Jun 29, 2013

Review + INTERVIEW: A Dangerous Game by Dee Dawning


(Formerly Love and Seduction in Las Vegas)

Buy the ebook:

Author's:

Summary:

"A Dangerous Game is a complex story covering thirty years in the life of a woman, who at seventeen hits a low point when her father discovers she's pregnant and throws her out of the house. Gritty and spirited, Loretta Bishop after a stint in an Elko Bordello ends up as a Vegas cocktail waitress, making the best of her situation in life.
Over the years, many men and lovers pass through her life, but three stand out: Vinnie, a slick Four Queens pit boss, Gary, a young, impressionable co-worker, and last, Bobby, a handsome, college student.
Seventeen years Bobby’s senior, Loretta is tasked one night with taking the unassuming, modest, pretty boy under her wing and turning him into a ladies' man. At first Bobby seems like a fun boy toy, but when Loretta realizes she loves him and he asks to marry her, Loretta runs away in panic. 
Now on his own it’s up to Bobby to put the methods Loretta has taught him to practical use. Will he succeed and parlay his new talents into love, wealth and power?
*****WARNING: A Dangerous Gamecontains numerous explicit sex scenes, some extreme. If you're not expecting a lot of hot sex, Star Pupil is not for you*****
Star Pupil was previously released as Love & Seduction in Las Vegas"



 Review:



Every reader loves to receive books for reviewing. It's a sign of certain respect and trust from the author looking for honest critisism and thoughts. And every time I get an email like that I get excited with the idea of seeing what's in store for me. After receiving an email from Dee Dawning, I have to say I never, with my whole imagination, expected what I got. And I got the shock of my reader's experience. 

A Dangerous Game (Formerly: Love and Seduction in Las Vegas) is, in a way, a completely unorthodox story about a woman who enjoys her sexuality, a free spirit with her own set of rules and morals and plenty of life experience in the thirty years this book spanned over. This novel has many layers - some I disliked and found a little untasteful and some that I found surprising and unexpected considering some parts of it.

With the first pages you discover that this is written in two POVs alternating sometimes even too fast to keep up. But I didn't mind it and actually saw it fit because it's a very dynamic story. It was kind of interesting how suddenly in the middle of the book there's a chapter thrown in with events that happened years before where we slowly find out about Loretta Chase and her life-story that made her the way she is. So, in year 2005 when most of the events happened, we have Loretta Chase and Bobby Kramer. When they meet, she's almost 40 and he's a college boy looking for a confidence boost and sex lessons. A small task for a woman who loves sex as much as Loretta does. Plus, he's cute. And off it starts.

First I'll mention the erotic scenes. I read erotic books and enjoy sex scenes but this was diiirrrty! I haven't read something this dirty since Selena Kitt books. Some people love them, some people cringe with them. For me... they were a little sensitive to handle, it lacked more romance then it had. They definitely developed a lot of affection to each other. But to be clear, this is not a clear romance story. It has a happily ever after but not in the way you think. I also have to say that I never read or learned about so many sexual terms and synonyms for a penis, come or p*ssy as much as I have in this book. So, I even got educated in dirty language. It was kind of fun, heh.

There were only two things that bothered me. One of them was how fast Bobby went from a blushing boy with little sexual experience to a horny sex machine. It was a bit unrealistic. And the second thing... Well lets just say that was a close call, something that could've become a disaster. It would be a spoiler to say what it is. The only reason I accepted that aspect of the book is because I felt it was one of the ways the author shaped the characters in a unique and a little shocking way. I really liked the uniqueness.

And then there are layers that made this novel very special and even more different then most novels.

Loretta Bishop.

I love that woman! I am completely positive you won't find a character like this anywhere. 
She's a person who went through a lot in her life, may not even appear as a good heroine when you start a book. But only because her character is more realistic.
Loretta Chase is a proud woman, doesn't take other people's shit, but is so incredibly kind. She may have had some low times in her life but she knows who she is, knows what she wants, what she can have and what she needs. Most times, things weren't more that one of those options. But she is a very determind person. There were only three men that made a large impact on her life and forced her to make some very hard decisions.

Bobby Kramer is one of them.

Well, Bobby way a strange character. You'll see many sides if him - sweet and caring, bad and... controlling I was mostly confused by him. He changed too much during the novel and the only constant was his love for Loretta. She fell in love with his innocence and Bobby fell in love with her mature and confident nature. They were quite a pair. His ex - well she was another thing and didn't quite fit in with all this. I guess she was there as a way to show Bobby changed as a person after Loretta.

The ending was a little fairytale touch from the author and I found it comforting. Strange, after that plot. But really nice.

I strongly recommend this novel to all of you that are looking for a story of a strong woman with an inspiring life, a story about a complicating and definitely not an ordinary man and a not-quite-romance that became something much more important and significant. For everyone.



