Category / Tortured Heroine

by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: The Deepest Ocean by Marian Perera

Format: E-bookthedeepestocean
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Series: Eden, #2
Publisher: Samhain Publishers
Hero: Darok Juell
Heroine: Yerena Fin Caller
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: April 1, 2014
Started On: May 19, 2014
Finished On: July 2, 2014

The Deepest Ocean by Marian Perera is the second book in her Eden series, and what a book this turned out to be. For someone like myself who doesn’t read much of fantasy novels, to be drawn into the world that Marian creates tells a story in itself. I am quite selective in the authors that I read when it comes to fantasy romances, perhaps because my imagination falls short of what the author is actually trying to convey with the worlds they create. But with Marian’s illustrious words, lets just say that there was a moment or two where I questioned myself on why I do not read more of the genre.

Darok Juell is the captain of the warship Daystrider who is instructed by the Commander of the Guardian Fleet of Denalay to take on board a woman whose identity remains a secret even to him until Yerena Fin Caller turns up at his ship right before it is supposed to depart. Darok finds himself fascinated by the Seawatch operative who informs him that her only duty is to guide and guard the ship in its journey. The tattoo that completely surrounds Yerena’s left eye tells a story in itself, a direct contrast to her otherwise nondescript nature and appearance.

Yerena is considered a weapon of Denalay, one of the countless men and women trained to serve the Unity the whole of their lives. Reared from a very tender age to become the weapon she is, Yerena commands a great white shark that is the closest to anything the she considers as hers. Her “unconventional” bond to the shark had gotten her many a thrashing, the result of which is the cold, aloof and controlled operative that is presented to the rest of the world.

The mission ahead is a perilous one, the impulsive and at times brash Darok paired with a Seawatch operative that is the furthest thing from brainish. Darok enlists Yerena’s help in crossing the Strait of Mists into the Iron Ocean in order to outrun the Turean pirate ships whose one sole mission is to destroy the Daystrider before it reaches shore. Yerena hides one aspect of her mission from Darok even though he makes Yerena question all the rules by which she has lived her entire life. Darok entices Yerena into giving herself into his caresses, kisses and  touches powerful enough to move her into giving him everything she has to give. And in the midst of it all rages a battle of megaly proportions that seems to challenge the combined experience and talent of Yerena and Darok, delivering a tale that stays with you long after you are done.

Having read Marian’s first book, I was surprised and delighted with the thread of sensuality that is interwoven into the fabric of the story. Yerena being seduced by Darok and the tables being turned added that sensual edge to the story which truly made The Deepest Ocean stand out when compared to Before the Storm, the first book in the series. With a few surprises up her sleeve, Marian definitely keeps the reader guessing, the pages turning and most of all the action almost going on nonstop in this tale that totally blew me away! Definitely and most highly recommended for lovers of the fantasy genre.

Final Verdict: Epic storytelling from start to finish. Marian is a voice not to be missed in this genre!

Favorite Quotes

For a moment she said nothing, but then her lips twitched. “No one’s compared me to a crab before.”
Darok grinned. “If it helps, I think you’re a lot prettier than most crabs.”
She laughed, and Darok drew his breath in. He hadn’t known until then how the warmth and lightness of laughter could change her face. The reflections of fire danced in her eyes, and the relaxation of her usual control made her mouth so different, lovely and sensually shaped. He only realized he had stepped forward when her lips parted in surprise, and he only knew he was holding her when he felt the softness of clean linen and the taut muscles of her arm beneath his hand. But he knew exactly what he was doing when he bent his head and covered her half-opened mouth with his own.

Darok’s senses were swimming when he lifted his head with an effort and looked down at her face. Her lips were full and moist, still open as she caught her breath, and he hardened at the sight. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her against him and bent to kiss the pulse pounding in her throat.
“Darok—” The word was a gasp, and he wanted to hear it again, wanted to hear it as he drove into her. He bit her throat just hard enough to wring a moan from her, then gently licked the mark he had made and blew on it. Yerena’s body swayed, her knees buckling, and Darok pushed her up against the wall as he lifted his head to kiss her again.

“Yerena.”
His voice was low and deep, turning the consonants of her name into a purr, and it was the only warning she had before his arm went around her waist, pulling her against him. His fingers were splayed against her hip, but his other hand cupped her face, lifting it. Yerena felt the warmth of his breath on her lips and held on to him for support as her eyes closed involuntarily.

She licked the pad of her thumb and rubbed his nipple. His eyes opened at once, and her smile was no longer secret as she reached down. She wrapped her hand around the throbbing length of his shaft, and he groaned.
“This is how much I want you,” she said, and rose up on her knees just enough to guide him into her.
The first touch of iron heat against the wet folds of her sex made her jolt as if the ship had struck a sandbank, but she recovered and began to impale herself slowly. She wanted him in her, wanted them joined so deeply that nothing would be able to tear them apart…at least for that night.

Darok released her and reached for her braid, which had fallen over her shoulder. The ribbon tying the end came off, and he drew his fingers through the mass of her hair, letting it fan over her shoulders and fall across her breasts.
“You’re beautiful, Yerena.” His voice was hoarse. “And wet.” He claimed her other breast, fondling it with his palm before his thumb rubbed the nipple. “I’ll make you wetter.”
That time she didn’t gasp when he pulled her forward, when he sucked on her. She groaned instead, and Darok made a rougher, lower sound that vibrated up from his throat into her skin.

“Darok!” Her voice was a raw whisper, shaking. “Now, please, now—”
He entered her with his tongue that time, as deep as he could, and her flesh tightened around him. She made no sound other than a wrenching sob that was nowhere near enough for him. He pulled away and rose as the hazel eyes were opening in disbelief, and when her legs closed around him to pull him back, he went with her and sank hilt-deep into hot convulsing flesh.

He bent his head and covered her mouth with his in a kiss so thirsty and possessive that it made her sway against him, trembling with need as her body caught fire from his. Her free hand clenched in his shirt. His tongue slid over hers, and she softly sucked on it until he moaned, low in his throat.
He tasted of rum and limes, strong and bitter and intoxicating at once.

