Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: The Release Series, #2 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Camden Cole Heroine: Nora Stewart Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: November 12, 2020 Started On: November 13, 2020 Finished On: November 18, 2020
Reclaim, book 2 in The Release series by Aly Martinez is a story that I have bided my time for since having read the first installment, Release. The first book ends on a note that makes the reader extremely curious about the fate of Nora Stewart, whose past is entwined with the main protagonists from Release and oh so steeped in darkness – but there was only so much that the reader was privy to at that point.
Reclaim takes us to a time when Nora is 11 years old and meets 12 year old Camden Cole for the very first time. A friendship is forged between the two that fateful summer, and while promises were made, Nora believes that Camden broke them, just like her mother who abandoned their family when she was just a mere seven years old.
What happens next is a series of tragic events that leads to disaster of epic proportions, until years later, Nora and Camden’s paths cross again. With the heaviness of words unspoken between them lingering on, of a love that both feels acutely nevertheless, of so much time wasted while Camden had patiently waited for his one and only, I felt a keen sense of loss even when the story was well and over.
While I understood that Nora’s past required her to come to terms with a lot of things, that she needed to forgive herself and love herself enough to be able to have a long-lasting relationship with anyone, I could not quite understand why neither of them wanted to reach out to the other prior to the time period in which the rest of the story unfolds.
Perhaps, this hollow feeling emerged from the fact that I had a particular vision in mind when I thought of how Nora’s story would unfold. Don’t get me wrong; I did enjoy their story for the most part, but I cannot feel sad about the time wasted, when they could have been together and worked through a lot of the issues together. Perhaps this time apart was needed in part for Camden to also be in charge of his destiny for him to be able to finally be with Nora in a most fulfilling way.
Perhaps due to the time factor, and because the story takes place over periods during which there was too much darkness in especially Nora’s life for there to be light, I missed the sexy scenes of passion that should have rightfully existed between the two. In a way that also left me feeling cheated towards the end.
Recommended for fans of Aly Martinez and fans of The Release series who have been dying to read Nora’s story!
Final Verdict: Nora and Camden’s story is one of missed chances and a love that runs so deep, it stands the test of excruciating trials & hardships until at long last ultimate triumph is reached!
Favorite Quotes
“Do you…” Kiss. “…ever think—” “Mmmm,” she hummed as my tongue teased at her earlobe. “…about me…” She shivered in my arms and moved closer until her core found my length straining against my boxers. I hissed at the contact, barely able to finish my thought. “…at night?” Her fingers latched onto my hair and she pulled my mouth to hers, hovering mere millimeters away. “You’re the only man I’ve ever thought about.” Her warm breath filled my every inhale. “Every night, Cam.” I kissed her hard and fast, sealing my mouth over hers as though oxygen were my enemy. Fuck. Me.
He entered me with a devastating control, the muscles on his back flexing with every thrust. It wasn’t long before he found a rhythm that drove us both wild. He uttered gravelly words into my neck, my name punctuating all of them, and I clung to him, ripples of pleasure building within me. Unsure how much longer I could hold on, I locked my legs around his hips and urged him deeper. “Oh, God, I’m close.” “Give it to me, Nora,” he ordered, his rhythm quickening. My resolve snapped, and with a shattering climax, I unraveled beneath him. “Yesss,” he hissed. “That’s it, baby. Oh, fuck, that’s it.” One last drive and he seated himself to the hilt and emptied inside me.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Act Your Age, #1 Publisher: BookBaby Hero: Tyler Henderson Heroine: Katie May McGrath Sensuality: 3.5 Date of Publication: September 27, 2017 Started On: October 31, 2020 Finished On: November 12, 2020
Act Your Age by Eve Dangerfield is a romance that takes a deep dive into the psychology behind the need for kink and why some, more than the rest of us are drawn towards it, need it in a way that they are rendered incomplete without it. The story features many tropes that excites me as a reader of romance such as the huge age gap between the main protagonists and the fact that the hero is as grumpy and taciturn as they come, not to mention he is her boss, she his employee.
Combining all of the above tropes, needless to say, my first Eve Dangerfield certainly did not disappoint. 45 year old Tyler Henderson is a man steeped in misery in the wake of his fiancé’s departure from his life. Time certainly has not done its intended job all that well, and even though Tyler would rather chew his arm off than admit to the fact that 25 year old Katie May McGrath, the youngest and only female engineer at the company pushes all his buttons and then some sexually, Tyler is determined that he steer clear of Katie.
However, fate has other plans for these two, as one work trip is all it takes for the blinds to come off and for both of them to understand that the sexual heat and sizzle between the two is not the kind one walks away from, not to mention the fact that in each other lies the answer to their deepest and darkest desires.
Katie had grown up knowing that while she might be young and inexperienced, that in her mind lies the filthiest of fantasies where the man dominates her sexual escapades. Which means she automatically gravitates towards men like Tyler who cannot be bothered to give her the time of day, and goes as far as to completely ignore the fact that she actually does exist.
Tyler on the other hand, while older and definitely more experienced in appeasing his needs, finds himself at a loss as to explain to his partners, just why daddy-kink in particular appeals to him. For the young adult he had been (eons back), it had been a painful journey, but he had more less believed that his fiancé was it for him, until she had decided that he wasn’t it for her.
When Katie and Tyler embarks on their affair, it is with rules in place which each swears to respect, but then again, with heat that scorches the sheets and each answering the need that has festered in both of them for years, it is only natural that emotions would get involved in the process, even if especially Tyler is not ready to walk down that road again.
Keeping Katie from engulfing him altogether is how Tyler believes he is keeping his sanity intact, when in fact, the direction in which they are headed is bound to end up hurting each other. There was much angst towards the end of the story, which made this book the emotionally swell read it was.
Act Your Age was such a marvelous romance because the story does not just give us kink alongside with laughter and feel good times, but it also allows the reader to peep through to the deeper psychological need behind it, which all lies in the fact that we are all inherently different from one another. Our experiences as we grow up, our DNA itself perhaps contributes towards the way our brains are wired to work in terms of pleasure, pain, and release. Ms. Dangerfield certainly does make one think when you start on the journey alongside with Tyler and Katie, and usually, when you pick up a romance that is pretty much erotic by all means, one seldom believes they would be doing much thinking along the way.
While Ms. Dangerfield’s voice is one that is totally new to me, I felt right at home and at ease with the way the words just flowed, the emotional angst and sexual heat just exploded across my senses. Combining mirth with sexual heat is something few authors can pull off, and the fact that Ms. Dangerfield does that so effortlessly wins points from me!
I loved both Katie and Tyler for obvious reasons. Katie who tries to find her footing in life, coming from a large family that never understood her nor the psychological ailment she has suffered all through her life, finds her family in the friends she makes along the way. Tyler obviously being more messed up in his obstinate desire to never give away his heart to anyone else, suffers all the more for it and made my heart melt just like that. And don’t even get me started on the way he takes charge in the bedroom and delivers, oh so beautifully. His hangups in bed and out of it comes from his need to protect his emotions and that was as telling as if he were waving the white flag of surrender from a certain point onward.
