Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Multiple Series: Standalone Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Aidan Leighrite Heroine: Kayla Reece Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: August 16, 2022 Started On: September 11, 2025 Finished On: September 12, 2025
It’s incredible how many different people one body can hold. We all walk around with a thousand strangers inside us, slumbering quietly until someone else wakes them up. Like the jolt of electricity that reanimated Frankenstein’s monster, all it takes for our sleeping giants to jump to life is a single spark.
Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger is one of those books that defies easy categorization; a dark, gothic, deeply emotional tale that begins as a story of grief and connection, only to twist into something completely unexpected. It is a novel that demands suspended disbelief, not because it is careless with logic, but because it blends the metaphysical and the romantic in ways that blurs the line between life, death, and longing. At its core, it’s a meditation on love; love that endures, transcends, and refuses to die, even when everything else does.
The story opens with Kayla Reece burying her husband, her life upended by tragedy and isolation. She is a children’s book illustrator who lives quietly, withdrawn from the world, until the day she receives a letter from a man named Dante, a stranger serving time in a state penitentiary. His first message is cryptic, unnerving even, but curiosity propels her to reply. What begins as an odd correspondence gradually evolves into something raw and intimate, their letters becoming lifelines across distance and darkness. But just as Kayla begins to find solace in Dante’s words, the letters stop and what follows defies both logic and expectation.
The beauty of this book lies in how it weaves together love, loss, and the supernatural without apology. The first half feels like an emotional mystery, the second a haunting fever dream. Geissinger’s writing is lush and cinematic, her pacing deliberate, creating a growing sense of unease that mirrors Kayla’s own unraveling. Every question that arises about her husband’s death, her isolation, the strange occurrences in her home builds toward a conclusion that’s both heart-shattering and surreal.
What I loved most was how the novel captures the ache of loneliness and the strange ways grief reshapes love. Aidan is not your typical romance hero, a presence both protective and devastating. Their connection feels inevitable, as if written into something larger than themselves. Yet, despite its emotional pull, this is not an easy story to digest.
There are moments and twists that requires a leap of faith. Yet, the writing itself is so immersive that it’s hard to look away. Every word feels intentional, and even when the story veers into the impossible, it holds to that emotional truth. It is a good thing that I did not come across any spoilers prior to reading this book, because this is a book that every reader needs to experience for themselves and make up their own minds about.
Recommended for: readers who love gothic romance, psychological suspense, and stories that fuse grief, love, and the supernatural in haunting ways.
Final Verdict: Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger is a haunting love story where grief and the supernatural entwine—dark, tragic, and unforgettable.
Favorite Quotes
“The handyman said he couldn’t find any problems with the wiring, but I’m still having issues.” Aidan grunts. “I’ll take a look at it.” “You do electrical, too?” His dark eyes meet mine. “I do everything.” He says it flatly, as if I’ve deeply insulted his manhood. As if he can’t believe that I couldn’t tell just by looking at him that he’s Captain Capable.
We’re staring at each other again. Once again, neither of us is smiling. Finally, I say, “Four thousand.” His snort indicates what he thinks of my opening bid. “It’s double your materials cost.” “I’m able to do basic math, thank you. Ten thousand.” “I thought we were negotiating.” “We are.” “Then you can’t just keep saying the same number.” “Says who?” “Says me!” “Lucky for me you’re not the one with the upper hand here.” I stare at him in outrage with my mouth hanging open. Then a strange thing happens: he smiles. “I just wanted to see what you’d do when I said that.” I’d like to run him over with my car. I say firmly, “Forty-five hundred.” “Ninety-nine-ninety-nine.” “You’ve got to be kidding me.” “We’ve already established I don’t have a sense of humor.”
“I won’t be able to drive home if I have any more to drink. Or is that your plan?” “My plan is to get you naked and find out how you sound when you come.” “Holy…” “I don’t want you drunk, though. I want you to remember everything so you come back for more.” “You sound confident that I would.” “I am. And you will.”
“I can put your jeans in the dryer, though.” When I don’t say anything, he adds, “Or we can just stand here and stare at each other. I’m good with that, too.” “Why?” After a beat, he says quietly, “I like looking at you.” There’s a funny sensation inside my chest. Like a tightening but also a loosening at the same time. I’m pretty sure it means I’m about to do something I’ll regret. I shrug my shoulders and let the towel drop to the floor. Then I pull my wet shirt over my head and stand naked from the waist up in front of Aidan. His gaze drops to my chest. His lips part. His pupils dilate. He remains perfectly still as he gazes at my bare breasts with burning eyes. I whisper, “I want you to do more than look.” In a gruff voice, he replies, “Whatever you say, boss,” and grabs me.
He’s exactly what I needed. A handsome stranger with secrets in his eyes and a way of looking at me as if he already knows everything there is to know about me. As if I’m a book he’s read a thousand times and highlighted all his favorite passages. As if he already knows how this is going to end.
And once again, Aidan opens the door to his apartment before I even have a chance to knock. Wearing only a pair of faded blue jeans, he’s barefoot, bare chested, and beautiful. I laugh as he drags me into his arms and kicks the door shut behind us. “Do you stand there and listen for my footsteps on the stairs?” “Yep. It’s all I can do not to run out to the parking lot like a fucking lunatic the minute your car pulls up.”
“Kayla. You answer me now. And tell me the truth. Is he hurting you?” Tears welling in my eyes, I say, “No.” He pulls away and gazes at me, frowning. “Then why are you gonna cry?” “Because I just realized I’m crazy. I’m literally, certifiably insane.” “Why would you say that?” A lone tear crests my lower eyelid and meanders down my cheek. My chest aching, I whisper, “If I were sane, I wouldn’t think you threatening to kill someone for me was so beautiful.”
“What do you think heaven is?” His smile fades. His energy slowly changes from light to dark, as does his gaze. Looking deep into my eyes, he says softly, “You.” That’s the moment I finally let go of my past and my fears and fall—jump—rush headlong—in love with him. I wrap my arms around his neck and put it all into a kiss. Because he’s Aidan, he gives it back to me a thousandfold.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Single Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Hero: Rafaello Grazzini Heroine: Glory Little Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: November 02, 2001 Started On: June 12, 2024 Finished On: June 16, 2024
Lynne Graham’s Rafaello’s Mistress is a classic Harlequin romance brimming with passion, angst, and the kind of emotional intensity that makes Ms. Grahams’s books so addictive. The story revolves around Glory Little, a young woman whose past entanglement with the powerful and devastatingly handsome Rafaello Grazzini left her scarred in more ways than one. Years later, their paths cross again when desperation forces Glory to seek his help, only to find herself bound once more by the dangerous allure of the man she had once loved.
Rafaello is the kind of hero Graham excels at creating; commanding, arrogant, and emotionally complex. He is a man who wields control effortlessly, and yet beneath that steely exterior lies a vulnerability he refuses to admit. His reappearance in Glory’s life isn’t without an edge; he has long believed she betrayed him years earlier, taking money in exchange for ending their relationship.
That sense of betrayal has festered into a need for revenge, driving his low opinion of her and fueling his determination to assert control over their renewed connection. Layered over this are complicated family ties that adds another dimension to his mistrust and makes their entanglement even more fraught.
As such, it is not far fetched for their shared history to have resulted in misunderstandings and half-truths, and much of the conflict later on is fueled by the mistakes and manipulations of those around them. Rafaello’s belief in Glory’s supposed betrayal colors every interaction, creating sparks of both fury and passion.
