As has often been the case of late, BookTok steered me toward the Salacious Players Club series by Sara Cate. The recommendation I came across was actually for MERCY, the fourth installment in the series, but who starts at the end? In order, the series includes PRAISE, EYES ON ME, GIVE ME MORE, and MERCY. While they’re stand alones, you’ll enjoy them more if read in order as you do see characters from other installments in each book.
When I say this recommendation came from BookTok, I really mean SmutTok or SpicyTok, and that should tell you something about the spice level in these books. Well, that and the fact that the main characters are all co-owners of Salacious Players Club, a club that specializes in helping members find sexual partners who share similar tastes and interests in sexual preferences. This allows Cate to have fun with tropes while being incredibly sex and body positive. It’s very refreshing to see such a wondrous variety and for it to be completely non-judgmental. There are age gaps, all kinds of body shapes and sizes, grumpy-sunshine, mild taboos, and a variety of fetishes including exhibitionism, voyeurism, BDSM (there’s even a femme dom!), and polyamory.
To top it all off, there is a lot of character growth and development in each installment. One of the worst characters in the first book has a serious redemption arc and is one of the leads in the final installment. I was prepared to hate him – serious brat – but he’s grown so much. Can’t help but root for him.
More importantly, there is a trans character that is treated with such grace and dignity that it almost made me cry. She is not even introduced as trans at first, just as the sister of one of the leads. The gradual reveal of why her sister is so protective of her is lovely and one of my favorite things in the whole series.
With this series, Sara Cate has shot straight to the top of my automatic read list. It’s that good. 12/10, enthusiastically recommend – there’s literally something for everyone and it’s available for free as part of KU.
