Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Dual Series: Brutal Birthright, #3 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Nero Gallo Heroine: Camille Rivera Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: September 16, 2020 Started On: March 18, 2024 Finished On: March 23, 2024
I never imagined that Nero could have a gentle touch. I’ve seen him get in more fights than I can count. He’s like a walking weapon—violent, unpredictable, wreaking destruction on whatever he touches.
Savage Lover, branded as a dark mafia romance, is exactly what its title suggests; fast-paced, dangerous, reckless, and charged with an intensity that rarely lets up. It pairs Camille Rivera, a mechanic shouldering more responsibility than anyone her age should bear, with Nero Gallo, the wild card of the Gallo family whose reputation for chaos precedes him everywhere he goes. What begins as an unlikely connection between two people who think they are too broken for love quickly escalates into a high-octane ride filled with fire, risk, and unexpected tenderness.
Camille is the heart of this story. She is grounded, utterly devoted to her family, and continually struggling to keep up with the expenses. With her father gravely ill and her younger brother constantly on the edge of disaster, she is left holding together a crumbling household and a failing business. She is used to being dismissed and underestimated; made a mockery of by the elite in society, abandoned by her mother, and stuck in a cycle that does not leave much room for dreams.
Nero, on the other hand, is the quintessential dark antihero. He is the one people cross the street to avoid, the neighborhood “psychopath” who lives for adrenaline and destruction. At first glance, he is all chaos, speed, and recklessness; but the more we see of him through Camille’s eyes, the clearer it becomes that he is more than the mask he wears. Hollowed out by the emptiness of casual flings and meaningless thrills, Nero awaits something real to shake him awake. And Camille does just that.
While Camille is weighed down by responsibility and desperation, Nero is addicted to risk and danger. Their romance builds not through soft words but through high-stakes encounters, stolen moments, and the kind of chemistry that burns hot enough to scorch. It IS messy, passionate, and like Nero himself, wildly unpredictable.
Nero and Camille are a couple who should not make sense, and yet they do. Their connection is visceral, their banter sharp, and the way he sees her, really sees her, gave the romance its beating heart. While I loved the thrill and the highs as they came, I do not think I would be reading any of the other books in the series, unless something convinces me to take the plunge.
Still, this installment delivers exactly what it promises: a wild, dangerous, ride-or-die kind of love story. Nero may be reckless, but with Camille, he finds something worth holding onto, and that is what makes the chaos meaningful.
Recommended for: Readers who love dangerous antiheroes and high-octane plots.
Final Verdict: High-octane, gritty, and passionate, Savage Lover pairs chaos with heart in a ride-or-die romance that burns hot and fast.
Favorite Quotes
“Do you remember the first time I came to your house?” I ask him. “Of course.” “You said you weren’t anybody’s favorite.” He shrugs. “No, probably not.” “You’re MY favorite,” I tell him. “You’re my favorite person in the world.” He looks over at me, a slow smile spreading across his face.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Dual Series: Off-Campus, #1 Publisher: Bloom Books Hero: Garrett Graham Heroine: Hannah Wells Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: February 24, 2015 Started On: September 11, 2023 Finished On: September 12, 2023
Elle Kennedy’s The Deal offers a potent mix of humor, emotional depth, and sizzling romance, all set against the backdrop of Briar University, known for its elite hockey program. Garrett Graham, the charming hockey jock with a past, and Hannah Wells, the brilliant and resilient heroine with her own trauma, navigate the complexities of university life on their journey towards embracing an unexpected love that blooms to life between them.
Hannah, a rape survivor, is not your typical college girl, harboring the painful secret which casts its shadow over her life, especially as she tries to move forward with her love life. Even as Hannah excels academically, she finds herself unable to do what it takes to make her crush notice her, someone who is painfully oblivious to her existence.
Garrett, the quintessential jock is in need of maintaining his GPA to stay on the hockey team. Hannah and Garrett’s paths cross when Garrett notices Hannah’s academic prowess and persuades her to tutor him, even with Hannah’s misgivings regarding the arrangements. However, a captivating dynamic unfolds between the two from the onset making the story worth delving into.
While Garrett promises to help her with her dating skills, what starts as a transactional arrangement between the two slowly evolves into something deeper. Ms. Kennedy masterfully executes their character development, revealing that when it comes to Garrett, behind the image of the average jock lies a heart of that yearns for deeper and meaningful connection, a man whose emotional depth and capacity alone is sufficient to set hearts afire.
Garrett’s background reveals a childhood that was far from perfect, trying to live up to the expectations of his famous hockey player father. Through his interactions with Hannah and encounters with his father, there emerges a picture of physical and psychological abuse, the trauma of which Garrett has never properly had the chance to heal from.
Hannah’s trauma is just as real, and it is Garrett’s sensitivity that helps her to move forward, especially when it comes to her struggles with exploration of her sexuality. The snarky character she is otherwise is a stark contrast to the vulnerability that she shows to Garrett, and this is one of the best aspects of the story as it unfolds.
The romance between Garrett and Hannah is intense and heartfelt, and I can understand why Garrett is such a favorite amongst romance readers. It is certainly an exhilarating journey to witness how the initial physical attraction between the two grows into something more profound, and ultimately into love. The protective instincts that are roused in both Garrett and Hannah when it comes to each other proves to be the icing on the cake, making both characters appealing and relatable.
In The Deal, Ms. Kennedy has crafted a story that is not only entertaining but also deeply moving, with characters that leave a lasting impression once you turn that last page. Highly recommended for fans of emotionally charged and character-driven love stories.
Final Verdict: The Deal is a compelling romance that balances humor, sensuality, and emotional depth, making it a standout in the New Adult genre.
Favorite Quotes
I falter. Fucking hell. He can’t be serious. And I can’t actually be considering meeting this inane challenge. I’m not attracted to Garrett, and I don’t want to kiss him. End of story. Except…well, it doesn’t feel like the end of anything. My body is engulfed with flames, and my hands are trembling not from nerves, but anticipation. When I picture his mouth pressed against mine, my heart races faster than a drum-and-bass track. What the hell is the matter with me? Garrett inches closer. Our thighs are touching now, and either I’m hallucinating it, or I can actually see his pulse throbbing in the center of his throat. He can’t possibly want this…can he?
“Come on,” he mocks. “We don’t have all night, baby.” Now I’m bristling. Screw it. It’s just a kiss, right? I don’t even have to like it. Shutting that smart mouth of his will be reward enough. Arching a brow, I reach up and touch his cheek. His breath hitches. I sweep my thumb over his jaw, stalling, waiting to see if he’ll stop me, and when he doesn’t, I slowly bring my mouth to his. The second our lips meet, the strangest thing happens. Pulsing waves of heat unfurl inside me, starting at my mouth and then rippling down my body, tingling in the tips of my breasts before traveling even lower. He tastes like the peppermint gum he’s been chewing all night and the minty flavor suffuses my taste buds. My lips part of their own volition, and Garrett takes full advantage by sliding his tongue inside. When my tongue tangles with his, he makes a low, growling noise in the back of his throat, and the erotic sound vibrates through my body.
When he speaks, it’s so nonsensical I’m genuinely caught off-guard. “I thought your name started with an M.” “You thought my name was Mannah?” Garrett snickers. “No, I thought your name was Mona, or Molly, or Mackenzie. Anything with an M.” I don’t know whether to be insulted or amused. “Okay…” “For almost two months, Hannah. I went two months without knowing your name.” “Well, we didn’t know each other.” “You knew my name.” I sigh. “Everyone knows your name.” “How did I go so long without noticing you, damn it? Why did it take seeing a stupid A on your midterm to make me notice?” He sounds so genuinely upset that I scoot closer and kiss him. “It doesn’t matter. You know me now.”
“Ohhh,” I cry out, sagging against him as a rush of sweet bliss races through my body. Garrett rubs my back as I gasp in pleasure. My sex contracts, milking his hard shaft, and his fingers dig between my shoulder blades as he curses. “Hannah…oh fuck, baby, that’s hot.” I’m still catching my breath when he starts thrusting upward, fast and deep, his hips snapping up as he fills me, over and over again until finally he gives one final thrust and groans. His features tighten, dark brows drawn together as if he’s in pain, but I know he’s not. I kiss his neck again, sucking on his feverish flesh as he trembles beneath me, holding me so tight he traps all the air in my lungs.
Format: E-Book Read with: iBooks for iPhone Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Dual Series: For You, #1 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Caden Brooks Heroine: Finlay Grace Thatcher Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: January 30, 2017 Started On: December 09, 2022 Finished On: December 11, 2022
For Finlay by J. Nathan is the first book in the For You series. A new-to-me author once again, Ms. Nathan takes readers through the story of Alabama’s star quarterback, 21 year old Caden Brooks as the hero and 20 year old Finlay Grace Thatcher who enrolls in the same college and takes up the opportunity to work for Alabama’s football coach in order to live the dream of her deceased twin.
Finlay is a guilt-ridden soul, with her brother Cole having died of an undiagnosed heart condition. Their relationship had been fractious at best, the major reason behind her self-condemnation and the penance she tries to pay. Caden is her number one enemy from the start, the memory of Caden at Cole’s funeral having lit the flame of “hatred” towards him. It also does not help that Caden seems to have it all; looks, fame, and all the women he could possibly ever want.
Finlay had always walked in the shadow of her overly famous twin brother, which she had resented. Life had been difficult for her because of the fact, with people trying to get close to her or being nice to her just to get to her brother. Starting fresh, away from her small town, where no one really knows her is supposed to be her fresh start. However, with Caden everywhere she turns, it becomes harder to hate and easier to give in to the intrigue that he rouses.
For Caden, his life is all about football. He does not understand why Finlay is so cold towards him at first, going so far as to ignore his very existence, when Caden finds it hard to reciprocate the attitude towards Finlay.