What makes this story so compelling is not just the clash of wills, but the revelation of family secrets and the complex web of ties that bind them together. The more the truth unravels, the more layered Rafaello becomes as a character, moving beyond the archetypal alpha into something deeper.
I loved the humor woven into this story; it lightened the heavy emotions and gave both Rafaello and Glory moments of unexpected warmth. The sexual tension between them is electric, with explosive kisses and encounters that keep the pages flying. What stood out most was how nuanced his characterization turned out to be. Instead of a one-dimensional domineering hero, Ms. Graham delivers a man whose contradictions and vulnerabilities make him all the more magnetic.
Told entirely from Glory’s perspective, the book gives the heroine’s voice center stage, and I found that choice made the story even more powerful. Seeing Rafaello only through her eyes adds to the mystery of his emotions, making his actions all the more intense when his true feelings come through.
Recommended for: readers who love angsty, passionate romances with complex heroes, strong but vulnerable heroines, and a shared past that demands resolution.
Final Verdict: A fiery and emotionally charged romance, Rafaello’s Mistress is elevated by Rafaello’s surprisingly complex characterization, delivering the kind of layered love story that lingers.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: First Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Zachary Kendrick Hays Heroine: Emersyn Jane Clarke Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: February 02, 2023 Started On: February 04, 2023 Finished On: February 04, 2023
‘The most complicated relationship you will ever have is the one with yourself. We are our own greatest mystery, our own biggest challenge. Life isn’t a quest to find ourselves; it’s a quest to define ourselves.’
Before Us by Jewel E. Ann is the kind of book that you come across once in your lifetime, chock-full of emotion, goodness, love angst, and heartbreak in the mix such that you are never quite the same again after being run through the emotional wrangler. Told in the first person and first published in February of this year, the phenomenal Jewel E. Ann who continues to push the boundaries of the romance genre brings to readers the story of 33 year old Zachary Kendrick Hays (Zach) and 23 year old Emersyn Jane Clarke.
When the story begins, Emersyn is on the way to Zach to meet him for a job interview. Emersyn is homeless, suffers from a neurological disorder, has student loans and medical bills due, and has no health insurance. Emersyn’s dream from a young age has been to find the kind of love that fairy tales bring to us, the kind of love that makes you feel secure in the warm embrace of it, the kind of love she never had as she grew up with a single mother whose loyalty lay with feeding her addiction.
As Emersyn is hired as the cleaner for the Hays and meets Zach’s wife Suzanne who is terminally ill, the reason why Emersyn is hired in the first place so that Zach would get to have more time to spend with his wife as she counts down her last days, she becomes entwined in the lives of Zach and Suzanne, forging bonds that lasts a lifetime and more.
At the same time, Emersyn finds herself harboring a harmless crush on Zach, the man who looks at his wife like she is literally his everything. It certainly does not help when Emersyn is witness to that love, and Suzanne has no qualms about telling her all about Zach.
As the story progresses Ms. Ann as usual does not mince words when she lays down what it is like to lose a loved one to terminal illness, as you watch on helplessly unable to take away their suffering and pain which is the real tragedy. At times you forget that they are the ones actually undergoing the pain and facing imminent death because you feel that life is unfair to be taking away the best thing that ever happened to you.
One might believe that seeing your loved one suffer so much and knowing that death was close by would soften the blow of the departure. But as Ms. Ann so evocatively puts it, that is not the case for Zach when Suzanne finally leaves this world, finally free of the pain that destroys her so. It is not just that easy to switch gears and move on, especially when one loves so deeply.
As Zach tries to pick up the pieces of his life, he does the one thing that Emersyn least expects him to. Proposes a marriage in name only as a temporary arrangement to help her in a way that is meaningful. Zach does not question what he is doing, because in his heart he certainly believes that in all likelihood he would never love again.
For Emersyn, to be married to Zach should have been her lifelong dream come true. How Ms. Ann explores the pain of unrequited love through the next couple of chapters was outstanding because through it all, she shows us how two people who have been broken in different ways could come to love one another. For Emersyn, loving Zach was a foregone conclusion from the moment she steps inside his home, but for Zach, it is not such a straightforward equation to navigate.
Even as Zach provides Emersyn with the freedom to spread her wings and fly, to pursue her dreams of traveling the world as a photographer and as he starts to realize the depth of his feelings for Emersyn, it is the guilt that tears him apart and makes him act in ways that added the angst factor to the novel exponentially. The ending of this story was everything and more, and the epilogue definitely made up for the heartache and pain the story delivered in leaps and bounds.
As is the norm with novels penned by Ms. Ann, this is a story that made me think deeply about life, love, and especially the departure of loved ones. The story brought out all my fears of losing my loved ones in this life, even when my rationale mind knows that death is the one common destination that we all share. I seriously do not know how I will survive through it or whether I will survive, but there is always strength to be had from observing those who handle the same situation with such grace and dignity when they too must be breaking apart on the inside.
I ofttimes had a hard time understanding Zach but in hindsight I believe that if the story had gone any other way than in the direction Ms. Ann steered Zach and Emersyn, it’s profoundness would not have been as shattering an experience. I believe that Zach needed the clarity of his emotions to be able to love Emersyn as she should be; without reservation, hesitation, and wholeheartedly.
I loved, loved, loved Emersyn. She was EVERYTHING in this novel. Endearing, with a sense of humor that is snarky, a bit dark, but nevertheless makes you smile from ear to ear. I believe as the reader, I experienced just the same love that Suzanne and Zach felt for Emersyn – she is love and light and leaves a lasting impression on everyone she meets. She is also the definition of selflessness and I rooted for her big time when she finally stood up for herself and laid it out on Zach for the abominable way that he neglects her, not out of spite or anger, but because Zach believes it is the best thing that he could give her.
The sexual tension between Zach and Emersyn breathes new life to this story, and the delivery on that aspect was top-notch as well. Zach was undoubtedly a good man, the kind of man I don’t think truly exists in this world. Perhaps someone like Emersyn who has yearned for love of the kind Zach showers on his wife did not have a chance when it came to falling for him. Zach is handsome, sexy, warm hearted, and is comfortable in his own skin in a way that increases his appeal factor exponentially. Even as he brings on the heartache and lays it on thick, one cannot help but be drawn to who he is, especially viewed through the eyes of Emersyn.
This is a story that every romance reader needs to experience. Novels like this don’t happen along often, and when they do, you just have to grab on and let yourself enjoy the wildness of the ride.
Final Verdict: Before Us is the kind of extraordinary tale that Jewel E. Ann is synonymous with, ravaging the reader in the process and making you cry your heart out in the aftermath.
Favorite Quotes
He turns on the lights in the main bathroom, and I step inside, taking mental notes of what needs to be cleaned. Large tile shower. Soaker tub. Two sinks. Vanity with backlit mirror. Next to the vanity, there’s a huge jar filled with flat rocks. Each rock has writing on it. “She’s always called me her rock,” Zach says, drawing my attention away from the jar and back to him. He leans his shoulder against the doorway. “After she was diagnosed, I started collecting rocks. Every morning, I wake up early and write something I love about her on the rock.” He shrugs. Extra color floods his cheeks, and he glances away for a second. “Every day, I give her a rock, so she knows there are an infinite number of things I love about her, and all of those little things are what gives me strength.” “That’s …” I’m not sure of the right word. “Pathetic?” He chuckles. “No. I was going to say romantic, but that’s not the right word either.” “Cheesy?” I laugh, inching my head side to side a few times. “Definitely not that. Endearing, and it’s … yeah. Endearing.”
