Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Dual Series: Kindled,#4 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Zed Heroine: Esther Hamilton Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: December 29, 2022 Started On: January 07, 2024 Finished On: January 10, 2024
First published in December of 2022, Hero, the fourth installment of the Kindled series by Claire Kent was a delightful read for me in many ways. Ms. Kent has a remarkable ability to bring together characters that have nothing going for them initially, who would probably not have gotten together if life had not thrown a major apocalyptic disaster upon them, and making it all work splendidly.
Esther Hamilton is 18 years old when the catastrophic event of the asteroid impact occurs, altering life as people knew it on Earth. Esther was a freshman in college at the time, whose ambitious aspiration was to become an astronaut. When the apocalypse forces her into survival mode to take refuge with family in a remote cabin, that is when she meets 24 year old Zed, her step-uncle at the time.
Years later, things have changed to the point where Zed is now single father to Rina, his five year old daughter. Esther, who originally viewed Zed as someone with no ambition and aimless in life, finds herself part of a family unit that comprises of the three of them, working hard to survive the hard realities of life.
Esther suffers from deep rooted anxiety that gnaws at her, at how little control she has over the elements and their shared life. In the midst of it, learning to recognize and appreciate the changes that transforms Zed into someone she could not care for initially into someone she is fiercely attracted to, is jarring enough as it is. While initially this connection is reluctant and driven by circumstance, over time, it grows into one that is more complex and multi-layered.
I truly loved Zed and admired his growth as a character. He was an unserious man (as most men tend to be at a certain age), but as the story evolved and along came responsibilities in the form of his daughter and of course Esther, he reveals the layers to his character, transforming into a dependable and caring figure. In my opinion, Zed was love!
At the same time, Esther was a character that truly resonated with me; her independence, resilience, and determination to survive despite the hardships and all odds made me fall for her and root for her. Esther is a complex heroine (as Ms. Kent’s heroines in this series tend to be), and her inner conflicts and shock at the realization that she fancies none other than Zed and the possibility that he fancies her back is one more problem for her to agonize over.
It is even initially the way Zed’s care for Esther’s well-being goes beyond obligation, offering her comfort during moments of intense anxiety that comes with the high uncertainties in her life that makes this story give you the fuzzy feels. Their first impulsive sexual encounter breaks another barrier between them, which helps Esther to see Zed in a whole new light as Zed becomes more attuned to her needs and emotions. It is also Zed that calls Esther out for hiding her emotions, giving the reader insight into how well he actually knows Esther inside and out.
Recommended for readers who love survivalist themed romances. This series is a must-read!
Final Verdict: Disaster has a way of bringing out the hero in you; Zed’s transformation into a man who Esther could wholeheartedly desire, love, and depend on makes for great reading.
Favorite Quotes
Literally nothing else has a chance to exist in my mind. It’s entirely filled with vivid, intense images of me and Zed fucking. My body reacts to it. My heart rate picks up again but for a different reason now. All the energy from my earlier panic has transformed into something entirely different. It’s too much. I can’t control it. It’s like a foreign entity has taken possession of my body. And it’s that power—not me, it can’t be me—that’s reaching up to grab the sides of Zed’s head and pulling him down into a hard kiss.
I can’t believe we’re doing this. Having sex in the middle of the night. With each other. “What are we doing?” I toss my head back and forth on the mattress, trying to make myself think clear thoughts. “This isn’t right.” “Stop worrying about everything,” he mutters through a clenched jaw. It looks like he’s exerting great effort, and it’s the hottest thing. “Stop thinking for one fucking minute.” A wave of sensation slams into me then, and I follow his advice and push all my worries and mental stewing aside. Right now I need this.
Maybe it’s the helpless sound I make, but Zed is suddenly on fire. He makes a growling sound and palms my ass with one hand, lifting me up against the door in a quick, carnal move. I wrap my legs around him, partly because I need it for stability and partly because I want to feel the thick form of him between my thighs. His tongue is deep in my mouth, and he starts making a humping motion against me. It’s ridiculously hot. I squirm and gasp and try to squeeze him between my legs. “Damn,” he rasps at last. “You’re driving me out of my mind.”
“Esther.” I make a sobbing sound and lean forward so I can bite the curve of his shoulder, using it to smother the helpless sounds I’m making. He’s taking me hard and fast now, and my vision is blurring over. I squeeze him with my legs and dig my nails into his back and bite down hard on his shoulder as the pressure finally releases in intense waves of sensation. I come hard and messy all over him, around him, and he fucks me through it until he’s finally falling out of rhythm. “Sweet Jesus.” He swallows over the words as he pulls his cock out of me in a quick move and lets me down so my feet hit the floor. His face twists as he comes in several spurts against my chest and belly.
He reaches out to take me by the waist and pull me so I’m standing between his legs. He’s gazing up at me, his blue eyes hot. Strangely hungry. “Too lazy to even get up off your ass to do it right,” I say dryly. He chokes on a laugh. “Oh, I’m gonna do you right. You can count on it.” Before I can come up with an appropriate rejoinder, he’s swung me down onto the bed. I’m on my back, my upper body and butt on the mattress, but my legs hanging clumsily over the side. He moves over me. Kisses me deep and hard.
I feel completely out of control, and it’s a new, heady feeling for me. I clutch handfuls of the bedding beneath me, and bite my bottom lip over the helpless moans I’m making. “That’s right,” Zed mutters, his eyes raking up and down my body from my face to the place where his cock is moving in and out of me. “You’re doing so good. You’re taking it so good. Just let go. You can let go.”
He goes at it harder this time, holding on to fistfuls of my ass flesh so he can get good leverage to push. It’s aching but in a way I like. I need. I hear the shameless sounds I’m making and can’t believe they’re coming from me. I sound like an animal. So does he. We grunt and push and slap our flesh together until I’m coming again with a scream I barely manage to hide in the pillow.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Single Series: Standalone Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Josh Bennett Heroine: Leslie Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: July 20, 2014 Started On: January 05, 2024 Finished On: January 07, 2024
I went on a Claire Kent reading binge phase towards late 2023 which sort of fizzled out early 2024. It was wonderful while it lasted, and I believe I will still pick up some of her older science fiction novels at some point when I once again hit a reading slump or get in the mood for a pick-me-up romance which I know Ms. Kent will definitely deliver.
No Regrets is an apt title for the story that unfolds between 38 year old paralegal Leslie who grapples with her grief over losing Polly, her dog of eight years, and Josh Bennett, 34 year old veterinarian, who is new to Leslie’s town. Leslie made a vow to herself on her last birthday that she would live with no regrets, and nothing has changed in the past eleven months until tragedy comes calling.
Leslie and Josh’s first encounter takes place under emotionally charged circumstances, when Leslie is struggling to get her aging and very ill dog out of her car into the clinic. Josh who has recently joined as a partner to the clinic assists her, ends up making an impression on Leslie through his kindness and sensitivity in dealing with everything.
When Josh seeks her out to spend some time with Leslie knowing that she is going through an emotionally taxing time, one thing leads to another and before they know it, their mutual attraction ends in a no-strings-attached, one-night stand. From the start, Josh makes it clear that he is not looking for any long-term commitment, and Leslie, though she is not looking for meaningless hookups, says yes believing that it would be just a one time thing.
After the initial hookup which neither believed would amount to much, Leslie and Josh reconnect by chance at a bar and gradually establish a pseudo-relationship that is purely no strings attached. While Josh continues to stress that is not looking for a happily ever after, Leslie though hesitant at first, considers the proposition as part of resolution to live without regrets.
While Josh and Leslie continue on this path and enjoy each other’s company, the emotional intimacy between them develops and strengthens, where Josh starts showing glimpses of vulnerability and Leslie starting to want more than just casual intimacy. It takes a lot for Josh to finally reconcile with his past and work for something long lasting with Leslie, upon his realization that short-term and casual does not fit the path that he and Leslie have walked on.
I liked both Leslie and Josh. Leslie for her strength and vulnerability, her determination to live without regrets (which did not amount to much at first – something we can all relate to), her humor and self-awareness, and her ability to see through Josh. When it comes to Josh, it is his empathy and kindness, his complexity, his quiet strength, and towards the end, his transformation from an emotionally closed off man to someone who is more open to pursuing love and where it takes him that made him endearing.
In signature Kent style, Leslie and Josh share undeniable chemistry rendering their moments from lighthearted banter to intense intimacy, both electric and captivating. The push and pull dynamic between the two due to the differences in terms of their expectations creates the needed angst for the story and I loved all of it.
Recommended for fans of contemporary romance who love a reluctant hero and his journey towards emotional fulfillment.
Final Verdict: No Regrets by Claire Kent is a beautifully crafted romance that explores grief, healing, and the transformative power of love, with characters whose emotional depth and sizzling chemistry captivate from start to finish.
Favorite Quotes
He gently slid the neckline of my top to the side to expose my shoulder. He smiled. “I see more freckles.” Then he leaned down and gently nipped me, right on the hollow of my throat. I gasped at the shocking jolt of pleasure. I’d never experienced anything like it—so completely out of the blue. Then he was kissing me, and there was no way I could resist kissing him back. The bar was dim and not very crowded, but the other customers hardly crossed my mind as the kiss deepened. It had been a long time since I’d been kissed, and he was somehow stronger and more passionate and more skillful and just more than the other men I’d been with. It felt like he was everywhere. Filling all of me.
He bit down on the sensitive flesh of my throat, and I felt the sharpest jolt of pleasure I’d ever experienced in my life. I cried out wordlessly in response, my pelvis jutting out in sudden need for stimulation. My arousal had intensified so quickly—and with so little conscious thought—that I was losing my sense of balance and coordination. I wasn’t sure I could stay on my feet, had Josh not trapped me between the sink counter and his body. My eyes blurred over until the small, dingy bathroom faded into nonexistence. All I was aware of was Josh, in all his intensity, physicality, and hot, hot power.
His cock drove its way into my pussy, his upper body pressing against my chest as he sunk all the way inside. I bit down on his shoulder—my teeth against his t-shirt—as I felt his solid substance stretch and fill me. He didn’t give me a chance to get used to the tight penetration. With a guttural sound and a jerk of his neck, he started to thrust. Fast, short, and sloppy.
Two hours later, I was in his small, barely furnished apartment. We’d gotten takeout to eat from a place halfway down the block. After we’d eaten, I’d taken a shower first, and now he was taking a shower. He was very easy to hang out with. No demands. No deep feelings. No awkwardness. Just interesting conversation and sex.
“Fuck,” Josh said, lifting his face to capture my mouth again. His voice was thick and hoarse, the sexiest thing I’d ever heard—but somehow aching like I did. His hips jerked against my pelvis, and his body grew tighter and tighter as the frantic motion of our bodies intensified. My head fell back as pleasure welled up inside me, Tears streamed down my face when my spine arched involuntarily. “Oh, God.” Josh kissed me one more time with clumsy, unfocused passion. Tremors had started to run through his body as he tried to rein in his release. Then I came, clutching him, riding out the waves of pleasure as his control broke and he fell into climax too.
He leaned in closer so his mouth was next to my ear. His murmur had gotten thicker, sexier. “You turn me on just standing there. I want to fuck you again. I want to make you come harder than you’ve ever come before. But that’s all it would be. If you want hot sex with no-strings, then I’m your man. But if you want something serious, then you should just walk away.”