She lay with her eyes closed, still breathing hard. The light sheen of wetness across one breast felt cool, but Darok’s upper arm lay across her other breast, warm and heavy. Aftershocks pulsed through her flesh, and she knew he felt those just as intensely although he lay quiet and sated beside her, motionless except for his breathing. They were joined in an intimacy that went far beyond the physical, and she acknowledged it with a cold despair settling over her heart.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Samhain | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: House of Glass by Michelle Reid

Format: E-bookhouseofglass
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Mills & Boon
Hero: Dane Norfolk
Heroine: Lily Norfolk
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: June 11, 1993
Started On: April 26, 2014
Finished On: April 27, 2014

Every now and then, I like to revisit the classic harlequins that practically kick started my love for romances. There are few authors whose books I painstakingly go through to find one I might’ve missed out on and Michelle Reid’s House of Glass turned up on my book shelves just like that.

Lily Norfolk and her brother in law Dane Norfolk has always had a tumultuous relationship at best. When her husband Daniel dies after a horrific accident, it is Dane that comes striding into her life, the all powerful male who has the ability to render her into a quivering mess every time their eyes clash with one another’s.

Dane doesn’t trust Lily all that much. He perceives her to be a liar, the woman who continued to cuckold his brother by living in sin with another man right under his brother’s nose. Dane only sees the version of truth that he is ready to accept, the convenient perception of the truth which should make it easier for him to turn his back on the need that practically eviscerates him whenever he is in Lily’s company.

All the hate, derision and the need that Dane tries to deny comes to a brutal end with the death of his brother, the self disgust that he feels which runs rampant every time he gives into the hot flare of wanton need that consumes them both every single time one that cuts him to his very knees.

House of Glass brings forth a hero that might not sit well with some. But I understood him and accepted the continuous struggle he underwent with his desire for his brother’s wife and the self recriminations that must’ve made his life a living hell. The fact that Lily seemed to respond to his advances and couldn’t help but give into his caresses seems to fuel the anger as well as the passion between them but for both of them to have even a possibility of a future together, Dane would have to come face to face with the actual truth and make peace with everything.

Lily tended to wilt every now and then, understandable I suppose under the sheer pressure that she must’ve been under with the continued barrage of contrasting emotions that she must’ve been undergoing. But I liked the fact that she had enough strength within her to put the distance that was required between herself and Dane, and her ability to stay away until Dane took that first step towards her.

I think the ending makes up for the ass that Dane pretty much made himself out to be through the first half of the book. It suffices to show the change love has wrought in him. I fell in love with the terse fax massage that Dane sent Lily’s way. Even though it wasn’t an undying declaration of love or a grand gesture of the likes of showing up on her doorstep, for a man like Dane it was a monumental step in my opinion and that made this book worthy of the four stars that it earned.

The sexual tension in the novel is thick enough to cut with a knife; there’s sensuality that an author can bring into a story without going all out and explicit and that’s what makes authors like Michelle Reid and Susan Napier such a treasure in my opinion. Recommended for fans of Michelle Reid and fans of old school harlequin romances.

Final Verdict: Intense & ruthless on the emotions, just the way I like em’.

Favorite Quotes

He dragged in a strangled breath as his heart began to thunder out a command older than time itself. One of his hands lay along her silken thigh, his chest, heaving against the pressure building inside his lungs, could feel the twin thrust of her aroused breasts pressing into him. The T-shirt had ridden up around her waist—a waist so slender and firm that he was almost choking on the desire to span it with his hands, caress her warm skin, feel her respond—respond to him as she had never responded to any man.

They were both shaking, the air around them throbbing with a high tensile stress which matched the tensile throb of his heart. He clenched his teeth together, stared angrily into her beautiful eyes, then down at her inviting mouth. Then with a raking grasp at his self-control he rolled away from her. And left the room.

And he took her mouth again, smothering it as he grasped one of her restless hands and dragged it down his body until he’d placed it where he wanted it most to be. She gasped, shocked to her very roots by the sweet, pulsing intimacy. But before she could even think of pulling away his own hand had slid along her thighs and she became lost in more sensation— the kind that made her cry out his name, arch, then go tensely still as tiny coloured explosions began hurling themselves at the backs of her eyes.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Gingerbread Man by Maggie Shayne

Format: E-bookgingerbreadman.jpeg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Jove
Hero: Vince O’Mally
Heroine: Holly Newman
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 11, 2013
Started On: March 21, 2014
Finished On: April 25, 2014

Gingerbread Man by Maggie Shayne is one of those reads that took me by surprise by just how captivating the story turned out to be. Like any reader, I am quite hesitant when it comes to trying out new authors, but then again, a girl has got to take a chance every now and then and see whats out there. I think I first stumbled across Maggie’s name on a post by Anne Stuart and later on one way or the other I stumbled across this book on Amazon. I picked it up for one main reason; I wanted to read a dark and gripping romantic suspense novel that could actually deliver on what the blurb promised. And it turns out, Maggie Shayne can certainly do a mean romantic suspense!

Gingerbread Man is by no means a light read. It deals with a serial child killer, a killer who sexually assaults his victims before killing them off. There’s no way to remain detached from what’s happening, the raw emotion that at times seeps through the story to practically throttle you with all feelings that the story invokes in you. I believe that’s what makes a romantic suspend stand out and perhaps in the process give you a nightmare or two as well.

Detective Vince O’Mally is riding hard on a case on child abduction when the circle of events spiral into the sort of nightmare there is no getting out of. Vince is ordered to take a leave of absence to sort himself out, but Vince is like a dog with a bone with his inability to give up on finding a man who he believes has been preying and killing for far too long.

A lead takes Vince to Syracuse where he meets Holly Newman and finds out the hard way that even a burnt out detective who is cynical about the affairs of the heart can find himself in the precarious position of being in love. Holly is a woman who has gone through her own special brand of hell, a nightmare that she hasn’t ever fully recovered from. And when Vince storms into her life and turns it completely upside down by opening up old wounds that had continued to fester and never healed, Holly finds herself on the brink of falling for the man responsible for the upheaval, a man who let’s her know in no uncertain terms that forever is not for the likes of him.

