The Bucket List: Part Two - Caught. Book review

The Bucket List Part Two: Caught

Author Annie Oakfield
Publisher: Steam eReads
ISBN: 978-0-9875982-6-4

The Bucket List part two: Caught is a very nice follow on from the first book, except this time Annie Oakfield toys with a more traditional fantasy. The Bucket List Part two: Caught is still a very imaginative read, even if the premise is one we might all recognize and perhaps even have our own fantasies about.

I don't want to give a plot spoiler, because if you don't know what's coming, its a lot more fun. However, this book is more sexually transgressive than the previous one, actually moving deeper into the realms of sex, and using more graphic language. Unlike the first, this novella focuses more on the sexuality than the relationship between the two women, however these two characters are so artfully drawn by Oakfield, I was really starting to wish I had a friend like Amber.

In sexual terms, this is a version of a BDSM style with menage and lesbian themes. The sex is darker and does play at the edges of permissions, in a safe sane and consensual way. Oakfield uses characterization and her talent for delving deep into a psyche to create a mix of feelings around the idea of "permission" which is something all women can relate to. Just what are you saying yes to when you say yes, and what does it mean to trust someone when you're pushing boundaries in sex?

What the novella doesn't do is explore more of the relationship between Amber and Lucy, and I would have liked a little more of that, but as a fan of the series, I'm assuming that will get played out with more depth in later works. It is tempting to ask how Lucy got herself into this, although we have a general idea, the way the relationships is organised is vague. But there is no mistake that this is a deliberate ploy to draw us closer to the overarching narrative by Oakfield, as we are often given little teasers of insights into the connection between the two women. She knows what she is doing when she draws us in by the nose.

The Bucket List Part two: Caught is every bit as fun as the first, with a little more salt on the lips, perhaps. The first was a steady and satisfying warm up to what Oakfield had in mind, and if the current trajectory is any indicator, future books will spice us off into orbit.