Having enjoyed this number immensely, I want to thank Ms. Dangerfield for taking the time to write this lengthy novel, which if cut short would not have been half as good. While I know that there is a second book in the series entitled Not Your Shoe Size which takes place a couple of years down the line, I would have appreciated even a two-pager worth epilogue for this one. After all the emotional wrangling that readers go through to get to the end, an epilogue clinches the deal for the most part.
Absolutely recommended for those who love their smut with a delicious serving of heart and a side of insightful thinking.
Final Verdict: Act Your Age is definitely what the doctor ordered if you like grumpy heroes who makes your panties melt with one searing glance. Daddy-kink lovers; you would love Tyler more than any other!
Favorite Quotes
A moment’s silence, and then, “I gave Professor Sloan my number.” Ty’s hand froze on the door handle. “Don’t you fucking dare.” “A lot of guys don’t mind being called ‘daddy.’ Now that I’ve done it once I’m sure I can do it with—” In a heartbeat Ty had crossed the floor and before he could stop, think or consider, he was kissing her, his lips fusing with hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth. It was like sucking on a sugar cube, the sweetness so pleasurable, every taste demanded the need for more.
Ty’s fingers drew tighter around her clit, compressing the bud so tightly she felt like it might burst. “Yeah, baby?” “I think I’m gonna come.” “Good.” He bent down and sank his teeth into her neck, his sweat-slick hips pumping hard and fast. “Come, Middleton, come on Daddy’s big dick.” It was wrong, hearing her nickname and the word ‘daddy’ in the same sentence but it was wrong in the best of ways. She arched her back and climax rippled out from her in long, shimmering waves. He didn’t stop, so it didn’t stop; her orgasm hummed and throbbed through her like a living thing, and she scratched him and chewed her lip and screamed and screamed and screamed. She was no virgin but she thought this is what sex is. Oh my god, this is what sex is.
They made out in the elevator, Kate not giving a damn about Stephen who was surely watching them at the security deck downstairs. Kate had barely closed her front door before Ty pressed her up against it, tearing off her underwear and fucking her with a ruthlessness she hadn’t felt since their first night together. She came within minutes, screaming his name as the wheels of her roller skates bashed against the wood. One of Aunty Rhonda’s daguerreotypes fell off the wall and splintered, but Ty didn’t stop, and Kate didn’t care. He came a few minutes later, groaning about what a good whore she was, his lovely girl, his beautiful little slut.
Ty kissed her hand. “I don’t want to rush this. I don’t want to pressure you or make you doubt what I wrote on that card.” “The card was great,” Kate agreed. “But, like, sex?” He gave her a considering look. As though assessing if she was sober enough to drive. “I can kiss you again if you like?” “What the…no!” Kate ducked under his arms and relaunched herself at his face. Ty put up a token resistance, but within seconds they were making out like teenagers. Kate slung a leg over his hips, determined to get him so wound up he wouldn’t think about saying no. She’d barely straddled him before Ty’s hands were buried in her hair, pulling it taut in his fist. “You’re a bad fucking girl, aren’t you?” Kate smiled. Hearing him call her that alongside a sting of pain was like a chorus of angels serenading her right in the ear. Loving, respectful Ty was great, but filthy, punishing Ty was the one she wanted right now.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Amazon Digital Services Hero: Alexander Caldwell Heroine: Sunny Thorn Sensuality: 3.5 Date of Publication: June 09, 2020 Started On: October 26, 2020 Finished On: October 31 , 2020
Love cannot be replaced. The love someone denies you cannot be filled by someone else.
Beautiful Monster by Sara Cate tells a story that surprised me in many ways. Drawn to pick this up because of the huge age gap factor, I found more than enough to keep the pages turning which set my senses humming.
The almost 20 year old Sunny Thorn lives with her mother and elder sister, both of whom drives her crazy in their own ways. Having tried going to college for one semester and failing to fit in, Sunny had yet to go back, and it is when 40 year old Alexander Caldwell moves in next door and offers her the chance to paint a mural at his home that things start to change for both of them.
Alex is a man who is at a loss as to how to turn his life around. Tired of meaningless sex and the trouble he always gets himself into, Alex makes a vow to himself that the next time he sleeps with someone, it would mean something more than just for the sake of having sex. Sunny however tests that resolve of his time and yet again, and even though Alex feels like beating himself up over the fact that he is lusting over someone so young, neither of them can help themselves as the connection between them becomes too fierce to ignore.
One thing leads to another, and Sunny and Alex gets involved leading to a disastrous conclusion that was inevitable at some point. However, it is up to both of them to forge their individual paths back to one another, if their love is worth all that and more.
This is the first time that a romance book has delved deep into the effects of past relationships and meaningless flings on one’s life. Usually, books tend to skim over those details, but in Alex, Ms. Cate has definitely given us a deeper view into how it can actually affect one’s psyche when one loses sight of the boundaries that one must adhere to even in the pursuit of pleasure and happiness.
Sunny’s character was beautiful in so many ways. She might be young age-wise, but she is mature and wise in a way that was telling, why she turned out to be such a good fit with Alex in the long run. Though the age factor does hinder the progress of their relationship at the beginning, it fades into insignificance given how they both feel about each other. I loved Alex as well. Perfect mix of sexy and battle-scarred in the emotional sense.
Recommended for those who love their steamy sex wrapped up in emotional goodness. My first Sara Cate certainly did not disappoint.
Final Verdict: Multi-layered with complex characterization with that dollop of sexy to keep the pages turning; Beautiful Monster made for splendid reading!
Favorite Quotes
“I didn’t give you your birthday present,” he says, holding me so close to his body that I can hardly breathe. “What is it?” Moving my hair out of my face, he leans down, his face a breath away from mine. “Happy birthday, rain cloud.” Then his lips are on mine. They are so soft and warm, and I nearly melt from this unexpected moment. I feel his hands travel up my back until he’s digging his fingers into my hair and tilting my head. His tongue slips through my lips, and I have no idea how I’m still alive because I swear, I haven’t taken a breath in minutes.
“Lie down,” he commands, and I listen. My mouth feels dry, and the only sound I can hear now is the thrumming in my ears and the shaky intake of our breaths. Alexander leans over my body, placing a hand next to my head while the other travels up my thigh. “Has anyone touched you here, Sunny?” he asks, his voice shaking. “No,” I cry, pleading with him to touch me. “Please,” I beg. “Please what?” he asks, looking into my eyes. “Please touch me,” I gasp, feeling so vulnerable. “I will,” he says, teasing me, drawing circles between my legs. “Know why?” “Why?” My voice is strained. “Because I want you to know how it’s supposed to feel when a man touches you.”
“Don’t stop,” I gasp, reaching up for his kiss again. My fingers claw at his back, feeling the sheen of sweat there as he picks up speed. He calls my name as he buries his face into my neck, his fist still clutching my hair as the other engulfs me in a tight embrace. We are glued to each other, lost in a trail of ecstasy when he finally lets out a guttural roar, slamming into me so hard my body seizes again, the warmth exploding between my legs.
