Category / BDSM

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Monster by Julia Sykes

Format: E-bookGolden Portrait
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Impossible #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Sean Reynolds
Heroine: Claudia Ellers
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: March 29, 2013
Started On: April 20, 2013
Finished On: April 22, 2013

Hero: Sean Reynolds; an enigma that if I describe would spoil the book for those who would love to get their hands on this one.

Heroine: Dr. Claudia Ellers, a pediatrician whose life goal has been to take care of kids, who puts up emotional walls so high to keep herself disconnected from the rest of the world as a way to keep herself from getting hurt.

Storyline: Claudia finds herself kidnapped at gunpoint and escorted to the premises where Sean Reynolds is in need of treatment from a gunshot wound. Secrecy surrounds the man known as Sean, a man who tempts Claudia beyond reason even under the most bizarre circumstances that life has dealt her with yet.

Time period: Book 1 in the Impossible series has a contemporary setting and is told in first person from Claudia’s point of view.

Likes: It was quite by chance that I came across this novel for free on Amazon for the day and the blurb convinced me to add it to my pile of reads. I am someone who always loves it when an author delivers something different, a hero that is not putty in the heroine’s hands from chapter one of the story. Perhaps its because my love for romances began with stories that tended to have heroes who can be assholes to quite a degree, but when they fall, it makes me more appreciative of the men they are. And Monster seemed like a good story to focus my attention on when authors hardly deliver those kinds of heroes anymore; not surprising when feminists can give reviews that can practically break a book in half and perhaps end the writing career of an author just as she begins to get started.

Hence to my amazement, I found Sean to be a hero having that perfect balance of charm and a wealth of secrets in his eyes and the kind of arrogance that lets you know that he has truly earned the right to be arrogant where women are concerned; if you know what I mean. And then there is that dark and edgy vibe to him that made me practically squirm in my seat right along with Claudia herself who is helplessly ensnared in the depth of hidden pain that lurks in the shadows of those beautiful green eyes of his.

Being just the debut novel of this series entitled “Impossible”, the book ends on a cliffhanger and provides those tidbits that makes it hard to not buy the second book in the series which I did so immediately after I finished Monster last night.

There is a certain degree of darkness in the book, a little bit of BDSM which lends this book the right mix of scorching heat which just made Sean more appealing in my eyes. And then there is Claudia. She is dedicated, loyal and has been hurt so badly in the past that she locks the warm, giving and sensual woman she is deep inside and seldom lets that part of herself come out. But when Sean comes into the picture, regardless of all the advice that she gives herself, she finds that she is unable to say no to the answering fire that blazes to life in Sean’s eyes as they are both caught in the web of desire that refuses to let go!

I loved every bit of their reluctant yet scorching hot attraction towards each other which just blazed across the pages and made the read that much more unforgettable.

Dislikes: It is always a facet that irks me when authors choose to write in first person and tell the story from just character’s point of view because I feel that I miss out on the other character’s feelings and reactions. But somehow Julia Sykes makes this series work, if the 1st book is anything to judge it by. I’m just going to hold my tongue for now and see where Julia leads me as the 3rd & final book in the series is to come out early next month!

Recommended for: If you love a romance with a sexy alpha hero with a bit of a dark edge, Monster is the place to start. If light BDSM doesn’t turn you off, I recommend that you try. I certainly couldn’t get enough!

Final Verdict: Intense & thought provoking, Monster is definitely an appetite whetter!

Favorite Quotes

For a moment, his mouth was still against mine. My only warning was a low, rumbling growl. His hand left my face to tangle itself in my long hair, fisting at the nape of my neck. He pulled sharply, and I drew in a shocked breath at the slight pain as my head dropped back in response. Only when my lips were offered up to him in the way that he wanted did he finally take my mouth.

I let out a small whimper at the overwhelming intensity of his dominant gaze, but it turned into a shocked, delighted cry as he abruptly drove into me in one long, swift thrust. My arms jerked against his grip as I writhed beneath him, trying to adjust to the sudden large intrusion that stretched me so ruthlessly after years of emptiness. But he held me fast, his steely grip and his hard cock pinning me in place. He stayed utterly still for a moment, his face contorted with the effort of holding himself back.