When these two finally end up together, it seems like a natural progression of their relationship, from being enemies, at least from Finlay’s perspective, to being two people who cannot get enough of each other. Trust is the hardest commodity to come by, especially for Caden who is marked by the scars from his childhood, and that proves to be the test that Caden and Finlay needs to pass in order to truly embrace a future together.
I would not say that I loved this story, but rather liked it for the most part, the bits and pieces that kept it going. I did understand Finlay’s perspective of things, especially when viewed through the lens of self-recrimination that is part and parcel of who she is since the death of her twin. Sometimes there is no logic nor rhyme to how we feel about a person, and I guess that was true to some point when it came to Finlay’s reaction towards Caden.
I guess the reason I did not end up falling in love with the characters nor the story as it developed was that there was some crucial element that was missing, which I cannot really put my finger on. Perhaps somewhere down the line, I will pick up another story from the author to give it a go.
Recommended for fans of new adult contemporary romances that are sports themed.
Final Verdict: For Finlay by J. Nathan is the story of Finlay’s survivor’s guilt preventing her from embracing and living her life to the fullest and how her arch-nemesis changes all of that.
Favorite Quotes
“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, Finlay. I just know I broke up with Leslie because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” Finlay shuddered as my thumb traced her jaw. “I have no idea how I didn’t kiss you in the pool when I wanted to. So. Damn. Bad.” I rolled her onto her back, pinning her body to the bed beneath mine.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Dual Series: Untitled Series, #1 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Jonathan Barclay Heroine: Emelia Mercier Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: June 02, 2022 Started On: August 05, 2022 Finished On: August 06, 2022
It’s a hard thing to explain, to want to be treated like an equal most of the time but, occasionally, with the right person and in the right setting, to want the exact opposite. I want to be thrust up against the door of a bar bathroom and told what to do.
Needing something to rejuvenate me from the dumps I was in after the abysmal disappointment that my last read turned out to be, I needed a pick me up, something that would deliver me from my doldrums. I found the perfect antidote when I stumbled across My Professor by R.S. Grey, first released in June of 2022.
Told in the first person from dual perspectives, this is a May-December romance featuring 32 year old Jonathan Barclay as the hero and 21 year old Emelia Mercier as the heroine. When the story begins, Emelia is a student and Jonathan a professor, teaching History and Philosophy of Historic Preservation at the same university. Emelia’s enrollment in his class ends in disaster for various reasons, the push and pull factor between them being one behind Jonathan’s atrocious behavior when it comes to Emelia.
Four years on, with her master’s degree in architectural conservation from NYU, their paths cross once again when Emelia lands a job at Jonathan’s firm, Emelia mistakenly believing that Jonathan would not remember her. But she couldn’t be further from the truth as the same visceral attraction burns between them, this time around, hotter and far brighter than either of them perhaps anticipated, where each is drawn to the other like a moth to flame.
Emelia is by far the character with the most interesting background in the story, estranged from her family, with her mother having died earlier from cancer. She is alone in the world for the most part, and even if she were so inclined to seek her family out, the truth regarding her conception alone is enough to stop her from doing that.
I felt like this book had such promise which had me glued to the pages. The angst and build-up between Emelia and Jonathan were perfect up to a point. I mean, what could possibly go wrong with the power dynamic between a professor and his student, one that he wants desperately, a want that he schools himself not to show? He even goes as far as to ask her to drop his class, which she ends up doing, cutting off what was blossoming to life between them at that point.
The yearning on Jonathan’s part when seen through his eyes makes up for all the dickhead moves that he puts in place to keep Emelia at bay. But he certainly is not strong enough to douse his own sense of curiosity, want, and desire when it comes to Emelia, especially when he is closer to the truth on where she comes from than he anticipated. I also loved his relationship with his mother – that woman could ruffle his feathers unlike any other.
The tension between Emelia and Jonathan was out of this world, and this brings me to the most disappointing aspect of this novel; Ms. Grey failed to deliver on that extremely tightly wound tension which she built up so spectacularly. I feel that the story would have gained more nuance and helped cement the emotional connection between Emelia and Jonathan, had Ms. Grey taken these two through a series of illicit and forbidden encounters between them over the passage of time, which would have given depth to their connection as well.
It was taking the easy way out if you ask me, to bring that heady tension between Jonathan and Emelia to its ultimate and foregone conclusion towards the end of the book, failing also to focus on the submissive nature of Emelia when it comes to her sexual needs and desires, something that Jonathan was more than well equipped and ready to handle. I have one message for authors who tend to do that; don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time – building up the tension to ferocious levels and failing to deliver is impolite at best. And I am being polite here with my choice of words.
I also failed to see the emotional connection and spark between Emelia and Jonathan develop to levels that I wanted. I mean don’t get me wrong, they were both fabulous characters in their own right and I rooted for them big time. But at the same time, there were so many threads to the story that were taking place, that I felt that Emelia and Jonathan’s budding “romance” took a back seat when all was said and done. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading this little number and am thankful for the huge role it played in taking me out of my reading slump.
Recommended for fans of Ms. Grey and fans of May-December trope romances. This one had more professor vibes going for it than Hey, Mr. Marshall!
Final Verdict: It is a heady journey to witness the undoing of the tightly wound Professor Barclay, whose legendary control over his baser nature is torn to shreds at long last!
Favorite Quotes
“Look at me.” My gaze sweeps to him instantly. My body is such a traitor where he’s concerned. “The mistakes of the past…” He sniffs and looks away as if disgusted by himself. “They will not be repeated.” I bite down on the inside of my cheek. “Furthermore, outbursts like that one in the car will not be tolerated.” “You goaded me,” I blurt out rudely. Like a whip, his gaze lashes me. “You don’t know the meaning of goad.”
“You haven’t said anything about my dress, Professor Barclay.” “You don’t want to hear my thoughts about you in that dress.” Oh but I do. I really, really do. “One word won’t hurt,” I say, smiling in innocence. He opens the back door of the car and deposits me inside. His blue eyes are level with mine as he leans in to click my seat belt into place. “Lethal.” Then the door gets slammed, and I’m left alone in the back seat, blinking.
I take a baby step toward him. It’s barely anything, but it’s enough to feel intimate and wrong. If someone were to turn a corner and find us here, it wouldn’t look innocent. I look him over, taking my time. “I like when you’re dressed like this. This suit fits you to a T. Your tie is done perfectly, your pocket square is folded neatly. You look so proper…” Knowing I’m playing with fire, I lift my finger to trail it down the center of his tie and my eyes follow, but then I pause and let my gaze flit back to his as the truth spills out. “Just like the professor I can’t stop fantasizing about.” My words are kerosene. He has me hauled back against the wall behind me so fast I almost whimper, and his hand reaches up to grab my chin in a punishing grip—a grip he knows I like.
“I pulled up the boy’s HR file. Should I send an email, have him fired on the spot?” My body tenses in panic. “You wouldn’t. That’s cruel, and ridiculous. He did nothing wrong.” “He made you smile,” he says, wistfully ensnared by my pout. I narrow my eyes. “Are you always this territorial?” A beat passes. “No.” Then he bends down and kisses me.
“Tell me you love me,” he insists. “I love you.” The words slip from my mouth like they’ve waited there my whole life. “Again,” he says haughtily. “I love you,” I say, more emphatically this time, exasperated even. Don’t you see it? Can’t you feel it? My spark lights his. What impatience I felt a moment ago he matches now, kiss for kiss, touch for touch.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Fisherman #1 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Fisher Mann Heroine: Therese Capshaw Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: September 30, 2021 Started On: October 30, 2021 Finished On: November 01, 2021
The Naked Fisherman by Jewel E. Ann is the first book in the Fisherman duet series. The story begins with 18 year old Therese Capshaw (Reese) travels to see her mom for the first time in five years. Having been incarcerated for growing marijuana, Reese’s mom spends five years in a women’s correctional facility, while her dies three three years into her mom’s jail term, which means Reese had gone under the care of her paternal grandparents, who had ensured that she grow up with the right Christian values by sending her to a private Christian academy in Texas.
When she arrives, Reese finds out that her mom is leaving her in the care of her landlord for just a month’s time, the landlord who turns out to be none other than 28 year old Fisher Mann. From the get-go, Fisher teases her, all because she is easy game with her naivety born out spending her most formative teenage years at the Christian academy.
Reese is enthralled, shocked, aroused, and at the same time uncomfortable by what Fisher makes her feel. The way he treats her as a child who knows nothing one minute, and the next turns on his charms with a gusto makes her feel scorched and leaves her helpless in her response to him.
Given that this is a two book series, The Naked Fisherman ends on a cliffhanger and unless you already gave up on reading this one halfway through, you would definitely want to know how all of it ends. Which is what happened to me.
Jewel E. Ann has a way of writing her stories that draws the reader in, regardless of the trope she takes on. With an age gap of ten years between the hero and heroine, Fisher is a man who is a bit of a commitment-phobe, enjoying his life to the fullest. It is a tad difficult to gauge his feelings (developing or otherwise), when it comes to Reese because the story is told solely from Reese’s point of view in the first person.
I felt quite conflicted for the most part of the story – perhaps that is by design. Rather than feeling the sexual tension, I felt like Fisher was being inappropriate because he was taking advantage of Reese’s innocence in a way. The fact that Reese feels uncomfortable about it is telling. It is not Reese’s fault that she ended up with a conservative set of grandparents, who molded her to their way of thinking. I also felt like this book looks down on religion as a concept, making it sound as if being conservative and/or religious is the bane of everyone’s existence.
I have seen some reader reviews taking on quite the judgmental tone when it comes to Reese and her understanding and viewpoints at first towards LGBTQ. Religious values for the most part guide us towards what is right and wrong. As society has evolved and moved away from religion, the ethics and legal framework that rules society has taken cues from the evolving expectations of humans, which of course has meant the acceptance of LGBTQ and the worldwide campaign to inculcate everyone with these values.