“Harder,” she gasps, clutching onto my neck, and I oblige. “Who do you belong to, baby?” I pull her off the counter, hanging her legs from my hands as I pound her gentle flesh, her moans growing louder and higher. “You, Alex. I’m yours, all yours.” Her voice is so strained I know she’s close. “That’s my girl.” I feel her coming, pulsing around my cock, and it practically milks the cum out of me. Trailing my lips down her face to her mouth, I carry her back to bed, both of us still panting. This time, I don’t have a hard time sleeping.
He pulls into the driveway, and I’m already unbuckling. Just as he puts the car into park, his hands are around my legs. Before I know what’s happening, I’m straddling his hips in the front seat of the car. He crashes his mouth against mine, and I let out a moan when the thickness in his pants rubs against my clit. My panties are so wet already, I’m sure I’m making a mess all over his lap. “Sunny,” he breathes against my lips, thrusting his hips up against me. “Get a rubber out of the glove compartment.” My heart beats even faster when I don’t move for the box, and it almost makes me shake with anticipation when I whisper back. “I’m on the pill, Alexander.” The second half of his name comes out in a whimper as he grinds against me again. He lets out a groan and bites my collarbone gently. His fingers stretch my panties to the side, rubbing the pad of his thumb through the moisture pooling there. I’m so desperate for him to fill me, I could cry.
“How was your run?” she says with a gasp as I turn her around, her back against my chest. “Not as good as this,” I murmur with my lips on her shoulder. Cupping her soft tit in my hand, I drag my tongue along the back of her spine. She lets out a heavy sigh, arching her back and pressing back against me like she’s begging me to enter her. As I slide my dick easily into her folds, I wonder how I went so long without this. When I’m inside of her, it feels so fucking right. And not just because it’s like heaven, but because Sunny and I fit. Every goddamn thing between us is meant to be together.
“Tell me you’re going,” I say with my teeth next to her ear. She moans in response, and I rear my hand back, landing another sharp sting against her ass. “Tell me.” “I’m going,” she cries. “That’s my girl.” My hands run the length of her body, trying to memorize every inch. “I love you so much it hurts, Sunny.” “Show me,” she gasps, and I feel her tears run over my fingers as they graze her lips.
Just as we pass a dark alley, I’m swept away from the sidewalk, and I meet his chest with a crash, stealing the breath from my lungs. I don’t even bother gasping for air. All I care about is his lips, so when he leans down, I wind my arms around his neck and pull his mouth to mine. We kiss each other hungrily, his body grinding against me like it’s the first breath we’ve taken in months. He moans into my mouth as I devour his lips. I will never let him go; I tell myself. Now that he’s back in my arms, there is no way I can let that go.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: MacKenzie-Blackthorn, #1 Publisher: Harlequin Hero: Tyrell MacKenzie Heroine: Janna Wayland Sensuality: 3.5 Date of Publication: December 26, 2006 Started On: October 17, 2020 Finished On: October 25 , 2020
What is it about romances written years ago that has the unique ability of reeling you in until you are hooked, line, and sinker? That is what I experienced with my very first Elizabeth Lowell novel, i.e. Reckless Love. The debut book in the MacKenzie-Blackthorn series, Reckless Love tells the story of Tyrell MacKenzie and 19 year old Janna Wayland whose paths cross in the wild land of Utah Territory after the end of the Civil War.
Janna lives alone, in the company of mustangs, under the guise of being a male which serves her well. Tyrell in the meanwhile, is a man who comes from a previously wealthy family, who comes to Utah Territory looking for a wild stallion known as Lucifer, via which he aims to make his fortune. Tyrell dreams of marrying the silken lady of his dreams, and he is not to be waylaid by anyone or anything for that matter.
When Tyrell finds himself attacked and at the brink of imminent death, it is Janna who rescues him, nurses him back to health, and takes him to the one place that is her safe haven and home amidst the chaos that is life in the territory. Tyrell, believing Janna to be a lad, does not take it kindly when he realizes that he has been deceived all along, especially when it had given him cause to question his own sexuality at certain points through his recovery.
The desire that blazes between Janna and Tyrell is fierce and it burns hotter and brighter than Tyrell would have thought possible. Even as he gives in, Tyrell is determined not to lose sight of his dreams of finding his silken lady, and Janna, who has lived in the wilderness all her life understands that making Tyrell fall in love with her would be an impossibility. Determined to make the best of the time they have left, Janna does not ask for more, and is resigned to saying goodbye when their time is up.
However, fate decides otherwise, and Janna is forced to leave the one place that had been hers and become part of the world that is Tyrell’s, nursing a broken heart knowing that Tyrell would never ever be truly hers. It takes a lot for Tyrell to start seeing things differently, as he continues to lie to himself about his feelings for Janna that burns as bright as the sun.
I loved Reckless Love for many a reason. I was in need of a story with an alpha hero of the kind that is hard to find in the romance novels of today. Tyrell proved to be all that and more, making the pages comes alive with his mere presence alone. There is a way about him that makes all that is female in you yearn and yearn big, and that is what Tyrell was for me.
I loved Janna to bits – she was courageous and beautiful in a way that is indescribable. She may have lived her life up till then without the frills and whites to accentuate her beauty, but for me, the purity of her character and soul shone vividly from the onset. I love a strong heroine as much as I do an alpha hero and Janna was that for me in many ways. Ms. Lowell writes with the kind of prose that is reminiscent of earlier works of Sandra Brown and Linda Howard, perhaps one of the main reasons why I felt right at home amidst the magic she wove with Tyrell and Janna.
Recommended for fans of Ms. Lowell and fans of Western themed romances with an alpha hero who makes your heart go wild and heroines you absolutely root for.
Final Verdict: Reckless Love delivers an exquisite cocktail of romance, heat, and angst that is guaranteed to make your insides all warm and fuzzy!
Favorite Quotes
When Ty’s arms tightened around Janna and he whispered her name, her hands crept up his chest to his stubble-roughened cheeks and beyond. Her fingers sought the thick black hair she longed to caress as she had in the days when he had been too ill to object to her touch. She slid her hands beneath his hat, dislodging it, and she shivered with pleasure when her fingers knew again the silky textures and fullness of his hair. She moved her hands slowly, flexing them gently, caressing him and the sensitive skin between her fingers at the same time. The intimate, changing pressure of Janna’s hands on Ty’s scalp made his breath catch, break and emerge as an almost silent groan. He moved his head slowly, increasing the pressure of her caressing hands, and the sound he made seemed to Janna more like a purr from a very large cat than any noise a man might make.
Heat stole beneath Janna’s skin, flushing her face, shortening her breath. Bubbles of sensation grew slowly inside her, expanding with each warm movement of Ty’s tongue until she shivered and a bubble burst, drenching her with golden heat; and then pleasure gathered again, burst sweetly, made her shiver and moan Ty’s name. The slender hands buried in Ty’s hair flexed and relaxed in the same rhythms of Janna’s tongue—seeking, stroking, finding, mating with the slow, deep motions he had taught her. The sensuous, searching caresses brought a violent hardening of Ty’s flesh that both shocked and dismayed him, telling him that he was very close to the edge of his self-control.
