Kate Richards Pushes My Buttons---Switch (The Trainer)

Switch (TheTrainer)

Blurb: Esme Stone’s marriage is on the rocks. Her husband, Rick, has Peter Pan Syndrome to the extreme, partying till all hours and spending every dime he makes. She cooks, cleans, earns the money for their expenses, and takes responsibility for paying the bills. In short, everything. How can she start a family when her husband is a big kid himself? Heart breaking, she considers divorce.
One step from walking out, she meets a woman online, then others, who swear a Domestic Discipline agreement saved their marriages. That putting their husbands in charge helped them grow up. In hopeful desperation, Esme approaches Rick with an ultimatum.
Take charge or take a hike. 
They jump in with both feet and then come up against a wall. Rick needs help with the discipline elements he must employ. Spank Esme?

My thoughts:

Usually the hero of a spanking romance is a man who turns me on and I fall a little bit in love with him. In this book, I thought the hero was a total douche bag and what kept me reading was waiting to see if he got what he deserved.

In many respects he does, but I am still not sure it’s enough.

I found this book so thought provoking that I asked Kate Richards a few questions about it for this post.

Celeste Jones: Where did you get the idea for this book?

Kate Richards: Truth…I know a guy like Rick. He’s married to someone I care about, who loves him dearly and when I see a great love in a less than perfect situation my brain goes into overdrive. How to make it work? 

Celeste Jones: The first time that Rick spanks Esme, he selects a switch and then proudly lays a basket weave pattern over her butt, after she had been spanked with a paddle by The Trainer. When they got home, instead of being proud of his wife’s willingness to go through so much in order to save their marriage, he practically jumps up and down and says “I did it, Esme. I spanked you, gave it to you good.” Seriously. How can I not think he’s a total a-hole?

Kate Richards: I don’t think you can. But at that point she was willing to do anything on earth to save her marriage, even if her husband was not quite ready to be the husband she needed.  And I do have faith in him, he’s starting to make changes, even if they aren’t enough yet, but he’s proven he can change and learn. And she loves him, even if he is a seriously flawed hero.

Celeste Jones: Esme says she loves Rick. Is this really love?

Kate Richards: Yep, she loves him. And she is willing to walk, but not unless she’s tried anything humanly possible first. I’ve been there, under different circumstances…I tried everything…and I walked. It broke my heart, but I did. And so would Esme have if her last great effort had failed.

Celeste Jones: Do you think that Rick and Esme are a more realistic couple than most couples in DD/Spanking romances?

Kate Richards: I think every couple is different, and that’s what makes things so interesting both in writing their stories and in life. All authors share our tales from our own perspectives. In some ways, it was fun to write a hero who is less than likeable, most of the guys in our stories are hot, sexy and sensitive. Rick is pretty sexy, but he has a lot to learn. And so does Esme. But that’s okay, I think.

Celeste Jones: What about The Trainer. Will we see more stories about him?

Kate Richards: Oh I certainly hope so! I’m very fond of him and have some ideas in mind. He intrigues me as well! 

• What about the rest of you? Were you rooting for Esme to kick Rick to the curb or were you glad that things seem to have worked out for them? 

• Is it a mistake for people to think that DD can save every relationship? Do some people enter into DD relationships with unrealistic expectations?