What I find funny is that while the same groups of people talk about acceptance and advocates against judging the other for their chosen paths, the same comes out with their guns blazing to condemn anyone who holds different values close to their heart. Live and let live is only a phrase that is applicable for those who are on the path of the majority accepted norms now, and anyone who believes otherwise, either because of their religion or any other philosophies that guides their lives, are considered to be rigid, judgemental, and not fit for modern society.
Fisher certainly leads Reese on, turning hot and cold when it suites him, giving not just Reese a whiplash before all is said and done. The whole deal with not taking Reese’s virginity, and Fisher acting “noble” by stating that Reese’s husband would thank him for it was kind of off putting as well. If Fisher did not want to be responsible for taking Reese’s virginity, all well and good. But entire scenes focused on this aspect got a bit tiresome for me.
Reese’s inner conflict when it comes to being with Fisher is something I could identify with. You do not lose sight of how you are brought up, the values instilled in you, just because you meet the kind of man that takes your breath away. Your conscience would still speak up, and it is up to that person to decide how they want to move forward from that point onward. Calling Reese dumb, pathetic, or worse because of that just shows how judgmental society has become in a bid to accept the popular norms.
For those who are fans of Jewel E. Ann, the reviews are mixed, so I recommend to read this at your own risk.
Final Verdict: The Naked Fisherman is a story that invoked a lot of mixed feelings in me, from religious conservatism to being less than comfortable with the Fisher’s attitudes and actions towards Reese at certain points!
Favorite Quotes
“Why are you running from me?” He was right at my back. I forced myself to turn toward him, and it took superhero strength. He stepped toward me. I stepped back. We did this dance until a wall stopped my retreat. He pressed his hands to the wall above my head, and my heart rate spiked a thousand percent. The air exchange in my lungs sounded like that of someone finishing a marathon. Was I reading him wrong? It wouldn’t have been the first time I got it wrong and felt like a fool. But that moment felt different. The look in his eyes wasn’t the same. The part of his lips. The increased intensity of his own chest rising and falling.
“A-are you g-going to kiss me?” His lips pulled into a hint of amusement. “I was thinking about it.” Fisher’s patience killed me, completely slayed me. It was as if he had to solve the world’s problems in his head before he kissed me. But I didn’t want to be a problem of the world. I wanted to be the girl—the woman—he kissed on a Monday night for no good reason. Not everything in life needed an explanation. Couldn’t we steal a few seconds, a kiss, without accountability? “Will you be done thinking about it anytime soo—” Fisher kissed me.
“Did you get a lot of work done today?” He gripped my waist, and my hands flew to his shoulders because I wasn’t sure what he was doing. Then he lifted me onto the counter and stepped into the space between my spread legs. Just like the previous night, everything in my body kicked into overdrive. “I …” Swallowing hard, I gave him a nervous smile. “I sorted and filed today.” “That’s good.” He brushed my hair away from my shoulders and dipped his face into my neck. I stiffened feeling the warmth of his breath spread along my skin. My hands slid from his shoulders to his hair, searching for control. If I didn’t want him to kiss my neck, I could have yanked him away. But I did.
A sharp, audible gasp left my parted lips just as he sucked my earlobe into his mouth and released it a second later by dragging his teeth along it. All the weird things happened at once. Heat in my cheeks worked its way down to everywhere. Pressure built between my legs. I swear it felt like I’d peed a little, but I knew better. Heaviness in my breasts. Even my nipples felt different—sensitive as they pressed against the fabric of my bra. Copious amounts of saliva required constant swallowing to keep from drooling. I was afraid to be touched anymore yet needed to be touched. It was so foreign and impossible to articulate even to myself.
“Come here.” After a few seconds of hesitation, I crawled onto the bed close to him. “Straddle my legs.” Biting my quivering lower lip, I straddled his jean-clad legs. The level of intimacy made it nearly impossible to breathe. “Higher.” I scooted higher. He sat up, shrugging off his shirt, and I jumped as his hands found my hips, his fingers grazing my butt. Our noses nearly touched. “I’m going to kiss you. And touch you.” His voice was just a whisper, a warm breath over my lips. “And you’re going to do whatever you need to do to feel … good. And if you get scared, I want you to close your eyes and know that I’ve got you. You’re not too young or too anything. You are you. And I just think that you’re … beautiful.”
We kissed, unhurried, almost lazily. My hands navigated his chest and back, every muscle, every bend in the terrain of his body. Fisher feathered his calloused hands over my bare skin, sending goose bumps spreading across it. Our kiss deepened, a soft moan breaking the silence. It took me a few seconds to realize it was me, not him. Fisher’s fingers slid up my inner thighs. I stiffened, eyes wide. He blinked a few times and slowly kissed me again. When I closed my eyes, I let go … finding trust in the man who “had me.” His fingers teased the leg of my panties. My right hand found his hair as my left hand clawed his back.
“Fisher … m-move …” “Move what?” he asked with so much control I thought I might die of my own impatience. “E-everything. Just … move.” His strong hands claimed my hips again, only this time, they gripped me a little harder, and he moved me over him. He did it for me, and it felt so addictive I couldn’t formulate a coherent thought. He did it for him, and his breaths grew more labored, his kisses more desperate. I wanted nothing more than to know what it would feel like for him to be inside of me. “Fisher … I … I think I want you to take off your jeans.” He reclined back onto my pillow and grinned as I leaned forward, resting my hands on his chest, my hair falling around my face and his. “You don’t … not yet.” His eyelids grew heavy as his pelvis lifted from the bed.
“I’m going to kill Rory for leaving you with me.” He took a step forward and grabbed the back of my hair, clenching it in his hand and forcing my head to the side as he sucked and licked my neck. “F-Fisher …” I clawed his biceps to steady myself. He wasn’t kissing my red lips and smearing my lipstick. I gave him a little credit for that, but he still seemed to be teetering on the verge of control as his other hand slid up the front of my shirt. I gasped when his rough hand palmed my bare breast. He groaned, his thumb circling my nipple. “Oh my God—gosh …” I stumbled over using the Lord’s name in vain.
Fisher grabbed my face and kissed me, our tongues mingling as my nipples brushed his chest. And I needed more. My fingers teased his abs just above the waist of his jeans, and he moaned into the kiss. Then my brave and completely inexperienced fingers moved lower, tracing the outline of his erection, and his hips thrust forward into my touch as he moaned a little louder … kissed me a little harder … and lifted me onto the edge of the pool table. It was wrong. I thought. I maybe even knew. But I didn’t want to take responsibility … not yet. The feeling … the drug he became … was too strong.
“So … you won’t take my virginity.” It felt weird having that conversation because he’d said something so eerily similar to me. “What will you take from me?” With a contemplative expression that seemed to border on the painful side, he whispered, “Let’s start with your clothes.” I wondered … I wondered so hard when he made the decision to draw a line. He knew as well as I did that Rory wouldn’t be okay with anything we had done together. It wasn’t just me pushing lines and bending rules to serve my own needs and desires; Fisher did it too. I just didn’t know why. He could have had Angie or Teagan or a million other women meeting his sexual needs. Why me?
“I’m going to fucking devour you,” he said just before his mouth covered my bare flesh. Just before his tongue parted me. Just before he hummed. I was … Terrified to have his mouth there. Elated because it felt so good. Too good. Sinfully good.
My hands ghosted down his back. His hands gripped my butt. Thrust. Thrust. Thrust. I spread my legs wider, allowing him to push into me a fraction more. Thrust. Thrust. Thrust. Each move a little harder. Each breath a little more ragged, just like his next words. “I.” Thrust. “Want.” Thrust. “Inside of you.” Thrust. Thrust. Thrust. “So fucking bad.”
With a smug expression, he eyed me like he used to do, but I didn’t fall for it. “It’s almost too easy.” “What’s too—” He kissed me. Hard. Harder than he had ever kissed me. And I fought him, but I lost because I did want him to kiss me. It’s all I wanted. But it didn’t mean I was going to give myself to him. No matter how much I wanted his kiss, it didn’t change what had happened between us. My hand dropping the empty bottle to the floor so my fingers could dive into his hair didn’t change anything either. His hands grabbed my ass and lifted me off my feet. Fisher kissed me and carried me up the stairs like a drunk man on a mission. Through the door. Down the hallway. Onto his bed.
He grabbed my face and kissed me a little softer than just seconds earlier. Dragging his lips across my face, dotting it with kisses, he whispered in my ear, “Your husband can thank me.” Those words stopped my heart. The warm blood in my veins ran cold, sending an icy jolt along my spine. Fisher lifted my hips and positioned me over him, pushing into me an inch, maybe not even. Tears filled my eyes as I stilled, not letting him move my hips any farther. And I saw it in his eyes. The pain. The love. The conflict. More than anything, I saw all the reasons I fell for Fisher Mann. He knew we weren’t at the right place to make us work, but he was willing to give me the one thing I thought I wanted. He wanted to give me all he had to give, even though he knew it wouldn’t be enough.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance Series: Nashville Neighborhood, #1 Publisher: Shady Creek Publishing Hero: Greg Lowe Heroine: Cassidy Shepard Sensuality: 4.5 Date of Publication: August 29, 2018 Started On: June 13, 2021 Finished On: June 14, 2021
The Doctor by Nikki Sloane, debut book in the Nashville Neighborhood series is my very first read from the author, giving me a taste of her titillating writing style which drew me in from the start.
19 year old Cassidy Shepard has been dating her boyfriend Preston Lowe for three years, with their senior class having even voted them “Most Likely to Marry Their High School Sweetheart”. However, Cassidy starts to feel a change in how Preston sees her and treats her, and the final straw comes as both of them are back home for the holidays and Preston’s callous attitude just becomes all too much.
Usher in Greg Lowe, none other than her ex-boyfriend’s father, the savior in every form when it comes to Cassidy’s inner turmoil over the breakup. Greg is a trauma surgeon working long hours, who is mostly never around and looks younger than he is. A simple touch from Greg offered as comfort, changes the dynamics between the two and lets Cassidy know that the heat that she feels with his touch is not just one-sided.