“Don’t be sorry,” he said huskily. “I like knowing that I’ve pleased you.” “You do?” she whispered, looking at his lips, wanting to taste him again, to feel his tongue moving within her mouth. “Yes.” Ty smiled and nuzzled the slanting line of Janna’s cheekbones until he came to the silky edge of her hair. He stripped off her hat and headband, untied the rawhide thongs holding her braids and unraveled them until his hands were full of the cool fire of her hair. He made an inarticulate sound of pleasure as he searched blindly with his mouth for the tempting curves of her ear. “I want to please you, little one. Will you tell me if I do?” “Y-yes.”
“Will going slow spoil it for you?” Janna whispered. “I don’t want to make it bad for you. I want to please you, Ty. I want that so much I ache.” “Going slow won’t spoil it. In fact, it can make it so good you feel like dying.” “It can?” Janna’s voice was husky with the conflicting emotions racing through her, passion and nervousness and a hunger to touch and be touched that was completely new to her. “It can,” Ty said. “At least, that’s what I’m told. I’ve never known that kind of pleasure myself.” Janna tried to speak but had no voice. She licked her lips and tilted her head back until she could look into the darkly luminous green of Ty’s eyes. “I want to pleasure you like that,” she whispered. “Will you teach me how?”
“Janna,” Ty said, breathing her name as much as saying it, “I hope to God I can set fire to you half as hot as you set fire to me. If I can, we’ll burn down the whole damn plateau.”
“Unbutton my shirt,” Ty said in a thick voice. “You’ll like the feel of my bare skin against your breasts. And so will I.” The slight movement of Janna’s body when she reached for Ty’s collar button made her hips rock against the hot cradle he had made for her between his legs. He groaned in a kind of exquisite agony, for he had never needed a woman so much as he needed Janna at that instant. “Again,” he whispered. “Move against me just once more. Just once.”
Janna’s nails dug into the flexed power of Ty’s buttocks and her body twisted wildly beneath his as she whispered again and again that what he had given her was good but not enough. With each movement she became more seductive, more demanding, more welcoming, so hot and sleek that he found himself pressing again and yet again at the fragile flesh that barred total consummation. Ty groaned and forced himself to move just slightly while his fingers sought and claimed the slick, delicate nub of Janna’s passion. He controlled the instinctive rocking of her hips by settling more of his weight between her legs, pinning her in place while he caressed her, bringing her closer and closer to ecstasy.
And then it was happening, the hot rain and the sheathing, ecstasy bursting with each movement of Ty’s hips; and Janna wept at the perfection as he let go of control and locked himself so deeply within her that she felt the certainty of his climax as the most intimate kind of caress, a pulsing presence that sent her spinning into ecstasy once again, her body caressing him rhythmically in the quivering aftermath of his own release. Janna’s tiny, ecstatic cries pierced Ty like golden needles, reaching past the flesh to the soul beneath. “Violent pleasure racked him until his muscles stood out like iron. The endless, shuddering release that followed overwhelmed him.
The knowledge of his own helpless response to her shocked Ty. He shouldn’t feel this way. The sweat wasn’t dry on his body from the first time he had taken her. He shouldn’t want her again the way he did right now—need knotting his guts, his body hard and heavy and hot, filled to bursting once more. He fought to remain still, not to respond, not to move, but the knowledge of the ecstatic consummation he would find within Janna’s body was too new, too overwhelming for him to deny or control it. With a low, raw cry, he fought against the lure of her, but even as he cried out he was moving slowly, surrendering himself to her one hard inch at a time.
“Janna?” Ty asked, holding himself motionless but for the helpless shuddering of his aroused body. “Answer me!” She tried to move, to take from him what he was withholding. It was impossible. He was too strong, too skilled, and she loved him. “Yes, damn you,” she whispered achingly. “Yes!” Ty heard only the agreement, not the pain. He let out his pent breath in a ragged groan. “I need you,” he said in a low voice. His hips began to move in quickening rhythms as shudder after shudder of tension went through his powerful body. “God help me, I’ve never needed any woman like this.”
Janna trembled as Ty kissed and licked and nuzzled the length of her torso, smoothing her legs apart as he had in the pool. This time there were no hot swirls of water to caress her, only the heat and textures of her lover teasing the humid softness that his fingertips had first discovered. The first gliding touch of Ty’s tongue brought a startled cry from Janna. It was answered by a reassuring murmur and a kiss both tender and hotly intimate. She tried to say his name, but all that came out was a whimper of shock and pleasure.
“Don’t,” Ty said huskily, biting back a raw sound of need. “You’ll make me lose control.” “But I’m not even touching you,” she whispered. “You are in your mind. And in mine. Satin butterfly, hot and sleek and perfect. When you took me into your body it was like being taken into a fiery paradise. You burned me to my soul. You’re still burning in my soul, burning in my body, everything burning. You don’t know what you do to me.” Ty saw Janna’s shivering response to his words and thought he would lose what little control remained to him. “You burned me the same way,” she said, touching him with the tip of her tongue. “I’m still burning.”
“I want you,” Janna said, her voice breaking beneath an unexpected, wild burst of pleasure at feeling him so thick and heavy in her hands. “I want to be joined so closely with you that I can feel each heartbeat, each pulse of life…” Her words shattered into rippling sounds, tiny cries called from her very core as Ty swept her loose pants from her body and merged their bodies with a single powerful motion, giving her all that she had asked for and more, for he had wanted the joining as intensely as she had. The swift fulfillment was like lightning searching through Janna’s flesh, creating an incandescent network of fire, burning through to her soul. She didn’t know that she called Ty’s name even as ecstasy transfixed her, but he knew. He heard his own name, felt the satin convulsions deep within her body, and he smiled in a mixture of triumph and passionate restraint as he bent to drink from her lips the taste of ecstasy.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novella Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Kale Schulz Heroine: Summer Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: July 21, 2020 Started On: October 11, 2020 Finished On: October 17, 2020
Beast’s Castle by Ella Goode is a sweet novella, which I had fun reading. The story begins when artist and town’s hermit Kale Schulz has a new housekeeper hired for him, who is temptation itself that Kale vows to keep away from. Kale does not need company and he believes his life to be just perfect the way it is, that is until Summer and her little brother Colby proves to him otherwise.
22 year old Summer is left with no choice but to accept the housekeeper position if she wants to put a roof over their heads and look after her brother. When she first encounters the man of the house, he does not want anything to do with her and states in no uncertain terms that he wants to be left alone. But ultimately, it is also Colby’s presence along with the deep-seated desire within Kale himself for Summer that proves to be his undoing. There was good sizzling tension between Kale and Summer up till the culmination of events, that reluctance factor on the part of Kale adding a deliciousness to the whole setup!
I had fun reading this little number, my first ever book from Ms. Goode. There was just enough characterization and emotional depth to keep the pages turning and the characters endearing. Kale was just the right mix of grouch, grump, and reluctant hero, who in the end had no choice but to give in. Loved it when Kale went berserk after denying the truth of how possessive he is when it comes to Summer! The ending when it came, was just lovely!