Interview:




After reading and reviewing A Dangerous Game I was dying to ask some questions to the author so I'm pleased to welcome Dee Dawning to the Way Too Hot Books Blog!


DD: Thank you Iva, I'm delighted to be interviewed by you. I used to give four or five interviews a year, but lately I've dropped off to about one a year.


WTHB: So, when did you first got the idea of starting to write? Did you already know you want to write romance stories?


DD: You may be surprised to learn I was a successful upscale home designer and builder for thirty-five years.
As a hobby, I began writing in 2002. At first I started writing (don't laugh) music, book 
and movie reviews. About 2004, I tried my hand at writing fiction. People laughed at 
my first book, a terrorism, action thriller. But my second book, Fortune Cookies was an 
Eppie Finalist. 
Anyway, the great recession wiped out me, my business, and the industry I labored for 
most of my life. So I became a full time author, something I wanted to do anyway.


WTHB: I have to say that I, who doesn't have too much reading experience, never came across on a male erotic romance writer before. Now that I have, I can't help but think why. Even men who write simple romance are much rarer then women. It's not like there aren't many romantic men out there. What are your thoughts about this?


DD: You are of course excluding gay men who write male on male romance. As for straight men who write mf and any of the permutations of heterosexual romance, there are a few of us out there. And there are more than a few who write erotica, which I also write. 
The thing is men writing erotic romance usually use gender neutral names like Leigh Greenwood, J.W. McKenna, S.L. Carpenter and sometime them use female names. I have five novel/novella's out under a distinctly woman's name with a well known ePublisher at their request. They felt their reader liked their authors to be new and women. 
C.K. Ralston, who is more erotica than romance, is a man with our publishing company New Dawning Bookfair. You may or may not know this, but James Patterson and Dean Koontz got their start writing romance


WTHB: Oh wow, I didn't realize that. Thank you for clearing it up. So, your books have some pretty various subjects. Are you open to everything or most things, or do you have some limitations to your writing?


DD: You hit on a good point. My writing is all over the place. I even have a story, The Bastard Preacher, about a televangelist and Girl Power, about a woman politician who forms a third party and winds up running for President. Financially and fame-wise I'd probably be better off if I stuck with one idea and kept writing sequels and spinoffs.


WTHB: What do you think is the main value or quality of erotic romance? What is your own goal of writing it?


DD: I can't speak for the readers, but the value of writing erotic writing for myself is that it's popular, therefore I can count on a certain amount of sales.
My first goal is to please myself. Like I said above, I'd probably have had more name recognition if I'd picked a sub-genre in which to write and stayed with it.


WTHB: Do you get more inspired with situations from life or are you likely to search for the ideas in yourself?


DD: The ideas for my books come from many places, my past, everyday living, things in the news and on TV. They are as varied as the books themselves.


WTHB: Do you get inspired by other books or particular writers? If you do, which ones? 


DD: Frankly, since I've become a full time writer and publisher, I'm too busy reading submittals to read anything but the shortest of stories. However, when I was a reader, before I became an author, I liked F. Paul Wilson, Michael Connelly, Carl Hiaasen and John Grisham and many others.


WTHB: When you write, do you try to keep your story more realistic or do you like to give it a more dream-like, fantasy feeling ?


DD: Both. The stories seem to develop a life of their own and go the way they want


WTHB: It's easy to notice you like your sex scenes a little on the dirty and imaginative side. Are they a vital part of your books or just something you enjoy writing?


DD: LOL, Not fair. With A Dangerous Game which you are probably referring to, the story demanded wild, exotic sex, but I have written tamer books with tamer sex. One book, Sister Laurel & the Atheist, had no sex and didn't sell, so I added sex and called it Fresh Cut Romance and it still didn't sell. 

Also, don't forget I write erotica too, which I think I'm better at. April Showers, Angel Love, Alice in Eroticland and Playing with the Band tend to get higher marks from readers.



WTHB: What is the hardest part of writing a book? Anything that is a big challenge in the process?


DD: All my books start with an idea and from there I run with it. I don't do outlines and seldom know how my book will end before halfway through. I'm not unique in this. Many writers are like this. They/we are called "Seat of the Pants Writers."
That said, to answer your question, sometimes the running isn't smooth and sometimes the ideas are like pulling teeth and I just sort of force my way through it. These books aren't bad, but they're not as good as the smooth running ones.


WTHB: What is your favorite part of the book? The sex, the characters, the ending or something else?