Maggie has a surprise or two up her sleeve as the story goes along, the chill factor involved in the novel which doesn’t lessen as the story proceeds. Holly is one of those heroines that you cannot help but admire. Her inner core of strength is testament to why she had survived and made it through, but that doesn’t mean that life is a walk in the park for her. She continually battles with the psychological scars left behind and that is one reason why Vince aims to steer clear of her – because he has a tendency of wanting to take care of ‘needy’ women. But then again, Vince has never met anyone the likes of Holly and Maggie certainly does a swell job out of creating the sizzling variety of sexual tension and delivering on it which raised the story’s rating by that much.

If you are a fan of dark romantic suspense novels the likes of which Cynthia Eden creates, Gingerbread Man is definitely for you. But if you do not like dark subject matter, perhaps this might prove to be a tad too much. Otherwise I heartily recommend that you pick this up and just go along for the ride. Totally and definitely worth it!

Final Verdict: A haunting & gripping read that fans of dark romantic suspense must read!

Favorite Quotes

He didn’t answer her, so she rolled again, onto her side, facing him this time, and she pressed her mouth to his mouth. His lips were stiff and unresponsive. She slid her arms around his waist and pulled her body closer to his. Then she nipped his bottom lip with her teeth, suckled it just a little, and slid her tongue along the inner edge of his lips.
He shook a little, and his arms closed around her hard and fast. Finally he kissed her back. He kissed her like she’d never dreamed of being kissed.
His eyes were hungry when they probed hers. “I’ve told you I don’t have anything to give, Red. This is here and now. That’s all.”
“I’m not asking for anything else.” She reached for the bottom of his T-shirt, and lifted it, slid her hands over his belly and up to his chest, and dragged her nails over his nipples.
He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth. When they opened again, his eyes blazed.

He moved her backward until her legs hit the couch, then gave a push so she was sitting down. Peeling off his shirt, he dropped it, and knelt, and his hands went around her, palms flat to her back, arching her toward him so he could bend and suck her breasts. He sucked them hard, bit down with his teeth until sweet pain jolted through her, then licked the sting away with his tongue, and did it all over again. Each time he bit a little harder, and each time she liked it a little better.

He didn’t take his time. Didn’t ease her into this, just spread her folds and touched her. Rubbed her. Fingers pushed up inside her without waiting for an invitation. He lifted her a little, his fingers still in her, and held her around the waist with a free hand, and she stood there, barely balanced with her legs wide and her knees bent.

When she started to melt into his mouth, he drew his head away, and she almost cried. But then he was on her again, his cock was pressing into her, stretching her wider, pushing inexorably deeper until she didn’t think she could take any more, and then still more.

She saw his face, watched the waves of pleasure wash over him as he began moving, too, thrusting in hard, fast, deeper, until he pushed her to the edge. She came, and she heard herself scream his name as she did. And then he drove into her once more, and went stiff as he held her and poured himself into her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: A Cold Dark Place by Toni Anderson

Format: E-bookacolddarkplace
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Cold Justice, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Alex Parker
Heroine: Mallory Rooney
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: April 1, 2014
Started On: March 30, 2014
Finished On: April 2, 2014

A Cold Dark Place is the debut book in the Cold Justice series by the uber talented author of romantic suspense Toni Anderson. Few authors out there manage to keep my interest when it comes to romantic suspense and Toni Anderson is one of those authors who always manages to hit the vital spots by keeping the romance and suspense factor balanced, which is the secret to writing highly readable romantic suspense novels.

A Cold Dark Place is quite the fitting title to this novel. Alex Parker is a man who prefers the darkness to do what he is entrusted to do. Employed by an organization known as “The Gateway Project” that is so deeply hidden in the layered complexities of the US government, Alex is an assassin who enacts justice by killing the worst sort of scum. Counting down the days until he would be free of his promise that binds him to his employers, his job becomes doubly dangerous when he realizes that someone on the inside is out to make him and that someone is the deliciously enticing FBI Special Agent Mallory Rooney to whom his instant attraction makes her a more than dangerous “adversary”.

Mallory’s life mission for the past eighteen years has been to become smart enough and tough enough to find her twin sister’s abductor and bring him to justice. The pain that she lives through every single day, blaming herself for not being there for the one and only person with whom she had shared an inexplicable connection with is what drives her, even when she meets the same dead end, time and yet again. Though her experience in hunting killers and analyzing their behavior is limited, her sharp intelligence and observation skills ends her up in the BAU and in the direct sight of the man who would do everything in his power to claim her as a replacement for his lost love.

Alex doesn’t want the complication that starting anything up with Mallory would bring his way, but he is as helpless as she in the face of the strong web of desire that binds them together, that finds them entwined in the most delicious of embraces time and yet again. And when Alex finds out that the killer they are all hunting, whose violence had all of a sudden started to escalate, has his sights set on Mallory, there is no stopping him from vowing to protect her at all and any cost, even if it means continuing with the pretense and charade that would continue to keep Mallory in the dark when it comes to who he truly is.

Toni Anderson does a splendid job in telling this story; it is dark, creepy and keeps you guessing and questioning your emotions when it comes to everything that takes place in the span of this novel. Alex Parker himself is reason enough to fall in love with the story, his tortured soul was one that touched me on a deep level. Betrayal on a level that most people would never be strong enough to live with makes Alex the man he is, and though each kill chips away at his already battered soul, the honorable man that Alex is refuses to back down from paying the debt he owes to his employers.

It is the pain, drive and determination that keeps Mallory doggedly working to unearth what had happened to her sister that made me respect and love her character as much as I did Alex’s. The guilt that threatens to consume her would not have been easy to deal with. Alex in her life means Mallory learns to live a little, and stop feeling the survivor’s guilt and in return she reaches out to the scarred bits and pieces of Alex’s heart and soul and puts it back together, piece by piece, without even realizing the fact that they are both headed towards a love strong enough to consume them both.