Thus starts the sexiest and at times raunchiest affair that I have come across in a book of late, which definitely kept the pages turning. Though initially when the transition from father of the ex-boyfriend to the new lover happened just like that, I was a trifle bit apprehensive that the story line would not work. But somehow, when all was said and done, Ms. Sloane did make it work.
At some point in the story, I was of the mind that every woman should have a Dr. Lowe teach them or show them the wonders of sex and lovemaking as it should be, by making their partner feel cherished, desired, and coveted all at the same time. But alas, real life does not offer Dr. Lowes’ in abundance.
Since the story is mainly told from the first person point of view (Cassidy’s), the way Greg feels is a bit hard to decipher, except of course that when it comes to the kink, of which he has a lot up his sleeve. The doctor definitely knows his way around the bedroom and then some, if you ask me. But through the conversations that takes place on the side, there emerges the picture of the man that Greg is deep inside; sensitive to the needs of his son to a point where he had neglected living a life of his choosing.
While Cassidy (as expected), acted bratty at certain points through the story, Greg seemed to take those things in stride, which I guess is love in its truest form? You accept the person as they are because life without them would just not be worth the heartache and loneliness.
Fabulously hot sex (explains the number of quotes with this review), with just enough of a plot line to keep the emotions engaged. Recommended for those who are looking for their next smutty read. This one delivers in spades and Ms. Sloane definitely deserves the title of Queen of Smut!
Final Verdict: Sexy, commanding, thoughtful, and sensual describes Dr. Lowe; every woman deserves one, in bed and out of it!
Favorite Quotes
Warning sirens blared in my mind, but it was useless. His gentle, hesitant kiss roared loudly through my body, drumming back any other sound. His soft lips moved against mine, cautious and testing, and I answered back. Even more, I encouraged. I opened my mouth to welcome his seeking tongue. He drew in a sharp breath through his nose as our reckless kiss deepened, but it didn’t stop his exploration of my mouth. Behind my back, his palm urged me into him, and his grip on my face firmed. His lush tongue dipped past my lips, slid against mine, causing goosebumps to burst down my legs. I couldn’t think, breathe, or even move as he kissed me, because I worried I’d break the spell.
I gripped the edge of the counter and moaned as he stirred careful circles over my clit. The tiniest touch from him caused me to flinch and shiver. Ecstasy rocketed up and down my spine like lightning. His mouth was pressed against the side of my neck, and my hair fluttered with his rapid, uneven breathing. Like last time, I was both feverishly hot and frigid cold. My nipples tightened and protruded through my unlined bra and tank top, as if wanting to be closer to him. It sent me into chaos. The way his skillful fingers stroked and touched me, I was going to melt into a puddle.
Could he read my thoughts through my eyes? “If I kiss you,” he said, “that’s it. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.” I exhaled softly and stared at his lips. I was here, ready. Desperate. “Then, kiss me.” He moved fast, sealing his mouth over mine and stealing all the air from the room. The kiss was explosive. Heat flared from where his lips met mine, spreading outward like wildfire, engulfing me. I cased his neck with my hands, pretending to steady him when I was really stabilizing myself. Everything went weak inside me. My bones turned to jelly.
“Fuck.” He whispered it as he began to drag the panties down and nuzzled his face into the cradle of my lap. “Oh my God.” I gripped his broad shoulders. His lips followed the descent of my underwear, kissing each new spot of my flesh he revealed. I was going to explode. Burst into a million pieces and flutter to the ground like burnt confetti. His mouth inched along the top of my slit, and something like panic gurgled in my system. I wasn’t supposed to do this, but dear God, how I craved the slippery slide of his tongue, desperate for him to go lower.
I clutched at the comforter beneath my body—like having a physical handle on something would help. The sensation was too intense. I wanted to control it, but I’d have better luck holding back the waves of the ocean. He had his mouth on me, and part of him was inside my body. Claiming me. It made me want more. I shouldn’t, but I wanted all of him. This thought was my undoing. “Shit,” I groaned, locking up as the orgasm surged. Heat flooded through my veins, searing my nerves. I fell into a million pieces while pleasure roared up and down my body, leaving me cold and flushed as it subsided.
He was right at my entrance and began to push, easing inside. I locked my legs around him so tightly, his hipbones dug into the insides of my thighs. Greg’s eyes were as dark as coffee, and the color deepened as he advanced. He watched intently, studying every breath I swallowed as he claimed me. Oh, shit, the uncomfortable stretch felt good. A delicious shiver tore through my body. I reached up a hand to cup the side of his face and held on to him, even as my lips rounded into a silent moan. “Fuck,” he uttered so quietly, it was a ghost of a word.
I arched off the mattress, pushing myself into his hands, wriggling against his hips beating against mine. Gone was the unsure girl I’d been before. Beneath Greg, the sexual woman I’d always wanted to be came alive. He looked stunning as the fading light from outside played across his chest, his expression intense and focused. I didn’t bother holding back the whimpers and sounds of enjoyment, and he didn’t either. He grunted and sighed as he rutted into me, both taking and giving pleasure.
I was slick between my legs, and faint sweat clung to my skin. It was the same for him. It beaded at his forehead and glossed his face. We looked so good together. I tightened my hold on the smooth post of dark wood, bracing myself so hard, my muscles strained. My pulse thundered as he slipped one hand down, his fingertips searching my slit. He strummed there, making me gasp. “Shit,” I cried out, arching back so my head rested on his collarbone. Even with my head tipped back, I watched the mirror through my half-lidded eyes. How could I not? His powerful body behind mine, fucking me into oblivion, was a sight to behold. I’d never forget it as long as I lived.
“You want to hear about my fantasies, Cassidy? Because there are a lot, and they are very, very bad.” Just like me. I nearly said it out loud, but I’d turned to liquid under his mouth. I couldn’t catch my breath as I swallowed a gulp, so I nodded enthusiastically. “Tell me. I bet I want to do them all.” He made a sound like I’d stroked a hand over his erection, even though I hadn’t yet, and his face took a dark, sexual cast. It was primal and gorgeous. Greg’s mouth slammed into mine, his tongue pushing past my lips and invading. This kiss wasn’t like the others. It was blistering, and punishing, and rewarding. He shoved a hand up my shirt and gripped my bra-covered breast, all while his mouth fucked mine.
“Show me,” he commanded again. “You put on that dress, so I’m not the only one with bad thoughts.” The wickedness of his order had me trembling against the dresser, and the brass pulls on the drawers rattled quietly. I stared at the glide of his hand over himself, each pass making him harder and bigger. A dull ache inside me burned, and I grew hot and slick between my legs. The dress was supposed to make me feel powerful, yet I was powerless to stop the sigh from seeping from my lips, or the way my hands clawed at my skirt, hitching it upward.
“What happens to bad girls, Cassidy?” I froze. I hadn’t realized we were playing a game, and now it was clear it was my turn. My move. I could answer any way I wanted. Tell him bad girls got sent home, or put in time-out . . . or fucked. I balled the sheets into my fists, closed my eyes, and pressed my cheek to the bed. Hopefully he wanted the answer I was going to give. “They get punished,” I breathed. It was immediate. There was a whoosh of air, and the smack of skin registered before the sensation of his spanking did. The sting radiated up my backside, rippling outward. I bit down on my bottom lip. No one had ever hit me before. Not Preston, not my mom, and certainly not the father I’d never met. “You deserved that,” Greg said in a seductive tone, “didn’t you?” “Yes,” I panted.
And then he was there, nudging. The tip of his hard dick pushed and intruded, one delicious inch at a time. “Oh, Jesus. Oh, God,” I babbled through my short gasps of breath. “Yes, that’s it.” His sigh was heavy with satisfaction, and I felt it mirrored inside me. He slipped deeper as his hands grasped my waist and pulled me back onto him. All the way until his pelvis was pressed flat against my ass, and he was so hard inside me I couldn’t see straight. We stayed motionless, me bent over the bed and him standing behind, just breathing and enjoying the way it felt. Fuck, it felt so good. He throbbed inside me, and my body squeezed in reply. And even though we weren’t moving, blood thundered through my veins. My pulse sped along, banging loudly in my ears.
“You like that?” he asked darkly. “Yeah.” He did it again. And again. His hold on my hair began to ache, but I said nothing. As his tempo picked up, his grasp on my arm tightened, drawing me further back toward him so my spine was shaped like a U. He pounded into me, our bodies slapping together with a punishing, angry rhythm, and it was sexy. I listened to the sound of us fucking and grew wetter and hotter. “Fuck, your pussy is insane.”
My whimpers of enjoyment swelled and grew frantic. Tingles raced up and down my legs. Every inch of my skin felt alive. The slap of his body against mine hit all the right spots, inside and out. My mind focused in on a single need, the desperate release of tension. “Oh,” I gasped. “Uh huh,” he encouraged. “I’m gonna come. You’re going to make me fucking come, Cassidy.”
Greg leaned forward, set his forehead against mine, and watched me intently as he tugged at the knot behind my neck. Tension went out of the strings. He caught one and used it to peel the wet cup away from my breast, exposing my already-erect nipple to the night air. His arms wrapped behind my back, causing me to arch upward, and I stared at the stars in the sky above us as his mouth closed on my breast. He licked, and sucked, and bit softly at me, and I made all the quiet cries of pleasure he’d told me he loved hearing. I couldn’t stop myself, even if I had wanted to. The empty ache between my legs was constant and throbbing.
He’d untied my bikini top slowly, but now he attacked the knots at my hips, yanking them open. I gasped as he jerked the fabric away, tossed it into a heap, and nuzzled his face between my legs. The rough, coarse ends of his beard brushed against my inner thighs. I clenched a hand on the back of his head, holding on as his tongue probed the most intimate part of me. His kiss was electric. It jolted me with a shock, and I cried out on every long, deliberate lick he delivered. I moaned as he fluttered and massaged the tip of his tongue against my clit. Sparks shot across my skin, making me convulse. Greg wrapped a hand around each of my thighs and pushed them back toward me, opening me further to him. The pleasure was intense. Like nothing I’d ever felt.