Recommended for fans of beauty and the beast themed romances. If you like a bit of heat to go with your reluctant hero romances, this is just for you!
Final Verdict: Quirky, fun, and with just the right touch of emotions in the mix, Beast’s Castle provides happy escapism as needed!
Favorite Quotes
“Maybe this is a mist—” I’m on her before she can finish her statement. With my mouth plastered against hers, I pin her to the wall. My hand delves under the scratchy material of the maid’s uniform to find her underwear. I pull that scrap of lace off and drop it on the floor. She yelps lightly but doesn’t pull away. I cup her ass and pull her against my hard-on. Her right leg comes up to curl around my hip, trying to get closer. I grind my shaft against her soft pussy, showing her how badly I want her. I tongue her deep and hard and long until her hands are gripping my shoulders and her hips are pushing against mine.
“Don’t stop. Kale please,” I beg. I’m so close. “I don’t think anything could stop me right now, baby.” He comes down over me, the tip of his cock pressing inside of me. “I like when you call me that.” I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. He comes easily. This kiss is soft and sweet. His body stills after he pushes his cock deeper into me. My body tries to adjust. There is a small burn, but I don’t care. I let my fingers drift down his face, tracing over one of his scars. Memorizing every small detail about him. “Kale, I’m not scared.” I wrap my legs around him. “I want this. I want you.”
A soft palm comes up to cup my cheek. “What’s the fierce expression on your face for?” I turn my lips into her hand and nuzzle her. “Just thinking about how I’d torch any man who’d touch you.” She lets out a surprised laugh. “Really? For just touching me?” I stare down at her, my dark eyes capturing her light ones. “For even thinking about touching you.” I drive forward until the full length of my cock is sheathed. Her eyes widen and her hands fly up to catch my shoulders. “You”—thrust—”belong”—thrust—”to me.” I pound her hard and fast. I use my body to open her wider, spreading her legs until she has no choice but to take everything I have to give her.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Dominic Callahan Heroine: Stassia Rae Sensuality: 3.5 Date of Publication: August 12, 2020 Started On: September 29, 2020 Finished On: October 10 , 2020
Love Unexpected by Q.B. Tyler is another romance featuring taboo themes, reason enough for readers like myself to pick it up. Love Unexpected brings to readers the story of 41 year old Dominic Callahan and 18 year old Stassia Rae, with Stassia having fallen in love with Dominic the very moment she had laid eyes on him. She had been just a mere ten years old then. Before long, her dreams of had been crushed by the fact that Dominic had fallen in love with her mother and within a year, they had gotten married.
Years later, Stassia still struggles with her wayward feelings for Dominic, but keeps them under wraps through sheer force of habit that she had cultivated through the years. However, things change when tragedy strikes, leaving Dominic a widower for the second time in his life and Stassia with a gaping hole in her life that would never be filled.
Somehow along the way, lines are crossed, words are spoken that can never be taken back, and before long Stassia is on seventh heaven with Dominic showering her with the kind of attention that she has always wanted. It is a precarious and dangerous road that these two embark on, especially with Stassia’s biological father turning up, trying to weasel his way into Stassia’s life.
There is a lot of sex happening between Dominic and Stassia and little else I would say, apart from the guilt factor rearing its ugly head every now and then. Dominic tries to do the right thing, but finds that he cannot walk away from Stassia ,while for her, it has always been Dominic and no one else. Stassia is not willing to give up what she has with Dominic and she is willing to fight, even if it means fighting with the man she loves, for his love.
I picked this up to read pretty excited about the premise and my past experience with Ms. Tyler’s work. However, I found that I did not feel close to what I experienced through the journey of reading Unconditional. I felt a huge disconnect from both Dominic and Stassia for various reasons. With Dominic, I never did understand his reasoning when it came to wanting Stassia. I wondered when his feelings had started to change, I kept trying to understand why when he had obviously doted on his wife, he did not spend at least some amount of time mourning the loss that was left in her wake.
When it comes to Stassia, I just found her to be too immature for Dominic. A romance and/or love between two protagonists who have a huge age gap to contend with, works well when there is a sense of maturity to both characters. I cannot fathom an adult relationship which involves anything less surviving through the hardships that life throws your way. Perhaps Stassia would mature in time but I wanted to see more substance to her character and emotional growth than the story provided.
My inability to connect with both Stassia and Dominic proved to be why I did not end up liking this as much as I thought I would. I really wanted to, but alas, that was not to be the case.
Recommended for fans of Q.B. Tyler and fans of taboo themed romances.
Final Verdict: Love Unexpected perhaps is the most apt way to describe this book; the love that strikes between two people whose feelings would be frowned upon begins just like that; unexpectedly!
Favorite Quotes
“You wore this dress on purpose. To tease me.” My nose is pressed against her skin, smelling her sweet perfume and my hands are still gripping her hips so tightly I won’t be surprised if I’m leaving bruises through her dress. Her hands have found my biceps and she’s squeezing them equally hard as she shifts back and forth between feet. “If I lift your dress up, will your panties be soaked?” “Yes. Yes. Yes,” she whimpers, assumedly as an answer to all of my questions. “Touch me and see for yourself.”
“Have you come yet?” His pulse flickers in his neck and I can see his tongue dart out to wet his lips. I shake my head to tell him I haven’t and without another word, he removes my fingers from inside of me. He stares at my hand for a second before they’re in his mouth, his tongue swirling around my coated fingers, and then his eyes find mine. “Put your hands on the headboard.” “Why?” “Because, Princess, you need leverage for when you ride my face.”
“Stop thinking so much, baby. I’m here with you. Stay with me.” “I’m here,” I whine. I’ve been climbing towards the peak for what felt like hours and I know this will be the culmination of the night. The most powerful and most intense orgasm of them all. “Fuck, this pussy is mine. You know that. Even if we never do it again. Even if you go on and date other men or fuck other men or marry another man. This pussy will always be mine because I laid my claim first.” “Oh God,” I cry out. My vision blurs as tears well in my eyes and slowly cascade down my cheeks as the orgasm flares in my belly and shoots through me. “FUCK, Dominic!” I scream. I press my face into the pillow and bite down, and scream again, muffling the second sound just as Dominic succumbs to his own orgasm and lets out a guttural groan.
“I see your pulse flickering in your neck. You want this, don’t you?” This is the first time I’m really up close and personal, and he’s right, I do want it. I want to suck his dick into my mouth and down my throat. I want to show him just how far he can go and how good my gag reflex is. I nod and wet my lips before letting my mouth fall open in invitation. Fuck. He mouths as he continues to stroke his cock from root to tip before moving up one stair to straddle my hips and hold his cock towards my mouth. I lean down angling my head and take one slow lick up his hard shaft. A hard hand grips my hair almost painfully and he jerks his dick towards my mouth. I move my head back slightly, even though I’m desperate to sheath my lips around him. “Now who wants it?”
