According to Kirkus Reviews, VICES/VIRTUES is “simultaneously compelling, intriguing, and effortlessly entertaining.” It is an “intricate, acutely psychological opera of dominance and submission interplay…surprisingly introspective, appealingly spicy, and thoroughly original.”

Thank the sweet Lord! Now relax, exhale and clap for joy! I won’t lie, I was hesitant to solicit a Kirkus review. The Kirkus website is strewn with scathing reviews of authors more famous than I. Like scarecrows in a field of corn, they were augurs of peril. Was I willing to lay down a wad of cash to have my precious novel potentially bludgeoned? Yet, to gain the approval of a Kirkus Reviews, a highly-esteemed literary organization was an enticing prize. But should it be so esteemed? After reading about the American Heart controversy I wasn’t sure. I admit I’ve never read the book, and I’m not going to, but the events surrounding it’s Kirkus review were fascinating. American Heart is young adult novel about the internment of Muslims in an imaginary future. Unlike my indie gem, this book was being rolled out with the full weight of Harper publishing behind it. It was vetted and revetted before publication by a bevy of sensitivity readers whose sole purpose were to point out cultural inaccurate and/or insensitive points in the novel. Then the additional protective layer of plasticwrap was added but having the anonymous Kirkus reviewer be a Muslim woman who is an expert in youth fiction. She loved it and gave the story a star rating. However, the Papa Trolls of the internet were not so kind. Soon after the review was released the Internet was ablaze with dissenting opinions, from rants like “fuck your white savior narratives”, to more thoughtful critiques. Blogger Justina Ireland argued that the story was blind to its underlying racism. She pointed out with regards to internment, “There is no mention of whether these are only Arab Muslims or Black Muslims.” I giggled, because she seemed to forget that Muslims come in all colors, even white. I’m not referring to the stray convert but to the millions of people in places like Bosnia, Russia, Kosovo, etc. (Just read “A Biography of Malcom X”!) You might say, “But Beatrice, the majority of Muslims are not white!” So true! The majority of Muslims in the world are East Asian, another group completely ignored. Now getting back to Kirkus. Compelling as the debate about how racist American Heart was, and/or how misguidedly stereotyped the attacks on it were, what was really disheartening was the decision of Kirkus to pull their original review and reissue another with less love for American Heart. After reading about this, I kept thinking why would I want a dancing noodle flailing in the currents of popular opinion reviewing my book anyway? Every time I drive past a car dealership those things frighten me! Still, just like drivers need cars, authors need reviews. So, putting aside my misgivings, I sought out the noodle guy and submitted VICES/VIRTUES for a Kirkus review. My only critique of their critique is that the reviewer was too distracted by the sex bits of the book to focus adequately on the themes of race and class. (It’s like trying to explain Marx’s Das Capital to some guy who’s really just staring at my boobs.) Still, I am grateful it was well-received. Read it and let me know what you think or better yet, read VICES/VIRTUES and give me your review. After all if I value your opinion and you value your opinion then that makes each and every one of you a “highly esteemed” reviewer.

The following Kirkus Review can be found at https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/beatrice-desoprontu/vicesvirtues/

A novel focuses on the double life of a Manhattan woman.

By day, Cristela Maria Davila is a leasing agent, showing apartments to prospective tenants, but in the evenings, she becomes dominatrix-for-hire “Mistress Clara.” She works at “Belle’s House of Unusual Pleasures,” a BDSM dungeon service provided to customers wishing to indulge their kinkiest fetishes and participate in erotic role play. Clara endured a rough childhood. Her impoverished single Venezuelan mother provided for her and her brother, Alex, through welfare checks and food stamps. The novel thoughtfully examines how that upbringing both affected Clara’s financial perspective and informed her perceptions of men. With chapter headings named for both vices and virtues, the book chronicles Clara’s devilish exploits alongside her co-workers at the dungeon—Virginia, Justine, Sin, and Daisy—all contributing unique intimate histories of their own. Through the interactive, colorfully described fantasy sessions with her clients, Clara begins to become empowered by her simulated dominance of the men who hire her. She separates herself from other classic service providers as her role play, while physical, hypersexualized, and arousing, remains strictly noncoital. In keeping Clara’s narration smooth and her personality curious, clever, and warm, De Soprontu tempers the more risqué scenes with a character who initially enjoys the extra income, but eventually embraces the theatrical thrill of the spectacle. A story of sex, identity, and renewal, the novel effectively intertwines Clara’s past and present lives in a way that makes her tale a simultaneously compelling, intriguing, and effortlessly entertaining read. The provocative nature of the story will, naturally, appeal to readers of erotica as the author never skimps on potent passages of steamy dialogue and racy scenes between Clara and her cohorts. Often their interplay expands outward to include threesomes and foursomes and engages in activities featuring sex toys, clothing, and even food (readers won’t look at a snack cake the same way again). Yet through Clara’s intimately social interactions, De Soprontu imparts views on themes of poverty, class differences, race, identity, self-preservation, strength, and deliverance, all tightly bound within the intricate, acutely psychological opera of dominance and submission interplay.

A surprisingly introspective, appealingly spicy, and thoroughly original dominatrix story.