Praise

Praise (2022) is the first installment in the Salacious Players’ Club series by American author Sara Cate. Cate is known for her taboo romances with kink elements. She has written numerous taboo contemporary romance series and several standalone novels, including the Black Heart duet, which was co-authored with American author Rachel Leigh.

This guide refers to the 2022 Amazon/KDP e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of transgender discrimination, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual content, and cursing.

Plot Summary

Praise opens seven years before the main narrative timeline. Emerson Grant, one of the novel’s protagonists, speaks with three of his friends who all share his interest in kink. They lament the difficulty of finding others who share their interests. When they learn the following day that they have all lost their entertainment jobs, they decide to open the Salacious Players’ Club, a sex club catering to kink.

In the narrative present, Charlotte “Charlie” Underwood argues with her ex-boyfriend, Beau Grant, about how they can get back the security deposit to their apartment. Beau’s father, who cosigned the loan, has the check; Charlie will have to see him to get her half of the money because Beau refuses to do it. Emerson, Beau’s father, hopes that the check will bring his estranged son to his doorstep. He also struggles to find a hired partner for pre-arranged, nonsexual kink scenes. When Charlie goes to Emerson’s house, he mistakes her for a potential kink partner and asks her to kneel for him. She does, baffling herself with her compliance and how good it feels to do so. When Emerson realizes his error, he is mortified.

Later, Charlie researches kink after learning about Emerson’s club. She finds herself drawn to discussions of praise kink but feels embarrassed that she is attracted to her ex-boyfriend’s father. The next day, when Emerson offers her a job as his secretary, she accepts after clarifying that her employment is not related to sex. She decides to wear clothes that are fancier and sexier than usual for her new job, which begins to boost her self-confidence.

Charlie remains curious about kink and enjoys learning more about the subject from Emerson and from her visits to the Salacious Players’ Club, which is nearing completion. Emerson is jealous when his co-workers flirt with Charlie. When he frames this jealousy as protectiveness, Charlie is offended that he doesn’t think she is capable of knowing her own mind. The attraction between the two grows, though Emerson worries that any relationship with Charlie will compromise his ability to reunite with Beau, who disapproves of Emerson’s work at a sex club.

Prior to the club’s opening, Charlie goes dress shopping with her little sister, Sophie, and Sophie comments that Charlie seems happy recently. Charlie is fascinated by the club’s opening night and finds kink displays between members to be highly romantic, particularly when she witnesses a couple exploring a praise kink. Though Charlie and Emerson agree that they should not start a sexual relationship, they give in to their desire for one another while watching several members at the club who enjoy voyeuristic sex.

When Charlie returns to work the following week, she instinctively calls Emerson “sir,” his preferred nomenclature in a Dominant-submissive relationship. She does more research into kink to pinpoint her desires and then asks Emerson to teach her how to correctly fulfill her submissive role. He agrees, though they plan to stick to elements of kink that aren’t explicitly sexual. Over time, however, they push this boundary and have increasingly sexual interactions. Charlie worries that her feelings for Emerson will never be reciprocated. When he asks about her interests in various specific sex acts, she feels vulnerable, as he does not make the same revelations about his desires. However, he eventually admits his intense attraction to her.

However, when Beau visits, Emerson encourages him and Charlie to spend time together. Charlie notes her lack of interest in Beau, particularly when compared to her feelings for Emerson. She defends the Salacious Players’ Club when Beau is critical of it. After she and Beau agree to be just friends, Charlie confronts Emerson about their feelings for one another. They agree to have a temporary sexual relationship, as long as it remains a secret, as Emerson is afraid that he will lose Beau if he finds out about their relationship. Charlie agrees, feeling that this is better than nothing.

Charlie is shocked when Emerson comes to Sophie’s birthday party and gives Sophie a thoughtful gift. She is embarrassed, however, by her family’s relative lack of money when Emerson comes over to watch movies at her house. She is pleased to see that he is accepting of Sophie, who is transgender; their father abandoned the family after Sophie came out.

Charlie finds her sexual relationship with Emerson liberating. Her increased sexual confidence parallels her growing personal confidence, though she still struggles with her self-image. When she participates in a date auction at the club, Emerson pays a vast sum for her time and then uses a kink scene to push her to admit that she fears he will leave her, which she feels is a pattern in her life. Emerson admits that he desires a long-term relationship between them but feels that this is impossible, given her age and her former relationship with Beau.

Beau visits while Charlie and Emerson are enacting sex play that involves Charlie wearing a vibrator. Beau accidentally triggers the sex toy, which makes him realize that Emerson and Charlie are having a sexual affair. Charlie is hurt when Emerson dismisses their relationship as “nothing” when he is trying to defuse the situation. She leaves.

Over the next week, both Charlie and Emerson mourn their relationship. Charlie admits to Sophie that her identity changed while she was in the relationship, but Sophie counters that this change made Charlie happier. Beau accuses Emerson of coercing Charlie into having sex with him, which Emerson denies. When Beau asks Charlie about her perspective, she supports Emerson’s explanation.

Charlie goes by herself to the Salacious Players’ Club, where she and Madame Kink, a local public figure in the kink community, kiss and touch, aiming to make Emerson jealous. He storms in and performs oral sex on Charlie, explaining that this is the start to his apology. Charlie isn’t ready to take him back, however. Later, Charlie’s estranged father arrives at her house, where he tries to shame Charlie for being involved with the club and makes anti-trans comments about Sophie. Emerson arrives, summoned by Sophie, and defends both girls from their father. Beau arrives as well and takes Emerson’s side, and Charlie’s father leaves.

Later, Emerson tells his son that he intends to pursue a relationship with Charlie, and Beau agrees to try to be more comfortable with their relationship. Charlie and Emerson admit their love for one another and commit to a long-term relationship.