On another dreamy sigh, she continues, “It’s hard to explain how losing my breasts crushed me, not because clothes would never fit right again. Not because I worried about people noticing. No … it was knowing that a part of me, which brought Zach so much pleasure, was gone—like cancer stole a piece of our intimacy. Not that he’s ever looked at me with anything but complete love and desire. It’s different than other cancers that leave internal scars but stay hidden in places we can’t see. Nope. We can’t be intimate and not see—not feel—it in the most physical way. “I worried so much about him. I worried he would miss my breasts and feel wrong about ever admitting it. Then one day, I was looking in our bathroom mirror after a shower, and I said, ‘I miss my breasts.’ He glanced up while buttoning his jeans, and he replied, ‘I do too, but not as much as I’d miss you.’ And oh my god … I nearly died. I didn’t expect him to admit it. But the fact that he did—that he was honest with me—then followed it up with that last part …” She shakes her head again, tears in her eyes. “I fell in love with him harder than I did the first time.”
Acting as confident as I can (which isn’t much since he knows my secret and the disgusting odor from that secret is wafting out of the back of my car), I take a deep breath and blow it out my nose. “I’ve been a little lost. And since Suzie befriended me, I’ve felt a little found. You hired me to clean your house, and I fear I don’t do that as well as I should do it. I think you’re happy that I can sometimes be with Suzie when you’re not here, but when you are here … I feel like an intruder because …” Zach cocks his head to the side. “Because?” Nibbling at my lower lip, I shrug. “Because there’s this intense intimacy between the two of you. The second you walk into the same room as Suzie and me, I instantly feel like I’ve overstayed my welcome.” He frowns. “My wife is dying. That’s not …” Zach’s head inches side to side. “It’s intimate. It’s personal and private. I don’t think I really know what that’s like, but I do know that when you walk into the room and she looks at you … the earth turns a little slower on its axis. All these unspoken words seem to hang heavily in the air. I can barely breathe when I’m in the same room with the two of you.”
“Zach?” He lifts his head. “Yeah?” “You’re a good man.” After a few beats, he gives me a tiny smile. So handsome. So unexpectedly kind. So … broken. If one’s soul can leave its body before death, I’m certain Zach’s soul is slowly slipping away, chasing Suzie’s fading existence in this world. I can’t imagine what that kind of love would feel like.
“You may kiss your bride.” Oh shit … We didn’t make a decision on this. He asked. I started to reply. The judge called us in here. And now … we have to decide. I give a quick glance to the judge. She appears rather pleased and happy for us. We must look like an adorable, although fraudulent, couple. Forgoing the kiss will be a red flag. I feel it. Inching forward a tiny step, I look up at Zach and rub my glossed lips together while gulping to keep my fear in check. He reads my silent acceptance and ducks his head until his lips are nearly touching mine. A breath of hesitation exists, even if the judge doesn’t see it. I think, maybe I hope, he’s taking this fraction of a second to get permission from Suzie or maybe to just remind himself it’s only an act—a means to something greater. A humanitarian act if you will. The kiss is short and soft, but long enough for everything in my head to spin until I forget what we’re doing. My hand rests on his chest to keep me balanced, but he ends the kiss and grabs my hand, bringing it to my side and giving it a gentle, platonic squeeze. It says we are friends. I care about you as a friend. Here is your health insurance, but you don’t need to know the outline of my chest.
Sitting up straighter, I pull my legs toward me, hugging them to my chest like a shield. “Want to know what makes a man really sexy?” His cheeks turn a little pink, bleeding vulnerability. I love his vulnerable side. I fell in love with it first. I stare at the end of the bed because I know every single feeling I have for Zach is in my eyes, impossible to hide from him or anyone else. “Kindness.” Risking a glance up for less than a second, I peek at his reaction—clearly not what he expected me to say. Tucking my chin again, I blow out a slow breath. “Not kindness toward me, although you’ve been that times infinity. It was how you treated Suzie. Everything you did for her. The way you took care of her. The way you looked at her. The love. The kindness. It’s like watching a movie where a character, whom you don’t necessarily fall for right away, wins your heart because of their … well, their character. Everything that’s inside. Everything that’s not a physical trait, social standing, or the balance of a bank account. It’s just … him. He’s a good human being. You’re a good human being, Zach. And I find that incredibly sexy. So some days it’s hard to look at you, knowing you’re my husband, but … not that kind of husband, when I’ve spent so much of my life dreaming of the idea of you.” When he doesn’t respond for so long it starts to get even more awkward, I glance up at him again. His unreadable expression. “You think the idea of me is … is…” he fumbles his words, eyes slightly narrowed like he’s having trouble finding the right ones “…appealing. You hope that one day you’ll find a man who loves you the way I loved Suzanne. Not really me. Just someone like me.”
We move with a manic desperation, like his whole body would crawl inside mine if it could. The slapping of skin, the sharp breaths and intoxicated moans … the deafening pounding of my heart. I dig one heel into his glute and the other heel into the back of his leg as if I can hold him to me forever. Mine. My Zach. My husband. Instead of drowning in guilt when I lose control of my body, surrendering every last ounce of pleasure to him, I let my vision blur with slow, heavy blinks while melting into a bliss unlike anything I have ever felt.
“Emersyn …” His hands fall to my hips, gripping me hard while burying his face into my neck. I grind into him several more times until my back arches, until he jerks his hips while repeating my name like he’s praying, pleading, begging … Emersyn … Emersyn … Em-er-synnn … We still. There’s no space between us for reality to slide in and ruin the moment. I won’t regret this. I can’t. He kisses my neck while one hand returns to my breast, lightly cupping it, his thumb tracing my nipple. It’s gentle. It’s intimate. It’s a little heartbreaking.
“What’s the time limit?” he asks. I glance over my shoulder just before reaching the sofa. He finishes his beer and sets the bottle on the counter then makes his way into the living room. “Time limit on what?” I ask, plopping onto the cushion. “How long do I have to wait before I can touch you?” He drags his teeth over his lower lip while eyeing me from head to toe. “Because I miss you.” “You miss me?” I whisper, and my skin tingles everywhere. Even my eyes burn with emotion. Holding my breath for five … long … months has been too long.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: The Everyday Heroes World Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Rylan Conners Heroine: Mazey Novak Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: August 13, 2020 Started On: February 19, 2021 Finished On: February 20, 2021
Flashback by Rhian Cahill is a book set in The Everyday Heroes World, a series of books written by multiple authors. It has been a long, long time since I read anything by Ms. Cahill, who is a favorite author of mine. She is an author whose voice I fell in love with from the very first moment I indulged in the magical effect of her stories featuring heroes who are a tad on the grumpy side, and her penchant for delivery on the sexual heat that permeates and resonates through the stories.
32 year old Mazey Novak (Maz), head of trauma nursing at Anaheim Memorial Hospital Emergency Department in LA decides to make a fresh start when things go awry with her fiance who lies to her every step of the way in their relationship. More than the sense of betrayal she had felt in learning the truth, it had been the looks of disgust from her colleagues and people she had known that had propelled her to move and start anew. When Maz is offered the position of a flight nurse at Mercy-Life, a company specializing in medevac, she does not need much convincing.