It was the killer that kept me fascinated and riveted to the edge of my seat and I think that is exactly what Toni was aiming for when she created him. I sometimes wonder at the cruelty in this world that breeds killers of the likes found in this book, the inhumanity they suffer as children and the loss of their innocence at the hands of those that should protect them from the rest of the world. It is hard not to feel sad thinking about the person he could have been otherwise, but in equal doses I found myself horrified by the extent of his depravity and violent nature together with his uncanny ability to have kept fooling people for so long. Toni also makes the reader question whether the laws and agencies that be are really enough to ensure that justice is done. Perhaps vigilantism does serve its purpose with the swiftness of with which it brings the victims the closure they seek. A book that always makes you question what you know to be right and wrong and casts you into that place shadowed by the shades of grey is in my opinion a book well done.

Though the lack of an epilogue was felt, knowing that there would be another book in the series on the way definitely helps. Recommended for fans of Toni Anderson and fans of dark romantic suspense. You’d definitely love this one!

Final Verdict: Ties you up in knots; A Cold Dark Place makes for a riveting read!

Favorite Quotes

His lips were surprisingly soft, his mouth tasting of whiskey and beer and really hot man. Suddenly he took control of the kiss, diving deeper, tongue tangling with hers with a possession that made her insides turn molten. She found herself pressed up against the glass facade of the building, Alex’s one hand still buried deep in her pocket, the other cupping the back of her head.

“Too much?” His voice sounded nothing like him. He’d heard this version before, in that prison in Morocco. His inner animal tearing loose, but this time it was from pleasure not pain.
She shook her head and her nails dug into his shoulders. “More,” she demanded. Then she kissed his neck, bit down hard enough to make him laugh.
She could put her mark on him anytime.

She shook her head, squirming to get closer. “More,” she demanded and nibbled his jaw. Her nails scratched his back, digging into his skin with the sort of pain that aroused him more than he’d ever imagined possible. He wrapped his hand around her other leg and locked them both around his waist. And then every pulsing inch of him was embedded inside her, blasted by the velvet clench of wet heat.
“Okay?” he asked. Okay didn’t even begin to describe what he was feeling. He was pretty sure the word for it hadn’t been invented yet.
“Oh, yes.”

“Condom,” he said between gritted teeth.
Crap.
She jerked open the bedside drawer, relieved to find a box. Alex scrambled out of his jeans, covered and buried himself deep. She locked her legs around his hips and then there were no thoughts, just sensation and pleasure and slick bodies, striving to get as close as possible, striving for that place where nothing else mattered.”

Sated and satisfied, she began to drift off to sleep. “You’re a good man, Alex Parker.”
He kissed the top of her head. “No. But you make me feel like I could be.”

“I still miss her.” Her voice cracked.
He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. He could relate. He still missed his mother and his grandfather and his friends. But he knew they were dead and never coming back. You had to move on. “We’re supposed to miss them. That’’s their gift.”
Huge amber eyes met his. “Pain is a gift?”
He nodded. “It proves they meant something to us. That even years after losing them we still feel them. Here.”

With one hard thrust he was buried deep in her heat.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, nails bit into his flesh. “Harder.”
He drove into her, again and again, nothing but an animal who needed to satisfy a primal urge.

He took the condom from her fingers and covered himself. Eased her slowly over him and shifted her panties aside. He was big, aroused. She sank down just a little bit and he gritted his teeth. She looked down, the vision of him inside her, of the lace against pale skin, was such a turn on she came with a surprised shudder.

“We’re not dating, remember.” He thrust inside her and she sucked in a moan. “You didn’t go and do anything foolish like fall for me, did you, Mallory?” he asked.
Emotion welled up inside her. She shook her head and wrapped her legs around his hips. Watched his pupils dilate. “No, sir.”
“Good.” He swallowed. “Me either.”
But as she looked into his eyes she knew they were both lying and it felt dark and dangerous and wonderful.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Mine to Crave by Cynthia Eden

Format: E-bookminetocrave
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Mine, #4
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Drake Archer
Heroine: Jasmine Bennett
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: March 10, 2014
Started On: March 9, 2014
Finished On: March 18, 2014

Anyone who has followed the Mine series till now and has read the books in order would know exactly what I am talking about when I say Drake Archer is the type of hero that invokes all sorts of fascinating reactions from the reader. I would have thought that having the sort of painful past that Drake has, he would turn out to be one of the darkest heroes in the series. But turns out Drake is pretty much the usual alpha hero variety that didn’t do much of a job of standing out, at least not for me.

Drake Archer’s past mistakes and betrayals has made him into a man who wouldn’t take any bullshit from anyone. He is especially determined that no woman would get the better of him, again. But that is exactly what happens when the delectable Jasmine Bennett beckons and entices him to let down his guard. And once crossed Drake can make a mean enemy and that is what Jasmine gets saddled with when Drake finds out what exactly she had been up to when she had worked her wiles on him.

Though Jasmine would rather not admit to the fact, Drake gets to her in a way that she hasn’t ever let herself be vulnerable enough to feel. Jasmine’s painful past has taught her to always stay one step ahead of anyone that can hurt her, but all her self-made rules incinerate into dust every time Drake lays his hands or mouth on her, taking her to heights of passion that she has never experienced before.

But danger is never too far, a man who is more than capable of wreaking havoc in the name of vengeance and revenge, seeking to destroy everything to do with Drake and his life. And if he has to kill a lot more people to do that, he is crazy enough to consider the rest as collateral damage.

Cynthia Eden’s books are always good enough even when they are average reads, and Mine to Crave also had its good stuff to offer which kept me glued to the pages in order to experience the high that Jasmine underwent every single time Drake enters the picture. The bits that didn’t work for me were the parts of the story where Drake seemed unable to hold himself in check and seemed to quote the same repetitive dialog to defend his actions to his friends Noah and Trace from the previous books.