“This is my fantasy,” he said. He rubbed the tip of his cock on my slit, making me squirm and shift. I needed him inside me. Couldn’t he see how desperate I was? His gaze moved along my body until it connected with mine. “My fantasy,” he continued, “every day since I saw you out here with him.” My mouth dropped open in surprise then rounded into a silent moan as he pushed himself into me. It felt like he was everywhere. Inside my body, inside my mind, inside the deepest recesses I didn’t allow myself to go. It couldn’t be his fantasy—because it was mine. I tried to tell him, but his first thrust was so powerful, all I could do was grab the cushion beneath us and hang on. “I was jealous. So unbelievably jealous.” Greg widened his knees, which were tucked under my spread legs, and pumped his hips a second time. I recoiled with pleasure, and a victorious look lit up his eyes. “Watching him get to fuck you, when I wanted it to be me. I wanted it to be like this.” Oh. My. God. I was a stick of dynamite, and his confession cut the fuse in half. One spark and I was done for.
“I wanted it to be you,” I said in a blur. I hadn’t even admitted it to myself, and now here I was, saying it out loud. “After I saw you—” How far should I go with this? Should I tell him all of it? “I closed my eyes and imagined I was with you.” “Oh, fuck,” he said and descended upon me. The intensity of our movements went wild. Finding out our dark appetites matched each other was liberating, and we reveled in it. His rhythm changed from seduction and passion, and crossed into a territory that was more primal.
“You’re flushed. Breathing hard.” He seized my wrist, pressed his index finger to my pulse point, and peered down at his watch, counting the seconds. “Your pulse is elevated.” I had no idea my wrist was an erogenous zone, but in Greg’s hands, every inch of my skin felt that way. I swallowed a breath. “I’m having a reaction to something.” God, his expression was corrupt and victorious as he walked me backward toward a wall. He feigned concern. “Any idea what’s causing it?” He wasn’t playing fair, but I liked it. “No . . . Doctor.” The second the words left my mouth, we burst into flames. His lips slammed against mine at the same instant my back hit the wall. His hands were on my waist, then under my shirt, sliding over my belly and skimming upward. I clenched the lapels of his coat as our tongues tangled with each other, battling for control. He won, of course.
“I want you to take off your clothes, get into my bed, and make yourself come.” I gasped, but he wasn’t finished. “You,” he said, “playing with yourself in my bed? Fuck.” He smoothed a hand down his leg, straightening the swell that threatened. “That’s my fantasy. I want you rolling around in my sheets, making them smell like you. Make that whole room smell like sex by the time I get home.” My mouth hung open, and then I closed it with an audible snap.
I jammed my hand in between my body and the bed, fumbling toward his expert fingers to slow him down and control the pace, but I was much too late. My climax hit me like a gunshot and ricocheted through my body, burning a thousand degrees. A desperate cry burst from my lips as pleasure flooded my core. It was followed by spiderwebbing tendrils of satisfaction, sweeping along my limbs as I convulsed beneath the crush of his strong body. “Yes,” he murmured. “Yes.” And then the muscles in his chest went rigid. His body locked up for a half-second and began to shudder in mindless jerks. I could feel every throb of him as he spurted his orgasm, wave after wave. It was intense and overwhelming. I went hazy in the aftermath.
“I’m not going to touch you.” He declared it loudly, his voice ringing in the cavernous space, traveling up to the balcony of the second floor. Anxiety ratcheted inside me. “What?” “I’ve spent the last year wanting you, but I wasn’t able to touch. Tonight, you’re going to see what that’s like.” His gaze drilled deep down into me. “You’re going to watch what you do to me.” “I don’t understand,” I sputtered, shifting on my heels as I stood before him, only an arm’s length away. “You know how many times I imagined you coming to me? How badly I wanted you to seduce me?” He rolled his shoulders back in the chair and widened his legs, getting comfortable in his seat. “That’s my ultimate fantasy, Cassidy.” Oh. My. God. My chest tightened. “You want me to seduce you?” The smile that curled across his lips was like the devil’s, and it was fucking hot.
Since I understood the game now, I went in for the kill. I closed the space between us, threaded a hand through his thick hair, and lifted my leg, pulling his lips to where my body was hot and slick. His eyes went wide and then closed, happy to fulfill my request. I hooked one leg over his shoulder. My knee threatened to buckle at the first swipe of his tongue, and the grunt he gave was erotic. I held my tenuous balance as he stroked and massaged my clit with his velvet tongue, giving me the most intimate of kisses. The scene played out before me. His head was right beside the black band at the top of my thigh-high stocking, his mouth moving over my bare, pink skin.
The bra slid away from my body, releasing my breasts, and I dropped it delicately on the floor. It cost more than my last paycheck, after all. Greg tipped his forehead toward me, letting it rest against my collarbone, and I arched instinctively into him. The whiskers of his beard pressed in the valley between my breasts, and—good God—it felt so good when I moved, rubbing my heavy, tingling skin against his face. He sighed, and the beautiful sound reverberated through my core. “Fuck,” he said, long and low. Between my parted legs, I felt the swell of his hardening dick, and I swiveled on him, grinding against what I wanted inside me. The chair beneath us creaked, but not from my movement—it was his tight grip on the wood.
My moans and whimpers swelled as the heat inside my core surged. I writhed on him, casting my head back as I jerked his face into me, yanking on his suitcoat. I crushed his head to my heaving chest, undulating like a girl possessed, and shivered as his mouth locked around one of my nipples. “Oh, God, yes,” I cried. The stream of words came from him rapid-fire. “That’s it, fuck me.” His hands suddenly moved. One gripped my thigh, and the other slid onto the small of my back. His palm and fingers pressed into me so hard, my bare skin dented around it. He pushed and pulled, urging me to ride him faster. “Come on me.” His words were law—no alternative. And as the orgasm dug its hooks in, pulling me upward, he sensed it. “Fucking yes.”
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Lachlan Matthew Taylor Heroine: Dandelion Meadows Sensuality: 3.5 Date of Publication: March 25, 2020 Started On: August 14, 2020 Finished On: August 19, 2020
Sweet Dandelion by Micalea Smeltzer is from a new to me author, whose books that I would definitely be checking out from here onwards.
Following the aftermath and recovery from a school shooting that renders the heroine Dandelion Meadows unable to cope, it is the requirement tat she takes counseling sessions at school that puts her in the path of the 29 year old school counselor, Lachlan Matthew Taylor.
Dandelion has been trying to move on from what happened for the past nine months, having lost her so much at the school shooting incident. The trauma is raw and alive within her, and though Dandelion is skeptical of the efficacy of the sessions she is required to take, meeting Lachlan is an experience in itself.
From the start, Lachlan is conscientious of her needs. He does not push her into going in directions which is extremely difficult for her, but at the same time, Dandelion finds herself drawn to, and at peace with her thoughts when it comes to the her sessions with Lachlan.
When things start to change between them, even though both Dandelion and Lachlan try their darnedest to not let it happen, somehow, somethings in life are inevitable. It is pretty difficult for Lachlan to reconcile his burgeoning feelings for Dandelion with that of his role as her school counselor and as a result he struggles more than Dandelion does when it comes to the consequences of their coming together. The fact that he is also a lot older than Dandelion is one reason, and even though both Lachlan and Dandelion are lonely in a way that they both alone identify with, there is a whole host of challenges that they both need to overcome, if their love is to survive.
There is a sweet poignancy to the story as it unfolds, and Lachlan, my God Lachlan!, is definitely one for the book boyfriends list. He is sweet, dreamy, kind, has a soul that yearns for love and deep abiding connection with the other half of his soul, loves fiercely and gently at the same time, and is demanding and intense in bed, setting the pages afire. I loved Lachlan from the very first moment he came into the picture, and in a way, he reminded me of Professor Lukas Halstrom, but Lachlan is definitely one of the most unique heroes I have come across and I fell for him hard and fast.
Dandelion has her own growing up to do, even though she has an old soul that yearns for Lachlan in every single way. Even with everyone in her life dead set against the thought of Lachlan and her together, Dandelion knows that she would choose to be with him in a heartbeat, if he were willing to take the risk. But then true love is sometimes never as easy to conquer as we would like to think, and there is a lot that Dandelion goes through before she is ready to take that step and understand where Lachlan was coming from all along.
Needless to say, I loved Sweet Dandelion. It is no mean feat to cast two protagonists whose love would be frowned upon and castigated severely by society (and it is usually for good reason), and make it into something so profoundly beautiful that I am at a loss as to how to properly describe the feelings that coursed through me as I delved deeper into their story. The in-depth characterisation, how comprehensively Ms. Smeltzer explored the range of emotions between the two, not to mention that of the secondary characters in the story; all that and more lent this tale an edge that lasted up till the last page was read and done.
There is nary a word nor character that I would do away with in Sweet Dandelion and I believe this is what extraordinary romance books are all about – taking on difficult tropes and working them out in a way that leaves the reader spellbound from start to finish. The TWO (not one), epilogues tucked at the end made up for a lot that happened as the story reached towards its climax and beyond, and I loved and reveled in all of it!
Definitely recommended for those who love romances that sweep you off your feet. Sweet Dandelion is one for the records and Lachlan, definitely a keeper!
Final Verdict: Sweet Dandelion is story that is nuanced, sumptuous, and phenomenal; Lachlan and Dandelion sweep you off your feet on a journey that is worth every obstacle faced along the way to their HEA!
Favorite Quotes
I lean over, closing the short distance between us. The peppermint on his tongue permeates the air and I lick my bottom lip before I press my lips to his. My mouth tingles from the taste of him. He doesn’t move at first, but then a manly growl echoes in his throat. His long strong fingers tangle in my hair. His hold is tight enough to hurt, but isn’t painful. His tongue finds mine and that minty taste is everywhere. I’ve never been kissed like this before. It’s a ravaging more than a kiss, like he’s a knight claiming his bounty. His stubble burns my cheeks, but I don’t mind the sting—it’s a welcome reminder that this is real, I’m kissing Lachlan, but more importantly he’s kissing me back.