DD: You know Iva, I've probably done a score of interviews and never been asked that. I know early on, I got attached to my characters, especially my heroines, but after fifty plus stories, they're all running together. As for the sex, writing sex scenes is my least favorite part of writing erotic romance and erotica. 
I know you're wondering why, so I'll try to tell you. Sex scenes are the pornographic part of erotic writing. It's meant to titillate the reader. It's really why most readers chose erotica or erotic romance. Oh sure, they want a story with their sex, but they want the sex and they want to be turned on by it. That's the hard part. Writing sex that will turn readers on. Sex scenes take me five times as long to write as the rest of the story. To make them good I go over them many times until I'm satisfied. 
That doesn't mean I'm not proud of a good sex scene. I have said in previous interviews that 'I hate to write sex scenes, but I love'em when I read them.'


WTHB: Do you consider one of your books your very best work, one you're most proud of?


DD: (Grin) If I tell you, will you review it? Actually, I can't pick a single title, so I'll pick several.

Erotica:

1. April Showers
2. Playing with the Band

Erotic Romance:

1. EEK! I'm a Woman
2. French Kiss
3. Naked Research
4. A Dangerous Game
Sorry, That's the best that I can do.


WTHB: What is the best part of being a writer? Besides the writing, heh.


DD: There are lots of good things about being an author. Unfortunately, at this point, money isn't one of them. 
Some of the good things are: No Boss! No Bureaucracies! No conniving co-workers. Nocustomers to please. No dressing for and driving to work! No Parking! Much less gas and wear and tear on car! Pride in creating things! Work own hours!
Some bad things, beside lack of money are: Average 60-70 hour work week! Half of work week taken up by various forms of promoting! No fellow workers to socialize with! Writer's block! No benefits! Higher taxes (self employment tax)! 
That's all the bad things? I think I'll keep writing :)


WTHB: What else are your currently working on besides re-publishing A Dangerous Game?


DD: I have a finished book called EEK! I'm a Woman, which I'll be releasing shortly. It's a sixty-seven thousand word paranormal erotic romance. It's cute, sexy, romantic, has a dark suspenseful side and like many of my books, it's has funny moments.

Here's the short blurb


Waking after a wild celebratory night with a dazzling courtesan, needing to pee bad, Brad runs to the restroom only to discover his penis is…gone. What the H…? He pads to the vanity, flips on the light and stares in the mirror where he is rewarded with the reflection of…Ginger, the girl he spent the night with. What the F… is going on!


Works in Progress include: 

• Rejected (Third book of Letta Storm series) 
• Cowgirls (Cowgirl on Women's Rodeo circuit bets men of Men's Rodeo circuit she can beat them) 
• The Ruthless Preacher (Second book of Televangelist series)
• Bi-Curious (ff)
• Several titles by other pen names



WTHB: Something else you want to say to our followers and other readers?


DD: Just Hi. Thanks for your support and if you haven't been giving me your support, it's not too late to start! In fact, fan or not, I'll send your first book free. Leave your email addy and what you like in comments section and I'll see that you get a Kindle ebook in the genre you like.


WTHB: Thank you very much for the opportunity to read your book and the interview. It was a great pleasure. I hope we will have another opportunity to work together. And good luck :)


Until next time,


The Prince (The Original Sinners, #3) by Tiffany Reisz

Buy The Book:
About The Author:
Genre:
Adult Fiction/ Erotica/ BDSM

The Summary On GOODREADS:

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer...preferably in bed. That's always been Kingsley Edge's strategy with his associate, the notorious New York dominatrix Nora Sutherlin. But with Nora away in Kentucky, now it's Kingsley's chance to take her place at the feet of the only man he's ever wanted -- Søren, Nora's on-again, off-again lover -- until a new threat from an old enemy forces him to confront his past.

Wes Railey is still the object of Nora's tamest yet most maddening fantasies, and the one man she can't forget. He's young. He's wonderful. He's also thoroughbred royalty and she's in "his" world now. But Nora is no simpering Southern belle, and her dream of fitting into Wesley's world is perpetually at odds with her dear Søren's relentlessly seductive pull.

Two worlds of wealth and passion call to her and whichever one Nora chooses, it will be the hardest decision she will ever have to make... unless someone makes it for her....


MY REVIEW:


"...Reviens..."

Even though as usual I have billon mixed feelings, this book still doesn’t deserve less than 5 big, kinky, sadist stars. Without a doubt, this is my favorite book of the series so far. The story again was so twisted, beautiful, wicked and highly emotional, but above all painful. So much sadness…a beautifully written catastrophe-that’s what it is.


Never thought that I would say this, but Kingsley & Soren, The Prince of the Kinky Underground & the meanest and kinkiest Sadist/Dom of them all, stole the show big time from Nora & Wesley, our famous Switch and her vanilla Prince. I think that I finally found my favorite character, and that’s, without a doubt, the beautiful, wicked and deeply broken, the one and only- Kingsley. Even though he is pretty fucked-up like the rest of them, I dare you not to like him after you hear his side of the story. I mean, the guy was breaking my heart with every new memory all over again. I truly don’t care for Soren-Nora-Weasley triangle anymore, as long as this guy gets his HEA.