Her new life comes with the walking talking temptation that is 39 year old Rylan Conners. Having served in the military for 20 years with the physical and emotional scars to show for it along with a divorce to his name, Rylan is at first skeptical that the new hire would prove to be reliable. Once bitten, twice as shy, Rylan is wary of women who pretend to be something they are not, a lesson that he had learnt to the bitter end when it comes to his ex-wife.
However, from the very start, the easy sense of camaraderie that he finds with Maz along with the simmering sexual tension between them which becomes harder to ignore by the day makes him realize that there is more to Maz than he initially thought. Things come to a head under the most heartbreaking of circumstances, and from that moment onward it becomes more difficult to ignore what feels so right between them. But their fragile bond is tested by fragments of their pasts, each carrying baggage that has left emotional scars on them.
I loved Flashback for the most part which made for pretty easy reading. I loved both Rylan and Maz – both were relatable with feelings that are only too real for people who have held the short end of the stick when it comes to relationships that take everything from you. At the same time, I did miss the searing scenes of passion in the story, something that I have come to expect when it comes to Ms. Cahill’s work.
Recommended for those who love a good contemporary romances featuring likable characters who steals your heart for all the right reasons.
Final Verdict: Flashback delivers on the heart and heat that is synonymous with every book penned by Ms. Cahill.
Favorite Quotes
“Ry.” Her plea was spoken against his chest, her lips brushing a nipple. “I need . . .” “Shh . . . It’s okay.” He tightened his hold. “I’ve got you.” Her hands slipped up his back and curled around his shoulders. “Please.” He didn’t know what she wanted, what she needed, he just knew he’d give it to her if he could. “Anything, Maz. Tell me.” She pushed up on her toes as her hands slid to the back of his head and pulled him down. The next second, her mouth was on his, her tongue thrusting inside to tangle with his. He should have pulled back. Should have thought about what they were doing, why they were doing it, but her mouth was on his, and he’d ached for this very thing for weeks.
And when her back bowed, her pelvis angling in a way that his cockhead slipped between her hot, slick folds, he was powerless to control the needs of his body. In a hard, brutal shove, he drove his cock deep inside her pussy. Covering her mouth with his, he swallowed her jagged cry of pleasure, his guttural groan of relief. His breath stalled for a moment, a split second of time where his mind cleared, and he could think beyond the carnal urges driving his actions long enough for him to believe in that small fraction of a moment that he’d finally found home. He was finally where he was supposed to be.
Fumbling with his fly, she tugged and yanked until the fastening gave way, and she could wrap her hands around the hot length of Rylan. Smooth as silk and hard as steel, his flesh slid over her palm, through her fingers, in a damp thrust of carnal delight. Mazey wanted to taste him, pull him into her mouth, and feel that male power gliding across her tongue. Without thought, without hesitation, she sank to her knees and took the plump crown between her lips. “Fuck! Maz!”
As he pulled her tighter, increased the pressure of his hands, he felt the tremors of Mazey’s orgasm begin, and when she rolled her head on his shoulder and whimpered, writhed against him in ever-increasing speed, he knew they were pushing for pleasure, the burst of satisfaction they couldn’t seem to get enough of. “Ry,” she moaned. “Please.” Unable to resist her plea, he pressed harder, stroked faster. And when she convulsed in his arms, her release taking hold, Rylan bucked his hips, grinding his cock against the top of her ass, and followed her into bliss.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Paranormal Romance Series: Phenomenal Fate, #1 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Jonas Cantrell Heroine: Ginny Lynn Sensuality: 4 Date of Publication: March 17, 2020 Started On: June 20, 2020 Finished On: June 21, 2020
Reborn Yesterday is Ms. Bailey trying her hand at a new sub-genre in romance. I have to say that Ms. Bailey takes to this change exceptionally well, crafting characters that are to die-for and bringing to the forefront a love that knows not the bounds of time nor reason. The debut book in the Phenomenal Fate series, Reborn Yesterday is beguiling in the way it is told, with Ms. Bailey’s talent in delivering panty-drenching sex scenes enmeshed deeply within the story that unfolds.
25 year old Ginny Lynn is the funeral home director at P. Lynn Funeral Home in Coney Island. It is through her job that she “meets” Jonas Cantrell; the extraordinarily handsome deceased man ending up on her embalming table. When Jonas “wakes up”, it is to find himself at the receiving end of a joke that his friends play on him every birthday, with this year’s prank changing the course of his life in a way that he never saw coming.
Humans are not supposed to know of the existence of the likes of Jonas, vampires who hug the shadows of the night close to them. For the most part, Jonas has never had trouble walking away from a human, wiping their memories of him when it comes to that crucial moment. However, with Ginny, none it works the way he plans it, and before he knows it, Ginny is in his life; his to love, his to protect, his to call mate for life.
Romance readers who have ventured into the urban-fantasy genre or read paranormal romances must have gone through their fair share of worlds built around vampires, ghouls, angels, and whatnot. Ms. Bailey’s take on the vampire world carries itself differently, though the basics of vampirism itself remains the more or less the same. I found myself totally enchanted and intrigued, and I loved every single second of being part of the journey that was Jonas and Ginny’s towards their happily ever after.
I loved Jonas – no questions about it. I fell head over heels in love with both protagonists early on in the story and there was no looking back for me. Jonas has a savagery to him that is tamped down, and yet at the same time, there is nothing he would not do, no stone that he would leave unturned, if harm were to befall his one and only.
At the same time, Ginny, who is thrust into a world she is clueless about, having never led a life of excitement up till that point, finds herself drawn to the danger and thrill of it all, her fate being entwined with that of Jonas from the beginning. If I had to use one word to describe this book I would choose the word exquisite; Reborn Yesterday had everything going for it in all the ways it matters.
Recommended for fans of Tessa Bailey, fans of vampire romances, and fans of romances in general. This was beautifully delivered from start to finish.
Final Verdict: There is a tender savagery to Reborn Yesterday that is in direct contrast with and yet meshes well with what Ms. Bailey delivers in the new sub-genre of romance she has taken to writing like a fish to water. Keep em’ coming Ms. Bailey!
Favorite Quotes
Their tongues greeted each other like star-crossed lovers, demanding and bereft over their separation. Ginny’s eyes flew open to find the same wonder blazing in Jonas’s, before his lids drooped along with hers, the kiss taking over, sensations making demands and hunger sinking in its claws. At the next slide of their tongues, Ginny’s knees drew up involuntarily and Jonas rolled forward with a growl, locking their lower bodies together. Pressing. Straining. The vast difference in their strength was obvious. As it was also obvious that he tried valiantly to hold his in check, his body shaking with the effort. Unfortunately, Ginny’s body couldn’t seem to stop tempting that inhuman strength. Her inner thighs rode up and down his hips and thighs, sobs catching in her throat, releasing into his hot, seeking mouth. Lord, his mouth. It was at once skilled and frantic, like he knew damn well what he was about, but couldn’t keep up with the onslaught of lust. Yes. God, this was lust.
Their hands wrestled above her head, only to be pinned by Jonas. His hips rocked, the hard ridge of his sex riding to the start of her feminine flesh—and pressing down. Right there. Even through the material of her dress, she caught enough friction to cry out—and the threadbare sound did something to Jonas. He leaned harder into the kiss, befuddling her senses with long, sensual slants of hard lips over soft, animal groans kindling in his strong chest, his fingers locked so tightly with Ginny’s above her head, she knew his willpower waned. Good. More. Good. Never stop.