While I love myself an alpha and uber possessive hero and don’t get me wrong, Drake was that in spades half of the time, I just found myself a teeny bit disappointed with the fact that the rest of the time Drake acted like someone who hadn’t experienced what being in the battlefield is like, nor does he act like the lethal weapon that he must’ve been honed into after fighting in wars that would have broken down a lesser man. I loved both Jasmine and Drake’s characters but I just don’t think they worked for me on the level that I actually wanted them to, hard as it is for me to say that. But as I always point out when books don’t work for me particularly well, there is always the chance that you would end up loving the heck outta Drake and Jasmine!

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of Cynthia Eden.

Final Verdict: A good 4th fix for the Mine series cravings fans of Cynthia Eden are definitely bound to have!

Favorite Quotes

When she came, Jasmine felt Drake erupt inside of her. Biting her lip, Jasmine tried to hold back a scream. She didn’t want—
“Give it to me,” Drake demanded. “Give me everything.”
So she cried out her pleasure.
And he growled her name.

Her lips pressed lightly to his throat. She kissed him. A delicate, tender caress in the maelstrom of passion that surrounded him.
He came then, with a release so strong that his heart seemed to stop for a moment as the pleasure pulsed through every vein in his body. It swept over him, through him, and it was so good. So incredibly good. He never wanted it to end.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | ARe | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Mine to Hold Cynthia Eden

Format: E-bookminetohold
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Mine, #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Noah Robert York
Heroine: Claire Cassandra Kramer
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 21, 2013
Started On: October 20, 2013
Finished On: March 9, 2014

Ever since Cynthia Eden started publishing her Mine series, I have been enjoying the ultra sexy and uber possessive tales of love, lust, passion and suspense that keeps me turning the pages in a way that only few authors such as Cynthia can make me. Mine to Hold is the 3rd book in the series. I wouldn’t recommend reading this as a standalone because I think you would miss out on a huge chunk of the makeup of the characters involved if you do!

Claire Cassandra Kramer is barely sixteen years old when falling in love with the wrong kind takes away practically everything and everyone she holds near and dear. Moving past the tragedy hadn’t been an easy road to travel on, nor had it been without its fair share of setbacks. Not when she had managed to make an enemy out of one of the most powerful men in the country. When the last surviving member in her family is brutally murdered in a wake of violence that leaves Claire reeling to find an anchor to balance her, Noah Robert York is the man who steps up to take the place.

Noah doesn’t even begin to understand what it is about Claire that makes him act like a caveman, but she tends to bring out feelings inside of him that is alien to a man who changes women as often as he changes his shirts. Not one to dwell on the emotions much, Noah decides to take each day as it comes and protect Claire from anyone who dares to even think about hurting her. Though handling people with kids gloves on is not exactly Noah’s territory, he would die trying to be just that for Claire until Claire stands up to him and lets him know that she can more than handle all the man that he is and then some.

Though not as good as the first two books (perhaps I am biased because there is little a man can do to live up to Trace Weston) whose love for his wife Skye is the reason for this series to come into being, I found to myself that once I let go of my expectations about what the story should be, I managed to enjoy what Claire and Noah’s story had to offer. Like almost all Cynthia Eden romances, Mine to Hold also features an uber creepy killer with stalker tendencies that at times makes Noah doubt whether Claire could actually be seeing who she claims to be seeing everywhere she turns. Turns out yes, there is obsession and then there is obsession of the kind that can get you killed and that is exactly the fate Claire would have suffered if not for the fact that Claire is stronger than everyone gives her credit for.

Recommended for those who love Cynthia Eden’s romantic suspense novels and those who have enjoyed what the Mine series have had to offer till now and have been waiting for the rest of the books just like myself!

Final Verdict: Noah and Claire share a love that absolutely consumes!

Favorite Quotes

She met him, thrust for thrust. The rhythm became wild, so hard. He was in her so deep.
No pain.
Only more pleasure.
So much pleasure that the whole world seemed to explode. She wasn’t sure if she screamed or not. She only knew that after years of being cold, it felt as if she were in an inferno.
One that swept her up, hollowed her out, and left her aching for more…more pleasure.

She liked the way he tasted. Liked the way he hardened impossibly more beneath her mouth and she—
Claire was on her back in the bed.
Noah was over her. He had her wrists pinned to the bed. Damn but that man had moved fast.
He stared at her, locked his gaze with her—and took her. He filled her, every inch, and she gasped as the pleasure surged through her.
Her legs curled around his. She arched up against him.
He plunged. Fast. Hard. Deep.

His mouth pulled from hers.  He stared into her eyes. “I want to fuck you.”
“Th-they’re waiting…”
“Let them wait.”  He jerked on the panties, hard, and they tore.  He needed her. There. Right there.
No foreplay. No sensual build-up to release.
He had to take her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo | Kobo | iTunes | Smashwords | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Sempre by J.M. Darhower

Format: E-booksempre
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Forever Series, #1
Publisher: Pocket Books
Hero: Carmine Marcello DeMarco
Heroine: Haven Isadora
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 29, 2012
Started On: February 22, 2014
Finished On: February 26, 2014

Sempre is book 1 in the Forever Series by J. M. Darhower. The story begins when Haven Isadora is just seven years old, present at a “child auction” of sorts where no act of violence seems to be taboo for the people who hold several young girls captive. The opening act of this book is horrific in the sense that it opens up the world of modern day child slavery and the unspeakable acts these children are forced to perform in order to survive.

Story continues 10 years down the line, when Haven is “rescued” from the clutches that holds her a captive by a Dr. Vincent DeMarco who whisks her away to his home which marks the beginning of the sort of life that Haven has never dared to dream of for someone like herself. And when she comes across Vincent’s youngest son Carmine, the connection that forges between these two is instant and electrifying.

Carmine is the epitome of bad boy hero, angry and sullen at the world with a ton of attitude. Carmine exists by doing everything else but what is expected of him, partying and sleeping around just for the heck of it. Though Haven stirs his interest, Carmine finds it hard to tone down his abrasiveness which has been a part of him for so long. But as time goes on and a bond is forged between these two unlikely souls, there is no stopping the love that unfurls in their hearts.

