Review: Going Hard by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookgoinghard.jpg
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Boys of Fall, #9
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Rafe Martinez
Heroine: Hollie Bennett
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: July 08, 2016
Started On: July 26, 2018
Finished On: July 27, 2018

It has been ages since I have read a Cari Quinn. I was so excited, having discovered this book authored solely by hers truly, I even made a note of it when I started reading. Going Hard is classic Cari Quinn, and delving deeper into the story made me realise all anew that very few authors have her ability to combine good sarcasm and undeniable heat in a way that melts your panties off.

Almost 25 year old Hollie Bennett is a librarian, who is looking to experience and sow her wild oats. She refuses to feel guilty and she knows what she wants. Or does she? With Rafe Martinez, her long-term childhood crush having turned out to be a disappointment in bed, Hollie turns her sights to other “prospectives”, and ends up in one hilarious situation after another.

Rafe is determined to give Hollie the space she needs. Having being rejected, and with “good” reason, Rafe keeps his distance until four months later, he turns up to give Hollie the “guidance” she needs in going after what she wants. However, little by little, the iron-clad control of Rafe’s slips away under the enticing package that Hollie has always been for him. Before Rafe knows it, they have both given in, and pleasure comes calling in every single way they could go about it.

Going Hard was an interesting story from the beginning. It was a novelty to begin a romance novel where the hero and heroine had done it before, and the heroine had in fact NOT liked it. Hollie has fantasized about Rafe ever since she had been hit by hormones of puberty. But Rafe had never looked her way, having being her brother’s best friend all the while. Rafe had always considered Hollie to be off-limits, his upbringing having drummed into him to be a man who is respectful and nothing like his philandering father.

It is Rafe’s sister who finally makes him see what he has been doing to himself, by denying one side of his nature because of what has been required of him. Rafe is a man who hides his intense passion behind a facade of control that he has perfected over time. Given that he is not much of a ladies man (unlike most heroes we encounter in books), his foray into the world of women and sex is also limited. But that does not mean he is not lethal and potent when he decides to unleash that side of himself. The torrent of feels when he does decide to let go? One of the best aspects of this story.

Recommended for those who love intelligently crafted stories that makes you laugh out loud one minute and whimper from want the next.

Final Verdict: I have sorely missed the snark and full throttle passion that is Cari Quinn’s signature. Add in Rafe, a man who talks dirty in Spanish when he finally loses control; sign me up for the next one please!

Favorite Quotes

“Rafe,” she said with a startled glare.
He hauled her into the darkened space. She was actually surprised there was one in this place. Everything seemed neon and bright, not to mention filled to the brim with people.
Though it was a weeknight and had to be heading toward eleven. And huh…sometime between game three and four, the pool area had cleared out.
He braced his arm against the wall beside her head and used the rest of his body to block her into the corner. “Why the fuck are you wearing a padded bra?”
Shock muted her for a moment before she managed to sputter out a laugh. “It’s none of your damn business.”

Her fingers went right for his hair and held him there. Not that she had to worry about it, because he didn’t seem inclined to move. He tugged the other, rolling it between two fingers as he sucked strongly on the first.

Her entire body lit up like the jukebox next to them.
No way.
She rolled her hips against him as a restless hunger built in her lower belly. He slid his knee between her legs and she moaned when the seam of her jeans brushed her clit.
His hot breath fanned over her chest and along her ribs as he licked a path under her breast to the one he’d neglected and tasted that one, too.
“Can you come from this?” he asked. “I never have before.” Was that her voice? It was needy and dark, just like she felt.

“I want to see your perfect tits stretching against my shirt while I feed you.”
Eyes wide, she fell silent.
He rooted through the picnic basket and came out with a sprig of fat red grapes. Knowing full well which hand he was using, he broke off a few and set them on his thigh, then reached for the bottle of wine. He held the grapes over the edge of the blanket and splashed some wine on the fruit before he shifted back to Hollie. Her full lips were damp and trembling, so he traced the bottom one with a grape. “Open up for me, belleza.”
She did as he asked, biting into the grape. Once she’d chewed and swallowed, he slipped his finger inside, nearly shuddering at the wet flick of her tongue against his skin.
“Tastes good?” She nodded, and he knew she understood he wasn’t just referring to the fruit.