“I can’t wait and I’d rather come in your pussy than your mouth.” He drops his dick and yanks me hard into the water before pushing me against the wall of the pool. I wrap my legs around him on instinct and just as his lips land on mine he enters me. Memories of last night flood through me and I already feel myself building despite the soreness in my sex. I pull at the hair at the nape of his neck, threading my fingers through his silky strands as I feel my orgasm pooling in my belly. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. With each thrust, I feel him everywhere. Marking me. Branding me.
She frees my cock and stands, straddling me again and sliding herself agonizingly slow down my length. I groan with every inch she takes of me and the second she’s completely full of me, with that delectable ass resting against my thighs she begins to move up and down using my shoulders as leverage. She’s been having sex for two days and she’s a fucking goddess. Jealousy surges through me at the thought that someone else will get to see this side of her. That despite the caveman attitude I’ve had, she isn’t mine. She’s mine in this moment. That’s all I have. This weekend. This moment.
He turns his head and gives me a smirk. “Tell me what you want. We don’t have time for everything.” “I know.” The thought that I won’t get to feel his tongue in my pussy makes me want to cry but I know I need his dick more. “Fuck me,” I pause, “with that.” I point at his crotch and he unbuttons his jeans and slides them and his briefs down as he moves his seat back. I’m climbing over the console into his lap and sliding down onto him before the seat is even done moving. “There’s my baby. God, I’ve missed you.”
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Voyeur, #6 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Daniel Heroine: Hanna Sensuality: 3.5 Date of Publication: June 15, 2020 Started On: September 25, 2020 Finished On: September 29, 2020
Teacher by Fiona Cole is a moving read in many ways, dealing with the difficult topic of recovering from past traumas that had left its weighty mark on both the hero and heroine. Book 6 in the Voyeur series, Teacher is a book that can be read as a standalone without feeling like you have missed out on something major from the previous books. I did not read the first five books for that matter and felt right at home with Teacher, from start to finish.
40 year old Daniel is the owner of Voyeur, a sex club where consenting adults indulge in their wildest fantasies. 26 year old Hanna is trying to live her life as she promised her twin sister Sofia and leave behind the major scars that had been the resultant effect of having being abducted at the age of seventeen and used pretty much in every way conceivable. Therapy had done its job for the most part, but Hanna still struggles with physical intimacy, and comes off as someone who is standoffish to most, when she is just unable to make herself enjoy being in the moment.
At the sex club, around Daniel, Hanna feels safe enough to let her fears go and perhaps think about physical intimacy as something she could enjoy. When the idea takes root, Hanna is determined that she would find her lost self with Daniel who is ready to help Hanna move past her fears and embrace her sexuality as it should be. Daniel tells himself that by helping Hanna, he is paying penance for the biggest failure of his life which had ended in tragedy, and that it would help assuage his guilt.
Daniel and Hanna’s non-relationship is perfectly suited for their needs; Daniel does not want romantic entanglements, the scars from his past having worked him over pretty good and Hanna, who does not like putting herself into situations she has no control over. The sex scenes are hot and steamy, with Daniel and Hanna losing themselves in each other and eventually their hearts to one another.
In the end, I was left with just one single sentiment – every woman should have a man like Daniel to initiate them into the wonderful world of physical intimacy. Reminds me of what Daphne says to Simon in an episode of Bridgerton that is all the rave on Netflix – that it was no wonder their mamas kept everything to do in the bedroom a secret, for if otherwise they [the women] would get nothing done. When it is right between two people, there is nothing like it, nor would there ever be, and that is ultimately what Daniel teaches us readers before the book is through.
Recommended for fans of romances that deal with recovering from tragic pasts and healing in the arms of that right someone. This book delivers in spades!
Final Verdict: In Teacher, Ms. Cole delivers beautifully on how the very concept of healing could be beautiful and utterly sexy both at the same time. Recommended!
Favorite Quotes
On my second pass, she lifted up, pushing me inside more. “Daniel, please.” The woman panted on the other side of the glass as she rode the man’s cock. Hanna watched enraptured by the control the woman was taking over her lover, and I let her have the same control to fuck my fingers. “You’re so tight, Hanna,” I groaned against her skin. “So wet.” The words flew out of my mouth, and I waited, but Hanna was too lost to herself to care. She rode my fingers harder, and I used my thumb to rub at her hard, slick bundle of nerves. Her whimpers grew into moans that sank into my soul. Her pussy tightened, getting ready to come, and I feared I’d come in my pants right along with her. When the man gripped the woman’s ass and pulled her cheeks apart, exposing every inch of him entering her, Hanna came.
My fingers moved faster and faster. I dug my heels into the mattress and swallowed, trying to get moisture back in my mouth. Guilt poked at my pleasure that I was fantasizing about Daniel as I played with myself, but then I remembered his deep groan that had rumbled from his chest. I remembered the way his eyes watched between my legs, only sliding closed at the last minute before his cum shot out. He hadn’t even cared that it landed on his shirt and neck, he’d been so lost in his pleasure. And just like that, I fell. Waves of ecstasy spread from my core over my body, bringing my skin to life. My lips fell open, freeing moans of pleasure I hadn’t even known I was capable of.
My entire focus centered on Daniel’s tongue and the need to come. There was no room for anything else. “Play with your tits, baby.” Without hesitation, I did as told. I had no idea my nipples were so sensitive. I should’ve been ashamed of how much I liked the rough pinches and hard tugs, but nothing mattered right then. Daniel pushed his fingers into me and latched on to my clit, sucking hard, and that was it. Pleasure crashed over me, flinging me off a cliff, sending me into a free-fall I never wanted to come back from. I wanted to live in this feeling, this pleasure, this oblivion. Instead of crashing back into my body, soft licks and strokes cradled me back to earth. “Beautiful.” His praise wrapped me in the comfort I’d come to associate just with him.
I wasn’t sure who moved first. I wasn’t sure it mattered. I pressed up as he dipped down, and our mouths connected softly, afraid to break the fragile moment we’d created. He drank from my lips, stroked them with his tongue, and I happily opened, needing to taste him. Sliding my arms around his waist, I held on tight, letting the intensity of us kissing wash over me. We kissed and kissed. Not because we were at Voyeur and this was another lesson to help me accept touch. No, this was because I was Hanna, and he was Daniel, and we wanted to. What that meant, I didn’t know, but I definitely didn’t care right then. Rules be damned.
“Does my cock feel good in your tight pussy?” Rather than falling back into memories, I clung to him, held his stare, stayed in the present. My nipples pebbled tight and scraped his chest. “Yes. Fuck me, Daniel. Make me come.” He pulled back until just the head rested at my opening. “Hold on, baby.” And with that, his control snapped. He fucked me harder, stopping every once in a while to grind his hips to my clit, to suck my nipples, and whisper filthy things in my ear that did nothing but make me wetter. He made me listen to the slapping sounds of our flesh and admit how good I felt. My nails dug into his back, and I clung to the reality he created—a reality I never wanted to lose.
