Didn't do it for me.

The plot is fairly simple.
The writing started out okay, I found myself wanting to know what would happen next. About halfway through the writing slowed me down, some sentiments were repeatedly described and I found myself skipping pages to get to the next good bit.
I felt the romance aspect of the novel lacked enough development to read like a romance. Basically I feel the plot is already outlined in the blurb and the pages of the novel don't add much to that, besides the actual decision Neely comes to.
I thought the spanking scene descriptions itself were quite nice, in the sense that Caine was very patient with Neely, clearly helping her to submit to them.

I found myself confused as to the concept of domestic discipline and the way it was depicted in the novel.

I had the impression that DD has at its core the practice of spanking for punishment at the discretion of the Head of the Household. So I wondered why the couple have sex afterwards? Coupling reward with punishment would seem to undermine the educational / correcting aspect intended?
DD is depicted as a belief of Caine's, suggesting that there is a system of morals, values, viewpoints that Caine holds and which would influence life with him as his girlfriend/fiancee/wife. Surprisingly little of this system was described in the novel, which I thought was odd.
The first spanking the heroine herself submits to occurs halfway through the book, which I thought was a bit late. For me, the heroine started to come across less and less as a loveable character, at times even a brat, so how did that happen?
I had trouble with some of the later spankings. What exactly is a foul mouth when both parties use the words? Is there a double standard here or is leadership by example an option as well? And is it a good reason to spank Neely because Caine wants her to 'play nice or at least polite' with a female bully whom she does not like at all but who happens to be the girlfriend of one of Caine's close friends?
Caine confused me on another point as well. He told Neely early on that there would always be communication, that they would always talk about major decisions. Yet, he discusses neither the house he has bought for them nor the wedding date, the dress etc. Fortunately she loves what he has decided for them on his own.

Somehow the DD dynamic over the last 80 pages or so seemed to turn belittling, unfair, inexplicable, an unnecessary means to an unclear end. ( )