Without waiting for him to answer, she kicked the remnants of their lunch out of the way and rolled onto her belly between his legs. She reached for his zipper and yanked it down, following the path with little kisses she trailed down his stiff length.
He fisted his hand in her hair to slow her down—he was the one who should be on his knees for her, not the other way around—but she took it as encouragement instead.
“God, yes. Pull my hair.” She shivered and wriggled on the blanket, causing his shirt to ride up her back. Christ. Her firm, bare ass tormented him, and the agony only got worse when she crossed her ankles and flexed her taut cheeks.
When she pried down his boxers and pulled him out, he didn’t offer an admonishment. More like a groan of fucking relief as her warm, wet mouth slid over the swollen tip. His hand tightened in her hair again, almost unintentionally, and she moaned around him, deeply enough that he pulled hard.

“Mojado,” he said against her ear, pushing his fingers deeper until they could go no further. Then he flexed them, moving against that spot inside her that made her shudders intensify.
“What…” She paused and took a breath, tipping back her head until their eyes met. “What does that mean?”
“Wet. All this, for me.” He pulled his fingers out, achingly slowly, and she gasped. He pressed them against her quivering lower belly and they gleamed wetly, damp up to his knuckles with her excitement.

“Touch me,” he growled, nipping her clit.
She hesitated. He felt it, because even her hips retreated slightly. Just enough to let him know she was uncertain.
He’d have to take the lead. Fuck, he wanted to.
“Put your hands on me,” he commanded. “Grip my shoulders, pull my fucking hair. Dig your nails into my skin. If you don’t, I’ll think you’re not liking this and I’ll stop.” He tugged lightly on one of the downy curls between her legs and met her gaze. “Or maybe I’ll just turn you over on your belly and spank your tight little ass. How about that?”
“Is there an option for both?” she whispered, making him cut off an oath.
Fuck, he hadn’t meant to go there, but as always, when they were naked, things got out of hand. But her eyes were so big and blue, and she was quaking underneath him.

She wasted no time in climbing astride him again. “I like to imagine me being on top.” She ran her hands up her torso to her breasts and his cock bobbed against her inner thigh. Even through the latex he could feel the steam coming off her pussy. “Being confident enough to reach down and do this,” she said, grabbing hold of him and guiding his dick to her slit. “To just slide on down and take…ahh, fuck…take what I need.”
He groaned, his hips lifting of their own accord. Remaining still and letting her do what she wanted took all his control and then some.
But the brightness in her eyes, the way her hand shook as she brought him inside—so worth it.
“Cup your breasts and ride me. You took the reins, now use them,” he said, voice low, his hands curling into the sheets to keep from forcing her down harder on his cock. Her show, her way. For now.

He jerked out and drove home again, his stroke smoother the second time. She clawed at the sheets when he repeated the move, then closed his hand around the back of her neck and hauled her up on her knees. He needed a better angle. Had to go deeper. He leaned down and bit the side of her neck and she spasmed around him. Aftershocks, maybe. But then she grew even wetter and hotter and bent her head between her supporting arms, and he realized she’d come again.
Three times. He’d made her come three times.
“Fuck, belleza.” He rammed into her again, unable to check his strength. She went down to her belly on the mattress again, her knees not able to keep her up, and he couldn’t slow himself down enough to correct her position. He just kept fucking her, his fingers branding her skin, his teeth grazing whatever flesh he could reach.
“God, come.” She reached back and dragged her nails down his side. “Come.”
His balls tightened and he tried to warn her. To reel back his aggression. But he couldn’t stop from fisting his hand in her hair and dragging her off the bed to bite down on her shoulder as he jerked and exploded inside her.

He swiped his cock through her folds and hiked her up the bed a little. She tried to maneuver for him, but he tucked his arm under knee and flattened her into the bed as he filled her in one thrust.
If there was a way for her eyeballs to do the slots thing like Vegas, then it was happening. Holy fuck. He drove into her with and unflinching rhythm. Each thrust was long and hard. She curled her other leg around his hip and pulled him as tight as possible.
The heat of him and the heaviness of him was almost suffocating. Or was it the friction?
She couldn’t think.