Both Haven and Carmine have no idea what life has in store for them. With Carmine more or less destined to follow in his father’s footsteps by being “obliged” to belong to the Mafia family, it is a tough future that awaits both of them. Vincent was the hero in my eyes, the man who tries so hard to keep his children away from a life that is filled with treachery and one in which the soul is never ever free from the darkness that taints it once you become one of the Family.

Having never watched or read much on stories involving the Mafia though I had picked up bits and pieces on the lives they lead along the way, I don’t think I actually had any clue as to just how much power the head of the Family holds on the rest of the members. There is a “code of ethics” that the Family lives by, once crossed one has to face the dire consequences or die trying to flee from whats coming. Vincent was the truly enigmatic character in this novel that actually stirred my interest, the mix of Jekyll and Hyde in him making him one of the most contrasting characters I have come across of late. Vincent tries to do right by his children, though its far from easy. While one side of Vincent finds it as easy as breathing to give free reign to the ruthless killer in him, there is the other side that heals and saves lives, the one part of his life that gives him solace and peace to the soul, be it even for a little while. The fact that Vincent could look beyond the anger, hurt and pain of his past to take Haven under his care was something that deeply moved me.

While Haven’s character impressed me with her ability and strength to overcome the countless horrors she had been subjected to while growing up, Haven herself doesn’t know her true power in the hierarchy of the Family, a secret if found would be worth shedding the blood of the many the Family wouldn’t hesitate to take out. I liked Carmine’s character well enough, but I found his emotions to be all over the place, sometimes rightfully so. But in the maturity aspect, Haven wins hands down, not surprising given spoilt life Carmine had led till then. However, Carmine does turn himself around for the woman he loves more than his own life, a love that turns out to be the pivotal reason behind the basis of the next book in the series.

Though I am not wowed enough to pick up the second book, nevertheless, Sempre did provide me with an entertaining read, albeit a trifle bit of a long one, some pages of which I skipped as I reached towards the end of the book. Perhaps I am right in avoiding young adult romances, the few I have read haven’t really impressed me all that much. But if you are a lover of new adult romances with the interesting facet of being part of the Mafia thrown in, then I would recommend that you pick this up. It just might be what you’re looking for.

Final Verdict: An intriguing mix of romance & the politics that govern the lives of those indebted to the Mafia.

Favorite Quotes

Yanking her to him, he eagerly kissed her without another thought.
It was passionate and messy, seventeen years worth of kisses rolled into one stolen embrace. Haven kissed him back, her lips parting as they moved with his. Running her hand along the back of his head, she laced her fingers in the hair by his neck as she trembled, but whether from nerves or excitement, Carmine wasn’t sure.

Love was the fluttering in her tummy whenever Carmine was near, the twinkle in his eyes when he laughed, the heat in her body from his words. Love was happy. Love was safe. Love was green.
Love was him—the beautifully flawed boy who made her glow. He stared at her, those words hanging in the air between them.

“I didn’t hear you come out of your room.”
“You aren’t the only one who knows how to be quiet, Ninja.”
She replaced the book on the shelf. “Hmm, well, maybe we should get you a bell.”
“Hey, at least I don’t almost give you heart attacks. You used to startle the hell out of me. I thought for sure you’d need to give me CPR a few times.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t be so sure. You make my heart race every time you come near me.”
He strolled over to where she stood and leaned down to kiss her. He nipped at her bottom lip as he pulled back, pressing his palm against her chest. “How’s the heart?”
“Feels like it’s going to explode.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo | Kobo | ARe | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Darkest Joy by Marata Eros

Format: E-bookthedarkestjoy
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Series: The Darkest Joy, #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hero: Chance Taylor
Heroine: Brooke Elizabeth Starr
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 18, 2014
Started On: February 17, 2014
Finished On: February 21, 2014

The Darkest Joy is my second novel by Marata Eros. I absolutely loved what she brought to the table with her novel A Terrible Love, a story that I adored on so many levels. With that in mind, I requested for a galley of The Darkest Joy from netgalley, its premise and setting one that intrigued me when I read the blurb. And everything seemed to go really well, especially with the opening chapter introducing the reader to a wealth of horror when Brooke’s family is slaughtered while she listens in on as the whole nightmare unfolds.

Five months later, the investigation into the brutal killing behind her family’s death still remains to be solved and Brooke is running, running from the darkness of the memories and the guilt that threatens to swallow her as a whole. Moving to Homer, Alaska seems to be a farthest that she can go to bury herself under the cloak of anonymity, where no one would ask her the pressing questions which she needs to get away from, questions that haunt and plague her even as she flees the guilt ravaging her heart and soul.

When Brooke meets her employer Chance Taylor, it is at first the music he strums effortlessly from his guitar that pierces her to her very soul, reaching deep into the frozen cold that has protected her from her baser emotions for the past couple of months. Leaving her prospective future as a pianist, one who has had a future at the Juilliard well behind her had seemed like a wise choice up till the moment Chance invades her soul and etches a place for himself in her heart.

Chance is the love and leave them type personified, his one true and only love being the sea, the passion for which is satisfied by his occupation as a deep sea fisherman. But the minute Brooke enters the picture, everything Chance has believed in up till then ceases to exist until all he can think, feel and want is Brooke in every single way he can have her. But Brooke’s fear and guilt for a past that cannot be changed, together with a killer that seems to be nowhere near to stopping the litter of bodies that keep mounting proves to be the obstacle that seems to stand in the way of the joy that could be theirs if only Brooke were willing to make peace with the past and move on.

The Darkest Joy is a story that disappointed me on many levels. The opening chapter was the only good thing about this novel, the level of detail that went on to showcase Brooke’s life in Alaska in the chapters that followed sometimes getting so tedious to the point that I skim read large chunks of the novel to pick out the story that should have flowed smoothly otherwise. I found the whole thing with Brooke denying herself the closure that was required, especially turning her back on the authorities trying their hardest to keep her up to date on the developments of the case unbelievable at times. I can understand survivor’s guilt, the fact that someone might want to bury themselves right in the ground with their loved ones when tragedy strikes, but I couldn’t understand Brooke not being moved enough to actually WANT to seek justice for the death of her entire family.