Btw. nice and very clever move by the author for making us see the big, scary Sadist through Kingsley’s eyes and memories. For a minute there, even I started to see him more as a human and less as a “boogey-man”, but I’m still far from his fan. I was always weak when it came to these fucked-up and ‘tortured’ souls, but this guy is just the epitome of fucked-up. He is just too cold, arrogant, calculated and cruel for my taste, but without a doubt the most intriguing character of them all. There’s no way I could possibly like him, but at least now I get him in a way.

This time actually, the person who was on my “sh*t list” is Nora. In my eyes she’s becoming worse sadist than Soren with her manipulative games. At least from Soren you know what to expect, but this woman changes her mind every 2 seconds. I don’t know about you, but her being the ultimate femme fatale is getting more and more annoying. I would rather see Soren & Kingsley together, than Soren & Nora. At least Kingsley was honest about his feelings from the beginning and knows what and whom he wants. Also, before I started reading this book, I read a couple of the reviews on GR, some of which had these “legends” about Soren’s safe word and that’s one of the biggest reasons I wanted to read this book as soon as possible. I had a couple of theories, but I was sure that it would be smth totally unpredictable and meaningful considering how people were ecstatic about it- BUT guess what?-It turned out to be the first thing which crossed my mind, but I said to myself that there’s no way it would be so predictable and to tell you the truth kind of lame.  I mean, come on people! That’s the safe word of the big, bad & scary No 1. Dom/Sadist? Sorry, but I was rather disappointed. I would prefer if it was smth connected to his past, something more unique and wicked, more Soren-like.


The biggest and epic moment of the book was for me the fight Kingsley & Soren had in Kingsley’s bedroom and the way that chapter ended. That was the moment which really left me speechless, especially because their story was building up to that particular moment, and it was so beautifully written that I found myself rereading that part a couple of times. That was the moment when Kingsley irrevocably won me over . I love the way he provoked Soren to the point that the poor priest actually wanted to hurt him and not in the(ir) good way and above all how he didn’t let Soren intimidate him and scare him away like every other person.  Of course, I was horrified later by the outcome, but it is how it is. I have finally come to terms that everything these people do in the bedroom is consensual and that they enjoy it no matter how much their idea of foreplay horrifies me. The author really made it clear in this book. The hardcore BDSM I can take, BUT these Soren/ religion/ HBDSM correlations and comparisons are still really disturbing me and always will, but they obviously won’t prevent me to read the next book. 


Bring it on Ms Tiffany Reisz!!!


XOXO

Jun 28, 2013

The Angel (The Original Sinners, #2) by Tiffany Reisz

Buy The Book:
About The Author:
Genre:
Adult Fiction/ Erotica/ BDSM

Summary on GOODREADS:

Infamous erotica author and accomplished dominatrix Nora Sutherlin is doing something utterly out of character: hiding. While her longtime lover, Søren—whose fetishes, if exposed, would be his ruin—is under scrutiny pending a major promotion, Nora's lying low and away from temptation in the lap of luxury.

Her host, the wealthy and uninhibited Griffin Fiske, is thrilled to have Nora stay at his country estate, especially once he meets her traveling companion. Young, inexperienced and angelically beautiful, Michael has become Nora's protégé, and this summer with Griffin is going to be his training, where the hazing never ends.

But while her flesh is willing, Nora's mind is wandering. To thoughts of Søren, her master, under investigation by a journalist with an ax to grind. And to another man from Nora's past, whose hold on her is less bruising, but whose secrets are no less painful. It's a summer that will prove the old adage: love hurts.

MY REVIEW:

***WARNING: Don't read this review if you haven't read the 1st book in the Original Series- The Siren!!!

No safe word can protect the heart. 

All my moral issues aside, The Angel was definitely another great and captivating installment in The Original Sinners book series. Tiffany Reisz is simply one of those authors whose writing style is so amazing that it can make you read everything. I must admit that even though I really liked the first book, I was reluctant and unsure whether to continue reading, because these books deal with themes I usually avoid, but I guess, there are always exceptions. I probably wouldn’t have read it, if the story or the writing style weren’t so good or if I felt that everything revolves around sex as it usually does with 99.9 % of erotica, although there were a lot more sex scenes than in Siren.

But these books truly belong to those 0.1 % erotica where IMO the story itself stands out and not one of the kinkiest sex scenes I have ever read, although they sure are memorable. I kind of made my peace with the fact that this book will take me way out of my comfort zone, but this time was a bit easier, because I knew what I was getting myself into…or not. 