She hooked her arm around his neck and fused their mouths together. Her shout was buried under his driving tongue and ceaseless hip action that left her shaking around him. He ripped his mouth free from her and his head tipped back.
The veins in his neck flexed and pulsed. She wanted to taste all of that. She latched her mouth to his shoulder and bit down as her entire body clenched around his.
He jerked over her. His cock pulsing inside of her. She could actually feel him swelling and filling her.
Fuck. Stunning.

He gripped her hair. The lick of pain only pushed her closer to the edge. “Hollie I’m going to come down your throat if you keep that up.”
“Do it.” She tighten her grasp around his shaft. “I want you to.”
He groaned. “Are you sure?”
She sucked on him and swayed again. God, she was so close and she hadn’t even touched herself. Her nipples ached with each shift of the material. She took him deeper as her nails spread across his belly for balance.
Rafe hissed out a breath and his body tensed. The veins came out in his arms and neck. She took him deeper. When the splash of warmth hit her tongue she took him deep again.

“Fuck. So fucking beautiful.”
His fingers slid over her slit and she jerked in reaction. “Too much.”
“What?” He rolled her onto her belly and gripped her ass. “Oh, fuck me.” He buried his face between her legs and she rolled onto her knees as he thrust inside her with his tongue.
“Rafe,” she managed to gasp out. He held her still and eased two fingers into her pussy as she screamed. Her body shook as pleasure and pain went to head-to-head in her body. He gentled the strokes and pleasure won out as she found herself in his arms.

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

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Review: No Romance Required by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookNoRomanceRequired
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Love Required, #3
Publisher: Entangled Publishing: Brazen
Hero: Cory Santangelo
Heroine: Victoria Violet Townsend
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: August 12, 2013
Started On: August 31, 2013
Finished On: September 2, 2013

She was his, had always been his, and now they both knew it.

Ever since I read No Flowers Required, book 2 in the Love Required series by Cari Quinn, I’ve been sending “gentle” and “subtle” reminders Cari’s way to remind her that at least one fan of the series was in high anticipatory mode to read Cory’s story. It would be an impossibility to read No Flowers Required and encounter Cory Santangelo and Victoria Townsend (Vicky) and not “feel” the vibrancy of the chemistry and fire that is between them. Maybe because I had such high hopes for the book or maybe too much time has passed since I read book 2, I found myself a wee bit disappointed with how No Romance Required turned out.

Cory and Vicky have a shared history that goes way back into their childhoods. Cory is driven to the point of losing himself with a resolute absoluteness in his work that leaves little room for any time to loosen up and let go. Vicky on the other hand is a woman whose life is full of vibrancy, someone who refuses to let even a moment of her life pass by without enjoying it to the hilt. Though Cory might never understand why Vicky chooses to live as she does, the one thing that he cherishes and looks forward to is their weekly meet up to discuss Value Hardware’s lifestyle magazine which Vicky handles.

No Romance Required begins right where No Flowers Required ends and it is during that fateful evening that both Cory and Vicky are caught in a compromising position on camera which gives Cory the perfect “excuse” to get his parents off his back and enjoy his time playing fake boyfriend with Vicky to the hilt. Vicky might have a reputation of being a bad girl but when it comes to Cory, Vicky knows that none of her usual tricks would work for a man whose tastes run a bit darker and edgier than anyone she has been with. Vicky knows how ruthless Cory could be on her emotions if she lets him in and that is exactly what happens which gives the story its dose of angst together with the heat of the scorching variety that is always a part of Cari’s romances, which is one reason why I enjoy them so much.

I think the bit where this book didn’t work for me as I thought it would was perhaps because the banter between Vicky and Cory that was evident in No Flowers Required and what drew me towards Cory and Vicky failed to materialize much in their own story. I love a little bit of darkness with my heroes which I am betting is no surprise to anyone who reads my reviews. But I kind of missed on what it was exactly that turned Cory into who he was. Cory came out as a ruthless bastard in No Flowers Required and I thought that he would keep going along his track record some more before actually succumbing to his own happily ever after.

Vicky was a splendid heroine. Her zest for life hides behind the pain of abandonment, all the while harboring a secret from her siblings that could break the fragile bond she has with them. All Vicky longs for and has longed for for a long while is for Cory to notice her and make her his. Thus it comes as no surprise when Vicky grabs with both hands the one chance she has to play make believe with the man of her dreams even though she knows she might end up with a broken heart that would never heal.

