Strict Machine by Justus Roux (Blog Tour & 100$ Amazon Gift Card Giveaway)

Book Summary

"Salome was tricked by the man she loved most in this world. Lucian said he was her Master and that he loved her. Yet, he abandoned her here with these strange men.  Her life quickly became a living hell. One in which she thought she never escape until a man named Master Darius saved her from these slavers.  He was going to hunt down Lucian and she wanted to be there when he caught him.

Darius wasn’t too happy when Salome wanted to be his submissive after he saved her from those slavers.  He couldn’t refuse Xanthos’ request to train Salome. They had to keep her from running back to Lucian. Darius knew Salome wouldn’t fit into his home, his submissives were trained to break up slave rings and she was nowhere near tough enough to do this. He figured he would keep her until he caught Lucian then he would send her to Master Drake. She would certainly fit in with Drake’s pampered pets.

Salome finds herself falling in love with Master Darius despite the fact that he comes across to everyone as a strict machine. She knows underneath his frigid façade there is a Master beyond all others. But will she have the strength to uncover it, especially after what Lucian has put her through."

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Excerpt

Chapter One

The bars of the cage were cool to the touch. The cement floor in which the cage was bolted onto was hard and unwelcoming. The air reeked of urine, sweat and sex. And what was worse there was no light in this room most of the time, though at times this was welcoming, the light only served to illuminate this dank place. This was Salome’s reality for the last four months. Her truth, her hell, it threatened to rob her of her mind, her very soul. Her only crime that damned her to this place was that she chose to love the wrong man.

At times she could hear soft weeping. This saddened her, knowing that other women shared her fate.

Lucian led her to this place, and like a fool she followed. She can still see Lucian’s smile in her thoughts. He was so handsome, so charming…God she was a fool.  He let those other men use her roughly and when he grew tired of it he simply left her here. He didn’t say goodbye or give any explanation on why he did this to her. The smelly older male of the bunch locked her in this damn cage over a week ago. He said she needed to be housebroken. And when she inquired about Lucian the older male only said that she belong to this house now.

Her tears would not come, though she disparately needed to cry. She huddled in a corner of the small cage trying to warm herself. The ratty dress they had made her wear offered no warmth and barely covered her. She looked at the two dog bowls that were placed in her cage. The repugnant old man took so much pleasure in treating her like a dog. The only time she was let out was twice a day to use the bathroom.

Salome closed her eyes and prayed for release from this abyss. She prayed that someone would save her and the others or that one of these monsters would hurry up and take her life. One way or another she wanted to be free of this hell.

Giveaway

Justus is giving away a grand prize of a $100 Amazon Gift Card from all the different tour stops. Winner will be selected by Rafflecopter.

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Blog Tour Schedule

 

3/11/2013

Way Too Hot Books

The Muse Unleashed 

3/12/2013

Mrs Condit & Friends Read Books 

3/13/2013

Heart Braking Reviews 

Smardy Pants Book Blog 

3/14/2013

Sugar and Spice Book Reviews 

What's On the Bookshelf 

3/15/2013

Tattooed Book Review 

Blackraven's Erotic Cafe 

3/18/2013

Under the Covers 

3/19/2013

Blackraven's Reviews 

Cocktails and Books 

3/20/2013

Fictional Candy 

Sultry Storyteller 

3/21/2013

HEA Romances With A Little Kick 

Bookswagger

3/22/2013

Bookworm Brandee

Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

Until next time,

xoxo

 

(Blog Tour & Giveaway) Blood Flows Deep in the Empire

Buy the book:

TWCS

Book summary:

"Dyletri, God of Fertility, has locked away his powers. No woman is allowed to touch him, not until he can return his long-dead lover back to life. All he has to do is sacrifice one human girl, a girl who unlocks his powers and rips his dormant lust right out of his body. Trapped by his promise, Dyletri has no choice but to watch Ismini die, no matter how much he wants her.
Yet the darkness of his calling is spiraling within him, demanding he claim the human as his. If he goes back on his promise, the energy of the Fates will cause untold destruction in the Universe. That doesn’t change how Dyletri’s begun exhibiting symptoms that point to more than just lust. How does he allow Ismini to die when she’s come to own him from the inside out?
Desire and torment spiral into something much darker than obsession, more turbulent than an addiction, and something much more brutal than a mere soul-mating. As a war is being rekindled right under his nose, Dyletri will have to come to terms with a destiny eleven thousand years in the making. He thought he’d known what path his future would take, but he’d been wrong. Now the one woman he truly loves might pay the price for his decision.
Blood Flows Deep in the Empire is the first in a series that will pit free-will against Destiny, Destiny against Fate, and love against brutal desire. Everyone likes to think they have a choice as to who they end up with, but as they rise to face the greatest threat they’ve ever known, even the Gods will learn they have to bend to Destiny’s whim to survive."

Guest post by N. Isabelle Blanco

***Your favorite place to write and maybe a list of songs you listen to while writing***

My bed is tucked into a corner between one parallel and a perpendicular wall. I’ve stuffed that corner with pillows, to the point that it resembles a day-bed. That’s where I love to just lean back, laptop propped on my lap.

My playlist is gigantic, to put it mildly. But off the top of my head, these are some of my fave songs to listen to while writing:

-Puscifer “Rev 22:20”

-Rammstein “Du Hast”, “Eifersucht”, “Amerika”, “Laichzeit”, and many others.

-Wisin y Yandel “Tomando El Control”, “Sexy Movimiento”.

- Juno Reactor & Don Davis “Navras”

- Pink “There You Go”, “Blow Me One Last Kiss”, and many others.

-E Nomine “Lord’s Prayer”

-Don Omar “Virtual Diva”

-Alice Cooper “Poison”

-Styx “Renegade”

-Transiberian Orchestra “Beethoven’s 5th Symphony”

-The Cruxshadows “Deception”

-Orgy “Slept So Long”

-Disturbed

-“Attention Whore” Deadmau5 ft. Mellefresh

-“Torre de Babel” David Bisbal Ft. Wisin y Yandel

About author

  N. Isabelle Blanco, the woman who would come to be known as “Nyddi,” was born in Queens, New York. By age three, due to an odd fascination with studying her mother’s handwriting, she’d already begun to read and write. By the time she reached kindergarten, she was reading at a second-grade level, not to mention talking up a storm and showing off her extensive vocabulary. Her obsession with words and reading ended up bleeding into every aspect of her life. As she got older, romance novels took the reins of her obsession, leading her to devour every romance story she could find.

Thanks to the world of Japanese Anime, N. Isabelle was introduced to the wonderful universe of Fanfiction. She would come to write fanfics on and off again as a hobby for the next ten years, but it wasn’t until the Twilight phenomenon came along that she began dedicating hard hours to writing. For the next year and a half, she amassed a following that, by her own admission, she would never be able to live without. It is those fans that encouraged her to step beyond the fanfic realm and take her talent out into the publishing world.

N. Isabelle’s first ebook novel, Destructively Alluring, came out in July of 2012, followed by "Addictive Lunacy" in September, and "Allure Magnified" in November of 2012. The Writer’s Coffee shop Publishing House has recently signed her first print novel, the highly anticipated first book in the Szolite series. Blood Flows Deep in the Empire is scheduled to be released in March of 2013 and will be available in both print
and ebook formats.