With a growl of pure hunger, Jonas lowered his head and licked the trickle of blood from her neck, bringing it into his mouth and swallowing the way someone might with a fine wine. Almost immediately, his body fell forward on top of her. He caught himself with shaking arms right before he could crush her. A throttled rendition of her name left him. What was that sound? There was a muted throbbing between them and at first she thought it came from her own rollicking heartbeat, but no…no, it came from Jonas. He balanced on one hand, tearing at the left side of his chest with the other. Was his heart beating? “Mate,” he gasped, fangs elongating another fraction of an inch. “Mate.”
He leaned down and licked the side of her neck, long and slow. “Mine,” he breathed, planting a hot, open-mouthed kiss over her pulse. “Inevitably, undeniably mine. May God help us all.” Ginny braced herself for pain—and she got it. The shocking sting made her body jolt and twist, but a flood of numbing warmth ensued so quickly afterward, she stilled. As if on command. Stilled and felt the sharp fangs sinking into her. Heard Jonas’s muffled exclamation against her skin, followed by an exultant groan. She’d been caught. Possessed.
A volcano of bliss erupted inside of her, trapping a gasp in her throat. His words stabbed at her composure like little daggers and she bore down, prolonging the rush of relief by grinding up and back on his thickness. “Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord,” she whimpered, raking her nails down his back. “It feels so good.” “Remember that feeling,” he said, pressing his bared teeth to her cheek. “You only get it from your mate. Ever.”
He wore jeans. Dark ones, much nicer than the pair he’d donned the night they met. Along with boots, a white shirt and an overcoat of soft, chocolate brown. Flowers. There were flowers in his hand. For her. “Ginny,” he breathed, stopping in front of her. “I’m sorry I’m late.” She nodded. Or shook her head. Hard to be sure. He handed her the flowers, then cupped her face in his hands, brushing her cheekbones with adoring sweeps of his thumbs. Their lips met and they both shuddered, the cellophane crinkling beneath her grasping fingers. Ginny didn’t have to look around the room to know they were the center of attention and she couldn’t have cared less anyway. She only saw Jonas.
His muscles bunched on a rasp of her name, his fangs slicing out. “Need.” Knowing exactly what he meant, she relinquished her right hand’s grip on the bedclothes, sank it into his hair and instinctively drew him to her thigh. “Yours. It’s yours. I’m yours.” With an expression rife with possession and unholy thirst, Jonas pressed a second finger into her body and bit down hard on her inner thigh, groaning brokenly at the taste of her. Ginny whipped headlong into an orgasm. It was all the more brutal and beautiful for its unexpectedness.
He stroked into her deep, the new angle allowed that slick, thick part of him unfettered access to that spot—and she couldn’t move her hips to meet him or grind up, she simply had to take it. There was a loud sound coming from a distant land and it took her several guesses before she realized it was the entire bed rebounding off the wall. The wildness of it was her undoing. Or maybe it was watching Jonas sink his fangs into the small of her wrist, followed by the further swelling and jerking of his flesh inside her. Knowing he was close to finding unimaginable pleasure after a lifetime of going without. His body stiffened at the same time as hers, his mouth released her wrist and fingers clutched at skin eagerly, pulling one another’s bodies closer any way they could.
Her thighs wrapped around his hips automatically, her toes digging into his taut backside. No choice but to cling, squeeze him between her legs. Her core was so sensitive, so exposed. “Jonas, Jonas, Jonas.” “You don’t want to make love, Ginny.” His teeth raked over her nipple, tonguing the sting while he made blistering eye contact. “You want to fuck, don’t you?”
“I’m incapable of denying you anything. Anything.” He reached down and fisted his thickness, notching the smooth head inside of her—and ramming himself home to the tune of Ginny’s strangled cry. For a moment, Jonas said nothing, his mouth open against her ear. Then, “You’re even tighter when you’re pissed.” A tickle roared downward in her belly, her thighs jerking violently as the orgasm whipping through her. “Oh my God.” She squirmed, desperate for an anchor, a branch to grab onto while being shot down the raging rapids. “Oh my God.”
He slammed his mouth down on top of hers, kissing her with the passionate brutality she was starving for, the door rebounding hard off the frame behind her. Bambambambambam.“I’m sorry, my love,” he said hoarsely. “My fucking life.” Ginny pitched over the edge so fast and so hard, her climax was almost painful. Her thighs shook around Jonas’s hips, her body arching off the door, her scream echoing off the bathroom walls. He pressed his forehead to hers, looking her in the eye as he followed her off the cliff, hips jerking wildly, Ginny on his lips. Behind him, the bathroom bulbs shot sparks and went out, leaving them in the barest light where it crept in from beneath the door.
Format: E-book Read with: iBooks for iPad Length: Novel Genre: Historical Romance Series: Maiden Lane, #12 Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Hero: Raphael de Chartres Heroine: Iris Daniels Sensuality: 4 Date of Publication: October 17, 2017 Started On: December 11, 2017 Finished On: December 16, 2017
Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt is the much awaited final installment in the Maiden Lane series, books that have consistently managed to captivate, woo, and stupendously deliver on all fronts where the romance genre is concerned. Hoyt writes with a flair that is rarely found in the genre; with heart, wit, and a sensuality that takes your breathe away. Why I fell in love with her books is owing to all that and more, and though I was sad to be saying goodbye to the series, I knew in my heart that it was time.
Duke of Desire brings to readers the story of Iris Daniels, Lady Jordan whom we encounter in the previous book in the series, alongside with Raphael de Chartres, the Duke of Dyemore. Raphael is a man on a mission to hunt down the members of the Lords of Chaos, a despicable secret society whose members consisted of aristocrats who enjoyed preying on the most vulnerable – on the rape and destruction of women and children.
When Iris finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the diabolical intentions of the members of the Lords of Chaos, it is Raphael who steps into rescue her, though it does not seem like that at first from where she is standing. However, as circumstances push them together, Raphael finds himself at odds with his lifelong mission that had set him on the course of pursuing the members of the group. In Iris, he finds a a flicker of light at the end of that long and dark tunnel that glows brighter every passing minute he spends in her company, enticing him to cast the demons that hounds him aside and be free to love her as he yearns to.
Iris having being married before, wants more from marriage the second time around. Being “forced” into “wedded bliss” with Raphael hardly seems like the road to achieving that particular dream she has for her future. But bit by bit, Iris comes to the realization that with Raphael, she just might find everything her heart yearns and desires for, if only she is willing to peel back the layers that makes the complex man that Raphael is, and help him confront his painful past.
For me, Duke of Desire was a story that didn’t quite reach its potential. I felt that there was so much more that Hoyt could have done with the storyline, but missed out on, which made the story a bit lackluster in certain areas.
Raphael however, was a gem of a hero who I wanted to hold close and even cry about at times. His past is one that proved to be graphically all too real at certain points (which was necessary in my opinion), and horrifyingly so close to the truth if you look at the depravity that is human nature all too often. To have suffered what Raphael did, at such a tender age, alongside with the conflicting array of emotions he has for his abuser (which was all too understandable), I found that Raphael’s character was one I fell for without a shred of doubt.
For me, it was Iris’s character that I found lacking. While I loved her for her gentle and giving nature, there was something missing in her, a characteristic that is strongly inherent in almost all of Hoyt’s heroines. I also found the ending of the Lords of Chaos to be a bit anticlimactic after the continued theme in a couple of books towards the end of the series. However, even with all the tidbits that did not work for me, I did enjoy the story and ended it with the hope that Hoyt would continue to write amazing stories that readers like us covet so much.