I found Chance to be at odds with what his character was portrayed to be at the beginning of the story. Having lived practically most of his life in Homer, Alaska, everyone who knows him attests to his love em’ and leave em’ lifestyle. But throughout the story, Chance seemed too besotted with Brooke to really live up to any of the traits revealed to be the background of his character. I can understand a man changing for the right woman though it seldom happens in real life, but going against every single facet of his character for Brooke that soon just seemed highly unlikely to me.

When the villain was finally revealed, the surprise came from the fact that it all seemed so hard to take in, the fact that there seemed to be several gaps missing in the tale of how the villain had come to be as portrayed in the story. I believe that the novel could have done away with more than half the story and added more relevant chapters to keep the story flowing in a direction that would have captivated the reader rather than just portraying the sense of guilt that plagues Brooke, keeping her bound with an inability to let go and move on.

The only thing positive for me about the novel was the at times beautiful writing that came to light in bits and pieces as the story progressed. The Marata Eros I remember from my one single experience with her prose is one who writes beautifully well and reaches deep into your heart to invoke emotions that cannot be otherwise. And that was practically the only thing that kept me turning the pages even when I wanted to give up and label this a DNF. But all that being said, you just might find this to be your cup of tea while it didn’t meet any or all of my expectations when I picked it up. Recommended for fans of the author and fans of new adult romances.

Favorite Quotes

But those eyes, those haunted eyes, they’re burned into my brain. Her sadness has caught me like the fish I net. I’ve hit her hook without even knowing I’m in the ocean; saving her has reeled me in inextricably.
And I don’t even know her name.

He looks up and our gazes meet. Chance Taylor steals my breath. His open smile melts me.
I walk toward him.
It feels like a death march.

I feel the tip of him at my entrance, and his knees split my legs farther apart even as he enters me slowly, each hot inch sinking deeper, and I let out a hoarse cry, pressing myself back against him. My hips rise and he puts a staying hand on the back of my head and the other at the small of my back, pinning me in place, and I whimper in surrender.

Then he’s fully inside me with a single thrust and I scream my pleasure into his quiet house, absorbed by all that wood and I come until I can’t breathe. The pulses of my orgasm radiate through my tingling body and wash over Chance, grabbing at him as he grows impossibly harder, his own release crashes into him as he pours himself into me.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Hidden Honor by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookhiddenhonor
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: MIRA
Hero: Peter de Montselm
Heroine: Elizabeth of Bredon
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 1, 2004
Started On: February 7, 2014
Finished On: February 11, 2014

“… he was a man who embraced pain as a means to salvation …”

Sometimes I wonder what it is that I am going to do when I run out of books by Anne Stuart to fall back on when I run into that “dry spot” in my reading where nothing seems to please me, except for the ruthless brand of heroes that only Anne Stuart seems to be able to get away with publishing.

Hidden Honor is going to be a difficult novel to review without giving away spoilers. As the title denotes, there are hidden elements to the story that makes it the enticing read it is. Hidden Honor tells the story of 17 year old Elizabeth who has made up her mind that her future lies at the Shrine of Saint Anne where she is going to devote her life to serving God. Life has taught Elizabeth to be totally unimpressed by what men and their kind have to offer and she can’t wait to leave home and embrace the future that awaits her.

Tall, skinny and red haired with pale skin to match, Elizabeth has lived her whole life believing herself to hold no qualities that would entice any man, much less the Prince of England to take notice of her. If only she didn’t have to travel with him to her destination, him seeking penance for all the vile acts some of which had ended in deaths if rumors about him were to be believed. But the minute Elizabeth meets the Prince, its as if a different woman buds to life inside of her, a woman who wants to touch, to seek, be held and do all those things with a man that Elizabeth had never dared to even dream of before.

Peter is a man who has a tormented soul that seeks penance and atonement for the sins that he has committed in the past. The temptation that someone like Elizabeth offers is something at first that he cannot accept and something he finds that he cannot resist either, no matter however much he tries. And when murder and mayhem comes seeking the small procession making its way towards the Shrine of Saint Anne, Peter finds himself in a position that makes it impossible for both him and Elizabeth to resist the fire that burns hotter and brighter with each passing moment in each others company.

Going hand in hand with Elizabeth and Peter’s story is a secondary romance that blooms into life that gives the story a sweet edge to it and a respite from the whirlwind of emotions that Elizabeth and Peter’s love gives the reader. Peter is the quintessential Anne Stuart hero, albeit a bit toned down from her most ruthless version of heroes to be found in her ICE series. I loved Peter; of course its hard not to fall in love with the lean, lethal and uber hot heroes that only Anne Stuart can create. A tad ruthless and a whole lot of reluctant to have anything to do with Elizabeth apart from protecting her is what Peter is all about and that made for a delicious combination.

Elizabeth made for a good match for Peter. A bit naive when it comes to the affairs between men and women, Elizabeth is worldly in almost every other aspect of life having had to look out for herself while growing up. Her desire to belong to the convent stems from her need to belong, something that had sorely lacked in her life up till that point. The minute that Peter comes into her life however, she begins to question her lifelong dream of joining the convent, a life that looks more and more unsuited for someone of her temperament.

The only thing more that I wished for when all was said and done was, you guessed right, an epilogue that would have let me sigh and moon over Peter and Elizabeth just a little while longer. Recommended!

Final Verdict: With sizzling sexual tension, Anne Stuart delivers a scrumptious read worthy of your time!

Favorite Quotes

She tried to buck, but his strong hands held her captive. She tried to push at his shoulders but she had no strength. She could only grip the blanket beneath her once more as her legs curled up and her head fell back and her body exploded.

