About Switched
Written by Sean Michael
152 pages / 48000 words
ISBN: 1-933389-61-3
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc
Coby and Bastian might be twins, but they're so distant to each other that they choose to live on opposite sides of their planet. Bastian, a recovering addict, lives with his dominant lover, Gus. Coby's the opposite, as usual, living as a Dom to his submissive partner, Walt.
The thing about Brandish planet that they never even consider is the whims of the gods. That is, at least, until those same gods switch the two twins, putting Coby and Bastian in each others' bodies. Can they make the trip across the planet to get their bodies back? And can they
survive the switch in the meantime?
Review of Switched by James Buchanan
The premise of Switched has been done before. Like all such plots the beauty lies in how the matter is handled. In Sean Michael's book, twins Bastian and Coby get ''Switched,'' as a prank of the Gods. Both twins are in lifestyle Dom/sub relationships. One's a sub. The other's not. So when they get switched it is more than just the average abrupt change.
I particularly enjoyed the scenes where Gus and the switched Dom-twin fought over who got to top. Walt, the other submissive, was less to my taste. But, in the context of the four character dynamic, he works. And all of the characters are well drawn and react believably, within their own personality, to the events. They all even manage to grow a little.
The sex is hot and there's tons of it. Although if you're not into plugs and flogging this is probably not the book for you. Vanilla sex is in short supply, ball-gags are not.
One other warning: One should never, ever, under any circumstance read a Sean Michael book in public. Not unless you have a fetish for people stopping to ask, ''Are you okay?'' as the flush crawls up your neck and your breathing goes rapid. Of course I couldn't stop myself from reading Switched. All of it in one sitting... even if I was in public and had to choke out, ''Yep, I'm good.''
Review of Switched by Alex Draven
I am not the obvious choice of reviewer for this title. I do not particularly like dom/sub pairings or play, and Switched is
definitely all about the dom/sub. OK, so there are twins, and it's a sci-fi setting, and those are good by me, but the primary relationships are all based around the character’s D/s roles. To be honest, I almost switched off after the opening chapters which introduce us to Walter and Jacob, and Sebastian and Gus, two dom/sub couples living on opposite sides of their planet. But then Michael threw in something to keep me interested - without warning, the estranged twins - dominant Jacob and submissive Sebastian - switch bodies, and everything gets a lot more interesting!
Of course, living through interesting times at the whim of your gods is mostly no fun at all for the characters, but it makes good reading, revealing elements of the history of all the characters, examining what it is that D/s roles can offer, and generally mixing things up so the reader is almost as off-balance as the characters. It's not always comfortable - some of the sex scenes in this section border on non-con, which I found hard to read - but it's well written, and the two subs, left off-balance and surviving together, are hard not to love.
The chapters after the couples' reunion, and the twins return to their own bodies, show just how much the experience has affected them all, not altering their fundamental personalities, but offering a deeper understanding of themselves and the others, and the friendships that are formed feel very real.
It's character driven, but at heart it *is* a fantasy, told
predominantly though sex scenes where actions speak at least as loudly as words, with a smorgasbord of kink - flogging, piercing, toys, restraint, the works. The genesis of the body swap being in the gods wanting entertainment, makes the pure fantasy element of it very fitting, though, and for fans of D/s erotica, this has got to be a hit.
Sample
Valhal Tower, Planet Brandish
Everyone who was anyone - from Maker Himself down to tiny Fata - attended Eventide at Valhal Tower. So rarely did they agree to meet en masse, to stand and peer through the vast windows, to look down into the sheer perfection that was Valhal, that the crystalline structure seemed near to vibrate with the sheer weight of their presence.
There existed a tale - some say Gai began it, others swear Luni and Sola invented it between them, not that it matters now - that the jewels the warm Brandish sea spit upon the shore, when touched by the light of the triple suns at dusk, could make mortals into gods.
The gods encouraged that, of course, for the amusement of watching the mortals brave the elements as they sipped their drinks and indulged themselves.
They gathered, some staring out into the growing darkness, some spinning idly around a dance floor covered in stars. One group, though, lounged together upon a circle of pale divans, a throng of hanger's-on standing anxiously in hope someone would take note of them, see them.
''They're just getting so uppity,'' Skye's complaint rang out, clear and bell-like, echoing until someone silenced it. ''Arrogant and snooty. Why, many of them don't even believe the gods exist anymore!''
There were murmurs of agreement all around and Winna, dressed in an almost sheer gown that seemed to move around her constantly, snapped her fingers, their glasses refilling.
''Well, we could always take them down a peg or two, darlings.'' Terra ran a hand through her long, brown hair, her smile wicked and fertile.
''Oh! Turn them all into pigs!'' The suggestion came from the throng and not a one bothered to see which of the throng of leather bound boys had suggested it.
Terra shook her head. ''Too easy.''
''And boring,'' said Maker, his simple white robe seeming to shimmer, the deep basso commanding attention. Well, it was Maker after all. ''It could be most entertaining if we do things correctly.''
The others gathered around, listening to their conversation, joining in as ideas were thrown about, batted back and forth until long after the suns had finally set, the mortals crawling back to their homes, unchanged.
It wasn't until the twin gods called Gemin appeared, two pairs of black eyes dancing with a wicked plan, that they found their amusement set.