Final Verdict: Hoyt bids adios to her Maiden Lane series by bringing forth one of the most broken and yet formidable heroes in the series, the Duke of Dyemore. Loved him to bits and then some.
Favorite Quotes
She took his hand in hers and ran the cloth over the veins that roped the back. His fingers were long and strong, and they dwarfed hers, the nails square and pale. She carefully washed each one and then cupped his hand in hers to wash his palm. It was an intimate act. A … caring act. One a mother might perform for a child. Or a woman might perform for her lover. Iris caught her breath and straightened to rinse the cloth. When she turned back her gaze caught his. He was watching her, his crystal eyes half-lidded, his twisted lips parted. She felt something inside her clench.
Iris cleared her throat and rubbed in small circles on his upper chest, moving downward, toward one of those nipples. They were just little bits of flesh, weren’t they? A deeper color, certainly, than the surrounding skin, and creped, but nothing out of the ordinary. Her breath caught as she swept over his nipple with the cloth. Did he feel that? Did it feel any different from the rest of his skin? Did he feel as she did when cloth brushed over her bare nipples? She dared to peek from under her lowered eyelashes. His nostrils were flared, his eyes mere slits.
She stretched on tiptoe and pressed the sketchbook to his chest, holding it there with the flat of her palm. “Tell me the truth, Raphael. Now. Tonight. No more evasions and lies. What is it you feel for me? Is it affection—or merely indifference?” He finally moved then, snatching the sketchbook from her hand and tossing it to a chair. He wrapped one arm around her waist and fisted her hair with the other hand, bending over her until she had to grasp those broad shoulders or fall. “Believe me, Wife, the last thing I feel for you is indifference.” Then his mouth was on hers, devouring her, his hot tongue demanding that she part her lips and let him into her depths.
His hips began to move, thrusting gently, shoving his cock in and out of her mouth. She glanced up and saw his head tilted back, the tendons of his neck drawn taut, and suddenly his hand was in her hair, pulling, trying to make her move away. But she didn’t want to. She had such power now and she was drunk on his taste and scent. She sucked strongly, moving her hands up and down that gorgeous shaft, feeling as he thrust his cock against her tongue. He groaned as if he were in pain and his hips shuddered. And she tasted hot, bitter liquid in her mouth. Semen. His semen.
He guided her down so that she was pressed against him, his knee right in her softness, her lips spread on him. Her eyes widened. “Rock,” he said, watching her. She grasped his thigh and slowly rubbed against him, her breasts trembling. “Do you like it?” he asked, looking quite sinister. “Yes.” She licked her lips. “Yes, I do.” “You look like you like it,” he murmured low.
“Have you ever pleasured yourself?” he asked. And she opened her eyes wide in shock. She never … To discuss aloud such things! His eyes were knowing, as if he’d seen her, lying in her virginal bed long ago, fingering herself. “Show me,” he growled. “Show me what you do.” She swallowed and trailed her right hand down, burrowing her middle finger into where she was hot and wet. Oh! She couldn’t catch her breath. Doing this in front of him as he eyed her dispassionately. As he ordered her to display herself for him. She was on the point, so close, so close, her finger working faster and faster as her scent rose in the air between them. Her mouth opened wide and her hips stuttered against him, sweet heat flowing through her, infusing her limbs, making her light-headed. He caught her and drew her against him, pressing kisses into her mouth as he murmured, “So beautiful. So beautiful.”
He licked, flicking her nipple with his tongue on one side and his fingers on the other, and at the same time he ground down on her, shoving her chemise into her pussy, rubbing against her clitoris, until the silk was sodden with her wetness. Until she could hear the soft, slick sounds he made, his body on hers, him pleasuring her, while he would not let her move. He wasn’t gentle. But then perhaps he didn’t know how to be gentle, and the thought made something inside her weep, even as he drove her up that peak. Maybe this was all he knew: flesh and liquid heat. Maybe that was all she would ever have from him. She wasn’t certain it was enough.
She arched beneath him, her hips shoving up, trying to get more of that hand, more of that gaze. He lowered his head and covered her mouth, thrusting between her lips as he slid a finger into her softness. She trembled beneath him, moaning as he kissed her so deeply she thought she might lose her senses. He was rubbing his thumb over her clitoris now, fast and hard, and he broke the kiss to murmur in a voice dark as hellfire, “Wet my hand. Show me your desire. Show me all that you are. Let me look at your sweet cunt, swollen and rosy for me. I want to make you weep. I want all your pleasure, Iris, all your pain, everything you are. You are the light in my black night. Come for me.”
Oh God, she wanted him to fill her. She pressed her palm to the side of his face. He turned his head and kissed her palm … and at the same time thrust inside her. She gasped at the sudden invasion. At feeling his cock inside her at long last. At the stretch and the fullness and the glory. He thrust again and was fully seated, as far inside her as it was possible to be. Her legs were stretched open to accommodate his hips, and he was pressed deeply, intimately into her. He pushed up on his arms and held himself there as he pulled his cock nearly all the way from her body and then drove back in again. She opened her mouth, panting, holding his crystal-gray gaze. His hips were working now, driving into her at a hard pace, filling her again and again. She’d never … It had never been like this before. So intense. So intimate. So devastating.
She moaned, long and low, wanting to arch, to thrash, to scream. Instead she opened her mouth and bit his shoulder, tasting salt. Tasting want. Then she gasped. “Please.” “What do you want?” he whispered in her ear, an incubus, dark and alive and in her. “Tell me. What do you need?” “I …” Her mouth opened, wordless. “Tell me,” his smoky voice curled around her. “You.” He chuckled, dark and low. “This?” He thrust short and hard into her, the impact sending jolts of pleasure through her body. “Yes, that,” he murmured to himself as if pleased, and did it again. And again.
Format: E-book Read with: Kindle/iBooks for iPad Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Cocktail, #1 Publisher: Omnific Publishing Hero: Simon Parker Heroine: Caroline Reynolds Sensuality: 3.5 Date of Publication: November 27, 2012 Started On: November 24, 2014 Finished On: December 1, 2014
Wallbanger is book 1 in the Cocktail series by Alice Clayton and my very first read from Ms. Clayton as well. This has been a novel sitting in my TBR pile for quite a while now. I picked this up due to the very intriguing opening chapter, and of course a book entitled Wallbanger promising dirty sex of the wall banging variety is too much for this girl to resist.
Caroline Reynolds is a successful interior designer, who moves to her new apartment with beautiful spacious rooms when at 2:37 a.m. of the first night she is awoken by her neighbor who seems quite adept at making enough noise with sex of the wall banging variety. And if the sounds emanating from his partner is anything to judge his prowess by, Caroline knows her neighbor is one skilled lover. Three nights in a row with three different women plus Caroline’s dry spell since a disastrous one night stand had left her with an inability to achieve orgasms, Caroline finds her lack of sleep coupled with lack of “O” to be too much. The resulting confrontation with Simon the “Wallbanger” leaves her more hot and bothered than she would admit and it seems like where they are concerned, both Simon and Caroline seems to dislike each other equally intensely.