 Giveaway

You can win e-copy of Blood Floows Deep in the Empire. You know what you have to do!;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Vanilla On Top (Walk on the Wild Side #1) by C.J. Ellisson

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

Author*s Web-Page:
C. J. Ellisson
C. J. Ellisson on GR
C. J. Ellisson on FACEBOOK

Genre:

Contemporary Romance/ Adult Fiction

Summary on Goodreads:

Discover your inner bad girl, and set her free…

Heather Pierce is done being a wallflower, both personally and professionally. Desperate to live a different life for one night, she attends a speed dating event. Maybe here, anonymous unless she chooses otherwise, she can become someone new. When a man way out of her league sits across from her, Heather gathers her courage and takes charge of what she wants, secretly fearing he won’t desire the real person she’s desperate to hide.

Top acquisitions officer and international playboy Tony Carmine is about to close the biggest deal of his career. But then he meets Heather at a speed dating event…and discovers losing control may be exactly what he needs. Her blossoming sensuality occupies his every thought, consuming him with the need to possess the most intriguing lover he’s ever encountered—until he walks into the boardroom and sees Heather on the other side of the negotiating table.
 
*** MY REVIEW***

“You know what I want more than anything?” he says 

with a touch of longing. “I want someone else to take control for a while. I’m really sick of being the guy in charge all the time.” I smile, not particularly sure I can relate, but willing to appear understanding. His phone rings again and sharp anger stabs my gut. “Turn it off,” I say, with a challenge in my tone. I sit up straighter and stare into the depths of his caramel eyes. “You want someone to tell you what to do?” He nods, his calculating gaze on me as the phone continues to ring. “Turn off that damn phone,” I bite out, pretending I’m issuing a command. “Now.”

So, what happens when the girl puts the "innocent"glasses aside, takes over control and lets loose her inner beast  in... the bedroom?3;)

My hands slide to my hips and I take the plunge, pouring every ounce of courage I possess into my next actions. I grab my skirt’s black material and work it slowly up my thighs. Tony’s eyes grow round as he follows my movements. “Get down on your knees”...

I slide my skirt down my hips, smoothing the creases out with the flat of my hand. “You did a good job.” Tony smiles and reaches for me, but I side step out of his grasp. “Next time might be your turn.”

No, this isn*t another hardcore S&M novel, the story is actually pretty sweet, but it is about sexual awakening of a young woman called Heather Pierce, in her mid-twenties, working as an assistant in an advertising company. I picked this book up, because I reached my limit when it comes to dark, emotional & heatwrenching books- my favorite type and this time what I really needed was a fun & easy read. So I saw this book on Amazon, got distracted by the cover as usual :), plus all these high ratings and then I read the blurb and thought to myself: this is it!!! Finally some book were the woman takes control and...the paddle and use it on a guy instead of the other way around! It was high time really, because since Fifty Shades Of Grey Trilogy everyone seems to be writing about these innocent, lip-biting & blushing virgins who fall in love with these hot, psychotic, over-possessive & fucked-up billionaires who take them for their first date to their playrooms & "deflower" them in every possible way. 

I don't know about you, but I really got bored with this "best-seller formula" and was starting to ask myself why couldn't a woman be the dominant one for a change, why does it always have to be the guy? I think that we're more than capable, don't you?:) So Heather is your normal type of girl, a bit shy and insecure with trust issues. She doesn*t have a boyfriend, had a couple not so great relationships and feels lonely, so she and her friend decide to go to...speed dating. Yes, you read well- S P E E D  D A T I N G!!! My first reaction was smth like this:

I mean, come on- speed dating? Do people really do that? People in their mid-twenties? It seems unbelievable to me that you could really meet someone on these events, but o.k., I don*t remember that I ever read a book were the couple actually meets on speed dating, so I decided to give it a shot.

I probably don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of attracting his attention. I wish I had something prettier on. This slim black skirt and snug spring sweater might emphasize my build nicely, but 

I’m betting it will take cleavage and a lot of leg to attract a man like him.

What am I really doing here? Sure, I might have a chance of meeting a guy for a midnight hook-up, but really…speed dating? Makes me wonder—what’s wrong with these guys if 

they can’t find a date on their own? 

