Everyone is disingenuous in the novel, everyone is self-serving, and even if you make it out alive, there is no salvation. - Shani Hilton * Okay, that may be a little extreme but not far off. I found this entire story incredibly frustrating. I thought this would be a fun little spanking novel. Instead it was about an out of control submissive who was taken advantage of by a series of increasingly loathsome characters. I really felt like she needed someone to take control over her life and find a way at best to get her to make better decisions or at worst take her ability to make bad decisions away. Unfortunately, there wasn't a character in the story to do that. The fact that Jemima was only there because her father was lied to by his girlfriend only made it that much worse.I may read some more Penny Birch novels someday but definitely not this year.* Shani is actually referring to [b:Kindred|60931|Kindred|Octavia E. Butler|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1339423248s/60931.jpg|1049657] but the quote struck a chord with me.