He stared down at me forbiddingly, the ferocity of his expression instantly stilling my efforts. “What did I just tell you?” He asked harshly. “Who controls this fuck, Claudia?”
I quelled under him, my body trembling as I felt myself submit to him completely, ceding to his will. “You do,” I whispered.
[…] “Your pussy is mine now, Claudia,” he said roughly, driving home his possessive words with another harsh thrust. “Isn’t it?” Another demanding thrust. “Tell me,” he growled.
“Yes,” I said breathlessly, almost delirious from the pleasure he was giving me. “I’m yours, Sean.”

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

Format: E-bookfiftyshadesdarker
Read with: Adobe Reader for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Fifty Shades, Book 2
Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop
Hero: Christian Grey
Heroine: Anastasia Rose Steele
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: September 15, 2011
Started On: January 14, 2012
Finished On: January 15, 2012

Fifty Shades Darker, book 2 in the Fifty Shades series begins right where book 1 ended. Fifty Shades of Grey ended on a bittersweet note, with Anastasia (Ana) walking out on Christian and their arrangement because she cannot accept the much darker needs that arises in Christian.

But the one thing that Ana doesn’t count on is just how much she misses Christian though their affair might have been a doomed one from the start. She doesn’t envisage that the calm, cool and always in control Christian might miss her on the same level, that her beautiful lover might be brought to his very knees because of her. And once again, Christian enters into her life, this time with an altogether different proposition, one that allows both Ana and Christian to find their way in the uncharted waters that is their relationship.

I absolutely loved the second installment of the Fifty Shades series. The first book found me a bit apprehensive about Christian’s character, but nevertheless I was drawn towards his tortured soul, one that is so tormented by his past that I was practically itching with my need to find more about him. And with the opening prologue itself, E.L. James delivered a glimpse into the darkness that had been Christian’s life as a child, a past that still continues to haunt him, a battle that he continues to fight in earnest to be someone worthy of Ana’s love.

Ana has her work cut out for her when it comes to Christian. With all her insecurities about not being enough for Christian, she has to take in stride the women from Christian’s past who makes their presence known and felt, some in more disturbing ways than others. But the one thing that rights true and constant throughout the story that unfolds is the love that grows exponentially between Ana and Christian, their need for one another a thing of beauty in my opinion.

Its sheer wonder to be part of the journey that Christian seems to be taking towards freedom; freedom from the shackles that seems to hold him back from embracing a life that is worthy of a man like him. He thinks so lowly of himself though Christian is the stuff heroes are made out of. Seen through Ana’s eyes, I cannot help but sigh and moon over him, the way he seduces and in turn gets seduced by the woman he loves something to savor through each and every well done encounter.

There were moments in the story when I thought that Christian and his lethal brand of seduction and the sexual tension that he creates merely by looking at Ana in a certain way would certainly be the death of me. But, oh dear God, how I loved each and every encounter that E.L. James creates and brings so vividly to life, nothing tacky or icky about any of the scenes; just pure sexual heat together with emotions of the more tender variety to make things that much more sigh worthy!

I am absolutely on tenterhooks now awaiting the arrival of the 19th of this month when the last and final book in the trilogy will be released, where my Fifty Shades would finally become free from the past that continues to haunt him. I am definitely rooting for a happily ever after that would rock me to my very soul when it comes to Ana and Christian.

Highly recommended for fans of the series and fans of tortured and tormented heroes.

Favorite Quotes

I gasp, and his mouth swoops down. He’s kissing me, violently. Briefly our teeth clash, then his tongue is in my mouth. 
Desire explodes like the Fourth of July throughout my body, and I’m kissing him back, matching his fervor, my hands knotting in his hair, pulling it, hard. He groans, a low sexy sound in the back of his throat that reverberates through me, and his hand moves down my body to the top of my thigh, his fingers digging into my flesh through the plum dress. 
I pour all the angst and heartbreak of the last few days into our kiss, binding him to me, and it hits me—in this moment of blinding passion—he’s doing the same, he feels the same.

“Cold?” Christian asks softly and bends to lick and suckle all the ice cream off me once more, his mouth hot compared to the cool of the ice. 
Oh my. It’s torture. As it starts to melt, the ice cream runs off me in rivulets on to the bed. His lips continue their slow torture, sucking hard, nuzzling, softly—Oh please!—I’m panting. 
“Want some?” And before I can confirm or deny his offer, his tongue is in my mouth, and it’s cold and skilled and tastes of Christian and vanilla. Delicious.