“You’re sure? About the no-strings thing?” “Yeah. I’m sure. As long as you were serious about making me come harder than I’ve ever come before.” I couldn’t believe I’d actually said that out loud. Someone else must have said that. He smiled. Hotly. Smugly. “I was serious.” “You were talking pretty dirty in there,” I said, feeling less uncertain as an uncharacteristic wildness seemed to possess me. “Do you always talk that way?” He lifted a hand to stroke this thumb over my cheekbone, the way he’d done a few weeks ago when he was talking about my freckles. Then he leaned down, like he would kiss me. But he said in my ear instead, “I can talk as dirty as you want.”
He made a guttural sound in his throat as he finally got up from his chair. He moved over me, his hands sliding over my body, drawing my arms out from where they were crossed. Then he adjusted me until he was seated on the couch and I was straddling his lap. He stared up at me for a moment—desire and need and heat shuddering in the air between us—and then he kissed me hard, deep.
“Very good. You feel so good. Your pussy is hot and tight and so wet.” He sucked in a shuddering breath as my channel squeezed around him instinctively. “Yes,” he hissed. “Just like that. You like it when I fuck you like this, don’t you?” The coarse language from him sent jolts of desire to my center. He was hitting my g-spot on each thrust, and the shudders of pleasure made me want to scream. I whimpered and bit down on my lower lip, my whole body slammed with carnal heat.
“Oh Josh!” The words were choked on a harsh inhale. The smolder in his eyes turned into a blaze—like nothing I’d seen from him before. He made another guttural sound and shifted his grip on my wrists to one hand, stretching my arms straight above my head. “Don’t move them from right here,” he said. I kept my arms in place as he unfastened his pants and rolled on a condom. When he’d done so, he lined his cock up and thrust into me with one hard stroke.
His weight was resting on me now more fully, pushing me into the mattress, but I loved the feel of his hot, sweaty heaviness. His thrusts became shorter and faster, and I rocked my pelvis up against his motion—my clit getting good friction from his pubic bone. “God, it’s so good,” I gasped, as I felt another orgasm building up at my center. “Fuck, yeah.” Josh was panting hotly against the skin of my neck, holding enough of his weight on his elbows to keep me from smothering beneath him. “So good.”
He made a choked sound and slid himself very slowly—torturously slow—inside me. I was gasping and flushed all over as I tried to soften my body against his, wrap myself around him. “Oh, fuck, Leslie.” His head had lowered slightly, and he was breathing erratically. “Sometimes I think…” “You think what?” I grabbed his shirt with both hands and hung on. “Oh, fuck. It’s just too good.” I didn’t know if that was what he’d originally intended to say, but it sounded pretty good to me, and I wasn’t in a fit condition to sort out anything else.
“Leslie.” My name was no more than an inhale as he moved against me in a jerky push of his hips. Then he was kissing me, and it was deep and hungry and needy. And it was exactly what I wanted. Exactly what I felt too. The kiss went on a long time, until he’d turned me over onto my back, and we were rocking in a sensual rhythm together.
“Josh,” I kept saying, arching up every time his touch triggered a ripple of pleasure. “Fuck, Leslie,” he mumbled against my skin. “You feel so good. I need you so much. Like this. Just like this.” And I arched up at that too—because his words triggered more pleasure than his touch.
“It’s like watching the sun come out from behind the clouds,” he murmured. “What is?” “You. When you let yourself out, when all the passion inside you bursts out from your quiet composure. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It’s like when your hair suddenly flames out in red when the light hits it. That’s you. All of you. Flaming out. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Loveswept Hero: Matt Stokes Heroine: Elizabeth Marks Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Published On: November 24, 2015 Started On: December 23, 2023 Finished On: January 02, 2024
Taking It Off by Claire Kent brings to readers the story of 26 year old Elizabeth Marks, art therapist working at an exclusive preschool in Boston, and Matt Stokes, owner of a male strip club called Bare Assets, a man with a tough past. Elizabeth comes from a wealthy and influential family, a father who is involved in politics, and as a result, Elizabeth struggles with meeting the expectations of her parents and balancing the desire for a structured, picture-perfect life. Matt who inherits the strip club from his father, is a man who went through a difficult upbringing, which includes dealing with mother’s addiction.
Elizabeth and Matt crosses paths when she reluctantly attends her college roommate’s bachelorette party held at Bare Assets. Given Elizabeth’s nature, she is uncomfortable with the club’s atmosphere and the performers, but notices Matt who stands apart from the others, in his role of overseeing the events as it happens at the bar. When Matt, after a brief conversation with Elizabeth challenges her to return to the club twice a week for a month to see if her feelings for the club changes, this serves to be the foundation of the relationship that burgeons to life between them.
While Elizabeth and Matt could not be more different from each other in terms of upbringing and status in life, Elizabeth is nevertheless drawn to the raw masculinity that is Matt. While Matt has long since given up performing at the club, he nevertheless puts up a show when it comes to Elizabeth.Both believe that their “just-for-sex” affair would be amount to nothing, and when it starts to transform into something more and tangible, each reacts differently to the change.
With the increasing emotional intensity of their encounters, both are forced to face the fact that even though they are as different as two people can be, there is no denying that they somehow fit and mesh well with each other. Elizabeth who starts out as a perfectionist, bound by familial and societal expectations, who grows into someone willing to explore her desires and challenge her boundaries made me admire her in spades. Her struggle to balance personal aspirations with external pressures makes her relatable and her vulnerability and moments of self-doubt adds depth to her character.
I also loved the fact that she is able to hold her own in difficult situations, especially when standing up to Matt during conflicts, and her inner determination to prioritize what is meaningful for her. Matt, despite his tough exterior and rough background, reveals the side of him that is caring, especially when it comes to dealing with his mother’s addiction, adding a layer to his otherwise strong, and at times cold and aloof nature that acts as an emotional front. Matt’s playful, confident nature which challenges Elizabeth makes him compelling and sexy, all in one.
While Matt is the one with the tough exterior, that in fact makes him more vulnerable and susceptible to the package that Elizabeth presents, totally different from the women he typically engages with. Her kindness, intelligence, and vulnerability lures him in, and it is not long before he starts to see her as more than temporary fling. Matt therefore, has his work cut out for him when it comes to convincing Elizabeth to let go of her vision of a picture perfect life and give them a chance over her preconceived notions of what she wants in a partner.
The chemistry between Matt and Elizabeth is fiery and I loved how they are able to push each other out of their comfort zones in bed and out of it. The combination of Matt’s rawness and Elizabeth’s refinement creates a dynamic that is intriguing and emotionally charged, giving the story the angst factor it deserved.
This story, while not as polished as the Ms. Kent’s more recent works, is still engaging. The narrative however, does miss out on fully exploring how Elizabeth’s parents perceive the relationship and what ultimately becomes of Matt’s situation with his mother, which could have added further depth to the story.
Highly recommended for fans of contemporary romances that bring together refined, classy heroines and rugged, rough-around-the-edges heroes who unexpectedly become the best thing that ever happened to them.
Final Verdict: Taking It Off by Claire Kent delivers a steamy and emotionally charged romance that bridges the divide between two vastly different worlds.
Favorite Quotes
“Ride me until you come,” he said, guiding the motion of her hips as her bouncing became even more vigorous, so he wouldn’t accidentally slip out of her. It didn’t take long until her pants turned to breathy grunts and then to cries of pleasure as her pussy started to clench hard around his cock. The orgasm lasted a long time, and she hadn’t fully come down when he started to fuck her from below, pumping up with a hungry rhythm that felt exactly right to her.
Pleasure filled his head and chest as he worked her up to climax, pressing against her clit when her soft grunts became ragged and helpless. She came hard around his fingers, and he watched as the pleasure washed over her face. It was better than any high he’d ever experienced, the way she looked like she was feeling something entirely new to her, like he was making her feel a way no one else ever had.
She was very wet—wetter than she could ever remember being so quickly, wetter than she’d even been the week before with Matt. She wondered what it said about her that she was at her horniest when she had sex with a stripper, but as soon as his finger was inside her, those questions ceased to matter. Involuntarily Elizabeth arched her back, her mouth falling open soundlessly as he fucked her with his fingers. He wasn’t showing any particularly skill. The movement of his fingers was rushed and almost clumsy, but his touch was entirely effective.
“You’re about to come, aren’t you?” he rasped, his eyes raking over her hot face and jiggling breasts. “Yeah. Oh yeah.” “It’s going to be good, isn’t it?” “Yeah!” The one word was too loud so she turned her head and raised a hand to stuff her fist into her mouth. “Fuck, baby, don’t try to fight it.”
“What you’re wearing tonight definitely isn’t. Did you wear those boots for me?” Matt asked, pressing her back against him more fully so she could feel the line of his long, firm, very warm body. “No. I wore them for me.” “Too bad.” He tilted his head so he could murmur very softly in her ear. “Later tonight I’m going to have you on the desk with your legs in the air, boots and all. You know that, right?” Her pussy clenched hard, and she lost her breath. “You like the sound of that, don’t you? You like the idea of being so naughty.” She swallowed, shifting restlessly in response to the ache between her legs. She could hardly speak, she was so deeply aroused so quickly, just by his words. “Tell me the truth,” he instructed, his big hand on her hip. “You like how that sounds, don’t you?” “Yeah,” she admitted. “I like it.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You’d like for me to turn you over this bar and fuck you hard and rough so everyone could see how sexy you really are.” “Don’t be…be ridiculous.” Her hand was trembling so much she had to put down her glass. The throbbing between her legs just got more and more intense. “I could make you come right here, right now.” She closed her eyes and moved a hand to grip the arm he had wrapped around her. She felt the need to hold on. “Do you want me to?” he asked, still murmuring in her ear.
He wanted to howl. But instead he focused on giving Elizabeth what she needed—fucking her hard and fast. She stuffed her fist in her mouth to muffle her shout as she came, sobbing over her hand as her pussy clamped down unbearably hard around his cock. Matt grunted and jerked his head to the side, fighting desperately for control.
He wanted her to come. He hoped he could last long enough. With a rough exclamation, he drove into her faster, gripping the soft flesh of her ass so hard it would probably bruise later on. “Yes,” she gasped. “Yes.” She was so wet he could hear sounds of suction as his cock pushed inside her. He was fucking her really hard and kind of rough now, but she definitely wanted it. Her fingernails dug into his skin, as if she was trying to get him even deeper, even closer. “Fuck, Elizabeth,” he gritted out, his building climax coalescing into an impending explosion. He gave her all he had and finally felt her pussy tighten around him again, her body convulsing as she sobbed out her release.
Elizabeth moaned, low and guttural, as he started to apply pressure against the damp spot on her panties. Still reclining on top of him, she reached up and behind her with one arm, settling her hand at the back of his neck. As her body became more and more responsive, she fisted her hand in his hair. “And what’s the truth?” “That this is what you want.” His voice was huskier than usual because of the pulsing pressure from his cock. “That as much as you try to fight it, you’re always going to come back to me.”
He let out his breath in a harsh whoosh and bucked his pelvis so that his cock made a hard thrust inside her. “Let me see you come,” he rasped, feeling his own climax finally overwhelming him. He thrust upward again, pulling her down to meet the force of it. “Come for me.” Elizabeth cried out, her body starting to spasm and her face twisting with what looked like agonizing pain. The sudden brutal clench of her inner muscles around his cock was all that Matt could take. He felt the pleasure draw up in his balls and force its way out in pulsing waves that leveled him for the moment. He made a rough sound as he came hard and violently, the sensations ripping through his whole body.