So to answer the question to all of those wondering can this book be more shocking, scandalous, deliciously sinful and emotional than Siren, the answer is-YES, IT DAMN SURE CAN and I promise you that if you liked Siren, you’re really going to like Angel, especially because we finally find out more about the background of the characters (Soren, Kingsley, Michael etc.)and understand them a lot more than before and we also get introduced to some new, less known characters and therefore I must say sorry Nora, Wesley & Soren, but this time our new kinky duo Griffin & Michael, even Kingsley stole the show for me and them three along Wesley are definitely my favorite characters from now on.

THE REASONS WHY I THINK THE SIREN WAS SLIGHTLY BETTER WRITTEN AS A WHOLE THAN ANGEL:

1. The never ending ‘ode to the beauty & glory’ of Soren

So this particular ‘ode’ started big already in Siren and I could deal with it, because it was like an introduction to his character, but I think that the author exaggerated a bit with it in this book. I mean, every time this guy enters the scene we are constantly reminded how beautiful and intimidating he is or how he has “the best heart” and the best body on the face of Earth, even the exact number of his daily push-ups and sit-ups for G’s sake (P.S.taking in consideration his profession and his lifestyle some of these statements seem quite ridiculous, but as I said-moral issues aside.) 

So after the first half of the book this ‘ode’ got really annoying and it doesn’t have anything to do with my utter dislike of Soren. It was like the author was trying a bit too hard to make us like him, but in my case she got just the opposite effect. I still don’t like him, no matter of his “awesomeness” or his tragic past and I probably never would, but I also think that he is one of the biggest reasons this story is so interesting and intriguing and I can’t and won’t argue with that.

He had, without a doubt, the most handsome face of any man she’d ever known. The most handsome face, the keenest mind, the wickedest libido, the sexiest body and the most devoted heart....

His morning runs and the five hundred push-ups and sit-ups he did every day kept him in immaculate shape. Lean, taut muscle wrapped every inch of his tall frame. Sometimes she could simply not keep her hands off him.

2. Nora The Submissive 

I have mixed feelings about Nora after the ending of The Siren. I mean, I still like her and think that she is a really fun character, but she’s definitely not my favorite and I kind of don’t care with whom she'll end up. Yes, you won’t be seeing me wearing T-shirts Team Wesley or Team Soren. Another reason for that is, because I think that both choices are wrong for her. IMO she’s too wild for the young/vanilla Wesley and too dominant for the “big, bad“Sadist. 

One of the reasons I really liked her in Siren is because she was one of those strong and self-conscious women with a lot of attitude and although I didn’t approve some of the decisions she made I still liked her because she was always so honest about her feelings and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind no matter of the consequences., but in this book things are different. She got back with Soren as we all know and now she’s playing his “little submissive” again and I really don’t like Nora as submissive. He literally is her Master and not only in the bedroom, but he also rules her life; she basically can’t do anything or make any decision without first asking for his approval. He even tells her how to dress, when to bathe etc. and she has to listen to everything he orders her. 

One word: B O R I N G! As I said before, I’m just not a fan on of weak and obedient characters with no attitude. They simply bore me and even though Nora showed some signs of rebellion and Soren gave her some space I still think that she was much more interesting when she had her freedom. I also agree with Griffin when he said that she is selfish and let’s face it-she is the one manipulating them all in order to get what she wants.

All in all, aside these minor issues I had, I truly enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read the next one.

“Fetishes…they’re the pet you feed or the
beast that eats you. We’ll feed your beast until it’s tamed.” 



xoxo


Jun 27, 2013

Slave to Sensation (Psy-Changeling #1) by Nalini Singh


Buy the paperback or ebook:

Author's:

Summary:

"Nalini Singh dives into a world torn apart by a powerful race with phenomenal powers of the mind-and none of the heart.
In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of "rehabilitation" - the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was... 
Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy coexistence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion - and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities - or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation..."


Rating:




Review: 

Slave to Sensation was one of my first paranormal books back in the 2010. At that time I gave it 3 stars and wrote these lines:

"Not bad, I like the idea, but it's not what I was looking for. Even so, I was quite amazed. The only thing that bothers me is the title. The author could have found a better one." 

Yeah, what a review. After that I gave up on the series and read other books. And in that time I can honestly and truthfully say that my taste changed a little. Nothing too major, romance is, and always was, my number 1 genre. I started with paranormal, then after a year got into more steamy books until last summer when I tried some BDSM, liked it and stayed mainly on erotic romance. Anyway, a few weeks back a dear friend of mine on Goodreads reminded me of this series and after my intense reading of paranormal books this month I started to wonder if I'd like it more nowadays. 

And here I am. Read it, loved it, and so damn happy about it!

I think the reason I didn't enjoy it before is because it has a lot of sci-fi. I didn't even want to get into touching disatance with anything sci-fi. I just disliked it very much, but still took a chance on this book. 