And here comes the tall, sexy and gorgeous- Tony Carmine. The minute she sets her eyes on him, she knows that she has to have him, so she starts to plan how to win him over in 2 minutes all the participants on speed dating get to meet someone (again- 2 MINUTES!!! How is that even possible!!!) He seems way out of her league and she's sure that the shy, easily intimidated and in her opinion kind of monotone and boring Heather could never win a guy like him, so she decides that the best chance she has to win this guy is to act in a totally not-Heather kind of way.

Ten minutes. All you need is ten minutes. Can I talk my way through this? Well, why the hell not? If he follows me out here then I’ve definitely intrigued him enough to learn more about me. But how do I set myself apart from the countless women who’ve probably already thrown themselves at him?

 I want nothing more than to tell him to take me right here—to beg this gorgeous man to do me until I scream his name—but a part of my brain still holds on to the act. I bet he can have any woman he wants any time. I need to stand out from the others. For once, I want to be the desired one.

It is such a rush calling the shots. I like this new me, or at least, this pretend new me. What would a strong bitch who likes sex do?


I can be the racy woman who lights his soul on fire. I can be the sexy kitten who knows more than she lets on.

And it works :). I liked Heather, she was fun, especially when she was all in bossy mood. I think that in every girl, even in the most shiest and quietest ones, sleeps an "untamed beast" which only the right kind of guy can wake up. Tony was that kind of guy for Heather. I wouldn*t put him on my favorite book boyfriends of all time list, but he was sweet, understanding and he more than enjoyed this side of Heather- well, typical guy.

She was so sexy when she took control. The power wasn’t mine for a change and, I have to admit, I liked it. I liked it a lot.

She was stunning in her sexuality. Confident and completely in control of the situation…and me.

You like it when I’m bad, don’t you? That depends. Are we talking I’d need a paddle, or do you just mean sexy dirty fun?

I also liked that the story was a mix of both, Heather*s and Tony*s POVs, even though when reading his part I sometimes got that feeling: the author of this book is definitely a woman. Why? Well, for example, read this part of his pov:

Unable to quench my desire to kiss her, I lean closer and nuzzle her cheek. She turns her head to angle better and we lock lips, pouring our hearts into the connection. 

Pouring our hearts into the connection? Is it just me, but I really can*t imagine a guy thinking like that when kissing a woman xD. I can*t even imagine a girl thinking like that while kissing, lol. I don*t know, maybe the author was trying to be poetic/ romantic and most of the female readers will probably swoon over this part, but I guess that I*m not that kind of girl. Cheesy lines usually make me laugh or roll my eyes in the best case scenario. The rest of the story was kind of predictable and there was no bigger drama what I liked, but I wished we learned a bit more about the characters, well, more out of the bedroom. All in all, it was a fun, sit back & relax kind of story. It was an o.k. read IMO, but it didn't blow my mind like the rest of the readers. 

I’ve come a long way in the short time I’ve known Tony, from being a doormat to ordering a man to his knees. Before, I never would have been so bold, but now I know better—if something matters, you don’t let it go.

I swear, if someone had told me being a bossy bitch would score me love, I’d have done it ages ago.

My Rating:

3/5 STARS

 XOXO

(Way Too Hot Books Quote!) Rule by Jay Crownover

       This is our  Way Too Hot Books Quote! post - we are going to share steamy, sexy, way too hot quotes from our current or recent reads. Today under our spotlight is tattooed, pierced bad boy Rule who follows no rules what so ever. Enjoy!

*******************

"She tugged the denim down over my
ass and I pulled her up so that we were pressed together shoulder to thigh.  I
shrugged the pants the rest of the way off and gave her a little push so that
she fell back onto my rumpled bed.  It took some maneuvering and a few curse
words to get my boots off and when I went to crawl up over her my brain short
circuited because all she had on was barely there lacy panties and dreamy look
on her face.  A lot of girls had been in this bed, in fact last weekend had
been the first time in a long time I had spent the night alone, but even though
I was in a haze of testicle squeezing desire I knew that beyond a shadow of a
doubt that none of them looked like Shaw looked against the dark sheets and
comforter.  She slid an appreciative eye over my naked form, not like she
hadn’t see it before, but somehow now that it was sprawled out on top of her,
the look was more ‘do me’ and less ‘Rule you’re gross’."

