Review: I Spy A Naughty Game by Jo Davis

September 13, 2010 By Sophia (FV) 11 Comments

I Spy A Naughty Game
by Jo Davis
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: NAL Trade
Available: September 7, 2010
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense (Erotic)

A tantalizing tale of erotic suspense in which a mask slips-and everything is revealed…

Blaze Kelly, one of the Secret Homeland Defense Organization’s top spies, is a powerful D/S master, and all raw male. Yet underneath his mask hides a wounded soul that aches for love. Emma Foster wears disguises too as part of her job for SHADO. But she’s not excited about her next mission-with the man who broke her heart.

Together they must infiltrate a group that plans to transfer a weapon of mass destruction into enemy hands-a mission that involves them in an illicit sexual game. As they are forced to explore their most dangerous desires, they face a challenge that could break even the steeliest of spies…

Reviewed by: Sophia (FV)

Blaze Kelly is a member of the SHADO team, a secret governmental organization that takes orders directly from the president. He’s deeply involved in the BDSM scene as a Dom. When he reveals this to the woman he loves, Emma Foster (also a member of SHADO), she decides she cannot be a part of his world and he will never be happy without it so they go their separate ways. While both of them are still hurting over the breakup they are assigned to work together on a dangerous mission to apprehend a traitor who is trying to sell weapons of mass destruction. They have to go undercover as a D/s couple which will surely involve lots of very hot sex in public places and perhaps even heal their romantic relationship.

I Spy a Naughty Game is the first book I’ve read by Jo Davis. I’ve heard wonderful things about her Firefighter series so this erotic spy series seemed like one I would surely enjoy. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for the characters, the erotic scenes fell flat and at times the behavior of the characters left me scratching my head. This story lacked the emotional intensity and sexual tension it takes for an erotic romance to work for me. The characters seemed as though they were simply going through the motions in the many sex scenes and I never had the sense that they really truly loved each other.

Emma was opposed to the BDSM lifestyle but her ‘inner voice’ kept telling her that maybe she was turned on by it. I just didn’t buy the fact that she struggled with the lifestyle enough to end a relationship with the man she loves only to turn around and plunge headfirst into the lifestyle posing his submissive with very little reservation. I was not convinced at all. While in the midst of a very serious situation while in captivity, she lets her hair down and enjoys some sexy time with one of her would-be captors. Admittedly he might have been one of the good guys but the whole situation seemed ridiculous and unbelievable.

Blaze as a Dominate lacked the exciting alpha charisma that normally puts the zing in this type of erotic romance. Yes, he was in charge during sex scenes but he never really felt dominate in a way that a submissive would want to surrender themselves to. Again because of the lack of emotional intensity between Emma and Blaze, I eventually became bored with their BDSM relationship.

Since Emma and Blaze are members of a super secret spy organization I expected a lot more action and suspense. There is a decent action scene late in the story but it came too late to revive my interest and most of the circumstances surrounding the agents and their undercover operations seemed too implausible to be believable. This book was not for me.