From the way things were left as book 3 concluded, I am hoping that Vicky’s brother Bryan would get a story of his own because there seemed to be something of that sort in the works. I did miss out on an epilogue though I think the ending was pretty good with a little bit of groveling on Cory’s side to tie it all up.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of Cari Quinn. But mind you, read No Flowers Required first because I think otherwise you might not get a feel for Vicky and Cory’s characters which I believe is a must if you are to enjoy the 3rd installment in the series.

Final Verdict: Great addition to the wonderfully erotic and humorous Love Required series.

Favorite Quotes

“Victoria.” His guttural use of her name caused her to still. “This will change everything.”
Then his mouth crushed down on hers.
Its weight was a brand, forever stamping her with the memory of this night. Of stars in an inky black sky. Of his heart racing against hers.
Of wanting him more than she cared about the consequences.

When she stood before him in just her bra and lacy thigh-high hose, she stepped back until her spine hit one of the support columns that extended to the exposed beams of the ceiling. She wrapped her fingers around the wood above her head, stretching herself up like his very own unwrapped gift. Then she spread her legs and invitingly rocked her hips.

Her lips parted though she made no sound. He exhaled as her snug, drenched sheath enveloped his dick again and again, the scrape of her nails against the wood a strangely exciting accompaniment. Her nails could’ve been on his shoulders, on his back, for all the effect that noise had on his body. He drove into her harder, faster, wanting to hear her torturing the wood, that unconscious tell more revealing than her glazed whiskey-colored eyes.
There, she still held some control. But with her hands, with the ripples of her sex around him, she restrained nothing.
That was what he wanted. Her, totally mindless. Unafraid. His.

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

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Requested Review: No Flowers Required by Cari Quinn

Format: E-booknoflowersrequired
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Love Required, Book 2
Publisher: Entangled Publishing (Brazen)
Hero: Dillon James
Heroine: Alexa Elizabeth Conroy
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: August 23, 2012
Started On: December 2, 2012
Finished On: December 7, 2012

No Flower Required by Cari Quinn is book 2 in the Love Required series. Alexa is the owner of Divine Flowers, a flower shop that had come under her ownership when her boss and mentor for twenty years, who had owned the shop before, had died, leaving the shop and all its financial woes to be borne by none other than Alexa. Alexa is more than up to the challenge, and her furious anger towards the Value Hardware chain that seems to be intent on running small businesses like hers to the ground surely does add to her problems which seems to mount right in front of her day after day.

When Alexa runs into Dillon James, the attraction that takes her unawares right from the start makes Alexa wary of Dillon but nothing and absolutely nothing can prevent her from wanting him in every way possible. Though Dillon knows the wisest thing would be to stay away from Alexa, owing to the fact how she feels about his family and the fact that she doesn’t have a clue as to who he is really, all good intentions fly out the window with a warm and willing Alexa in his arms making his head spin and reel with heady desire that neither of them can deny.

Though both Dillon and Alexa may try hard to not let things between them escalate further than just a casual romp in the bed, things become much more complicated than that when feelings from both sides enter the equation making their “relationship” anything but casual. As combustive is their sexual chemistry, so are the feelings of the emotional variety that starts to grow and foster and before they both know it, both Dillon and Alexa become the most important people in each other’s lives – but with Dillon’s secret still looming over their heads, the question of the hour becomes, would their love be able to withstand the havoc that the truth would bring to the equation?

First of all, let me just say, WOW! I just loved, loved, loved No Flowers Required and felt like hugging Cari to pieces after reading Dillon and Alexa’s story. And goodness me, was this story hot!! I felt my cheeks heat up more than once and don’t even ask me what was happening elsewhere as Cari pretty much scorched up the pages with undeniable heat and passion that just made this story that much more memorable.

There is no denying the fact that I loved Dillon and Alexa and all the characters that came forth in the story. And oh yes, I am dying to read Cory’s story, who happens to be the more ruthless older brother of Dillon who already owns a place in my heart after seeing the glimpses of him Cari threw into this story along the way. The fact that Dillon wears a tool-belt and is the hottest thing around since sliced bread, and I mean that in the best way possible, is more than reason enough to love him to bits. No, seriously, Dillon is such an amazing hero. He might be misguided into thinking that keeping the truth of who he actually is would work in his favor, i.e. show him the honest and real woman in Alexa when Dillon has time and yet again being pursued for his family name instead of the man he is. But Dillon more than makes up for that blunder by being there for Alexa, time and yet again, even when his own work demands him to be elsewhere, and the sweet things he does for Alexa just made me sigh and wish that all men were like Dillon when they materialize into this world. Oh well, a gal can always dream.