“You’re a fucking queen. Taking my cock however you want.” Her lush lip popped free, and she smiled, picking up the pace. She leaned back with the most delicious smirk on her mouth. Her back arched, making her bouncing tits all I saw. Needing to taste her, I sat up and latched on, wrapping my arm around her waist to help her ride me harder. We lost our rhythm, a mass of need and desire twisted together, racing for the finish. She whimpered and ground on me with each pass, and I needed her to come before I lost my control and came first. I slid my hand between our bodies, pinching her slick clit between my fingers as I bit around her breasts. “Daniel, Daniel. Yes. Fuck. I’m coming.” “That’s it, baby. Feel it. Fuck me.” She wrapped her arms around my head and went wild, screaming her pleasure, ripping my own orgasm from me.
Sliding my hand up her spine, I buried my fist in her hair and gripped, pulling her head back and held on, fucking her hard now. “Daniel. Oh, God. Yes.” Unintelligible sounds of pleasure and begging fell from both our lips as we watched ourselves in the mirror. “Look at you,” I growled. “Look at your perfect pussy taking my fat cock. Does it feel good, Hanna? Do you like the way it stretches your tight cunt?” “Yes. More. Please.” She was wild, her hand clawing at the mattress. One of them coming up to grip her own breast to pinch her nipple. Fuck me, that sight would be blazed in my memory forever.
Lightning fast, he rolled over, pulling me with him and sat up, holding me close, letting me control the rhythm. This position had soon become my favorite. The control and dominance of it fueled my desire and flooded my veins with more heat. Using my thighs, I rose and fell, grinding down and moving faster. He sucked on my flesh, and I held on tight, losing all tempo and riding him hard, needing to come. Daniel gripped my hips and helped me. Sweat coated my body, and my muscles ached from pulling so tight, clenching in anticipation of the orgasm to come. “Come on, baby. Cum on my cock. Squeeze me with that tight pussy.” Dirty talk once had me running, but now, it sent me over the edge, falling into the most blissful oblivion I’d ever known. My world exploded all around me to the music of my own orgasm mixing with his grunts and groans. “Fuck, yes,” he ground out. “Fuck. Hanna.”
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Smith Redfield Heroine: Molly Archer Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: September 16, 2020 Started On: September 25, 2020 Finished On: September 25, 2020
Love at First Fight by Carrie Aarons, advertised as an enemies-to-lovers romance is how I was enticed into picking this up as my next read. The fact that Ms. Aarons is a new to me author did not stop me from taking the plunge. While I found the main elements of the story to be exciting, I believe that my lack of clear enjoyment in the novel stemmed from the fact that what I expected from an enemies-to-lovers romance failed to materialize in a huge way.
Molly Archer and Smith Redfield are enemies, or at least to Molly, Smith who is best friend to her ex-boyfriend hates her guts. That permanent sneer etched on his face and the barbed references that he directs her way tells a story of its own. So when she turns up at the Hamptons, determined to forget and move on from how her ex had dumped her via a text before his plane took off to Singapore in pursuit of his new job and greener pastures, the last thing she needs is for Smith to be present.
To Molly’s mortification and other feelings she would rather not name, Smith’s presence is a problem she is not ready to deal with in the aftermath of a breakup that had left her vulnerable. But buckle up she does to face Smith, a force to be reckoned with in every sense, and finds more than she bargained for once the veneer of hostility fades and behind it is a man she could fall hopelessly in love with.
For Smith, the path he had chosen when it comes to Molly had been one born out of sheer desperation. It had been either that or do something that would make him the worst human ever, and as a result, being an asshole to Molly had been how he rolled. Forced into enduring each other’s company, feelings of the kind he had wanted to avoid all along rears its head and there is no turning back from that point on.
By the time I was less than half way through the story, I realized that this was no enemies-to-lovers romance, but nevertheless it was sweet in its own way. I did not expect nor want sweet when I dived in, I wanted animosity, seething resentment, and at the heart of it, unbeatable desire and want that would lead the characters to places they had both never been before.
I believe that this novel could have delivered more heat and generated a more intense connection between Smith and Molly had the author chosen to. Another thing that irked me was how the chapters just seemed to end so abruptly; for instance when Molly and Smith visit her folks and she stands up for him when her parents were being rude to him – there was a point in which I thought a groundbreaking moment in the story was just about to happen in the next chapter.
I turned the page and it was as if I had gone into the twilight zone or a parallel universe where things had already moved on from that pivotal point or what was supposed to be one. I seriously did not understand why that was the case and even checked to see whether I had accidentally swiped a couple of pages on the Kindle and ended up one or two chapters ahead of what I should have been reading, but that was not the case.
I wanted the spark and heat, I wanted better flow in the story and not the erratic trajectory upon which the novel unfolded. Alas, while the story had much potential, the delivery sadly, was lacking.
Recommended for fans of sweet romances.
Final Verdict: Love at First Fight is no enemies-to-lovers romance, but rather the story of a love that unfolds for a man who was put in an untenable position prior to having his dream come true!
Favorite Quotes
Molly comes wordlessly, her body shivering with pleasure, her head tipped back into the pillow. She looks like a work of art, something that should be housed in the most famous of museums. Every time I think of delight, of bliss, this is the moment I’ll recall from this point on. “I always knew … I always knew …” I seem to gasp on the words as my balls contract, cum bursting from my tip. My climax steals through every cell, every nerve ending, a surprise as I’m still watching Molly unravel. I go still, spilling myself into her. The fact that I’m bare makes it last a lifetime, her pussy pulsing with each twitch of my cock.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: New Adult Romance Series: St. Mary’s Rebels, #1 Publisher: Self-Published Hero: Arrow Carlisle Heroine: Salem Salinger Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: September 17, 2020 Started On: September 19, 2020 Finished On: September 23, 2020
My Darling Arrow by Saffron A. Kent seems to be a hit with a lot of readers, especially fans of Ms. Kent’s work. I too am a fan of Ms. Kent, since having stumbled upon the greatest love story ever written on the unrequited love theme, i.e.Unrequitedby the author. Since then, I have read her entire backlist of published books (which is not a gigantic number, if you are wondering), and loved almost all of them. Dreams of 18 which was published prior to this was where it all started going downhill; I found the story to be regurgitated version of her earlier works, with just enough tantalizing elements thrown into the mix to make it wholesome. My Darling Arrow, I am sorry to say, is incomparably much worse.
The debut in the St. Mary’s Rebels series, My Darling Arrow brings together 23 year old Arrow Carlisle and 18 year old Salem Salinger, the latter, who for all intents and purposes would not have been at St. Mary’s had it not been for her “rebellious” act of trying to leave home in the middle of the night. Salem and Arrow’s lives had crossed paths when Salem and her sister Sarah had gone to live with Arrow and his mother. Salem had fallen in love with Arrow on first sight at the tender age of ten, while Arrow had gone ahead and fallen in love with Sarah, who is of the same age as he.
Years go by, until St. Mary’s is the setting and testing grounds in which Salem once again comes face to face with the love of her life who would never be hers. That is until she finds out what truly happened to bring Arrow to her turf, tempting her beyond reason to say yes to everything that Arrow proposes. While I wanted to love the story so much, it fell flat on so many levels that it saddens me to even write a review as such.