His eyes close once more, murmuring my name. In a blink his hands are on my hips. I squeak as he pulls me onto his lap. My hips sink down onto him, a soft moan parting my lips at the feel of him pressed to my center. “Dani,” he croons. His hands fist in my hair. I roll my hips, eliciting another moan from my throat. “Dani,” a purr this time. Finally, blissfully, his lips are on mine.
He kisses me with a desperation I mirror with my movements. I’m eager to get closer to him, to feel every part of him. Our tongues tangle together with a passion we’ve kept chained for months. This is the kind of kiss I’ve seen in movies and read in the books he’s let me borrow. It’s a kiss that changes things. There’s no coming back from this. It doesn’t in any way compare to our first kiss. That was a hesitant, fragile thing, while this is a claiming.
“Lachlan,” I gasp, and he bites my bottom lip, tugging it into his mouth. His blue eyes meet mine in the dark as he releases my lip. “Let go, Dani, I’ve got you.” I don’t want to let go, because once I do, I’m afraid this moment between us will be over too. There’s no controlling it once I fall off the ledge into an abyss of pleasure. His hold tightens on my hips, his own rocking against mine. He pants, letting out a low groan. “Fuck.” We fall together. Spinning. Twirling. Stars. Pleasure.
“Why does it have to be you?” he whispers gruffly, moving his lips over my face. “Kiss me,” I beg, not even caring if I sound wanton. He does, our dance long forgotten but a whole new one beginning to play out. His hands move down my body, creating a trail that sends fire spreading through my body. “Touch me,” I beg. “Please.” My voice is achy with need. “Dani—” “Please.” His uttered, “Fuck,” is a deep rumble.
His long legs round the couch, carrying me down the hall. He taps the door to his bedroom with his foot and in a blink my back hits his mattress. His big body is a blanket over mine. With his grip on my neck, our lips are only separated by millimeters. “You’re so fucking beautiful.” “Show me.” His eyes flash in the darkened bedroom, only illuminated by the lights emanating from the outside. “Dani—” “Show me,” I beg, kissing his chin. “Show me.” His jaw. “Show me.” His cheek. “Show me.” His eyes stare deep into mine. Looking. Searching. Finding.
“I love you,” I murmur, pressing a tender kiss to his lips. His hands flex against my sides, his jaw working back and forth as his eyes fill with turmoil. I fear he’s going to shove me away, that common sense is going to overtake our feelings, but he doesn’t do that. “I love you, too.” The words are barely above a whisper, but they’re every-fucking-thing and I feel them all the way down to my toes. Saying them once must make him bolder, because he says them again, this time louder. “I love you.” Louder. “I love you.” He begins to punctuate each word with a kiss. “I love you. I love you. I love you Dandelion Meadows. Despite it all, despite myself, I love you.” Our kisses deepen, fueled by a love that defies the odds.
“Dani,” he growls my name into my ear, turning into a feral sound. “Fuck, you’re killing me baby.” He applies a little more pressure to my clit, increasing his speed. My orgasm hits like a rocket shooting into the sky. My whole body shakes and when my hands fall from the glass, my body unable to stay upright, he’s there to catch me. He gathers me into his arms, holding me close, gently now. He rubs my back as the tremors fade. “That was—” He silences me with a kiss. Rubbing his thumb over my cheek he stares into my eyes. “Amazing,” he finishes for me.
“Lachlan—” In a blink he’s upon me, his mouth taking mine prisoner. He’s rough, demanding. His hold on my cheeks is tight and I find my back pressed against the wall. He claws at me like a wild animal, bunching the tulle of my skirt in his hands, trying to yank it up. I kiss him back with fervor, a spark igniting into an entire fire inside me from one touch of his lips. I match his desperation, pulling at his shirt, trying to get it over his head. He tosses the shirt off like he can’t get it far enough away from him. His eyes are twin sapphires blazing when he looks down at me. His whole body is a taut live wire waiting to go off. “If you don’t tell me how to get you out of this dress, I’ll rip it off of you.”
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Cal Michael Grayson Heroine: Madeline Elizabeth Sensuality: 4 Date of Publication: March 14, 2019 Started On: August 06, 2020 Finished On: August 14, 2020
Unconditional by Q.B. Tyler is my first ever book by the author, and definitely would not be my last. With an age difference of 16 years between the hero and heroine, not to mention the fact that hero is the guardian of the heroine from a tender age, this story is filled with all kinds of forbidden deliciousness that it is hard to put down once you get started. That is if you are a reader like myself who loves tropes of the nature.
The story begins ten years prior to present day, when 23 year old Cal Michael Grayson, a newly minted cop finds himself in a setting of domestic violence that reeks of horrors untold. Soon after, seven year old Madeline Elizabeth comes under his care, the years following which is fulfilling in a way that Cal would never have thought possible.
However, change comes calling when 13 year old Madeline starts to see Cal in a whole different light, chastising herself all the while for the way she feels. There is nothing happening between her and Cal at this point, except for her own sexual awakening, which had been purely due to her own intuitiveness and curiosity playing its role, and Cal had starred prominently as the lead in each and every single one of her fantasies. Things hit a point of no return when Madeline is 17 years old, with just a couple of weeks away from hitting 18.
While Cal would not admit to his changing feelings towards Madeline even at gun point, as always, he is in a fix when it comes to denying Madeline what she wants. Cal is a mass of confusion, want, and self derision when it comes to his feelings towards Madeline and it is not easy to walk away when desire and love for her tugs at his very soul.
Of course there are those in Cal and Madeline’s lives that frown upon the connection between them. After all, it is hard for those observing what is unfolding to understand the true nature of feelings two people have for each other. Obviously the hero being 16 years older, and the fact that he is her legal guardian for that matter makes things doubly difficult. But there was a sensitivity with which Ms. Tyler handled it all which makes for swell reading and I reveled in every single feeling that coursed through me as I read along.
Cal makes it really easy to fall in love with him. After all he is kind, gentle, and wants what is best for Madeline, even if it means cutting his own heart open and letting himself bleed. He would lay down his very life for Madeline and there is no easy way to reconcile with his burgeoning feelings of the amorous variety when it comes to her, his Madeline. But of course, Madeline does not make it easy for him to walk away just like that, and it is she that makes sure that Cal sees her feelings for what they are – feelings of the till death do us part kind which has no beginning and no end.
I found Unconditional to be just purrfect. I believe in the fact that love often finds us at the most inopportune moments, that we have no power over whom we love (though we do have power over what we decide to do with that love), and society would always judge us no matter what – there is just no pleasing everyone. Ms. Tyler does an amazing job of bringing out the emotions, characterization, and the oh dear Lord, hot as sin sex scenes that just fired up the pages.
Loved the epilogue, which was sheer perfection, much needed after all that was said and done. Recommended for fans of taboo themed romances. This one is pretty much it when considering the circumstances.
Final Verdict: Unconditional by Q. B. Tyler conceptualizes the word in every sense as the story is told; the love that unfolds between Madeline and Cal is as beautiful because it is unconditional.
Favorite Quotes
“You should get up,” he tells me, and despite the foot and a half and eighty pounds of muscle he has on me, he doesn’t move me from his lap. Push him, Maddie. I press my hands to his chest gently and shake my head back and forth. “But…that’s not what you want.” “Madeline, up,” he growls and I curl my fingers into his shirt and dig into his chest as I move back slightly so that my sex is right against his dick. I try to ignore the racing in my heart as my pulsing clit has totally taken control, and before I can stop myself, I’ve rubbed against his cock. “Maddie, please…” His voice is pained and I was fully planning to stop—maybe, but when I open my eyes, Cal’s are closed and I can tell he’s gritting his teeth. “Just…do this for me. Please.” I beg as the fire between my legs becomes greater with each stroke.
“Open them.” I assume he means my eyes and when I do, his gaze locks with mine instantly. His hands move to my hips, gripping them as I move back and forth. “Fuck. That feels good.” “Does…it?” He chokes out, and I nod. “I’m going to come.” He clears his throat, and when I meet his eyes, they’re filled with lust. “Tell me when.” I nod and his hands move up my hips and rest under the t-shirt I’m wearing. He strokes the skin just above my belly button as my hips begin moving more erratically as I chase the orgasm that was just out of reach. “I’m going to come, oh fuck!” He wraps his hands around my waist again, moving my body faster against his cock. “I want to wait for you.” I whimper as my toes begin to curl. “No. Come, Madeline. Come for me, right now.”
“Stop fighting it, Cal. Let go.” I grab him by the back of the neck and pull him closer to me and lean up slightly, letting him know what I plan to do and then our lips touch. Not in an awkward way like most first kisses are. Not in a slow passionate way like when you kiss your lover after not kissing them in so long. But in a rushed, frenzied way that is aggressive and hard and rough. He bites and I bite back. His tongue sweeps between my lips, and I meet him with rabid urgency. I’m so desperate for his taste on my tongue, I explore every inch of his mouth. It’s sloppy and wet and loud and, quite frankly, the hottest fucking kiss of my life. He presses my arms above my head, holding them there, and laces our fingers together as his tongue penetrates my mouth in a way I wish his cock was doing to my pussy. He bucks against me with wild reckless abandon, fighting for the orgasm he’s spent God knows how long fighting and then he does. Long and hard.
“Cal,” I moan as his lips find my neck, sucking at the skin and I relish at the idea of having a hickey. My usually flawless skin purple and blue with indents of his teeth in the flesh. “I won’t mark you here.” His voice is low in his throat and it makes my whole body tingle. “Maybe somewhere less visible.” “Like…between my legs?” I can feel my cheeks heating with embarrassment or maybe arousal? “Shit, like exactly there.” I take deep breaths, trying to slow my breathing as I think about him leaving a hickey. On my fucking pussy. I’ve died and gone to heaven… Or maybe hell.