Alexa is a woman who knows the effect she has on men and what she has to do to achieve what she wants from them. But none of that seems to work on Dillon and that throws her into unfamiliar territory which brings out the vulnerable side of her that few rarely see. Though Alexa tries hard not to let Dillon matter in her life, the fact that he puts her needs above and beyond everything else shatters the walls she has so painstakingly built over the years to keep people at bay and before she knows it, she is head over feet in love with Dillon and there is literally no turning back from the way that he makes her feel.

Though I know Alexa had her reasons for giving Dillon such a hard time towards the end, I still felt like she was a bit too hard on him. Maybe that’s because I was so in love with Dillon and was already measuring up every man in my life up to him. All kidding aside, No Flowers Required is a fantastic book, a romance worth your money and time if a fantastic cast of characters and good storytelling is what you are looking for. And if fantastic hot bouts of loving are your thing, look no further for No Flowers Required provides that in abundance, enough to wet your appetite for much much more before you are through. Highly recommended!

Favorite Quotes

She moved whip-fast, slamming her hands on his chest and him against the door before his brain caught up. The watering can clattered onto the ground. She spared it a brief, puzzled glance, then fisted her hands in his T-shirt and arched up, her mouth coming closer—
Fuck it.
He fused his mouth to hers, and dammit, it was even better than he’d expected.

He hissed upon meeting the thin strip of fabric between her cheeks, somehow not surprised she’d gone the thong route. Her flesh burned his palms, hotter than even the rain that now pelted them with the force of countless tiny nails. But she was all he could feel, all he could taste as they consumed each other with ravenous kisses.

She had him.
And, oh shit, did she have him. Lock, stock, and fully loaded barrel, ready to blow.
Her hands were on his cock, working it in rough pulls through his jeans. He yanked down the shoulder of her tank top and feasted on the swell of flesh that plumped over the top, using his tongue to trace her damp nipple. Slick with rain, fragrant with her summery floral scent. Sunshine in the middle of the storm.

With a circle of his finger she stilled in his arms. With another she came back to life, clutching him deeper. Tempting him with small rocks of her pelvis. Drawing him to claim her there, first with his fingers, then his cock. That last joining would be both the beginning and their end.

Once more he pulled back in a futile attempt to prolong the inevitable, but she gripped him deep and tight, ripping a shout from him when the first gush of her release took him under. Her orgasm rippled all the way through him, as strong as the lash of rain against his back and neck. He drove into her over and over, his climax firing pinwheels of light behind his closed lids. An explosion of white-hot energy, unleashed.

He didn’t answer, and apparently he didn’t need to breathe either. He just latched onto her sex and used his tongue to drive her out of her mind, sweeping up and down as quick as a brushfire. Never landing anywhere long enough to truly make her burn, just igniting a million little sparks along the way. She arched against him, her need spiraling higher with each swipe.

Again and again he hit that spot inside her, the one that made her legs jerk and tremble in his grip, and she whimpered when he sank in deep and his balls slapped her ass. After that she didn’t hear anything but her own endless moans, erupting from her lips while she bowed up to meet his downward slides. He pulled her legs up high, embedding himself to the root inside her, and she screamed, her sheath spasming so hard with her climax that he shouted an oath and followed her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

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Requested Review: Need Me by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookneedme
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Erotica
Series: Unveiled, #3
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Antonio Marcus Griggs
Heroine: Marcia Galvin Daly
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: September 14, 2012
Started On: November 26, 2012
Finished On: December 2, 2012

I ‘blame’ Cari Quinn for daring me to go where no author has ever enticed me to go. That is to dip my reading toe into the world of ménages and God forbid, enjoy them too while I am at it. Thought I’ll never become an auto-buyer of every ménage romance that is out there, I’ll still make that exception for a few select authors out there, who I know would always make whatever trope they explore work for me, and Cari Quinn has always been such an author for me.