“This way,” he murmurs and abruptly is inside me once more, but he doesn’t start his usual punishing rhythm straight away. He leans over, releases my hands, and pulls me upright so I am practically sitting on him. His hands move up to my breasts, and he palms them both, tugging gently on my nipples. I groan, tossing my head back against his shoulder. He nuzzles my neck, biting down, as he flexes his hips, deliciously slowly, filling me again and again. 
“Do you know how much you mean to me?” he breathes against my ear. 
“No,” I gasp.
He smiles against my neck, and his fingers curl around my jaw and throat, holding me fast for a moment. “Yes, you do. I’m not going to let you go.” I groan as he picks up speed. “You are mine, Anastasia.” “Yes, yours,” I pant. “I take care of what’s mine,” he hisses and bites my ear.

“I want you, Anastasia,” he murmurs. “I love and I hate, and I love arguing with you. It’s very new. I need to know that we’re okay. It’s the only way I know how.” 
“My feelings for you haven’t changed,” I whisper. 
His proximity is overwhelming, exhilarating. The familiar pull is there, all my synapses goading me toward him, my inner goddess at her most libidinous. Staring at the patch of hair in the V of his shirt, I bite my lip, helpless, driven by desire—I want to taste him there. 
He’s so close, but he doesn’t touch me. His heat is warming my skin. 
“I’m not going to touch you until you say yes,” he says softly. “But right now, after a really shitty morning, I want to bury myself in you and just forget everything but us.”

“You love strapping me in, don’t you?” 
“In any form,” he says, a wicked grin playing on his lips. 
“You are a pervert.”
 “I know.” He raises his eyebrows and his grin broadens. 
“My pervert,” I whisper. 
“Yes, yours.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Writer’s Coffee Shop

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Format: E-bookfiftyshadesofgrey
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Fifty Shades, Book 1
Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop
Hero: Christian Grey
Heroine: Anastasia Rose Steele
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: May 26, 2011
Started On: January 11, 2012
Finished On: January 13, 2012

Whenever there is too much buzz about a book, it is always worth checking out. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James is a book that landed in my pile of books to read because of that reason alone, time and yet to be bumped up again until I decided to take the plunge and see what the hype was all about.

27 year old Christian Grey is the CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc. and a very private person at that. 21 year old Anastasia Rose Steele (Ana) is about to sit for her last college exams and as a favor to her best friend Katherine Kavanagh (Kate), Ana agrees to go to the interview Kate has lined up with Christian for the student paper in her stead. 

Ana is almost a total innocent when it comes to men, someone who would rather stand in the shadows than stand out. So it is a reluctant Ana at best that presents herself to the impressive, attractive and commanding force that is Christian Grey. Ana doesn’t know what hits her when she meets the swirling depths of grey that is Christian’s eyes, and in her perspective, the interview goes totally downhill from the moment she stumbles into Christian’s office.

When Christian turns up at the hardware store where Ana works part-time, Ana cannot believe in the fact that Christian is interested in her plain and shy self. And when Ana gets a glimpse into the darkness that swirls in the depths of Christian’s soul and the sort of relationship that he wants to indulge in with her, the naive and innocent woman deep inside of her wants to run screaming to the other end of the world. But her inner goddess that awakens at Christian’s merest touch and the fire that burns in his eyes whenever their eyes happen to meet has Ana agreeing to be part of one of the strangest forms of courting I have come across in a novel so far.

Rather than taking place through a period of time, E.L. James takes the reader across the first couple of crucial weeks that makes up the beginning of the relationship that is between the misfits that are Christian and Ana. Combining elements of BDSM with the already scorching hot sex that is part of the relationship that Christian and Ana embarks upon, E.L. James tells a mesmerizing tale that is hard to put down, that compels you to keep on reading, a story that makes you want to be a part of the journey that Christian and Ana takes towards their happily ever after.

First of all, everyone who knows me and my reading tastes know that I am not much of a fan of either BDSM or books written in the first person. But in spite of all that, the fact that this story worked for me amazingly well is the reason why I am elbow deep in the 2nd book of the series even as I write my review. There is just something about the characters, the setting, the off-the-charts kinky and scorching hot sex together with the deeper and darker emotions that makes up the story that I just cannot turn myself away from.