She tried to kick him again, and he had no choice but to pin her against the tree with his entire body. Making her fully aware of the state of his arousal.
She looked up at him mid-spate, shocked and suddenly stopped fighting him. He leaned his forehead against hers. “Sweet scold,” he whispered. “My foul-tempered angel, I’ll never get my fill of you. But I have no choice—I have to take you back there. And the more I touch you, the harder it gets.”

He couldn’t help it. He shoved the robe she was wearing aside, pulled his up and lifted her, bracing her against the tree as he filled her with one deep thrust.
She came immediately, tightening around him with a hoarse cry, putting her mouth against his, kissing him as she rode him.

She surged up, then sank down on him, riding him, riding the wave of pleasure, and when the peak came she sank her teeth into his shoulder and bit him, hard, through the heavy fabric.
The sharp pain was the finishing touch, and he let go, pressing her against the rough bark of the tree, filling her with his seed, shocked at the way her body clung to his, drawing him in deeper, jealous of every bit of him.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo | Kobo | ARe |  iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Shredded by Tracy Wolff

Format: E-bookshredded
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: New Adult Romance
Series: Extreme Risk, #1
Publisher: Random House Publishing
Hero: Z Michaels
Heroine: Ophelia Richardson
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 4, 2014
Started On: February 2, 2014
Finished On: February 5, 2014

Shredded by Tracy Wolff features the too sexy for his own good, 21 year old professional snowboarder Z Michaels who makes you take a double take from the moment he makes his entrance into the story. With a body worth drooling over and then some, tattoos and piercing to show for the bad boy that he is, it is Z’s tortured soul that gets to you as the story proceeds.

Ophelia Richardson has had enough of men who survive on the rush of adrenaline and danger and living for the next high. She has the scars on her body and her heart as a testament to the fact, something that she keeps reminding herself of and often when Z makes his interest in her known. Knowing that Z sleeps his way through girls and discards them like yesterday’s news doesn’t make it any easier for Ophelia to resist his charms, nor does it make her blind to the heartbreakingly vulnerable Z that lies beneath all that attitude and bluster.

Z might think that Ophelia is just another random girl that he would get out of his system once the deed is done, but from the first moment he lays eyes on her beautiful form, Z knows in his heart that Ophelia makes every single woman around him fade away to insignificance. And though both Z and Ophelia come with their own baggage and struggle every single day to move on from the shackles that bind, there is no denying the fact that these two damaged souls call to each other on a level that neither can begin to understand nor comprehend.

Ophelia is not at all ready for a repeat of her past and Z is not ready to face his past demons that drive him to take risks that he otherwise would not. And if Z and Ophelia are to make things work between them, each of them have their own demons to slay and put to rest without which the fiery love that takes a hold of them would crash and burn engulfing them both in the process.

Shredded has all the ingredients that should make a book explosive in your hands. However, I found that unlike the one erotic romance from Tracy Wolff that I read and absolutely loved, Shredded seemed to have a more subtle undertone to it that somehow prevented the story from making that impression it should have. I’m not saying that Shredded turned out to be a bad story, but rather I think it could have turned out better which would have definitely increased the overall impact of the story on the reader.

Z as a hero should have touched my heart from the beginning because lets face it, who doesn’t love a hot and tattooed bad boy hero who is not afraid to live up to his image? But I found myself a bit detached from the whole thing, up till towards the end which is only then when the true story behind Z comes to light. My heart practically leaped to my throat, the emotions that tumbled inside of me made me want to reach into the story and hug the little boy who must’ve been absolutely devastated by the turn of events in his life that had made him the way he is.

Ophelia on the other hand didn’t make that much of an impression on me, to be honest. I felt that her character tended to fade away into the background, though I did love her snazzy comebacks and the fire in her that made her the worthy other half of Z at the end of the story. The moment I fell in love with Ophelia was when she found the courage to go to Z and profess to stick with him no matter what; and I think that takes immense courage for someone who has been through what she had been. I think a point that is worthy of making is that the ending of the story was what sucker punched me and made me pull up its rating.

The one thing that made me happy was that Z and Ophelia got their happily ever after in this book; I was afraid that like most new adult romances featuring first person viewpoints from both characters, this too would turn into one of those trilogies where the hero and heroine continue to have second thoughts about each other or something or the other would keep them apart until the author had milked their story for what its worth; well lets just say I’m just glad that didn’t happen. And I am certainly curious enough to seek out the second book in the series which will be Ash’s story which comes out in April of this year.

Final Verdict: Ophelia and Z makes for a haunting combination, one that delivers a good story!

Favorite Quotes

She doesn’t pull away, though, like I expect her to. She doesn’t slap my face, doesn’t stand up, doesn’t do any of the things I think she will. Instead she sits up and grinds herself, slowly, carefully, determinedly, over my cock. And embarrassing though it is, I swear I almost come at just that touch. Which is crazy, except—in my defense—the girl does one hell of a hip swivel.

This time, when her eyes meet mine, they’re big and mossy green and shimmering with tears. “I want to feel. Something, anything. I’ve spent so long trying to be numb that I think I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be anything but. Please.” She pulls at the blanket, drops kisses on my shoulders, my neck, my chest. Runs her tongue along the unstructured lines of my tattoo. “Please, Z. Make me feel something. Make me feel anything.”

Her lips open under mine like they were meant for me, her tongue stroking along my own as I explore the recesses of her mouth. She tastes so good, like caramel and coffee and sweet, sweet whipped cream. I nibble at her upper lip, suck it between mine. Laugh a little as she gasps and trembles against me. If I could, I’d stay here forever. Right here, at this moment, with my girl in my arms and the nightmares still and silent within me.

And then she’s coming, her slick heat clenching around me in a rhythm that strips away the last tiny bit of control I’ve got. I grab her hips, thrust into her once, twice. Then I’m coming, too, orgasm rolling over me like an avalanche, burying me in pleasure so intense it’s pain. Burying me in satisfaction. Burying me in love, until Ophelia is all I can see or feel or taste. Until she’s inside me as surely as I’m still inside her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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