Now, the world of Psy, together with the changelings, was probably the aspect of this book I liked most. Now, my taste didn't turn to sci-fi in these 3 years, I just learned to appreciate more the world building and the creativity of it. I began to value it more in the paranormal books. What defines pnr books more then the kind of world where they happen?

I may even sound a little weird: shapeshifters -so in tune with nature and led by emotions and the Psy - completely void of emotions; cold and simple, dependent on technology, everyone connected on a psychic level, something like computers in real life, and with some strange abilities. It's like a contrast - nature and technology, emotion and stoicism. Amazing and fascinating! Bravo for Nalini Singh!

So, the characters. I completely, absolutely loved Lucas and Sascha! Their romance seems impossible at the beginning because of their difference. But there sometimes, people may not be so different, maybe that difference was forced on them - like on Sasha. She's in truth a very sensual and beautiful creature and she was made believe that she's weak, defective, and she had to hide her true personality afraid she would get brainwashed. It was a fight for survival, every day. And then Lucas Hunter came and showed her that she is not defective - she is one of the strongest and kindest women out there. 

It was a crime against life and the right to be who you are. It was a hard road and I often found myself very sad, not to mention that Lucas was very mad, but he was perfect with her. One moment my gut is clenching with sympathy and the other - with the beauty of them and how possessive and caring Lucas was. I think I don't even have to say that the steamy scenes were amazing considering the hero is an alpha leopard/panther. Oh my ;D

“Sometimes I remember that I can't always protect those I love." Under his fingers, her hair was soft and silky.
She didn't try to tell him that he wasn't God, that he couldn't protect everyone. He knew that. But knowing and believing were two different things. What she did say succeeded in stopping his heart.
"I wish you'd love me."
Why?"
Because then maybe you could protect me, too" Haunting sorrow whispered through her tone.” 

Eventually Sascha realized and came to accept the disaster and the wrongness the Counsil and the Silence created when they killed emotion in Psy. And probably even reduced their potential because Sasha is anything but weak, there was something beautiful hiding inside her.

Nothing would've changed if there hadn't been Lucas Hunter - the alpha of the leopard Pack DarkRiver and everything a true alpha should be - strong, possessive, protecting, a ruling hand but a kind and smart leader. I just loved him to bits!

Lucas senses something different when he meets Sasha, the animal inside driving him to to find out what is so unique about her. But her had to be careful, because she was Psy, the enemy, and plus - there was a Psy serial killer brutally murdering changeling women. One of the victim was one of DarkRiver Pack and it was a big loss to Lucas as the alpha. The mystery was interesting too. But since I already read the book before and knew who the killer is, it wasn't a big thing to me now.

When I finished the book, this was me during the whole day:



One thing I just HAVE to mention! A wolf pack - the SnowDancer, had a side role in this book and I just totally fell in love with the alpha - Hawke. My God, that alpha sounds so delicious and I'm desperate to read his book witch is unfortunately the 10th one. How will I survive until then???

So there you have it, a rich world with one unlikely beautiful romance, a mystery of crime and a promise of much, much more from the world of Nalini Sighn.

Lucky for me, there are 11 more books to read

Until next time, 



The Siren (The Original Series, #1) by Tiffany Reisz

Buy The Book:

About The Author:

Genre:
Adult Fiction/ Erotica/ BDSM

Summary on the GOODREADS:

Notorious Nora Sutherlin is famous for her delicious works of erotica, each one more popular with readers than the last. But her latest manuscript is different—more serious, more personal—and she's sure it'll be her breakout book...if it ever sees the light of day.

Zachary Easton holds Nora's fate in his well-manicured hands. The demanding British editor agrees to handle the book on one condition: he wants complete control. Nora must rewrite the entire novel to his exacting standards—in six weeks—or it's no deal.

Nora's grueling writing sessions with Zach are draining…and shockingly arousing. And a dangerous former lover has her wondering which is more torturous—staying away from him...or returning to his bed?

Nora thought she knew everything about being pushed to your limits. But in a world where passion is pain, nothing is ever that simple.

MY REVIEW:


Once upon a time my favorite Boss With The Whip a.k.a Glass "made" me read this book. Even though at that time I avoided books with BDSM like plague, I decided to give this one a shot and guess what- it's one of my all time favorites today. Thnx Boss :*



"Broken love is the most dangerous love.It will slice you open with every touch ."

This was probably the hardest review for me to write, because this book wasn't like anything I've  read before, and even now after I finished reading it, I struggle with words to describe it. If someone had  told me about the plot, I would have probably given up reading it right away, because I usually avoid books with such dark themes. I read the blurb on GR, but I assure you that it wasn't helpful at all, because the book turned out to be everything I didn't expect and even more. I have so many “issues” concerning the plot that you would probably think that I couldn't possibly like it, but this is one of those books which wouldn't be that good if it didn't have those “issues” and without them it definitely wouldn't leave such an impression on the reader. But still, the biggest reason this book is so good, IMO, it’s the amazing writing style and imagination of the author- Tiffany Reisz, you have my deepest respect ! 