“Touch your pussy,” he demands, his eyes are dark and feral, like he’s preparing to rip me apart with his teeth. “What?” “Slip your fingers under your leggings. Don’t take them off and don’t show me your pussy. But just finger yourself for me…and I’ll taste you from your fingers.” My eyes widen and my heart skips a beat in my chest before it returns to the steady thrumming between my legs. “You’re serious?” He nods and moves to sit against the headboard. “Come here.” I do as I’m told and he pulls me so that my back is flush against his chest, my ass pressed right up against his cock. His legs are spread and I’m settled between them feeling his cock jump every few minutes. His lips find my ear before he bites down gently. “Pretend it’s me.” “I always pretend it’s you.”
“You rubbing against my dick until we come is pretty high up on the list of things we shouldn’t be fucking doing.” I can hear the hesitation in his voice but I also hear the lust. The want. I can see the war behind his eyes over what to do, so I push him just a little harder. “Shhh.” I begin to rub against him and I can feel the juices from my orgasm getting all over the inside of my leggings. The seam of the fabric grazes my clit with every swipe and I wonder if I’m going to come again. “You’re so hard. God, Cal. Is it all for me?” I wrap my arms around his neck as I begin to move faster against him. His hands find my hips and begin to control the speed, pushing and pulling me harder on him. “Yes.” He hisses. “It’s for you.”
“Say my name again.” My voice is so gruff, I don’t even recognize it but the shiver that moves through Maddie alerts me that she does. “Cal,” she yelps as I bite down on her flesh. I run my tongue over the skin, doing my best to soothe the sting of my teeth. Her hands find the back of my head and she pulls at the hair as she cocks her head more allowing me further access. I love how she opens herself up to me; whatever I want from her she gives me so blindly. She feeds the beast, and if I was a better man, I’d tell her to stop. Tell her to run. But I won’t. Because the beast in me is only responding to the one in her. The one that’s been unleashed already and doesn’t seem to want to let me go without a fight.
She’s a blank canvas I want to paint with my cum. I want to rain my seed all over her perfect tits, her smooth ass, her gorgeous face. I want to worship her…but I also want to defile her. I want to use her body, fuck every single one of her holes until she’s so full of my cum it drips out of her. I want to fuck her like she’s a slut. Bend her over every surface in our house and take her so brutally she won’t be able to sit down for a week. I want to hate fuck her for making me feel this way. For turning me into this sick bastard that’s having these thoughts about the girl I raised. And then, when all of that’s done, when I’m done fucking the life out of her, I want to bring her back. Run my lips over every inch of her marked skin, whispering my love and devotion to her in between each kiss as I rock gently into her. Make love to her, teach her the love language that our bodies already know by heart.
“I had plans to lay you out and make love to your pussy with my fingers and my tongue and make you come over and over until you were loose and languid and drunk on me and then I’d take your virginity slowly, making love to you until your body couldn’t take it. But now…” I stare down to where we’re connected, where my dick is an inch inside of her. “I want to take you like a fucking animal. Rut into you like a beast and rip your precious body apart and put you back together a new fucking woman.” I push slightly harder and I watch as the wind leaves her in a gush. “My. Fucking. Woman.” The word leaves her lips like a prayer and my dick is the holy word. “Yes.” And then in the shower, her legs and arms wrapped around me like ivy, I press my cock fully into Madeline Shaw, the most important person in my world for the past ten years, just as a scream so sexual and passionate leaves her lips that I almost shoot my seed inside of her.
“Come on my cock, baby. Touch your pretty clit until your cunt creams all over me.” “Oh, God keep talking.” She moans and I feel her hand moving between us. “You know what’s going to happen the second we get out of this shower? I’m going to bend you over and lick you from your pussy to your asshole and then back. Settling on your sweet folds until you come so hard you black out.” “Oh my God!”
She is still riding the high of her last orgasm, with a sensitive clit, so I know it won’t take her long to come again. “Me too.” She speaks, though it’s muffled as her mouth is full of my cock. I press my lips to her again, my tongue taking a new speed as it rapidly fucks her while I rub her clit in clockwise motions. “Oh God, wait wait wait!” She stops and I smile knowing she’s close. “I’m there, put your mouth on my dick, Madeline.” I see that she visibly shivers above me when she hears me use her full name. “Yes, Daddy.” Oh, for the love of fuck. She puts me back in her mouth and I thrust upwards, exploding down her throat instantly, that one word pushing me over the edge.
“We’ll see each other, baby.” His hand touches my face and traces his fingers from my forehead to my chin. “I won’t be able to stay away from you but for so long.” I lean down and rub my nose against his. “I’m holding you to that.” I plant a kiss on his lips. “Do you have time to fuck me before you go to work?” A growl rumbles in his chest and then I’m on my back with my legs wrapped around his waist. I’m wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of panties that he rips from me instantly. “You call me.” He grits out. “Day or night.” He grips my face and stares down at me, his eyes boring into mine. “You need me, you call me. I’ll come.” He narrows his eyes to emphasize his point. His gaze is hard and demanding, almost daring me to disobey him. I mean it, Madeline.
I bite my lip at his words and pull him closer, his lips hovering just over mine. “Please,” I whimper and then our lips crash in a dizzying kiss. His tongue rubs against mine and his hands spread my legs so he can stand between them before he lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. “Cal,” I whimper. “Fuck…” He opens my coat and steps between them, finding the seam of my leggings between my legs making me grateful that I changed out of my leotard before I left. He digs one finger into the seam, pressing against my sex and I moan, only to let out a yelp when he rips them at the center, making a hole in my crotch. “Cal!” “Hold on, baby.” He growls as he lowers his sweatpants. He opens the hole wider and moves my panties to the side and before I can protest, he’s inside of me. Outside. On the dark road of route fifty-eight.
“Cal!” I throw my head back as he fucks me deeper, harder and faster. “You’re so perfect, Jesus Christ, Madeline.” My full name sets my body on fire. My eyes snap open and I quirk an eyebrow at him. He must sense where I’m going because he lets his head fall back and a growl leaves his lips. “Say it, baby.” He grabs the back of my head and presses our foreheads together. “Say it.” “Daddy,” I breathe out. “Fuck.” “Daddy, please.” “Please what, baby. Tell me what you need and Daddy will take care of it. Whatever it is.” “I need you to come, Daddy…” I press my lips to his neck before flicking my tongue out and running it along his pulse point. I nibble on his ear. “Come inside me.”
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Tai Wakefield Heroine: Daisy Lewis Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: April 25, 2020 Started On: May 27, 2020 Finished On: May 28, 2020
Lovewrecked is my very first read from Karina Halle. It seemed to be the perfect fit at that point in time, as the country was slowly emerging from the first and God willing only lock-down that will be imposed owing to the pandemic, and I was feeling a bit antsy, in need of something that would provide the sort of escape I was looking for. Seeing this on Amazon, promising a sizzling enemies to lovers story, I thought to myself, why not, and the rest as they say is history.
Lovewrecked tells the story of how 34 year old Tai Wakefield meets 28 year old Daisy Lewis, when the latter travels to New Zealand for her elder sister’s nuptials. Having lost her job and her boyfriend who was supposed to help her get through the wedding which she wasn’t all that much looking forward to attending, needless to say Daisy is not in the best form when she meets the formidable grump that is Tai.
From the onset, Tai’s grumpy nature makes Daisy want to ruffle his feathers in an attempt to see how far she can go. There is a lightheartedness to her character that I found a bit annoying at times, but then there is a reason behind why she is the way she is, which Ms. Halle unveils as the story moves further along.
As the story moves forward, Tai and Daisy along with her sister and husband find themselves shipwrecked and with no rescue in sight, the group of four are forced to spend time together in a way that no other situation would have imposed upon them. It is then that we see the other side of Daisy, where readers get an insight into where her seemingly frivolous and carefree attitude comes from, and the simmering tension between Daisy and her sister, which all goes back to their childhood.
I would not go as far as to say that I loved Daisy when all was said and done. Even though for the most part, I did find appealing qualities about her towards the end, I was not overly enthusiastic about her because of her annoying habit of skimming everything on the surface as things seemed to happen. I also found it a tad abrupt, the way she came to terms with her past, her wants, and needs towards the end, which just seemed to align with what was burgeoning to life between herself and Tai.
Tai on the other hand, was the kind of grumpy hero that I live for. Gorgeous, and sinfully sexy, Tai is a man with a past that makes him weary of long term commitment, especially when it comes to someone like Daisy who would never feel at peace living the kind of life that Tai has built for himself in a remote corner of the world. Tai makes it his life’s mission to keep emotional entanglements at bay, and yet it is Daisy’s persistence when it comes to him that chips away at the armor around his heart.
Overall, Lovewrecked did provide the kind of read that Karina Halle promises readers at the beginning. It was fun and lighthearted for the most part, with the secondary characters adding value to the story and characterization without deflecting attention from the main protagonists. The epilogue was also cute and served the story well towards leaving the reader with a good feeling overall.
Though promised as an enemies to lovers story, I found very little of that in the romance that buds to life between Tai and Daisy. Perhaps that was one reason why this depraved heart of mine wished for Tai’s character to have given the story more angst than it did, because I did expect the story to take a different turn than it did. But then most books do end up doing that. However, with all that, I still enjoyed Lovewrecked and would definitely look up Ms. Halle’s titles in the future.
Recommended for those who enjoy a feel good contemporary romance with a sexy grump of a hero who who continually has the habit of making your toes curl.
Final Verdict: Pure escapism, with just the needed touch of emotional depth is guaranteed with Karina Halle’s Lovewrecked!