She wasn’t even aware of their location, making out against her car in the middle of the parking lot of a strip club. Nothing mattered but how she was feeling—how they both were feeling—right now. “Matt, please,” she panted, finally tearing her mouth away when she thought she might actually pass out. “I want you now. I need you now.” He made a low groan in the back of his throat, and he pushed up her skirt and lifted one of her thighs so her leg was wrapped around his. He ground himself against her pussy through their clothes, and she let out a frantic whimper from the intense pleasure of it.
He made another guttural sound, like he was on the verge of losing it just as much as she was. He gathered her up to get her into a better position, bracing her against the car, and then he eased his hips forward, moving aside her panties and guiding his cock inside her with one hand. She let out a breathy cry as the hard substance of him entered her. She wrapped her legs around him as tightly as she could, trapped and helpless in her position. She wasn’t entirely comfortable, but she couldn’t have cared less about that. Nothing had ever felt so deep, so intense, so real, so thrilling in her life.
“You’re not the girl everyone thinks you are.” His voice was rough and low and staccato with his rhythm. “You’re not the girl you always thought you were. This is you. Stop holding back.” She heard his words with a blaze of feeling, and then a blaze of pleasure followed in close pursuit as her orgasm finally uncoiled. She made a helpless sobbing sound as her pussy contracted around Matt’s cock, and he let out a stifled bellow as the pleasure broke on his face as well. He made a few jerks against her as he climaxed, primal in his animalistic motion.
“Elizabeth,” he murmured, his breath blowing against her hot skin. “Elizabeth.” “Take me to bed, Matt.” He groaned and his hips gave a little jerk. She realized for the first time that he’d gotten hard improbably soon, a tight bulge in the front of his trousers as it pressed up against her weight. This evidence of how much he wanted her, needed her, made something inside her want to howl in satisfied possession. She wanted this man, with all of his hot tension and fierce sexuality and deep need. She wanted him. And he was hers.
“So sweet,” he rasped in choppy, guttural succession. “So good. Elizabeth. Baby.” She made a sobbing sound as she arched beneath him—the words pushing her to the edge of climax. “Matt,” she cried out as the tension tightened with unbearable pleasure. “Oh God, Matt!” Her body shuddered and shook as the waves of her orgasm ripped through her. Her channel clamped down around him, trapping him inside her as she pulsed. He choked on an agonized groan as his body clenched and froze in palpable tension. “You can have hope in this, Matt,” she gasped, trembling and on the verge of tears. He let go. Of everything. And the shattering pleasure and release on his face were impossible not to understand.
Matt made a hoarse sound and jerked his hips. He fell out of rhythm, but at this point it didn’t matter. Elizabeth was already falling into her climax. Matt came just before she did, burying his face in her hair and choking on the sound of her name. As his cock was pulsing inside her, Elizabeth came as well, not trying to stifle the loud sound of her release.
“Elizabeth,” Matt ground out through clenched teeth. The one word almost sounded like a plea. He was clearly on the edge himself, holding himself off of her, his handsome face twisted with passion, effort, and strain. She came on his next thrust, her body freezing as the pleasure slammed into her with his cock. Then she shook and whimpered beneath him while her pussy spasmed hard around him. “Elizabeth!” Matt repeated, this time choking on a roar as he froze for an endless moment. Then the tension in his body exploded, and he jerked erratically above her and gasped her name again.
She panted out helpless sounds, her face twisting with how much she was feeling. Her pelvis pumped upward wildly, causing his cock—which he had been holding still—to slide inside her with a tight, delicious motion. Matt’s mouth fell open slightly, and his eyelids dropped down. He gazed at Elizabeth with half-closed, blurring eyes. “Yeah,” he murmured thickly. “Yeah, baby, come. Come.” She let out a little sob as her body tightened unbearably. Then her muscles clamped down ruthlessly around his cock, causing Matt to grunt as he felt her climax all around the hard length of his flesh.
Elizabeth cried out, her voice growing progressively louder as she jerked and shook above him. “Oh God, Matt!” Matt felt all the collected pleasure and pressure in his body clench down just before the release. He bucked upward one more time. Heard Elizabeth cry out as she came. Felt her begin to convulse above him. He roared out—completely uncontrolled for the moment—in relief, in victory, in love. Felt his climax explode and burst out, the spasms of it washing over his body and pulsing through his cock.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Playing for Love, #4 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Patrick Fitzgerald Heroine: Cheryl Karalis-Walker Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: December 05, 2023 Started On: December 16, 2023 Finished On: December 23, 2023
Back into It by Eve Dangerfield, first published in December 2023, is the fourth installment in her Playing for Love series. I dived straight into book four and found myself right at home, never feeling as if I should have read the series in order. I am a sucker for a friends-to-lovers romance, my most favorite theme in the world of romance. However, it is rare to come across a good friends-to-lovers romance nowadays, and Ms. Dangerfield being one of my go-to authors in contemporary romance, I did not hesitate to grab myself a copy.
Told from dual perspectives of the main protagonists, Back into It brings to readers the story of 32 year old Cheryl Karalis-Walker, a social media consultant whose work is cut out for her when it comes to her personal life. While she is intelligent, witty, and smart, she does not see herself as someone worthy of a long-term love or relationship, which makes her shy away from any such prospects, especially with her closest male friend Patrick.
23 year old Patrick Fitzgerald is a professional Australian Football League player, who is passionate, headstrong, and deeply in love with Cheryl. Despite their friendship and being in love with her, he maintains close ties with Cheryl, and struggles with her resistance to view him as an ideal partner for life.
While Patrick is comfortable with his feelings, it is Cheryl who has a hard time reconciling with the age difference between them, having always stuck to older men when it comes to her relationships. Being labeled as a cougar is not something Cheryl looks forward to, and society’s judgmental nature when it comes to an older woman dating a younger man, especially in light of Patrick’s rising fame as a professional athlete makes her more hesitant to take that step.
Cheryl also battles with a complicated past, including a challenging childhood and fraught relationships. An absentee father and an ailing mother had forced Cheryl to grow up way before she had to, and being the primary caregiver to her mother adds onto her emotional baggage. As a result, Cheryl has emotional walls that are practically impenetrable, and even as she and Patrick grows closer over time, she dares not give in.
Patrick is an adorable hero in many ways. His unwavering devotion to Cheryl is the kind you witness, not through empty words, but because of his actions. He stands up for her, prioritizes her well-being over his own needs, and never ever questions his belief that they belong together, which helps Cheryl to overcome her fears.
Patrick is also one of the most patient heroes I have come across. Cheryl certainly resists hard, whenever she feels as if she is going to be overcome with feelings for Patrick. Fleeing for cover is in her nature, a protective mechanism, and it is Patrick who understands this instinct in her and allows her to be, rather than pressure her into accepting him.
At the same time, Patrick also challenges Cheryl’s misgivings about the age difference and societal judgments and refuses to let her use that as a primary excuse to keep him at bay, when he knows in his heart that theirs would be a love ever so grand.
While Cheryl at first was a character that I did not respect much, I found myself falling in love with her as I saw deep into her psyche and understood where she was coming from. To see her growth from someone who shied away from commitments and slept around, to someone who saw in Patrick what it would mean to be loved by someone who truly sees you – that in essence was why I fell in love with her.
Cheryl is also someone who is strong and determined, with an inner core of vulnerability; I could totally see why Patrick fell in love with over their shared hobbies such as hiking, watching horror movies, and getting brunch together. I also loved how honest she is with herself, about how she enjoys being desired by men and how she goes out of her way to ensure that she looks good when she wants to. She does not shy away from the concept that she likes it, and that I felt was refreshing for a change.
Patrick is a hero easy to love. His devotion, playful and yet grounded nature, maturity beyond his years, protective nature without it being toxic, his patience and persistence – all scored big with me. While there is incredible chemistry between the two, I did feel a bit cheated out on the sexy times that Ms. Dangerfield does so well in most of her books. This was a story heavier on emotional and personal growth than it was on the sensuality aspect and I guess it did work for the story line.
Recommended for those who love an emotionally well-balanced story, featuring a skittish heroine and a hero whose patience alone makes you fall head over heels for him.
Final Verdict: Back into It by Eve Dangerfield delivers a heartfelt friends-to-lovers romance with emotionally rich characters for fans of deeply layered love stories.
Favorite Quotes
With eyes like flint, Patrick pinned her hands. He rocked to one side to expose her bare thighs and then his hand was up her skirt. Cheryl made a noise like she had a puncture. “We’ll do this slow,” he said, eyes still on hers. “But you’re gonna come for me. It’s been too long.”
He licked her gently. She tasted clean and soft and salty-sweet. He kept going, moving experimentally, trying to find what would make her feel good. When he pressed his tongue to her clit she made a noise like she’d started crying again. He pulled back. “You okay?” “Yes. No. It’s too much. Too good. It feels like…” “What?” When she spoke, it was so quiet it was barely sound. “… like you love me.”
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Single Series: Nameless Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Seth Thomas Heroine: Erin Marshall Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Published On: February 08, 2014 Started On: December 04, 2023 Finished On: December 15, 2023
The Nameless book series by Claire Kent is told in three separate installments (though I read it all together from the boxed set), and I was hooked right from the very start. Published in February of 2014, this series makes me so glad to have rediscovered the name under which Zannie Adams is writing (the pen name under which she does not write any longer, the reason why I lost her for a couple of years), because this is as good contemporary romance gets in my opinion!
Seth Thomas, once a troubled and sullen youth who was raised by a distant grandfather, is now a successful and ruthless lawyer, viewed by many as an unrepentant womanizer. Known as the “bulldozer”, he is a man who effortlessly commands attention with his confidence and charisma, but deep inside hides the emotional scars from his upbringing.
Erin Marshall is a judicial assistant in her hometown, who transforms from a shy bookworm to a strong, independent woman following a failed marriage. The scars left over makes her value her independence something fierce, and as a result, has a cynical view of romance in general.
Erin and Seth first crosses paths when Seth is forced to move to Erin’s hometown to live with his distant relative Mac. Erin being the bookworm she is, spends countless hours at the library, where she comes across Seth, a solitary figure browsing books on various topics. A distant memory of a shared encounter is all that remains as both move into adulthood and it is Mac’s funeral years later, that brings these two back together.
The indomitable Seth is caught in a moment of emotional weakness, and it is that opening which allows both Erin and Seth to come together in intense passion that neither can deny. Weeks later, it is a shocking discovery that leads Erin to seek out Seth – that she is now carrying his child.
Erin and Seth takes on a pragmatic approach to the pregnancy, where Erin cautions that all she wants from him is to be as involved as he wants to be – and that marriage and a lifetime of togetherness is not what she seeks. However, given the strong sexual chemistry between the two, their physical relationship serves to be one of the key reasons why the two come together, leading to moments of emotional vulnerability.
Given Erin’s past and her wariness when it comes to losing control, the conflict that arises from Seth’s tendency to go into alpha mode is jarring for both of them. While Seth grapples with his desire to be more involved without fully committing emotionally, Erin finds herself becoming warier when Seth starts becoming more dependable.
