The Naughty Pine by Sibylla Matilde

Narrated by Kitty Wilder

Standalone, Emotional BDSM Romance

I haven’t really read much over the past year, and since the pandemic started, I have been listening to mostly romcoms. On a personal level, I love Siby, and since my friends do too, they read The Naughty Pine before I did, and recommended it highly to me.

Därah is a single mom with a teenaged daughter who she co-parents with her ex-husband. She doesn’t have much of a social life, so when her friend invites her out to a private club, despite her nerves, Därah accepts. What she didn’t expect was that the Master Rogue her friend had been going on and on about would be the guy to make her knees weak with want.

I found Därah to be so, so relatable. A little on the heavier side, her insecurities almost seemed insurmountable, but Rogue was so patient and wonderful, he certainly helped with that.

“I’m tired of waiting, Där. I’m done.”
I looked back at him with a frown. “Tired of waiting for what?”
“For you to figure your shit out. To admit that you need something more.”
“Like what?” I scoffed.
“Discipline,” he replied with a raised eyebrow.
“You need to come back to The Naughty Pine.”

Midway through reading The Naughty Pine, the audiobook came out, so I switched over. After a moment of shock that Därah didn’t sound how I pictured, I actually loved the audio narration. The insecurities and hesitation were brought beautifully to life.

I’m afraid to go into more depth because I really don’t want to spoil this for anyone.

Likes:

Relatable, older, heavier heroine.
She’s a single mom that still doesn’t have her shit together.
I really liked her daughter.
Holy cow, Siby can write some HOT sex!
This was so much more than a BDSM romance.
Great for someone new to this type of romance.
Brought a ton of emotion that I wasn’t expecting.

Dislikes:

Her relationship and co-parenting with her ex seemed a little lacking. I am disappointed he let his kid live the way they did.

The Narration:

Overall I loved the narration. At first, she seemed a little melancholy/sad, but then she just seemed real, and I loved it. I hope to hear more from this narrator.

The Down & Dirty:

It’s been a long time since I read a BDSM romance. I expected The Naughty Pine by Sibylla Matilde to be all kinky sex and not much depth, but I was so, so wrong. As someone who struggles with very low self-esteem, Därah was so relatable, and a lot of the scenes really struck home. It was not only hot as hell but an emotional roller coaster. I hope Siby is back writing full time because I look forward to more from this talented writer.