Written in first person from Caroline’s point of view, Wallbanger tells the story of Caroline and her friends who all manage to find their happily ever after before the story is through. Caroline has the toughest time with finding hers, mainly because she doesn’t want to be part of Simon’s three women harem. However, Simon surprises her in more ways than one as Caroline gets to know her neighbor whose career as a freelance photographer takes him globetrotting all over the world. Sexual attraction of the kind that is hard to deny coupled with mutual respect and like for each other takes a heady turn at a getaway with less then stellar results and Caroline is more than ready to give up when Simon proves to her once again that when it comes to her Wallbanger, she has misjudged him, yet again.
Wallbanger is a story that any romance reader who loves humor, top notch sexy and a hero who is so hot that you would want one for yourself would all adore! The humor intricately woven into the story was so so good, warranting spurts of giggles all throughout and uncontrollable laughter every now and then. There’s so much to be said for witty banter & characters whose sense of humor makes them appealing on so many different levels. With Wallbanger, every single facet of the main & secondary characters lends that wholesome edge to the story, giving readers a hilarity filled wild ride and that I was definitely wowed over with.
There’s no way any heterosexual woman can read about Simon and not be affected by him, even be it for just the teensiest bit. With baby blues, dark hair and defined biceps, Simon is a hero that would make you sweat the good sweat, just by walking into a room! Clayton’s remarkable job in breathing Simon to life is one that will captivate readers and I certainly had my share of being enthralled and more as Simon continued to bang his way through the walls and straight into my heart.
Caroline’s frustration with her elusive ‘O’ was one well portrayed. I have read only two books to date where the heroine has a tough time achieving an orgasm through sexual stimulation. Sarah Mayberry’s Satisfaction was my first and the Wallbanger being my second, I’d have to say both books do a splendid job out of bringing the frustration, anger and the whole range of emotions that go along with such a circumstance. And when finally the ‘O’ did come calling? Man, I’d have to say that was one of the most explosive & moving sex scenes I’ve read of late.
I liked the fact that Simon wanted things to be different with Caroline. When it came to her, nothing but the slowest and best form of wooing made him feel like they could work. And I’m more than glad that Simon took the chance with Caroline, even with his misgivings on whether he could make a solid relationship work given his fears about the effect his globetrotting ways could have on a relationship. To experience Simon alone, Wallbanger is worth a read!
The only aspect that I felt the story lacked was not seeing Simon’s thoughts from his point of view. But I’d have to say that the author did a fairly good job in providing just enough of other character viewpoints through interesting text messages and even laying down the thoughts at certain critical points in the story. This is part of the reason why I don’t feel that enamored with stories written in the first person, something authors are tending to opt for more often than I would like these days. Even with that tiny bit of problem I had, Wallbanger is a novel that definitely packs a punch!
Final Verdict: Dare you to read Simon without wanting a Wallbanger of your very own! Recommended!
Favorite Quotes
“Why are you such a manwhoring asshole?” I asked, my face inches from his. “Why are you such a cockblocking priss?” he asked, and when I opened my mouth to tell him exactly what I thought, the fucker kissed me. Kissed me. Placed his lips on mine and kissed me. Under the moon and the stars, with the sounds of the waves crashing and the crickets cricketing. My eyes were still open, furiously looking back into his. His eyes were so blue, it was like looking at two angry oceans.
“Come into my Tahoe, Simon,” I mumbled incoherently into his mouth. He paused. “Caroline, come into your what? Oh, God,” he managed, as I pushed us off the side of the hot tub and vaulted us across the water, emptying half of its contents onto the deck and the other half sloshing us around like it was high tide. He slammed me into the opposite wall, pushing me up against the bench and rewrapping my legs around his waist, as I gamely pushed my mouth back onto his, unwilling to let go of him.
“You…are…a mad woman,” he panted, his hands looping underneath my arms and curling around the tops of my shoulders, keeping me firmly against the side while I dug my heels into his backside, nudging him to exactly where I needed him. He closed his eyes and bit down on his lower lip, an animalistic growl sounding low in his throat as I launched my second wave of the Lower Caroline- commanded attack.
I turned around, and my tummy actually fluttered at the sight of him. It freaking fluttered. I pressed my hand against his chest, feeling the strength there and the warmth of his skin through the cotton. Reason waved bye- bye, and this was now purely physical. An itch that needed to be scratched, scratched, and then scratched again. I slid my hand up around the back of his neck, and pulled him down to me. My lips crashed against his, my intense need for him pouring into his mouth and down to the tips of my toes.
Feeling him getting harder by the second under my fingertips, suddenly all I wanted, all I needed, all I had to have to function in life, was him. In my mouth. “Hey, Nightie Girl, what are you— oh God— ” Moving instinctively, I snapped open his jeans, dropped to my knees before him, and brought him forth. My pulse raced, and I think my blood actually boiled within me as I saw him. My breath drew in with a hiss as I regarded him, faded jeans pushed down just enough to frame this luminous sight. Simon does commando. God bless America.
He laid me back across the table as I grinned up at him. My foot hit the flour sifter and sent it crashing to the floor, dusting us thoroughly in the process. Simon’s hair looked like a biscuit, powdery and puffy. I coughed and a plume of flour came out, making Simon laugh out loud. The laughing stopped when I reached down for him, finding him hard, yet still covered in denim. He groaned, my favorite sound in the world. “Fuck, Caroline, I love your hands on me,” he said through his teeth, dipping his mouth to my neck and leaving a trail of white- hot kisses across my skin.
He grasped my hands and brought them above my head to the headboard. “You’re gonna wanna hold on for this,” he whispered and threw one of my legs up over his shoulder as he altered his hips. “Simon!” I shrieked, feeling my body begin to spasm. His eyes, those damnable blue eyes, bore into mine as I shook around him. He called out my name, and no one else’s.
Format: E-book Read with: iBooks for iPad Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Montana Born Brides Publisher: Tule Publishing Group Hero: Heath Adam McGregor Heroine: Andie Eloise Bennett Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: July 28, 2014 Started On: October 4, 2014 Finished On: October 5, 2014
Did I tell you that I am a sucker for a good friends-to-lovers romance? Well, I am. And Sarah Mayberry happens to be one of those authors who has rocked my world with a couple of romances she has written that fits this trope. Once again, with Make-Believe Wedding, Sarah Mayberry delights her fans with another wonderful romance of the friends-to-lovers variety which I adored right from the very start.
Andie Eloise Bennett has lived a long time with the secret of her love for her brother’s best friend, Heath Adam McGregor, who happens to be her very close friend and boss as well. Andie’s love for Heath wasn’t one of those random things that had happened just one fine day; she’d just known ever since puberty had hit that Heath was the one and that there would be no other. Living with that secret close to her heart for thirteen years had left its mark on her and watching Heath get tangled up with one woman right after the other doesn’t make a difference in her yearning to be with the man she has loved forever.
A lot more drinks than Andie usually entertains together with the grieving thought that Heath would never ever see her in the same light as she does him has Andie filling up an application form for The Great Wedding Giveaway, never knowing that life as she and Heath had known it was irrevocably going to change. When the application goes through by accident and “forces” Heath and Andie to fake an engagement, Heath finds the ground beneath him shift as he starts seeing the girl he’d known practically all his life in an entirely new way.