With both Seth and Erin carrying their individual emotional trauma, the healing that they both undergo comes from within and through their shared experiences. The unexpected pregnancy serves as the catalyst for their relationship to move beyond a memorable one-night stand. As both of them spend more time together, each finds in the other, sides to their character which they never would have witnessed otherwise, allowing them to see beyond their initial impressions of each other. While Erin is a tougher nut to crack than Seth at some points, it is Seth’s gentle and protective side that proves to be the healing that Erin needs, to finally let go of the shackles that has bound her since she walked away from her marriage.
To say that I loved this story would be an understatement. I loved both Erin and Seth in equal doses. Erin’s journey from the shy, bookish girl to an assertive, independent woman made me like her in spades. Her past trauma while it makes her cautious to a fault, is one that women can relate to, especially given her determination to protect her independence. We have all seen how emotionally scarring relationships can make a woman lose her sense of worth. Being able to rise above all of that is no easy feat and that made me root for her big time. Erin is also witty and unflinchingly honest, making her a heroine who is both grounded and self-aware, my favorite kind if you ask me.
Seth *breathes deeply* is a hero who is intriguing, commanding, and compelling in a way that makes the female reader sit up and take notice. As romance readers, we all love the emotionally distant hero who guards his heart possessively. It is not just Seth’s childhood that makes him wary, but his adult relationships as well which had soured him of any notions of happily ever afters. Seth is sexy to a fault, delivering one of the best sex scenes I have had the fortune to read in a while.
Together, Seth and Erin a dynamite – in bed and out of it. They have a way of challenging each other’s world views, with Erin challenging Seth to confront his emotional walls and Seth encouraging Erin to trust and rely on someone without losing her sense of independence. Their witty banter adds onto the spice levels of this romance, and Ms. Kent delivers a hefty dose of the panty melting variety of sex scenes, which I definitely could not get enough of. I believe that Erin and Seth resonated so deeply with me because they are both imperfect, realistic, and deeply human. The challenges that both of them go through, as individuals and together – made this a romance worth sinking into.
I especially loved getting to see Seth and Erin through different stages of their lives from when Erin develops a teeny tiny crush on the teenager Seth, to an adulthood reunion, a pregnancy discovery, and transitioning into parenthood. Towards the last installment, getting to see Erin and Seth close to their fifties, navigating life together and still so into each other was beautiful in a way that is indescribable. The entire story being told in the third person from Erin’s perspective makes it just better! In my opinion Seth, is the ultimate book boyfriend.
If you are looking for a transformative experience in a contemporary romance, look no further – Seth and Erin’s journey resonates in every way that matters. Definitely recommended!
Final Verdict: Combining fiery chemistry, poignant emotional depth, and exquisite storytelling, Nameless by Claire Kent is a must-read for fans of sensual contemporary romance!
Favorite Quotes
Leaning her face forward, she pressed her lips into his. He was warm and solid beneath her, and he made a little grunt in his throat. He tasted and smelled like Scotch, and also something fainter, more masculine. When she relaxed her mouth on his, he murmured against her lips, “What was that?” “That,” she pronounced, pleased she was thinking so clearly, “was a kiss.”
Seth, looking slick and professional, stood up to greet her. He gave her a cool smile, shook her hand with a courteous, “Good afternoon,” and then gestured her into a leather chair next to the desk. This was the Seth she’d expected today—not the warmly clever, rumpled man she’d fucked several weeks ago. Erin sat down. Took a few deep breaths to dispel the nausea. Summoned up her courage and hoped she wouldn’t start babbling. “So,” he said slowly, giving her a sharp look and leaning back in his chair, “I can’t figure out what you’re after. A job?” He looked so confident, so smug, that Erin’s sense of irony kicked in. The edge of amusement did a lot to calm her nerves, so her voice was clear and crisp as she replied, “Actually, no. I’m very happy with my job and have no desire to work in a law firm. Although I certainly appreciate your unyielding belief in your own importance.”
His gaze crawled up from her thighs to her hips to her belly to her breasts. When he finally reached her face, she saw that his expression was oddly hungry. The wild primitive glint she’d caught earlier in the hall had returned, and it both exhilarated her and made her a little anxious. “Are you sure it can be this simple?” she asked. “This whole thing is complicated enough without making it any worse.” His hands slid up to comb her hair back from her face. “It’s just sex. We’ve had it before. You aren’t secretly in love with me, are you?” “God, no. You?” “Not even close.”
Erin couldn’t seem to stop. She barely even recognized that she was clawing at his shoulders and making the most ridiculous sounds of effort and pleasure she’d ever heard herself make. Barely noticed that she was sweating now and that the flesh of her ass and her breasts were jiggling wildly with their motion. Just needed to feel more of him. Just needed to release this excruciating tension again. “Fuck, Erin,” Seth rasped, his eyes open now and staring down at her body. “Fuck, Erin, you’re incredible. But you’re killing me.” His jaw clenched tightly, and he released an agonized groan as he pumped. “Slow down or I’ll lose it.” “Can’t,” she choked. “Can’t. Need more, Seth. More.”
Feeling both her confidence and her enthusiasm return immediately, Erin adjusted herself more comfortably beside him and pulled him into another kiss. He sat on the side of the bed now, and she had her legs drawn up under her body. But they managed to share a very effective kiss, and Erin didn’t pull away from him, even when he released her lips. She ran one hand down his firm chest to his flat belly and then to the bulge of his erection once more. As she cupped it lightly, she trailed kisses across his jaw line. To his high cheekbone. And finally to his ear. She fluttered her tongue. Seth bucked his pelvis up involuntarily into her hand.
He pulled off his loosened bow tie and started to work on his shirt. Erin watched and tried to be patient, but her entire body now felt on the verge of eruption. Her breasts tingled torturously, so she cupped them with her hands and tried to chaff her tight nipples through the thin fabric of her chemise. The stimulation caused her to arch her back a little, and, when she focused once more on Seth, she saw that he’d stopped midway through taking off his shirt and was staring at her dazedly. The look in his eyes sent another jolt of sensation down to the throbbing ache between her legs. So, as he watched, she slid her hand from her breast, past the curve of her belly, then dipped it under the fluttering skirt of her chemise until she could slip it in between her legs. She wasn’t wearing panties, so nothing was in her way. Seth’s entire body looked painfully tense as he watched her stroking herself. Finally, he rasped, “Getting a head start?”
Erin looked at him over her shoulder. “I don’t mind,” she said. “I’ve never been a fan of excessive control.” “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” He shifted slightly and his hand settled on her belly. “But the lack of control would be counterproductive in this particular instance. We’re supposed to be taking care of your needs, aren’t we?” “Yes,” Erin allowed, feeling strangely shy for some unaccountable reason. “But maybe we can tackle your needs at the same time.” His hand slid up over her breasts and then to her face, and he pushed some of the damp hair off her cheeks. “Very kind of you, but my needs aren’t something you want to fully tackle.”
Seeing and hearing him so uncontrolled was almost as thrilling as her own pleasure. Erin reached behind her thighs until her hand found and closed around his balls. “Fuck,” he grunted, as she squeezed once very lightly. He was pushing more than thrusting now, and Erin knew he was right on the edge. So she squeezed again, harder this time. He froze. Then his whole body throbbed, from his cock to his hands on her flesh. He choked on an incoherent sound as he fell into release.
Her body was tensing up in preparation for climax, but she turned her head as far back as she could. “Seth. Seth…” She tried to put into words what she wanted. Couldn’t. Couldn’t possibly. She was feeling too much. Too deep, too tight, too full, too stretched. Too much. “Erin.” Seth pulled up his shoulders until his weight rested on his bent elbow. From this position, he leaned over to where she was trying to look over her shoulder at him. He was able to capture her lips in a kiss. It wasn’t a skillful or a controlled kiss. Erin was far beyond concentrating, and she couldn’t do more than press her lips against his and gasp into his mouth. His lips clung to hers hungrily, though, when her pleasure finally peaked. And he was still kissing her when she shook through her orgasm.
For a moment, she caught a glimpse of something in his eyes: something deep and molten and unspeakable. Then she couldn’t see anything at all. Because he was kissing her, and her eyes had fallen closed. Her breasts pressed into the hard line of his chest, and her hands wound around his neck before she could begin to stop them. Her tongue darted out to meet his, and her mouth became urgent and hungry.
Yeah,” she gasped, realizing he was on the verge of coming but was trying to fight against it. “Yeah, Seth. You come too.” At her words, he stared up at her face—just a few inches from his—and their eyes met. His eyes were wild, feral, almost pained in their need. But he held her gaze as he let out a muted roar and jerked his pelvis up into her a few more times. He came, and she saw the transformation on his face, in his eyes. The tension breaking and a flood of raw pleasure overwhelming him. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced, and the pleasure Erin felt from watching him almost rivaled the lingering feel of her own orgasm.
When Erin looked up blurrily, trying to focus through the rising haze of her deepening pleasure, she saw more in his expression than she’d ever seen before. There seemed to be everything there—a rich, overwhelming flood of feeling—all of it visible, tangible in his gaze. All of the feelings he always suppressed, that he hid behind his cool control. More than he’d ever admitted to. More than she’d ever dreamed possible. All of it—there—in his eyes. Erin closed her own eyes against it, the depth and magnitude of the emotion terrifying her. She wondered how she’d ever thought this man was cold and unfeeling. Wondered if anyone else had ever seen what she’d just seen in Seth—all the raw, naked power of it.
With a thick, helpless groan, he opened his eyes and started moving again. The thick silence of his breathing built into rough, animalistic grunts in time with his rhythm. Erin felt like the whole world was shaking with their motion. She felt helpless, out of control. Until the rough friction of his drives inside her and the jostling of her breasts, ass, and clit coalesced into a new kind of orgasm: one deeper, more intense, not far removed from pain. Matching the rich, swelling ache in her heart.
“Love,” Erin cried out, feeling hot and wild and erotic and free and at the same time strangely secure. Her hips pumped desperately, trying to intensify the friction, and she huffed out a series of sounds to their rhythm, sounding like, “Uh huh.” “Erin,” Seth rasped, the one word a hoarse guttural. His head tossed with a jerk as he tried to hold himself back. Obviously lost the effort as he finally released a hoarse, desperate moan. He pushed into her a few final times, his thrusts hard, choppy, and forceful. “Love…you,” he grunted, before he came with a long shuddering breath.
When his chest was bare, she caressed the hard, smooth lines of his shoulders and ribs. Then reached down to the button of his jeans. With a little fumbling and adjusting from both of them, his hard cock was free and accessible. She rolled her thumb over the tip, making him grunt and buck up into her hand. “Erin.” She gazed down at his tense face and sprawled body. Felt a surge of love, power, and possessiveness overwhelm her.
All of the gathered urgency at her center pushed her to ride him for real, to claim the aching orgasm that was waiting for her. But she kept her motion slow, minimal, increasing their need and extending their pleasure. “Erin,” Seth choked, one of his arms reaching out to fumble for purchase on the cushion beside him, as he visibly struggled to suppress his drive to thrust, to claim her, to fuck her. His face twisted, and his pelvis almost squirmed beneath her rocking. “Fuck, Erin.” “Yeah,” Erin breathed, searching out his lips in a hungry, clumsy kiss. Her tongue dipped into his mouth, stroking into it in a rhythmic, instinctive pattern. Seth grunted, as he buried the fingers of one hand in her hair.