Christian’s character is a mesmerizing one. I loved and wanted to slap him upside down in equal amounts and that was reason enough for me to continue reading. The fact that I had to gauge his reactions towards Ana, his developing feelings towards the woman who confuses, astounds and arouses him in a way he has never been before, through Ana’s point of view alone was frustrating and exhilarating at the same time. Christian is literally a closed book when it comes to his past, his emotions and his vulnerability when it comes to Ana. But the one thing he cannot deny is his need for Ana that grows exponentially through each of their encounters to the point he is practically obsessed with her.

Christian’s approach to what he wants from Ana was one I had a hard time taking in. Maybe because BDSM is a concept that is hard for me to take in because for me a satisfying relationship between two partners is one where they are equal in the giving, receiving and sharings. But when it comes to one partner being dominant over the other to the point that the submissive can only even look at the dominant with his/her permission; needless to say my skin practically itches from the need to just shake it all away. But somehow, the elements of BDSM in the relationship between Ana and Christian didn’t reach that scale because by nature, Ana is not the submissive that Christian thinks her to be. She challenges him in the bedroom and out of it, and though she might be willing to go beyond the boundaries that is uncomfortable for her, her inner self doesn’t allow herself to just practically mould herself into what Christian wants and needs from her with no questions asked.

Ana is a woman who has landed herself with a man who has issues with a capital I. The fact that Christian never allows her to touch him as she wants to and because he has such a vast amount of experience when it comes to carnal desires and because he is richer than one man alone should ever be makes her think that she is not worthy of a man like Christian whose mesmerizing good looks alone means he could have any woman he wants. But the fact that Christian drives home through the entire story is that from all the women in the world, Ana is the woman he wants by his side because when it comes to being vulnerable in the relationship that develops between them, Ana is not the only one.

I am so glad that the final book in this trilogy would be out on the 19th of this month because I don’t think I would have the patience to wait around much after finishing up the 2nd book. 

For those who think that this book might not work for you because of the BDSM elements in the story, I suggest you give this a try because a lot of people like myself have read and enjoyed this book a whole lot more than they would have ever thought. Because the way E.L. James brings Christian to life through Ana’s eyes is one that continues to bewitch me, I am going to say adios for now and continue with my reading.

Highly recommended for fans of contemporary romances, especially for those who would like to try something different, just to step outside your comfort zone in the world of romance you so much love and indulge in.

Favorite Quotes

His head turns fractionally toward me, his eyes darkest slate. I bite my lip.
“Oh, fuck the paperwork,” he growls. He lunges at me, pushing me against the wall of the elevator. Before I know it, he’s got both of my hands in one of his in a vice-like grip above my head, and he’s pinning me to the wall using his hips. Holy shit. His other hand grabs my ponytail and yanks down, bringing my face up, and his lips are on mine. It’s only just not painful. I moan into his mouth, giving his tongue an opening. He takes full advantage, his tongue expertly exploring my mouth. I have never been kissed like this.

[Ana] “You’re a sadist?”
“I’m a Dominant.” His eyes are a scorching gray, intense.
“What does that mean?” I whisper.
“It means I want you to willingly surrender yourself to me, in all things.”
I frown at him as I try to assimilate this idea.
“Why would I do that?”
“To please me,” he whispers as he cocks his head to one side, and I see a ghost of a smile.
Please him! He wants me to please him! I think my mouth drops open. Please Christian Grey. And I realize, in that moment, that yes, that’s exactly what I want to do. I want him to be damned delighted with me. It’s a revelation.

“Why don’t you like to be touched” Ana whispered, staring up into soft grey eyes. 
“Because I’m fifty shades of fucked-up, Anastasia” 

He grabs me suddenly and yanks me up against him, one hand at my back holding me to him and the other fisting in my hair. 
“You’re one challenging woman,” He kisses me, forcing my lips apart with his tongue, taking no prisoners. 
“It’s taking all my self-control not to fuck you on the hood of this car, just to show you that you’re mine, and if I want to buy you a fucking car, I’ll buy you a fucking car,” he growls.

This is a man in need. His fear is naked and obvious, but he’s lost. . . Somewhere in his darkness. 
His eyes wide and bleak and tortured. I can soothe him. Join him briefly in the darkness and bring him into the light. 

He’s naked except for those soft ripped jeans, top button casually undone. Jeez, he looks so freaking hot. My subconscious is frantically fanning herself, and my inner goddess is swaying and writhing to some primal carnal rhythm. 

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Writer’s Coffee Shop

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