Make-Believe Wedding constitutes of two protagonists both equally appealing to the heart. Heath is one of those sweet heroes that you’d fall for from the minute you meet him. Though I must admit that of late, I have missed the brooding type of heroes that Sarah tends to create every now and then, Heath definitely ended up being a favorite of the sweet hero variety. Andie is the girl that most of us have been or even are right this very moment. Not extraordinarily beautiful, definitely not equipped with the type of body that men go gaga over and yet hopelessly in love with someone who is definitely above her paygrade. The reason I loved her surpasses all those reasons. She is the type of independent and yet vulnerable heroine that Sarah is legendary for creating and Andie definitely fits the mold.
The story that evolves is one that sizzles with sexual tension as Heath discovers a facet to Andie that has his head reeling from the passion she invokes in him. And well, for Andie, Heath is definitely her dream come true. The angst factor provided by Angie’s brother and of course Andie’s insecurities when it comes to believing something too good to be true provided that extra fodder to the story that made it the entertaining read Make-Believe Wedding turned out to be.
The one thing I am looking forward to now is Beau (Andie’s brother) and Lily (Andie’s friend)’s story. There was a tension that was simmering between them that sets the reader on the edge even in this one and I believe Sarah is going to deliver a hero of the type I’ve mentioned that I miss in her books with Beau. Cannot wait!
Recommended for fans of Sarah Mayberry & fans of friends-to-lovers romances.
Final Verdict: Heartwarmingly good!
Favorite Quotes
He pulled at her t-shirt, not breaking their kiss until the last possible moment as he whipped it over her head, and then his gaze was raking her breasts, his eyes glittering with desire. “Andie,” he groaned, reaching for her with his big hands. She arched her back, pushing herself into his palms, swallowing a sob as he pinched her nipples and then soothed them with his thumbs. Her sex felt swollen and achy with desire, and all she could think about was having him inside her, stretching her.
The first touch of his fingers on her swollen center nearly made her levitate. When he stroked her and plunged a single finger inside her she dropped her head back and started to pant. How could anything feel this good? How could this be legal? How could she have lived twenty-six years and not experienced so much need and want and desperation? “Andie, Andie.” Heath’s voice was ragged and broken, unrecognizable. “How did you get so fucking sweet?”
A single woman with a sexual longing and two homecoming marines.
The 4th of July and a long due homecoming sees Brad Cooper and his Marine buddy Kenny Curtis return. Millie Newton has always loved Brad, but was crushed when he enlisted. Now he’s back and she has no intention of letting him go without showing her true feelings. The block party provides the opportunity as this surprise threesome find themselves providing the fireworks in this hot BDSM story.
A hot nurse, a handsome fireman.
Halloween is here and it’s a stressful weekend for Fireman Tom Newton. With the promise of a Halloween Play Party things seem to be picking up. Lucy, an overworked nurse is ready for some time off. She steps into a mess when her best friend, Millie gets them invites to Robert’s Halloween Play Party. Tom and Lucy both have desires on each other but neither are aware. Can Robert and Millie bring this destined couple together and will it run smoothly. Will true love blossom, will the Master get his slave?”
A lost memory and a harbored secret; can bondage find true love. Wounded and depressed, lying in a hospital, Kenny Curtis has given up on ever finding happiness. Sacrificing a threesome lifestyle with his best friend Brad and Millie so they can be together, Kenny is now alone at Christmas. Lindsey has needs of her own, a sub, a slave, she wants what Kenny has to offer. However an incident in their past threatens to spoil everything. Can the spirit of Christmas pull them together long enough for them to see that they belong as one? Or will Lindsey desert and ruin her best chance?
**Note: This title contains adult content and should not be read by readers under the age of 18. The titles in his bundle have been previously released as Bondage on the 4th of July, Halloween Submission, and A Slave for Christmas. The entire series has been reedited for rerelease. You can still purchase these titles individually.**
Excerpt
Tom took hold of her soft hand, her fingers wrapped gently in his palm. He flicked the light on and carefully led her down the stairs. There was warmth about her. Something made him feel good inside as he reached the bottom. The room lights flickered on. Tom couldn’t help but grin at the dungeon. The black couch rested against the back wall. A large fridge stood a couple of feet to its left.
“Shall we sit a while?” Tom asked her.
“Yes, I need to rest a little.”
“Make yourself comfortable, can I get you another drink of water?”
“Please.”
“Call me Sir.”
“Please, Sir.” Tom walked to the fridge and pulled out a cold bottle and twisted the cap. He returned to the couch. His heart started to pump faster. The sight of his new kitten friend aroused him. She was gorgeous. The scent flowing from her body seemed to target his nostrils. He felt almost faint as he sat beside her. She had a spell on him.
“Sit on my lap, kitty cat.” He patted his thigh and watched as she shuffled across. Her body was light, her flesh warm. He rested his hand on her back and looked at her. There was a distinct sense that he had met her before. She knew him. That was certain. The bottle came up and he put it to her lips.
“Sip. You’ve just downed a whole bottle.” She emptied a quarter of the bottle in a few seconds, sipping it. “Good girl.”
“Thank you, Sir.” The smile almost melted his heart. Then she lowered her eyes, taking the submissive pose.
“Have you and I done a scene before?”
“Not that I’m aware, Sir.”
Her ass pressed down on his groin, Tom could feel himself stiffening against her buttocks.
“So, do you always get distracted when a Dom spanks you?”
“I’m sorry Sir, I don’t understand.”
“All the time the Dom spanked you, you looked at me. Or at least you kept looking my way.”
“I don’t remember.”
“Is your ass sore?”
“A little. Yes, Sir.”
Tom smiled as she took another sip. It was obvious she had plenty of expertise at being a submissive. It came naturally. The way she called him ‘Sir’ after every sentence; the way she sat with her submissive posture. Tom glanced over at the far wall, completely mirrored. He watched her, watched her responses.
“Stand up, bend over, place your hands on your knees, and face the mirror.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Tom took the bottle from her and placed it on the floor. She got up. He admired her figure, the sexy cat costume. Stockings turned him on and she made him wet. The strain was intense. His cock felt imprisoned in the tight leather.
Leaning forward, following exactly the orders he gave, she presented herself to him. Tom sat a moment, looking, not touching.
“You have a pretty ass, kitty cat. It’s nice and rosy.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Tom sat up and leaned, reaching out. Slowly he slipped his fingers under the rim of her shorts and pulled them. Her soft smooth buttocks were exposed. The red tinge clearly ached as she flinched slightly. Tom pulled the shorts down all the way to her shoes, leaving them puddled at her feet.
“Step out of your shorts and spread your feet for me.”
“Yes, Sir.” No sooner had he said it and it was done.
“Have you got limits?”
“What do you mean?”
“Pain thresholds. Do you like pain?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“How about anal?”
“Yes, Sir. I love anal.” The more she spoke, the more he dripped pre-cum. He would have to move soon.
Bonnie Bliss is not just a willing submissive, but she is a wife and a mother. By day, she is a busy, stay at home mother. At night, she is a sultry storyteller. Her tastes go towards the dark and the extreme. She loves to twist up fairy tales and sweet stories we all know and love. Her lust for Dominance and submission has taken her into the dark inner workings of Sadomasochism.
Bonnie is a native of Southern California, and says that everything in the Katy Perry song, California Girls is totally accurate. She has done everything from waitressing, customer service phone rep., Corporate Real Estate, and spent a pretty impressive part of her life working for the Disney Corporation—including as a Disney Princess. When she’s not writing, she is ordering too many custom bows for her daughter, baking the best cupcakes in the world, going to Disneyland, laying on a beach, and sometimes playing hockey for release.
A Maldivian's Passion for Romance 