #2 - Beating the Bounds


Continuing my summer reading here at Ella's house.  

I can remember a summer when I was 10 or 11, when I set out to win the summer reading award from the public library in our little town.  The contest kicked off as soon as school let out.  There were tracking sheets with caterpillars printed on them, and you earned stamps that filled the segments of his body.  If you finished one caterpillar, you started on another one.  Depending on your age, you had to read books of a certain difficulty level and complete a short book report.  I was driven!  By the final day of the contest, I was at 73 chapter books.  Don't even remember what the prize was, but I do recall several of the books and series that became favorites.

This summer, one on my favorites was Beating the Bounds by Sarah Coltman.  This was her first book and an impressive debut!

So here goes my second summer book report.


Title: Beating the Bounds

Author: Sarah Coltman

Number of Pages: 71

Theme(s): tradition, boundaries, accountability





Main Characters: 

  • Ami - Sweet, genuine, kind, and nurturing.  A mature wife, but once her feathers get ruffled, she's a force to be reckoned with.
    And just when the reader thinks she's only a tenderhearted homebody, she will surprise you with enough hot sex activity to make you wish you could turn down the page corner on your Kindle (I've got to read that scene again!)


  • Dan - Ami's loving husband.  Honest, trustworthy, and hard-working.  A real thinker, too.  Patient, but only so far.  Don't underestimate Dan.  It takes two to make the fireworks go off under the sheets.  And if Dan decides Ami needs to be spanked, be assured it will happen.  Still waters run deep.


  • Polly - Ami's favorite shopping friend.  A little scatter-brained.  Just the kind of friend that tells you how great you look in
    _______________ (you fill in the blank.)  Just the kind of friend who will suggest that it wouldn't really be cheating on your diet if the 2 of you split the Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake.  We all need a Polly sometimes.

Setting: Willow Farm outside a small village in contemporary rural England.

All the Other Book Report Stuff!

Since this is Sarah's first book, she spends a good amount of time to give us a solid background of Ami and Dan.  I just love the way she chose to do this, though.  Instead of lumping all those important  memories and events into one chapter, the author lets us glimpse this younger Ami and Dan in a series of flashbacks scattered throughout the first half of the book.  When Sarah took us back in time to when Dan came to Ami's front door, it was like a snapshot in an album.  The description of Ami in a mini-skirt put their relationship in perspective.  I understood just how long they had been together.  Beautiful.

Something else that made Sarah's first book special was the way she used point of view.  It seems that most spanking fiction is written from the female point of view, and that's fine since I would imagine that most of the readers are female.  In Beating the Bounds, we bounce back and forth between both Ami and Dan's points of view.  It gives some depth to Daniel's character that would otherwise be missing.

The author doesn't make you wait long for the good stuff.  The opening chapter delivers both a stunning sex scene and a lovely, ouchy spanking.  Certainly made me want to read on.  You won't be disappointed.  

Totally enjoyed Ami's shopping trip with her friend, Polly!  It was funny as hell, and this part of the story was just the comic relief the
reader needed.  Ami is mesmerized by a shop window, tempted by the little plastic card, and finds a surprise on her car's windscreen when the commuter train finally brings her home.



Finally, the book's title comes from a village tradition described to Ami early in the story.  She and Dan experience the tradition first hand with the other parishioners of their church.  So when Dan decides that Ami needs to be held accountable for her careless and impulsive actions, "beating the bounds" becomes a metaphor.  Ami has her boundaries set, too, and the tradition comes to life.  It makes for a tight and purposeful plot and one hell of a spanking!

 
Be on the lookout for Sarah's next book!  She has hinted that it will be out soon.  Read on!





12 comments:

  1. Great book review Ella! I love how you write these! It puts me in mind of the old Agatha Christie books. On the first few pages you read a synopsis of the characters. I enjoy that!
    I loved our dear friends book and am so excited for her to write more! She is keeping us waiting too LONG!
    Snap! Snap I say! Get to it Sarah!
    Thanks Ella!

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    1. Minelle has spoken, Ms. Coltman! It is time to get your cute little English ass in gear. We are so looking forward to Ami's next adventure.

      Your Fans

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  2. Ella,
    I thoroughly enjoyed your book report. I, too, loved Sarah's book.
    Meredith

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Meredith,
      I find these so much fun to write. I have read Sarah's book twice now! Ami is such a dear character. I hope Polly makes another appearance, too.

      Ella

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  3. Great review Ella, and it is a great book. I have already read it. Am hoping there are more adventures to come !
    love Jan,xx

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    1. Love when you come to visit, Jan. I wish we could chat about books all morning over a pot of coffee. Or maybe tea? Now that would be a visit!

      Hugs Across the Pond,
      Ella

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  4. Well done! I loved Sarah's book too! You are doing a great job with your book reports!

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    1. Hi PK,
      There is another author on whom we are all waiting. I promise a lovely book report the minute I finish reading the next Cassie story! Like a kid in the back seat, I am asking, "Are we there yet?"

      Impatient Ella

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  5. Hi Ella, what a wonderful review, I really enjoyed this and love how you did this. I definitely can't wait to read more from Sarah :)

    Hugs
    Roz

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  6. Thank you, Roz. It really makes me happy that you enjoyed this post. I do love that I am writing regularly again. And the best part is getting to know all of you!

    Hugs to you,
    Ella

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  7. Thank you so much, Ella, for such a professional book review. I really enjoyed reading it and seeing the comments. I am busily describing more of Ami's adventures by way of a sequel, but still have a way to go before I dare announce it to the public in general. All I can say is that Ami gets into even more scrapes and that Dan is hot on her tail.

    Many hugs
    Ami

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  8. You are so welcome, Sarah. I hope Ami's shoe fetish continues. I can so identify with that one! There is just something so irresistible about slipping into a gorgeous pair of shoes. It makes me want to go shopping just thinking about it.

    We will be patient. Good things are always worth waiting for.

    Hugs Across the Pond,
    Ella

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