This book deals with really dark themes (violence, abuse, pedophilia, abortion, heavy BDSM, religion issues etc.) and tells a story about UTTERLY fucked-up characters in an utterly fucked-up environment, but thanks to the author it’s such a beautifully written story that readers like me who don’t usually read books like this, can’t stay indifferent. It is literally a mindf*uck. It will made you question everyone and everything you thought you knew and it will keep you guessing til the very end. It differs from any other erotica I’ve read, because it doesn't even have that much sex scenes for such a long book and while these scenes present an important part to understand the plot and the characters, the good thing is that they don’t define the book itself. Also- BIG WARNING to all of you readers who are hopeless romantics and who like it cheesy and vanilla :)- THIS BOOK DOESN'T DO VANILLA!!!

Most of the characters here like it rough and when I say rough I mean HEAVY BDSM/ Dom/sub relationship (God forbid I put a capital letter ‘S’ in the word sub, because supposedly- it’s against the rules)/ Dominatrix/sub relationship etc., basically beat-me-until-I-bleed- they call it foreplay and then f-me-until-I-bleed relationship- yup, that kind of dark. Nothing is totally white or totally black in this book, it’s rather dark grey and the book is very emotional and psychological.  

BDSM, especially HBDSM is not my thing, it is actually one of the things that made me feel really uncomfortable while reading this book and in any other, let’s say, regular erotica (where there’s more emphasis on the sex part than the story) it would scare me away, but, as I said before, this author really knows her job. Every part of the story is amazingly put together and explained that all of us who are not quite vanilla, but definitely far from HBDSM  understand why the things are the way they are, but there were also some more “innocent” steamy scenes, which made it all better. 


The story focuses on the life of a 33 year old erotica writer Nora Sutherlin. She’s a  famous erotica writer who likes to shock and provoke people not only with her stories, but also with her appearance and behavior- walking around in some scarlet/ leather slutty clothes and in the company of her personal assistant and roommate Wes-a hot 19 year old student. You can only imagine the stories and gossips about her, but Nora is a very strong and self-confident character who doesn't give a f*** for their opinion, furthermore she likes to provide them with more material to talk about. But still, what most of the public doesn't know or only speculates about, is that she doesn't only like to write about BDSM relationships, but she is also enjoying and practicing it in her private life- working as a Dominatrix in some kind of BDSM “underground club” called 8th Circle whose membership can afford only the richest & the most pervertible elite. The owner of the club and the mysterious, the meanest and biggest Dom of them all is her former lover called Soren with whom she has turbulent/complex relationship even after they broke up. The latest book she’s writing could turn out to be her greatest accomplishment, but only with the right editor for whom she boldly chooses one of the best and also the most demanding of them all- Zach Easton a.k.a “The Fog.” The story focuses on her relationship with these there most important men in her life: Soren, Wes, Zach- her past, present, future who keep mixing and interacting throughout the book while trying to write the book of her life. Each of them highly affects on her life- she is torn apart between the person she is and the person she should be and they make it more difficult for her to make the right choices without hurting them or herself in the process.
*** MY BIGGEST PLOT ISSUES ***

(I understand that the book wouldn't be the same without them, but it still doesn't mean that I'm o.k. or agree with them.)
1. Soren (individually), Soren & Nora relationship
I don't like him- p e r  i o d. And it has nothing to do with his profession and his theories about religion and comparisons with BDSM made me sick.
2. Michael
Not even the kinkiest BDMS scenes did make me uncomfortable as the sex scene with Michael. Sorry, but that's pedophilia to me and it made me look at Nora in a totally different light.

Some readers had problem with the way book ended, but I didn’t. I suspected smth like that and I was glad because of some of the things (Zach, Wes etc.), even though, I’m still in the dark concerning Nora and others and I’m hoping that those things will become clearer in the next book. The title “THE SIREN is perfect for this book, because the book itself, IMO, is like a siren who “sings” to us readers about taboo themes which people usually don't wanna hear about, but when you start reading it, it starts “seducing” you just like a siren with its seductive and provocative voice that you just can’t stop reading until you finish it and find out her deepest and darkest secrets.  
Highly recommend it to everyone who likes dark reads. This book will ruin you for your every next book, I promise.


xoxo

Jun 23, 2013

Obsession by Ivory Quinn

Buy The Book:
About The Author:
Genre:
Adult Fiction/ Erotica/ BDSM

Summary on GOODREADS:

My soul was nothing but an ink stain of consequence.
You made me Canute, the foolish man,
Trying to turn back the rolling tide of your dark.
And I drowned.
I drowned.