**************************

Until next time,

xoxo

Bittersweet Revenge by Monroe Scott

Buy The E-Book:

Amazon

Author's:

Goodreads 

Summary:

 "Alison is a hard working young senior paralegal that ends up falling head over heels in love with attorney Richard Westman.

Their love story quickly takes a horrible turn, and the young paralegal is left heartbroken. Until she decides, she wants revenge.

Bittersweet Revenge is a New Adult Contemporary Romance and is suitable for ages 18 and up. Contains violence and sexual situations."

Rating: 3.5 stars

 Review:

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."

Woah, what a book! It starts with a very fitting quote by William Congreve for it.
Alison is a paralegal that had little social life in the last 2 years. A very nice, beautiful, young, healthy woman. I had a little problem with her right at the beginning. Even though she was described as an almost perfect woman, she didn't have sex for 2 years. That's just irrational even thought we see that she's a very uptight, overstrung woman.
Anyway, all this changes when she meets Rick Westman, falls in love and has the best month of her life. And everything would be awesome had there not been Xavier. But the bad stuff doesn't even start there. Allison's life is about to change and many unfortunate things will happen that will make her a different and dangerous woman.

Now first I have to praise the author's style. I don't think I EVER saw a better written novella then this. If I didn't know better, I would say it was a full length novel because with all the things that happened throughout the book you don't even notice it's so damn short. I finished it in one sitting - it was exciting and amazing and it just sucks you in! Imagine you, after a very stressful, tiring day and you need a good book to distract you from everything. This is a perfect book for you. Since start to finish, you can't bring yourself to close it because the suspense will kill you. The direction of the book changes page by page and you wonder what the hell will happen in the end. And the style of writing in general too! The author has my complete admiration. It was as hot as it was exciting too.

But some things bothered me and they were a little too far-fetched, like the perfect revenge plan. Yes, she is a very intelligent woman, but it doesn't make sense to go from a nice normal woman to a high-class deceiver and criminal. It looked like the stuff of the movies. I, as a reader, like things a little more realistic. But I didn't say that it wasn't interesting and even a little cool. That it was.

There are several more things that I didn't like but they would be big spoilers if I put them in the review. I'll just warn you that there is cheating  and I hated the heroine in this one scene. Anyone would, believe me.

And then the love triangle..

"She knew she loved Xavier’, but it was completely different from what she felt for Rick. Her love for Xavier’ was a sexy, passionate, and ever exciting type of love. While what she felt for Rick was warm and kind."

Now this was a crazy roller-coaster! Normally I don't like love triangles because I'd hate it if it doesn't end with a couple I wanted. But here, I just didn't know who to root for. First I hated Xavier, then I hated Rick and loved Xavier and then everything changed a few more times. You just don't get any rest with this book. I didn't like it while I was reading and often thought: 'WTF they are all bat shit crazy!' but now I find it very original and creative of the the author to successfully write like this. Because it all DID make up a very successful story.

I just wish the ending wasn't so incomplete and left unfinished. It totally lacked a good final dialogue between Alison and Rick where they talk in all out.

All in all, I don't know if it's just me that's not used to suspense books or it's the author and her particular style but this book was both crazy good and crazy ridiculous(in both good and bad way). So many things happened and I changed my opinion of the characters and the whole book SO MANY times in these hundred pages that it all became confusing. I'm glad I left it to settle a little for a day or two. It's still 3.5 stars, but a lot closer to 4 then 3. I seriously believe Monroe Scott will just keep getting better with her work. Will read her other books too.

A copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Until next time,