With a desperate sound, she found Seth’s mouth again. Needed to feel him. Love him. Be as close as she could possibly make him. She was kissing him hungrily, frantically, when her orgasm finally broke. She didn’t pull away from his mouth as her body started to convulse. She heard Seth make a helpless, choking sound into her mouth as Erin whimpered with the waves of pleasure. But she kept her arms around him. Kept kissing him. And was still kissing him when she felt him come too. His hips pushed up into her clenching muscles, and his arms tightened around her so suddenly she grunted in surprise. Then she felt the tension in his body release itself. Heard him moan—long, low, and guttural. Felt the pulsing of his cock against the tight clasp of her body. Felt him come in short spasms inside her.
Arching his neck in effort, Seth stared down at her twisting body and contorted face. “Erin,” he said thickly, squeezing the flesh of her hips in his hands as he rocked into her. “Erin, baby, can you come?” “Think so.” She shamelessly shook her body to get the kind of friction she needed. “Just stay…right there.” He did. He didn’t thrust. Just held his cock in position and kept pushing in tight rhythm against her g-spot. He was coiled so tensely he was shuddering with the pressure, but he managed to hold them in position as the rich pleasure gathered between her legs.
“Erin,” Seth muttered, his eyes almost agonized as he held onto his control. “Beautiful. Beautiful. Missed you so much.” She released a few loud sobs—the flooding of her heart mingling with the intense physical sensations—then she cried out a frantic, “Seth! Seth!” She felt the pleasure finally erupt inside her, sending out waves and spasms of overwhelming sensation.
“Seth. Oh God, again.” Her body seemed to have lost its connection with her mind, and—despite the blurred chaos of her thoughts—her body still knew what it wanted. “Yes,” Seth bit out, clearly on the edge of his control. “Yes. One more, baby. Come for me once more.” She was going to. It was happening even now. Erin sobbed with pleasure and effort and need, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle the overwhelming sensations. Her breasts were swinging wildly with their primitive motion, and she’d tossed her head so much that her damp hair was covering her face. As the final orgasm build up inside her, she kept choking out sounds that were louder and louder. Tried to stifle the noise. Couldn’t. Felt the world start to shudder all around her. Then she fell over the edge, her body jerking in clumsy desperation as she tried to hold herself upright on trembling limbs.
Just as she was on the edge, not quite coming but too far to draw it back, Seth raised his head from between her legs. Before she could react, he’d moved over her, burying his hard cock inside her and rearing up above her on straightened arms. The sight of his strong body, intense, hungry expression, and familiar face all combined with the sudden sensation of being filled and stretched by his cock. The orgasm that had already formed erupted with shattering intensity.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Single Series: Kindled, #3 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Cal Evans Heroine: Rachel Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: August 09, 2022 Started On: December 01, 2023 Finished On: December 02, 2023
Embers by Claire Kent is the third book in the Kindled series. This series brings to readers protagonists that finds themselves in a post-apocalyptic setting, when an asteroid hits the Earth ending life as everyone knew it. Ms. Kent has the ability to make tremendously challenging situations work, giving readers a feel of what life would be like under such circumstances. Embers follows the story of Rachel and Cal Evans, whose relationship is taboo, tender, and fierce in the way that brings joy to the reader’s heart amidst all the adversities they face.
When the story begins, Rachel is just seventeen years old, navigating a world ravaged by the catastrophic impact of the asteroid. Losing her only family during a food riot, Rachel seeks shelter with her boyfriend Derek and his mother, until that too becomes untenable. Moving in with Derek and his estranged father, an ex-convict with a rough exterior and a haunted past is the last thing Rachel would have envisioned for herself, but everyone makes do when the situation calls for it.
A couple of years go by and when circumstances end up with Rachel having to rely solely on Cal, the relationship dynamics between the two morphs into something that Cal initially tries to resist with all his might. Despite his gruff demeanor and troubled history, he is fiercely protective of Rachel and is guided by a strong moral compass, especially when it conflicts with his own personal desires. Even as Rachel gives every indication that she is more than willing, ready, and of age to be with him, Cal’s misplaced sense of unworthiness due to his past, creates barriers that prevents him from fully embracing his feelings for her.
It is Rachel’s determination that eventually wins him over, and even then, Cal is determined to do right by someone like Rachel, so full of life, with a bright future ahead of her, if only he were to step aside. Rachel is equally resolved to break through the emotional walls, with the intention to show Cal that theirs is a connection that is genuine, and one not borne out of convenience or desperation.
While the heat, tenderness, and romance blooms to life, the various adversities of the post-apocalyptic world they live in rears its ugly head every now and then. Amidst all of it, the tension that burgeons to life between the two starts to build slowly, beginning with a sense of mutual wariness, which evolves into a deep emotional and physical attraction. The “forced physical proximity” brings the accidental intimacy factor to the forefront which adds to the appeal of the story.
I loved Rachel for all that she was. She is a warrior woman if ever there was one, with circumstances having molded her into a person of undeniable strength. While her love for Cal is one that stands strong and true, it is not for her to make peace and reconcile with Cal’s own past and guilt, if ever there is to be a chance for the two to find their happily ever after.
I loved Cal too. He is a man ridden with guilt of a past that cannot be undone. Even with the age factor between Cal and Rachel, there is no sordidness to the tale because of the doubt and sense of misplaced guilt that assails him, the rough around the edges hero who got the short end of the stick when it came to his father and ended up on the wrong side of the law, who goes out of his way to ensure that he doesn’t take advantage of Rachel in any sense.
The period of separation between Cal and Rachel was much needed in my opinion, which perhaps added more depth to the feelings between the two. The groveling that Cal does upon his return was done well which of course made all of it better. The time apart gave the two the space to grow and mature in a setting where they were not dependent on each other, and perhaps they both needed that clarity for them to embrace a life of togetherness, especially for Cal whose guilt was driving him mad, even has he loves Rachel for everything she is.
Rachel coming to the realization when Cal leaves her behind, that if they were never to be together again she would still be whole; was the biggest sign of maturity perhaps, not that she needed it in my opinion. In all probability, Cal perhaps needed the distance and perspective more than Rachel did, so that he could accept his feelings for Rachel and embrace them for life.
Fans of survivalist romances with morally complex characters and a slow-building love story will find this novel to be a page-turner.
Final Verdict: A tender, emotionally rich journey that cements Rachel and Cal as one of the most unforgettable couples in the Kindled series!
Favorite Quotes
“The lotion is working.” I’ve got his back pretty well covered now, so I slide my hands up to his neck. I massage him there, then move my hands over to his shoulders to knead the tight muscles. He’s breathing heavily now. Loud enough for me to hear. For some reason, I like the sound of it. I dig into the knots I find, pressing deeply, wanting them to loosen up. Cal groans, low and soft and long and carnal. All my female parts clamp down hard at the sound of it. My hands grow still on his shoulders. Something thick and warm throbs in the air between us. “Cal?” I ask in almost a whisper.
Slowly I move down his hand to start rubbing his forearm, stroking the skin and coarse hair. The scars that slash down toward his wrist. Something hurt him badly to create all these scars, and I have no idea what it was. So I stroke them. Wish I could do the same to other parts of his body. The more I caress his hand and arm, the tenser and hotter he grows behind me. His chest is snug against my back, and our legs are twined together. He starts to breathe heavier. His exhales waft against my hair and neck. There’s a clench tightening inside me too now. Below my belly. It makes me want to shift my hips. When I do, he mutters, “No wigglin’.”
I wake up overwhelmed with arousal. It somehow happened in my sleep. My cheeks and neck are hot. My heart is racing, and my breath is coming out in little pants. Need is throbbing painfully between my legs. And I’m rubbing against a warm, hard male body. He’s been asleep too. Maybe he still is. He’s grunting as he rocks his erection against my lower belly, and both his large hands are cupping my bottom.
He makes a growly sound and picks up his speed, his hips working vigorously as he thrusts. I start raising my pelvis to meet his motion, and it intensifies the sensations. The bed is making a soft, squeaky sound, and I can also hear the wet suction of his cock in my pussy. I like it. It’s raw, carnal. Proof that we’re doing this for real.
He’s big. Full. Familiar. I gasp and let my head fall back at the tight penetration. “Is’t all right?” he asks breathlessly. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s good.” I shift above him, feeling myself stretch around him. He takes some ragged breaths until he gets himself back under control. Then slides his hands up to cup my face. “You feelin’ good now?” “Yeah. I’m feeling so good.” “Nothin’s ever felt better than this. Bein’ inside you like this. Nothin’ in my whole life.” “I feel…” I whimper as he rolls his hips. “I feel that way too.” “Yeah?” “Yeah.” Since he can’t keep still, I start to move over him with a slow, steady rhythm. “You’ve always felt like home to me.” He makes a choked sound. Jerks his head to the side. It takes him a minute to respond. “You’re home to me too, baby. Always have been.”
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Dual Series: On Dublin Street, #2 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Cameron (Cam) MacCabe Heroine: Johanna (Jo) Walker Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: May 07, 2013 Started On: November 28, 2023 Finished On: December 01, 2023
Samantha Young returns with Down London Road, the second installment of her On Dublin Street series, delivering another emotionally charged romance synonymous with Ms. Young’s evocative style and prose. Featuring Johanna (Jo) Walker and Cameron (Cam) MacCabe, the story is set against the backdrop of Edinburgh’s vibrant streets as is the first installment.
Jo is a 24-year-old woman juggling an overwhelming sense of responsibility. With an alcoholic mother and a teenage brother dependent on her, Jo has spent years dating wealthy men, prioritizing financial stability over love. When Cam, a tattooed graphic designer shakes up Jo’s carefully constructed world with his sharp wit and smoldering intensity, it stirs up Jo more than it should in a way that leaves her wanting more.
From their first meeting, sparks fly, igniting a tension that refuses to be ignored. Cam’s initial judgment of Jo as a gold-digger sets the stage for misunderstandings and emotional clashes between the two, giving readers a good dose of angst throughout the story. As layers of their past are revealed, it becomes evident that both Jo and Cam carry wounds that shape their insecurities and fears, making it difficult at first for both of them to see what they could be to each other.
Jo’s fragile self-worth plays a huge role in the way she perceives herself. Ultimately the belief that she isn’t good enough for a man like Cam is harder to overcome than any other conflict that emerges in the story. After all, it is the demons that we carry within, shaped over years and scarring our insides that are the most challenging to face and move on from.
At the same time, Cam struggles with his own issues – a deep sense of abandonment from his childhood, and his unresolved past with his former girlfriend. While Cam is undeniably attracted to Jo, it takes him a while to accept it for what it is, to look past his prejudices and see beyond, deep into the wonderful person she is.
Ms. Young excels at creating characters brimming with emotional depth, and both Jo and Cam delivered on that front. Jo is a heroine who resonates with readers—her vulnerability, strength, and fierce loyalty to her brother earns one’s respect. Her struggle to see herself as more than what she has believed herself to be was definitely compelling.
Cam, on the other hand, is a blend of broody intensity and raw honesty that calls to the reader in many ways. While not as magnetic as Braden from the first book in the series, he still holds his own as a flawed hero navigating his own insecurities, delivering a ton of smoldering tension to the story which I loved. While for the most part I understood where he was coming from, when all was said and done I expected more from him, especially when it came to the groveling that Jo rightfully deserved from Cam.