Gabriel Hallow is a damaged man. Rock star, producer and public enemy number one, he sees his redemption in quiet, wholesome school teacher Noelle Winters. Crashing into her life like a wrecking ball, he smothers her innocence and leads her down the razor's edge between submissive and victim, opening her eyes to things she didn't even know could happen between a man and a woman. Overwhelmed by his generosity and charm, how far will she go to save his soul? And when is it too late to turn back?


* With bondage and multiple scenes of a sexual nature, this descent into the darkest parts of the human psyche is not for the faint of heart, or the under 18s.

MY REVIEW:


I guess I'll never learn when it comes to these beautiful and captivating covers. They manage to trick me every frigging time. I saw it on Goodreads and it was love at first sight. Then I did a little research to see what the book was about and read the beautiful poem and I instantly knew that I just have to have this book and put everything else on hold. Now when I think about it, I was probably doomed the moment I read that the guy in question is a rock star- damn those sexy musicians! And then came the dark, creepy and intriguing Prologue which literally blew my my mind and made me think that this could possibly be my next favorite book, but  unfortunately it turned out:

Why is that? Well, after the amazing prologue, things started to go south pretty quick and kept on going til the very end with no possibility of redemption, to the point that I was asking myself: why was I reading this again? In the prologue we meet one very creepy guy Gabriel who is obsessively stalking this woman Noelle and has some pretty disturbing thoughts about her.

 He had followed her home and spent hours shadowing her around her house with his eyes, window to window, the saccharine sweetness of her existence a siren song to his twisted soul.

I became intrigued right away with his character and the story, because I was yearning for some good dark read and this sounded really promising, but not for long, because with every next chapter the story was turning more and more in this mushy/ soupy BDMS insta-love story between one of the most boring , undefined and annoying characters I read about lately who rarely left the playroom through the whole book. Gabriel turned out to be a great disappointment of a rock star with the exception of the beautiful song her wrote for Noelle. I couldn't connect to his character at all and there where some things about him that reminded me too much on the famous Christian Grey and not in a good way. Too possessive, overbearing, too annoying, too demanding with too many wtf ideas, just too much of everything.


When he spoke again, it was with the voice of the beast...quiet, silky and predatorial. “Kitten, if you don’t go to your room and do as I say right now, I’m going to come down there and kick the fucking door down. God help you if I do that, because I’m going to fuck every orifice you have as hard as I can. I will destroy you.”

But not even he could compare to Noelle who was such a monotonous, naive and annoying religious freak non-stop questioning everything and everyone. She was full of contradictions through the whole book. She did every wicked thing Gabriel asked of her in the bedroom and she definitely enjoyed it, but later on she kept on accusing him that he in a way forced her and manipulated in submission. Girl, you know you have your safe word and that you can put a stop on everything just by saying it anytime, but you didn't, so shut up. At least in the end she finally admitted it to herself, but I was annoyed beyond the point of caring. 

“I’ve never met anyone like you before. You’re so...sinful. I don’t know why I let you do the things you do. I’m ashamed to think of them in the cold light of day. I hardly know you, and yet I let you go down on me in the back seat of a car. You just...overwhelm me.”

How could he preach such morally subversive ideas and still consider himself a man of faith?

“I don’t know that I can do this.” She blurted out. The soft strains of Allegri’s Miserere haunted the air between them as Noelle laid her head on his stomach and stared at the ceiling. “I don’t know where to draw the line...where this stops at domination and becomes abuse.”

And her safe word!!! O M G...It's so stupid and hilarious! And definitely a c*ck-blocker...because it's... *prepare yourself*...her safe word is C A B B A G E *blink, blink.* Yup, it's cabbage people. I wish I was kidding, but...here it is.

CABBAGE. Girl, are you for real? Way to kill the mood, but I guess it's o.k., because you never actually used it -.-.  And if you asked me to tell you something relevant about this girl aside her connection to Gabriel, like for example about her family or friends, I wouldn't know what to say to you, because  we learn so little about her in the story except that she's a teacher in the daylight and a kinky submissive in the evening. There were also other characters in the book, like for example Gabriel's band mates, but even when they were present in the scene, they never spoke or anything that you start asking yourself are they really alive or just his imaginary friends. Not until around 70% of the story do we finally meet them or anyone else for real, the whole book being focused on Noelle's and Gabriel's BDSM relationship. I didn't even feel sorry for the way things ended. The only character I felt sorry for in this book was Gabriel's poor driver who had to endure Gabriel's and Noelle's creepy exhibitionism on daily basis. All in all : the things that I actually liked about this book are: the gorgeous cover, the intriguing and well-written prologue and the song Gabriel wrote to Noelle, part of which you can read above, in the summary. And .That's.About.It.
Will I read the next installment in the series? 


XOXO

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