Favorite Quotes
“Fine. Fine, you saw me get off,” I grumble. “You happy now?” “Very.” I cock my brow, the words taking a moment to rest on my tongue before I spit them out. “Did it make you hard?” Yeah. I said it. A bold look flashes in his eyes, more intense than the darkest coffee. “What do you think?” I think yes. “Are you still hard?” I don’t know where the hell I’m getting the gumption to ask him these questions, but fuck it. It’s only fair now. The look in his eyes intensifies and I watch his throat as he swallows. “Why don’t you find out,” he manages to say, his words measured.
Before I even know what’s happening, I lean forward, my body operating on instinct only. And I kiss him. I can’t help it. All these weeks of wanting to do this, wanting to know what his lips feel like against mine, it was inevitable that I’d lose control. He stiffens at first, hesitating, then I feel the muscles in his back relax as he kisses me back. And…shit. I mean…wow. He’s a good kisser.
“Tai,” I whisper, sticking my finger into the jar. I stand right in front of him, holding my finger out, the honey dripping on the end. He blinks at it. “Where did you get that?” “Open your mouth.” His eyes meet mine and for a moment I think he’s going to be a real hard-head and refuse. Then he does as he’s told. Opens his mouth. That gorgeous, sensual mouth. Wraps his lips around my finger, and gives it one, long deep pull that I feel all the way to my toes. His eyes never leave mine, if anything they intensify as his tongue rolls over the sides of my skin. A moan vibrates through him, and I think it might be the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard.
I can see the fight in his eyes. The want to say no, the urge to say yes. His urges win. So do mine. In a flash he whips me around so I’m pressed up hard against the palm tree, the rough bark digging into the back of my head. He’s kissing me roughly, with impatience, teeth, lips, tongue all in a frenzy, creating a hurricane that will gladly consume us.
The pressure inside me goes over the threshold. My skin flushes like I’m on fire and then… I’m falling. Sinking against the palm tree. Falling into his hand. Letting go. Coming hard.
“Tai,” she whines, sounding breathless, impatient. “It’s Captain Wakefield,” I tell her, grinning. “Captain Wakefield. What are you waiting for?” Nothing. I suck in my breath and with one swift, hard thrust I plunge my cock deep inside of her. “Fuck!” Daisy yelps, and I realize I may have been a bit rough. I’m about to apologize when she cries out, “Keep going.” That I can do. I slowly pull out and then spear her again, my cock sinking into the hilt as my fingers make bruises on her hips.
With my finger slipping and sliding all over her swollen clit, I stroke that sensitive bundle of nerves until she’s tense and ready to explode. Then, as she yells out my name and begins to shake and shudder, clenching around my cock, I let go. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I growl, thrusting in harder and deeper, faster, like I’m trying to impale her right into the sand. Everything inside me tenses from my balls to my chest and then I’m being walloped by a tsunami, the orgasm ripping me apart and dragging me out to sea.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: New Adult Series: Sinners of Saint, #3 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Trent Rexroth Heroine: Edie Van Der Zee Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: September 21, 2017 Started On: April 03, 2020 Finished On: April 05, 2020
Scandalous by L.J. Shen is the 3rd book in the Sinners of Saint series. Having not read the two books prior to this one in the series, I just jumped right in because a lot of reviews seemed to hint that the hero was the kind that I love the best; ruthless, a tad cruel at times, and nevertheless endearing in a way that is hard to explain.
The one thing that I can say is that Scandalous can be read as a standalone; for the most part, I did not feel as if I had lost out on anything by starting straightaway with the 3rd book in the series. Scandalous tells the story of how 33 year old Trent Rexroth meets his match in 18 year old Edie Van Der Zee, the last woman on earth whom he would have chosen for the role, if he had a choice in the matter.
The story begins with the most unlikely of scenes, where Edie snatches a purse off a woman on the street, only to find that it is from Trent’s mother. Days later, she finds herself forced to work for her father (whom she hates and for good reason), who is in a partnership with Trent and his friends.
Trent’s only weakness lies in his love for his daughter Luna, whose refusal to articulate and give voice to her thoughts drives him to desperation. The therapy sessions seem to help, but it is in Edie’s presence that Luna comes alive for the first time in a long while, which basically seals the deal where Trent and Edie are concerned.
Even though Edie plays a dangerous game with her father which involves Trent, and Trent would like nothing better than to be able to keep his hands off of Edie, none of that matters when these two share the same breathing space. The heat between them is not the kind anyone walks away from, and before they both know it, they are both in too deep with each other.
While I liked the overall premise of Scandalous, which includes the forbidden factor and the huge age gap, I truly could not understand why Trent is referred to as The Mute in the story. It was apparently because he rarely speaks. I must have been reading a totally different book, because to me, he appeared to be perfectly fine in the speaking department.
I did like Edie and felt for her rough life with parents who neither of them deserved to be one. Edie’s penchant for stealing is explained as the story hits its climax, the secret which she keeps from basically everyone in her life, which is the shock factor of the story.
I also felt that there was just too much happening in the story to really focus on how the relationship between Trent and Edie evolves and builds to form something meaningful out of the foundation of wanting Luna’s happiness in common. I know that there was ample enough sex happening, and apart from Luna being the basis for Trent lowering his guard and letting Edie into his life, I couldn’t see much going for them to hold them together. Even the sex scenes were mostly focused on portraying just how good Trent is between the sheets or anywhere for that matter. I for one would have loved to see just once, how Trent is driven crazy by his want and need for Edie than the other way around.
I also did not find myself all that enamored with Trent. He was gushed about as an anti-hero by a lot of readers, but what I found was an asshole (who has friends who are a bunch of assholes), who are mean and rude to everyone else except when it comes to each other and their women. I wished for a hero who had his own issues to deal with, who actually showed through his actions that Luna meant more to him than just taking her to therapy sessions and then scratching his sexual itch with the therapist after hours. To me, that just did not sit all that well for some reason.
Recommended for fans of LJ Shen and fans of the Sinners of Saint series.
Final Verdict: Trent and Edie’s love is forged out of something easy to understand and stays that way for reasons best left unknown; after all, the heart wants what it wants, regardless.
Favorite Quotes
“How can it feel this good?” she nearly protested, reaching with her hand to touch me again. I moved away quickly, still playing with her tit. “Because it’s different when you’re in the hands of a man.” “Show me.” I didn’t answer. “Please,” she purred, and this time she managed to glide her bikini-ed groin over my training shorts. Fuck, I wasn’t sure if it was the ocean or her, but something there was damp. That’s when I lost it.
“It means”—his teeth dragged along my neck—“that what we are to each other is potential sacrifices. As long as you know I will throw you under the train if you mess with my plans, I’m good.” I swallowed. “I’m good, too.” “Let’s have some fun then.” And that was all the preparation he gave me before shoving his hand inside my panties. His strong, warm fingers stroked my folds gently, as if soothing them, preparing for whatever he was going to give me. “One last warning,” he said, his hot tongue making its first appearance, licking a trail of tantalizing desire up the side of my neck, making me shiver violently. “I fuck rough.” He shoved one finger into me and I arched my back, gasping from the sudden penetration. “Deep-throating is a requirement, not an option”—he shoved a second finger into me—“and I’m about to fucking ruin you for any other man. So when the time comes and no one else can compare to me, just remember—you asked for it.”
The orgasm was slamming into me like whiplash. Again and again. It took me a few moments to realize I was experiencing multiple orgasms for the first time in my life. They were all equally intense, and I was beginning to wonder what it was about Trent that made me feel like I was burning from the inside out. Bane was good in bed. He was great, actually. But he didn’t set me ablaze only to turn his back on me once the tongues of fire consumed me. He didn’t ignite in me the need to do and say crazy things.
“I liked it when you bit my nipple hard,” she said. I ignored her, pulling my fingers out and coating her pussy with her arousal. “You make me feel deranged with need,” she whimpered, just as I slapped her pussy for the first time. It made her body stutter and stir, and she let out a little yelp I stifled by shoving my wet fingers into her mouth. “Shhh,” I said. “You said you like it. Show me how much.”
“Harder.” “No.” “Trent.” “No.” “I need it.” “You’ve had enough for one day, Edie. Your cum is all over my dick. I can eat you out if you want another orgasm.” Was I bargaining with her mid-fuck? That was a first. And a last. This chick wasn’t running the show, no matter how hard I wanted her tight pink pussy to milk my cock. “If you won’t, Bane will.” I heard the smile in her voice but couldn’t see it. Fuck it. She’d asked for it. Thwack! We came together like a storm.
“Did you just give me a nickname?” I smirked, feeling the muscles of my tight hole tightening around his finger. It hurt a little, but mostly felt weird. Not weird bad, either. But the kind you needed to get used to in order to enjoy. The way he worked his fingers over mine…that was the real treat. “Better than Gidget.” He bit my chin. “I like Gidget.” “You like Little Tide more.” “No, I don’t.” “You’re about to.” He slammed his finger deeper into my ass and I yelped, clinging to his broad shoulders. His lips met my ear and he bit my earlobe, smiling. I exploded on our fingers.
There was no excuse for what I was doing. For me walking into that room and closing the door behind us. For me striding over to her with chaos dancing in my chest, watching her as she lifted her eyes from the toy, reading everything that was inside of mine. I could say it was because she’d protected my daughter, but that wouldn’t be true. I could say it was because I saw her layers as she held that toy soldier in her small hand, but that would be bullshit, too. I did it because I had to. Because fuck the consequences and Jordan Van Der Zee and everything standing between us. For the first time in five years, I put my lips on another person’s and kissed her. Hard.
“I won’t beg.” “You won’t beg,” he repeated, pushing his whole cock through my panties, penetrating me. The fabric of my underwear stretched along my inner thighs painfully, and I threw my head back, wincing. I wanted more. I wanted it harder. I wanted everything. I moaned, slipping my fingers into his denim and underwear and clutching his ass as I opened my legs wider for him. “What are we doing?” “Exactly what I promised myself I’d never do again. Fucking without a condom.”
A Maldivian's Passion for Romance 