The chemistry between Jo and Cam is undeniable, simmering with tension and culminating in moments of passion that are both fiery, sexy, and tender. Ms. Young’s ability to write nuanced, deeply felt relationships shines through, even with the few elements in the story that I wished were otherwise.
If you are a fan of contemporary romance that dives deep into the complexities of love and self-discovery, Down London Road is a must-read!
Final Verdict: Samantha Young delivers another page-turner, chock-full of emotive characterization and a love story that lingers long after the turn of the final page!
Favorite Quotes
I took another step and the sound of my boot on the floor brought Cam’s head up. My breath hitched as our eyes collided. Heat suffused my cheeks at my body’s instant reaction to this man’s attention. I could feel my breasts swell and my lower belly squeeze, and as we continued to stare at each other in intense silence, my mind and body went to war. My body was panting, ‘He’s hot. Can we have him?’ while my mind was screaming, ‘Oh, dear God, what the hell are you thinking?’ Everything had blurred around me – the only thing in sharp focus was Cam and all the places where I wanted to feel his touch.
Cam groaned, the vibration reverberating in my chest and soaring downward between my legs, and I writhed against him. He got the message, pressing his body deeper against mine, his erection digging into my lower stomach as his legs spread mine farther apart. I whimpered with a want that was out of control and Cam pulled back to stare at my swollen lips. I’d never seen a man so lost in a sexual fog and my sex clenched at the knowledge of the power I had over him, my knickers damp as my body grew ready for him. Cam nipped at my bottom lip, and then licked the same spot. ‘I’ve fantasized a million times about this mouth,’ he told me hoarsely before crushing my lips against his again.
I almost threw the fare at the taxi driver, then rushed into the building, my boots slapping carelessly against the concrete as I hurried up the stairs. I was just rounding the stairwell to Cam’s landing when I heard a door open. As I reached the top of the stairs, he came into view, standing barefoot in his doorway, waiting for me. Overwhelmed that just the sight of him made my chest so full of emotion that it hurt, I stumbled a little towards him, my boots just clipping the doorstep. Cam didn’t say anything. Every inch of him was solid with tension as he looked at me. ‘Cam –’ My words were swallowed by motion as his hand clamped around my wrist, wrenching me hard against his body, his mouth slamming down on mine. I instantly wrapped myself around him, and my fingers curled in the hair at the back of his neck as I licked and sucked and flicked my tongue against his, our kiss so deep I didn’t even realize I was inside his flat until the door crashed shut behind us.
My back slammed up against the wall as he crashed us into it. ‘I can’t wait,’ he told me breathlessly. I shook my head, my chest heaving against his, telling him silently I couldn’t wait either. I felt his warm, rough hands on my outer thighs as they brushed my skin, pushing my skirt up to my waist. With an almost animalistic grunt, Cam curled his hands around the fabric of my knickers and tugged, the sound of it tearing away from my body and the sudden air between my legs increasing the heat between us to a combustible level. He’d just ripped my underwear off! Holy hell! That was seriously hot.
I pushed my hips against him and his grip on my thighs became almost bruising. ‘Wait,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Give me a minute. I’ve wanted this for ages and you feel bloody amazing. Just give me a minute.’ As I heard this erotic confession, my inner muscles clamped around his cock and he inhaled sharply. His head drew back in surprise as his eyes collided with mine. ‘Baby, do that again and I’m not going to last.’ I shook my head, my fingers digging into the muscles of his back. ‘I don’t care. Just move, please just move. I need you.’ His control snapped.
Someone naughty and a little bit wicked had crept inside me. I wanted him again. And I wanted him just as raw and hard as I’d just had him. ‘Do you know how many times over the last few weeks I lay in my bed and touched myself thinking about you?’ His breath sputtered and I felt his dick twitch inside me. ‘Jesus,’ he breathed, his eyes dilating. ‘Keep talking and you’re not going be able to walk tomorrow.’ I grinned up at him, squeezing my inner muscles around him again. ‘That’s the plan.’
My gaze never left Cam’s face as I moved, feeling sexy and powerful at his glittering expression, watching the way his blue eyes darkened on my breasts, on my hair swinging across my back. His hands gripped my hips, urging me on; his jaw clenched as the heat between us increased and a light sheen of sweat covered our skin. As I approached climax all I was aware of was the coiling pleasure low in my belly, the sound of my uncontrolled breaths and mews of pleasure, the intoxicating smell of sex … and then I heard Cam hoarsely asking me to come. Pure bliss took me over, and I closed my eyes, reveling in it as my body moved faster up and down his length, rushing towards climax.
I came quickly, I came hard, and I came with a cry that Cam quieted against his mouth. His kiss was wet and dirty, and its purpose was to swallow my climax and stamp me with his ownership. The bastard was lucky I was feeling equally possessive. Gripping his head tight, I kissed him back just as voraciously and when he moved to catch his breath, I nipped his lip. Hard. He hissed, his eyes widening, his tongue flicking out to lick the hurt. ‘If mine is yours, yours is mine.’
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Romantic Suspense POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Gallery Books Hero: James MacArthur Callahan Heroine: Dr. Gina Sullivan Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: March 29, 2016 Started On: November 21, 2023 Finished On: November 28, 2023
First published in March of 2016, Darkness by Karen Robards delivers an intense romantic suspense, weaving together elements of cyber-terrorism mixed with survivalist themes under which the main protagonists encounter each other and find their entire lives upended, in the midst of which comes love calling. When 28 year old Dr. Gina Sullivan’s research expedition on the remote Attu Island collides with private military contractor Cal Callahan’s mission gone wrong, they find themselves thrust into a deadly game of survival against both nature’s fury and human adversaries.
James “Cal” Callahan embodies the archetypal alpha hero with compelling depth. At 34, the former Air Force Special Operations Command member carries the weight of a troubled past that makes him wary of making long-lasting connections with emotional depth. Despite his dangerous profession and the walls that he puts up, Cal’s protective instincts and underlying vulnerability emerges as he is forced to depend on and protect Gina with every fiber of his being.
Dr. Gina Sullivan, a Stanford ornithologist, bears the emotional scars of devastating loss. Her journey from trauma-induced caution to rediscovering her strength is one that readers can empathize with, and her strength something that is truly admirable under the circumstances. Ms. Robards excels at portraying Gina’s internal struggle between her desire for safety and her growing feelings for a man who represents everything she fears.
The relationship development between Cal and Gina is one that starts off on the wrong footing, with a wary and distrustful Cal trying to ignore the elephant in the room; his skyrocketing desire for Gina. While Gina tries to grapple with the situation she finds herself in, her issues when it comes to trusting a man such as Cal who thrives on danger makes her want to withdraw into the cocoon that has protected her since the devastating loss she faced five years prior. However, the connection that forges to life between the two is stronger than either of them can deny for long, and makes for excellent indulgence for the reader amidst all the danger that surrounds them.
The story’s foundation rests on a brilliantly conceived technological threat that feels terrifyingly plausible in today’s interconnected world where we shuttle from one continent to the other, wholly trusting the airplanes, pilots, and companies such as Airbus and Boeing that designs these modern marvels. Ms. Robards masterfully builds tension gradually, revealing the layers to the conspiracy which keeps the reader on tenterhooks, while Gina and Cal battle the harsh elements and their dangerous pursuers.
While Darkness delivers a compelling romantic suspense, the conclusion did feel somewhat rushed for me. The story could have benefited from a deeper exploration of how Cal (who is intensely commitment phobic) and Gina bridge their drastically different lifestyles and approach their future together. A period of separation or more extensive relationship development before the resolution would have added emotional depth to their happy ending.
I found the technological aspects explored in the story to be quite intriguing and terrifyingly plausible, adding a layer of real-world anxiety to the story which made this highly entertaining, even as I worry to death every time I have to get myself on an airplane.
The survival elements showcase the skillful Ms. Robards at her best at creating visceral, immediate danger while developing the romance at pace between Cal and Gina. I especially loved Cal as the hero; the kind of hero that authors no longer know how to write. Truly loved this for the adventure, the technology explored, the wilderness of nature, and the sexiness that was all Cal.
Recommended for readers who enjoy romantic suspense, the classic alpha heroes as they are truly meant to be, strong heroines, and survivalist themed romances.
Final Verdict: Darkness by Karen Robards makes for a compelling romantic suspense that delivers on both the romance and suspense fronts, with that classic alpha hero readers like myself crave.
Favorite Quotes
Their eyes met. Something crackled in the air between them that hadn’t been there before—a kind of current. An electric vibration. An elemental male-female thing. The sudden spark of sexual heat that flared inside her as he looked at her was so urgent it actually hurt. Her chest contracted. Her throat closed. And her body started up with a hot, sweet pulse. She instantly, figuratively, turned her back on it. It was nothing she felt the slightest urge to acknowledge, much less pursue.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” “You look mad.” “Mad? Me?” As she shook her now straggling-all-over-the-place hair back from her face, her voice was silky sweet. She was, however, all but shooting poison darts at him from her eyes. She could still feel the imprint of his hands everywhere—and she didn’t like it. “You ever think that I might be a ninja assassin planning to kill you with my bare hands while you sleep?” Infuriatingly, that made him smile. A full-on crooked and charming smile that smacked her in the face with how really good-looking he was. That smile hit her the wrong way. It made her want to— Before she could finish the thought, he slid a hand along her jaw, bent his head, and kissed her.
She started to turn away. He caught her arm, pulled her around, and kissed her. Just like that, his hands gripping her shoulders, his mouth coming down on hers hard. And she kissed him back. Instantly, instinctively, without any thought at all. Her mouth opened to his. His tongue filled her mouth, scalding hot, demanding her response. And she gave it, answering his lips and tongue with a hungry intensity that seemed to spring up out of nowhere. Her body burned for his. She went all soft and shivery inside. As quick as he’d kissed her he was lifting his head and pushing her away. “Good-bye,” he said. He didn’t smile. Gina didn’t smile, either. Her heart was thumping, her body was throbbing, and good-bye was both the last thing on earth she wanted to say—and the smartest thing she could say.
From the sound of it there were four men, all heading down toward the river. Toward Arvid. Oh, God, he’d been murdered right before her eyes. She couldn’t help it: she started to shake. Cal must have felt it, because his hold on her changed. His broad shoulders curved more closely around her. The hand pressing her face into his coat gentled. She thought she felt his cheek rest against the top of her head. She held on to him like he was the only safe harbor left in the world.
He held her fast, his big body pressing her back against the wall, and she felt a shaft of desire so intense that she shivered. Everywhere his body touched hers she burned. She only realized that she’d quit struggling and was standing perfectly still, staring up at him with God knew what expression, when his face, which had been taut with anger, changed. His eyes narrowed and the tension that had thinned his mouth into a straight line eased and— He bent his head and kissed her.
What started out as a testing, a tasting, a question on his part, changed the moment she answered, the moment he felt her response. That was when his mouth turned hard and hungry and demanding, and he started kissing her like he could never get enough of her mouth. The blast of heat he ignited inside her blew her away. Her heart pounded. Her pulse raced.
She closed her eyes and kissed him back as if she’d been dying to have him kiss her like that. Her lips molded themselves to his and her tongue answered his as he learned everything there was to know about her mouth. He kissed her with a carnality that was like nothing she had ever experienced, and fireworks went off against the screen of her closed lids. Bones melting, senses reeling, she kissed him back the same way. When he let go of her wrists to wrap his arms around her and pull her even closer against him, she slid her hands up over his broad shoulders and curled them around his neck, and clung to him like her life depended on it.