I found My Darling Arrow to be too saccharine for my tastes. I found the depth of or rather the lack of in-depth characterization for both Arrow and Salem to be problematic. I wanted more than repetitive descriptions of Arrow’s unbelievably hot physique and ramblings of Salem’s mind when it comes to Arrow and how much she wants him. I grew tired of the lack of anything substantial happening up till towards the latter half of the book, which I believe was one of the biggest reasons for my lack of enjoyment in the story.
The fact that I found neither Salem nor Arrow endearing enough rests on the reasoning highlighted above – if you do not know enough about the characters you are reading about, and everything is either about how manly Arrow is and/or how emotionally wrecked both of them are in their different ways; I am guessing it all just ends up being tedious to read about from a certain point onward.
Sexy and sinfully hot sex scenes is something I have always counted on Ms. Kent to deliver, but alas, even that failed to materialize in a large way because there was just too much time spent trying to appease readers who would have had problems with Salem and Arrow getting together with Sarah in the picture and painting this picture of a heroine who ticks all those boxes when it comes to modern reader tastes.
I wonder whatever happened to the Ms. Kent whose books I fell head over heels in love, books that I keep recommending to other like-minded readers and receiving rave and glowing reviews of afterwards. There was such heart and force behind her previous books which slayed all my emotions and then some, the author who did not care about the conventional norms in romance writing and was not afraid of pushing the boundaries, staying true to the course of her characters.
Recommended for die-hard fans of Ms. Kent. I for one, am sorely disappointed.
Final Verdict: My Darling Arrow was unpalatable on so many levels; the despondency I feel is one that is indescribable.
Favorite Quotes
He leans over and kisses the corner of my mouth and I freeze. My eyes go wide when he flicks his tongue out and licks that corner too before whispering, “Tell you what. You waited for me, didn’t you? You worried over me. Not to mention, you’re my friend. So maybe I can give you a little something.” “Something like what?” He kisses the corner of my mouth again, a small, soft, soothing kiss. “Your first kiss,” he whispers, his hot breath fanning over my mouth. “I told you I wouldn’t but maybe I can break my own rule.” “You can?” “Uh-huh. For you.” “For me?” “Yeah. Just to be nice.” Oh God. Thank God.
He curses and strains, his cock expanding inside my channel. His head rears back, his spine bowing. I see his sweaty, hot body become tight and stone-like as his cock jerks inside of me and spurts the first dose of his cum in the latex. We’re both coming together then. He’s pulsing inside of me like I’m pulsing around him. I scratch his ridged abdomen and his hand fists my hair at the scalp. I realize that’s what he wanted to hear too – that I’m his. That I’m my Arrow’s, and I smile again.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Romantic Suspense Series: Standalone Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Hero: Ledge Burnet Heroine: Arden Maxwell Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: August 25, 2020 Started On: September 04, 2020 Finished On: September 13, 2020
Thick as Thieves by Sandra Brown may not be my favorite book from hers of late, but it is still a worthy read in many ways, the effusive charm with which Ms. Brown lures readers to her books ever so present. The story begins in the year 2000, with a theft of one million dollars taking place, by the following day which, one ends up in the hospital, the other dead, and another in jail. The money goes missing along with one of the men, never to be found again.
Years later, daughter of the man who went missing, Arden Maxwell returns to her hometown, drawn to find out once and for all what it is that had happened to her father that fateful night. Arden comes to town with her own little secret, yet finds herself dealing with a loss that is profound, which drives her more so than ever to get to the truth. However, the forces at play in town includes those that mean her harm, believing Arden to be the only way to find the missing money.
Ledge Burnet whose past is tied with that of the perpetrator, finds himself reluctantly drawn into the world that is Arden’s. When she seeks him out to undertake renovations at her family home, Ledge finds his protective and primal instincts roused, wanting to posses and be possessed by the woman who holds him enthralled.
I enjoyed the combination that is Arden and Ledge, Arden being just the right touch of defiance and vulnerability that meshes well with the totally alpha male that is Ledge. The one thing that I continue to admire, be a fan of, and be irresistibly drawn towards is the unique craftsmanship when it comes to heroes in Ms. Brown’s books. It is effortless, the way in which her heroes always makes me fall and fall hard, and that has always been the case, no matter what.
While I predicted what had happened on the night that changed the lives of both Arden and Ledge’s, I still enjoyed the immersive experience that this book offered and am definitely looking forward to Blind Tiger, which is to hit the book shelves on August of this year!
Recommended for fans of thrillers, romantic suspense, and fans of Ms. Brown’s impressive ability to write books that continue to amaze!
Final Verdict: With Thick as Thieves, Ms. Brown delivers a tale that is a page turner on multiple fronts, rendering the reader to be in a constant state of anticipation from start to finish.
Favorite Quotes
Throughout the day, she’d caught herself analyzing that kiss, the manly spontaneity that had sparked it, the bold lustiness of it, and its startling, erotic effect on her. But all her analyses had left her no better prepared for this kiss. She might have invited it, but he immediately took charge of it. Taking unrestricted possession of her mouth, he slid his tongue along hers. She responded with an involuntary, shivery movement of her breasts against his chest. A low growl emanated from his throat. His hands grazed the sides of her breasts before coasting down her rib cage to bracket her hips.
He raised his head, looked into her face, pulled his arm from around her shoulders, and swept his thumb across her full, wet lower lip. “You want to know about my interest in you? It has a lot to do with this.” “Actions speak louder than words.” Holding her gaze, he slipped his left hand beneath the hem of her top, pressed his palm against her midriff, then moved it up to squeeze her breast and keep it plumped above the cup of her bra while lowering his head to nuzzle her. He rubbed his face against those tantalizing breasts that for days—seemed like a lifetime—he had wanted to put his mouth to.
“That morning when you came uninvited to my house, you ran your hand—this hand—along the bannister and across the mantel. Appreciatively. Like a caress. You probably weren’t even aware of doing it. But it was so sensual, it took my breath. And ever since, I’ve fantasized you stroking me, just that way.” Lust as incendiary as lava coursed through him, overtaking everything. In its path, conscience, morality, and honor were consumed, and supplanted by unstoppable desire. Glass of whiskey still in hand, he curved his arm around her neck, hooking it in the bend of his elbow, and growled, “Your fantasy is a helluva lot tamer than mine.”
She reached between their bodies and wrapped her hand around him. Her eyes widened in appreciation of his ampleness, which made him groan around another half smile. It turned into a grimace of pleasure as she stroked her way up, back down, up again. Then she caressed the tip. It was full and taut, and already slick. The slow revolutions her thumb made to spread the moisture caused him to hiss and squeeze his eyes shut. “Damn, Arden. Now.” She did as asked and guided him. He pushed into her, but drew in a sharp breath over her tightness. “Jesus. Are you sure you—” “Yes.” She clutched his butt and tilted her hips up.
He kept the pace languid, but with each gliding arc, he pushed in a little higher, reaching her where he hadn’t before, and when she said his name on a near sob, he gathered her against him until there was no space between them. Nothing existed except her body and his, his hard and insistent, hers soft and inviting, his inside hers, a perfect coupling. The chair rocked slowly; they spun out of control.
A Maldivian's Passion for Romance 