The MarketPlace was recommended to me by a friend. It is considered a classic in the BSDM lit. A group of people that want to train as slaves gather for their training. After they are trained they will be sold to the highest bidder and live their lives as a sex slave.
The first surprising thing I noticed in the book was the lack of actual sex. It went into really deep detail of their training. They learned how to talk properly and how to act accordingly to their status. And lest you think it was al females being trained in the art of being a slave you would be mistaken. There were males being trained too and we get to see how the training is different for each person.
We get to know each of the characters very well. Laura Antoniou takes up into the minds of each and we get to see their fears and frustrations and even how they rebel in little ways. It was hard to find sympathy for each as each practically begged to be part of the secret and prestigious marketplace. Sometimes though while reading about their punishments I felt a tiny bit sorry for them but hey they signed up willing for this so like I said that takes away the sympathy factor.
Many people glamorizes the BSDM lifestyle but I felt this book gave a fair look into what it REALLY means to live the lifestyle. It is more than having pornographic sex every night but rather it is about serving your master whith everything you have. You cease to own any part of you and instead someone else gets to decide every aspect of your being. The characters were authentic in how they had a hard time accepting this. I think this would be true for most of us. The characters were so well written that they reflected the process of the people who choose this life style.
If you are curious about the lifestyle of BSDM this would be a good place to start. This book is first in a series so there are I think 4 more books. I plan to read those too as I really enjoyed this book.