He took her mouth again and again, in a series of long, slow, drugging kisses that stripped away every last ounce of her reserve, that made her head spin, that made her body pulse and burn, that had her kissing him back just as fervently. He kissed her like he was starving for the taste of her, like he never meant to stop. She didn’t want him to stop. Arching up against him, she told him so in every way she possibly could that didn’t involve words. Words were beyond her. Thoughts were beyond her. All she could do was feel.
The chemistry between them was off the charts. She could feel it sizzling in the air. It was there in the heat of their linked hands, in the intensity of their locked gazes. The blistering kisses they’d shared were permanently branded in her memory. Her body was aware of his like a flower is aware of the sun.
Here, she realized with a blinding flash of insight, was the key to the prison she’d been locked in. She might die tomorrow. Was she really going to let the poor maimed thing her life had become be the last chapter of her existence? He wanted her. Well, she wanted him, too—badly. There was no logical reason why she shouldn’t take what she wanted. She didn’t have to worry about getting pregnant: she had long-term protection from that. And if they weren’t together permanently, so what? There was nothing wrong with being together for right now. She could have a relationship with a man with forever potential later. Forget getting involved with him: that didn’t have to happen. To put it in his terms, they could simply get it on. This thing with Cal would be her very own red-hot love affair, an icebreaker to catapult her back into the sexual arena. When this nightmare was over, if they survived and parted, maybe she’d be on her way to being free to live her life again. The prospect intrigued her. The thought of sleeping with Cal dazzled her. It made her heart start to pound.
She was still shaking, still shuddering, still gasping for breath, when he levered his big body on top of her and pushed himself inside her so fiercely that she cried out. He was hard and hot and filled her to capacity and then some. He took her with a single-minded ferocity that had her quaking and burning and wanting again, and she did the only thing she could do: wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and held on. It was the most erotic experience of her life, and the end, when it came, was so hot and intense that she thought she would die right there and then from the sheer explosive pleasure of it. She bucked, and clung, and cried out his name. “Cal! Cal, Cal, Cal!” He drove into her one final time, groaning as he found his own release. Then he held himself shuddering inside her.
She closed her eyes with one of her sexy little moans that made every muscle in his body tighten, every time she did it. Then, with his fingers moving purposefully in and out, with her body undulating on top of his like she was deliberately trying to drive him out of his mind, with her panting and flushed on top of him and her nipples practically branding his chest and enough heat rising off the pair of them to steam up the air, she opened her eyes, gave him a dead-sexy look, and said in a throaty growl, “I knew there was a reason I pulled you out of the sea.” That surprised a laugh out of him. First time he could remember laughing while he was in the middle of some serious foreplay, with his cock begging for action and his balls aching like they were getting ready to explode. “Lucky me,” he said, meaning it, and rolled so that she was beneath him again.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Single Series: Escorted Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Ander Lourdes | Alexander Milton Heroine: Lori Addison Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Published On: December 01, 2020 Started On: November 18, 2023 Finished On: November 21, 2023
Escorted by Claire Kent, first published in December 2020, introduces readers to the complex and unusual romance that buds to life between 32-year-old Ander Lourdes, a professional escort, and 26-year-old Lori Addison, a romance novelist in search of her first intimate experience. From the very start, Ms. Kent does an excellent job out of drawing readers in. Being told entirely in the first person from Lori’s point of view, gives Escorted an enigmatic edge, adding more nuance to the story than would have been otherwise.
The story begins with Lori, being the practical person she is on the sidelines of her career as a romance author, finds the only logical solution to getting rid of her virginity is to hire someone who is experienced in the matter. Little does she know when hires 32 year old Ander Lourdes to be her escort, that her entire life would be turned upside down, and that her innate curiosity itself when it comes to the exotic man that Ander turns out to be, would be her undoing.
Ander is a man who is accustomed to separating his emotions from his work. Always putting the needs of his clients first, Ander is a perfectionist in what he does, and he knows how to deliver, with ten years of experience to his name. He initially approaches his sessions with Lori with the same cool detachment he does for all his clients, intent on giving Lori the unforgettable experience that she craves. It is through Lori’s eyes that readers have to gauge every flicker of emotion that Ander feels and exhibits, and that keeps the reader on the edge, craving more of Ander, just like Lori does with each and every encounter between them.
The chemistry between Ander and Lori is electrifying, even from the first. Ms. Kent masterfully builds the sexual tension that evolves gradually, drawing readers into each layered interaction between the two, which makes for an emotionally satisfying experience along with the high from the sizzle. What starts as a transaction begins to feel less business-like as Ander and Lori spend more time together. Lori’s inquisitive nature, coupled with the sexual intimacy that builds between them starts to bring their emotional guards down, and thus starts to crumble each of their carefully erected walls. It is Ms. Kent’s writing here that shines—she presents the journey between Anders and Lori as it evolves from being strangers to lovers with a sincerity that feels both raw and genuine.
The story’s strength lies in its character development. Ander, with his stoic exterior and painful secrets, begins to grapple with emotions he has spent years repressing. Ander’s brokenness, his guarded heart, and his strained relationship with his father all play into his character’s complexity which leaves the reader hurting and wanting to hurt a certain someone badly. Lori’s journey is also one of self-discovery, her experiences with Ander teaching her not only about intimacy, but about the courage to pursue genuine connection and exhibit confidence in other aspects of her life.
The way Ms. Kent entwines the raw intensity of their physical encounters with emotional growth is nothing short of masterful, and that is what kept me glued to the pages, never tiring of what takes place between the two. The way that she manages to make each sexual encounter meaningful (and there is a LOT of them littered across the pages), not to mention impactful and erotic, was just amazing to me as someone who has read a lot of great and also her fair share of not so great erotic novels.
It is Lori’s deeply empathetic nature and perhaps her career as a romance author that allows her to see beyond what Ander presents to the rest of the world. The path that Lori and Ander takes towards their happily ever after is as unique as is this story – from lovers to friends to lovers back again. How Ms. Kent brought together elements of raw passion, heartache, pain, and angst to deliver an explosive and mind-bending read will continue to amaze me in the years to come.
Escorted is a true masterpiece, a romance that goes beyond the expected norm, and that is my key takeaway from this experience. Ms. Kent does not shy away from the complexities of a relationship like Ander and Lori’s, and in doing so, she gives us readers a story that is as honest as it is captivating. If Ms. Kent had chosen to write about Ander and Lori’s entire lives, I would have kept on reading, with zero qualms.
For fans of contemporary erotic romance, Escorted is a compelling read that handles unconventional themes with a deft touch. With beautifully written prose, intense character chemistry, and a satisfying conclusion, Escorted is a memorable journey from start to finish.
Definitely and absolutely recommend this gem to readers of romance who love a good erotica with emotional depth!
Final Verdict: Escorted is a tour de force by Claire Kent, making a trope that is extremely challenging feel realistic and heartfelt; managed to occupy my every thought when I had to force myself to turn away from the story to attend to life.
Favorite Quotes
She walked him to the door, where they looked at each other for a minute. Then Lori asked one final question. “How many virgins have you had sex with?” Ander glanced away, and she could tell he was trying to compose the best answer. “The truth,” she said. “No pretending. How many.” He let out a breath and met her eyes. “Just one. You’re my first.” “Oh.” She swallowed. “You’re my first too.”
“Oh, God, Ander,” she gasped, her head jerking to the side as she felt a climax tightening inside her already. “I need to come so bad.” He made a strange sound. A grunt, or something. And then he pulled his fingers out of her wet, clinging channel. Before she could whine about the loss of penetration, he’d replaced it with his cock. He slid into her with a smooth, hard stroke, and she bit back a cry of pleasure at the tight, tantalizing feel of him inside her. She managed to look back over her shoulder at Ander. He was straddling her thighs and holding her bottom high enough to allow his access. But Lori’s upper body was flattened on the bed, and she felt helpless and deeply sexy at the same time. She clawed at the bedding and moved a pillow lower so she could bury her face into it if she felt the need to scream.
She thought she would just enjoy watching him come, but the shaking of their bodies and the way his cock drove inside her pushed her into climax once more. “Oh God,” she gasped, clawing at his neck and shoulders. She couldn’t stop, even though she knew she was leaving angry scratches on his skin. He grunted, and she read it as a question “Coming again.” Her body tightened up and she tried to breathe as he’d taught her to. She couldn’t even begin to take a full breath. She managed to wrap her legs around him, squeezing him with her arms and her legs. Her orgasm was on the edge of cresting, and Ander’s hot, shuddering, urgent body felt delicious against hers. She cried out breathlessly as the tension broke inside her, and Ander let go at the same time. As she rode out the waves of pleasure, she was conscious of Ander releasing a loud, guttural sound, just at her ear. His hips jerked and his body seemed to pulse as his own climax ripped through him.
Finally, he met her eyes again. “Lori, you don’t have to be nice. You pay me for my services.” She almost sputtered in outrage. “What the hell does that mean? Of course, I have to be nice. You’re a human being, aren’t you? What the fuck did your father do to you to make you think you don’t deserve to be treated with dignity and humanity?” She hadn’t really meant to voice that last question. Her volatile feelings and confusion got the best of her. But she had voiced it. Almost spit it out in his face. It finally broke the iron control Ander had been using to rein in his feelings. He turned on her abruptly, stepping forward, pressing her back against the wall with his intense presence rather than force. “Lori,” he began, his voice thick and low. He planted one hand on the wall next to her head. “I fuck you. You pay me. That’s our arrangement. That doesn’t entitle you to invade my privacy, demand to see the ‘real me,’ or pry into whatever motivations I might have for doing what I do.”
“I’m not mad,” he said again, although his entire body belied his words. He was coiled so tightly he was practically shuddering. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and his eyes had ignited. Absurdly, Lori felt her body respond. She knew it was entirely inappropriate. They were in the middle of a very bizarre argument, and sex should be the last thing on her mind. But he looked so intense, almost passionate. For once, he seemed to be expressing something real—with his body language if not with his words.
“For the fourth time,” Ander rasped, still speaking into her ear. “I’m not mad.” She shifted restlessly against the wall, dying for some sort of friction against her skin. Her squirming caused her to brush up against Ander. She felt something. Something that shocked her so much her mouth fell open. Her lower belly had brushed against the front of Ander’s trousers. He was hard. He must have seen her reaction. He must know that she knew he was aroused. He didn’t acknowledge it in any way, though. He’d pulled back enough to look her in the eye and ask hoarsely, “Tell me why you’ve continued to schedule engagements with me.” She was too confused and overwhelmed and turned-on and shaky to even begin to make up a lie. So she gasped out the truth. “Because I like having sex with you.” He nodded, as if he’d known she would say that. “So why do you keep making this more complicated than it is?”
“Lori,” he rasped. She didn’t know if it was a question or an expression of pleasure. She answered instinctively. “It feels so good. You come,” she panted. “I want you to come.” His breathing accelerated even more as his whole body started to shake. She’d never experienced anything like it. All the shuddering angst that he’d been trying to stifle earlier seemed on the verge of imploding in her arms. Her eyes blurred over and her nerve endings buzzed with pleasure. She wasn’t working up toward any climax, but the whole thing felt like one long high. Ander arched his neck forward again, lowering his mouth once more to the crook of her neck. She cried out loudly when she felt his teeth bite down into her flesh. Then his whole body pulsed and jerked as he came with an extended guttural sound.
Sucking in air as she came down, she started to claw at Ander’s ass, trying to move him into position, still hungry for more. He adjusted his body to align his cock at her entrance. Then, with a pitch of his hips, he pushed his cock inside her. She arched up again as he entered her. She was tight from nearly a month without sex. “Fuck,” he muttered. He was bracing himself with his hands on the bed, and his face had jerked the side. She wanted him to look at her again. Wanted to see the expression in his eyes. “All right?” she managed to ask. He straightened his neck and opened his eyes. Made a sound that might have been a choked laugh. “Yeah. You ready?”
Lori closed her eyes. She had no intention of opening up about this, but she heard herself saying the words anyway. “I’ve always felt second-best. You know, always in the shadow of someone else. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I was in love with a guy all through high school and college who didn’t love me back. And this thing with Phil kind of made me feel that way again. Like I was being stupid for expecting the hot guy to fall in love with me.” Her voice cracked a little as she concluded, “I guess I keep waiting for someone to choose me, to want me, over all the other women he could have.”
“I’m glad you changed your mind. About scheduling engagements with me.” Something softened in her chest at his slightly stilted words. Maybe it was relief she felt. She was so glad that he seemed to enjoy his engagements with her. Obviously, this wasn’t some sort of fated romance, but at least she was a little more to him than just a job. He seemed to like her well enough, and he didn’t mind having sex with her. She felt like that was quite an accomplishment, given her complete lack of experience. “Me too.” She watched him walk down the hall to the elevator. Lean, upright, sleek, and urban. Infinitely experienced. And somehow wounded.
Lori was panting hoarsely as her body slumped forward. Ander fell with her, and for a moment his hot, sated weight rested on top of her again. He panted too. On each exhale, he made a sound like a moan. And Lori would be perfectly happy for them never to move from this position, from this visceral satisfaction.
He walked silently to the bathroom. She heard the water run in the sink. And she didn’t hear it go off. After a minute, a jolt of sharp curiosity propelled Lori out of her sated stupor. She climbed off the bed and hurried over toward the bathroom, determined to find out what Ander did in there when he took extra time. The door was halfway opened, so she could peer in. Ander stood in front of the sink full of running water. Ander was leaning over, bracing himself with both hands on the counter. His shoulders were slumped, his eyes closed, and his head bent. His face and head were streaming wet, from where he’d evidently splashed water on his face. And he appeared to be taking deep breaths. Lori gaped for a minute. He looked exhausted. Overwhelmed. And strangely aching.
After a long time, he finally started to shift beneath her. His face had been pressed against her neck and her hair, but he lifted it and loosened his arms. Reluctantly, Lori pulled back, peering up at him with trembling lips and stinging eyes. Something about the haunted emptiness of his gaze changed as he saw her face. He lifted a hand and brushed his fingertips along one of her cheeks. Then stared down at the moisture from her tears on his skin. “Are these for me?” he breathed, sounding either astonished or awed. She choked back another little sob at his inability to believe that she would care enough for him to cry. “Ander,” she pleaded, taking his face in both of her shaky hands. “Please let me help.” With a guttural sound, he tightened his arms around her again, but this time he found her lips in a desperate, hungry kiss.
She arched her spine as her pleasure started to crest. Instead of closing all the way, her eyes flew open on a taken breath. And, in that rawest moment, she saw everything in Ander’s eyes. Heat and need and helplessness and rage and desire and loss and primitive power. All of it, there, in his eyes. And she knew—she knew—he needed this even more than she did. She knew that this was his only channel, his only outlet, his only lifeline against the desperate turmoil of his pain. He wasn’t just finding pleasure or escape in her body. He was finding something lost in himself.
“Ander!” she gasped, as one of his hands slipped between her thighs to press against the place she was most hot and wet. Her back arched as she tried to ride his hand with embarrassing abandon. Ander raised his face to stare at her for a moment, his eyes hot, hungry and almost primitive. Then he groaned and leaned forward to mouth her throat. Without warning, he bit down hard. Lori came against his hand with a choked cry.
As they moved together, they held gazes, and she saw everything she needed to know in his eyes. She had no idea how she’d gone so long without seeing, without knowing, without realizing the kind of man Ander really was. He wasn’t a cool man, despite the pretense he put on. He was a passionate man who’d learned not to be. But now she saw real passion in his eyes, in his expression. And it matched the depth of passion in her own heart.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Presents Hero: Nikolai Drakos Heroine: Prunella Palmer Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: May 19, 2016 Started On: November 14, 2023 Finished On: November 18, 2023
Bought for the Greek’s Revenge by Lynne Graham plunges readers into the chaotic world of the main protagonists— a passionate whirlwind of revenge, redemption, and sizzling high-octane chemistry. The story centers around Greek tycoon Nikolai Drakos and his ruthless pursuit of Ella Palmer (Prunella Palmer) for his revenge. Published in May 2016, this is everything fans of Ms. Graham expects from a romance penned by her—fierce, dramatic, and simmering with emotional and sexual tension.
Nikolai is a man on a mission, bent on avenging himself against his archenemy, whom he despises with every fiber of his being. It is the unassuming Ella who inadvertently becomes the pawn in his game of retribution and gets caught in the crosshairs as Nikolai attempts to get to his enemy through her. Nikolai, relentless in his pursuit, buys out Ella’s family debts, coercing her compliance with an offer she can hardly refuse—her family’s financial freedom in exchange for becoming his mistress.
Ella’s predicament is impossible, but she bravely steps into Nikolai’s world, initially agreeing to his terms with little choice. Her character, an alluring mix if innocence and tenderness, has a powerful impact on Nikolai, who soon finds his motivations shifting in unexpected ways. As the story progresses, Nikolai’s hardened exterior cracks, revealing a man who, despite his ruthless ambition, feels a growing protectiveness and attraction toward her. What starts as a vengeful transaction morphs into something altogether different, as Nikolai realizes that the ultimate victory might not be revenge, but claiming Ella as his bride.
Nikolai is the type of hero that Ms. Graham crafts so perfectly. His dark past—marked by neglect and a childhood burdened with emotional scars—makes him both aloof, powerful, and yet deeply wounded, with the untimely loss of his sister having left its mark on him. Ella on the other hand has her own insecurities to contend with, having being engaged once to a man whose rejection of her has left deeply ingrained scars on her psyche.
It is amidst all this that Ms. Graham masterfully crafts a romance that is as complex as it is intense. The relationship between Nikolai and Ella grows with each encounter brimming with heat and emotions, with neither character losing the very qualities that draws readers to them in the first place. Nikolai’s transformation—from a man bent on vengeance to one who learns to love—gives the story depth, as his icy demeanor softens, and the vulnerability he allows Ella to see speaks for itself.
I loved the modern twists and how Ms. Graham balanced intense passion with deep-seated emotional growth. I loved Nikolai and Ella individually and together, and that is in essence half the job done when crafting a romance novel.
For fans of Lynne Graham, Bought for the Greek’s Revenge delivers all the elements of a classic Mills & Boon novel with an extra dose of fire and emotional punch. Nikolai’s relentless passion and Ella’s quiet strength creates a dynamic that keeps the pages turning.
Recommended for fans of Harlequin romances and especially fans of Ms. Graham.
Final Verdict: Bought for the Greek’s Revenge is a must-read for lovers of high-stakes, emotionally charged romance with a fiercely possessive hero and a heroine who finds her own strength amidst the storm.
Favorite Quotes
‘It would take an avalanche to crush your ego, wouldn’t it?’ ‘If I was modest you would walk all over me with pleasure.’ Nikolai was entranced by the glorious green of her eyes against the smooth, fine grain of her porcelain skin. ‘But that’s not what you want from me, is it? You’d much prefer me to take your choices away and give you the excuse to be with me.’
‘I really hate being shouted at,’ Nikolai confided a split second before his hard, sensual mouth claimed hers. And for that same split second it was as though Ella’s world stopped turning and she was jolted off course, sent breathless and spinning into the unknown. Heat surged up through her like an invasive weapon. He eased her out from under him but kept her trapped in his arms. Irritation flamed through her because inexplicably she had liked his crushing weight on hers. Her fists struck at shirt-clad shoulders as unyielding as rock. The tip of his tongue flicked inside her mouth and she shivered violently, the clenching at her secret core almost painful in its intensity. He nipped at her lower lip, sucked and soothed it with his tongue. She wanted more, she wanted more so badly it hurt to be denied and the rushing tide of that hunger shocked her back into her mind again.
Nikolai bent his head and kissed her. It was a slow claiming as the tip of his tongue traced the lush fullness of her lower lip and then delved gently between. A breathy little gasp erupted from her parted lips and she stepped closer. His arms snapped round her and it was the work of a moment for him to swing round and press her back against the car, his sensual mouth driving down hard on hers, his lean, powerful body crushing her against the unyielding metal. Her every skin cell seemed to erupt into life as heat raced through her bloodstream and a bolt of naked yearning surged from low in her pelvis. His mouth was all she cared about. She couldn’t get enough of him, was convinced she would never get enough of him. She gloried in the thrust of his arousal against her, the knowledge that Nikolai Drakos wanted her and couldn’t hide the fact.
A kind of frenzy gripped her muscles and she shook, feeling ecstasy within her grasp and snatching at it. And it ran over and through her, a rolling white-hot wave of convulsive delight and fulfilment that left her drained and limp. Ella was convinced that she would never move again, and then Nikolai moved when she didn’t want him to and she rolled over and rested her head on his chest instead, her arm wrapping round his narrow waist. He dropped a kiss on her damp brow. ‘Thank you,’ he rasped breathlessly. ‘That was amazing.’
‘Stop talking,’ Ella told him. ‘Being thrown on the bed works for me. Seeing you a little out of control is more real than some plan of slow seduction.’ ‘Blame yourself. You’ve been wrecking my plans all day,’ Nikolai asserted, swiping the package off the dressing table and returning to the bed. ‘First you blew my mind on the flight and then you flaunted your gorgeous self in boots and stockings and a garter and I was lost…’ ‘Is that a complaint?’ ‘No.’ A wicked charismatic grin slashed his lean, darkly handsome features. ‘That was an “any time you want me, I’m yours” speech,’ he teased. ‘You can be yourself with me, you know,’ she whispered feelingly. ‘Just do what you feel like.’
He eased over her, rearranged her to his satisfaction, slowly surged in and she shut her eyes tight, every nerve screaming for the satisfaction only he could give. Inch by agonising inch he entered her and when he was finally fully seated she loosed a sound of pleasure she couldn’t hold back. She could feel how damp, how ready she was and his sheer strength as he lifted her up to him, muscles bulging in his forearms, left her weak with longing. He slid back and then plunged, his speed picking up. Excitement detonated inside her and she wrapped her legs round him. As she bucked he pinned her to the mattress and thrust into her fiercely with a primal grunt of pleasure. It went on and on and on until she was sobbing with excitement and the band of tension at the centre of her body was tightening and tightening. Release came in a rush of feral fire, lighting up every nerve and skin cell, and she cried out, her nails raking down his back in an ecstasy of pleasure.
A Maldivian's Passion for Romance 