Need Me by Cari Quinn is the 3rd book in the Unveiled series. The 2nd book in this series is an absolute favorite of mine and the hero Spencer someone I always remember, yes, because he is that very good! And of course with the cast of all the characters Cari introduced along the way enticed me enough to want to read Need Me as well, although this story explores heavily on the ménage aspect, which I might have totally skipped altogether if it hadn’t been for Cari.

Marcia Galvin Daly is about to hit her 40th birthday soon and dating Antonio Marcus Griggs (Tony), a guy who is younger than her by almost 10 years and adores her to no end. Marcia is as wild as they come, a woman best accepted as who she is, because Marcia is someone who refuses to bend to the rules and mold herself into something she is not and pretend to be someone she would never be.

When Marcia realizes that she has developed a forbidden attraction towards Tony’s best friend Caleb Parker and knows that she doesn’t have what it takes to turn away from the temptation that he offers, Marcia does the next best thing and decides to write a sex manual of sorts that would let her explore possibilities in her sex life that she has not tried out yet. When her boyfriend Tony offers her exactly what she wants; a night with him and Caleb in the mix, Marcia thinks that it would just be one night of torrid sex; nothing more nothing less. However things change, not in the way Marcia expects them to, and forces both Marcia and Tony to accept and realize the true nature of their feelings for each other and in the end gave me the sort of ending to this story that I just loved.

First of all, let me just say that Caleb Parker is hot, and I don’t think there is any scale on the hotness meter that he would fit into. He has this broody, edgy quality to him that just begs and entices a woman to want to explore the depths of pleasure she is bound to find in his arms and I for one couldn’t find it in myself to fault Marcia for her attraction to him because Caleb’s character demands nothing less. The fact that Caleb’s character remains a ‘mystery’, as in his feelings are not explored in depth in the story just made his character that much more alluring and I’m absolutely dying to see where Cari leads him to. Am pretty sure that either way his story is one that is going to end up being an explosive read, one that would be a definite panty drencher.

That brings me to Tony’s character. He is such a sweetheart that its hard not to fall in love with him right from the very start. The fact that Tony understands and accepts Marcia, the woman he loves unconditionally is reason enough to love Tony. And of course there is this totally sexy, take-charge attitude in him which he lets loose around Marcia that is such a turn-on that even Caleb seemed to fade away in comparison during those moments.

Marcia is the character that stirs things up and makes things happen in the story. She is the rule changer in the game and though she starts out thinking that one night of hot torrid sex with Caleb in the mix would not change anything, she finds that the dynamics of her relationship with Tony changes along with it and that she is willing to do whatever it takes to belong to Tony and him alone and that he alone makes her want to move past her fear of committing herself to one man for the rest of her life.

Not surprisingly, though the bits where Caleb, Tony and Marcia made the ménage thing work in the hottest way possible, it was those moments between just Marcia and Tony alone that I loved best. So much emotion in their lovemaking that it moved me in ways I’d never have thought possible and I’m just going to put it out there and say that those moments turned me on more than the most explicit moments in the story.

Cari Quinn always has that ability to make me smile, squirm, hum and sigh at all the right moments and in all the right places. Need Me delivered exactly a dose of just that and I’d recommend this to everyone who has loved the Unveiled series so far and of course those who love Cari’s books and also those who love ménage themed romances. Hot doesn’t even begin to cover what Caleb adds to the mix.

Favorite Quotes

Her lids lowered, her thick dark lashes sweeping her cheeks. As if she’d been waiting for permission, she lifted her hips against him and knotted her fingers in his hair. She yanked his face closer, parting her lips for him to invade her mouth. With sexy and slow pulls on his tongue, she wreaked her own brand of havoc on his mind and heart.

She flicked her tongue over his lips and sank into his hot, endless kisses. Every inch of her body belonged to him, her every molecule and nerve in sync with his. So good. No, it was better than good. This was the best sex of her life, with the man she loved and who loved her right back.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Ellora’s Cave

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Review: Virgin Territory by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookVirgin territory_MD
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Hero: Vincent Armand Buonfiglio
Heroine: Katherine Julia Wyatt
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: April 13, 2012
Started On: April 20, 2012
Finished On: April 29, 2012

Ladies! The days of stereotyping geeks are over. Meet Vincent, the geek of MY dreams and please take note of the ‘my’ in the sentence while you are at it *winks*. Cari Quinn has a talent for creating geeky heroes that appeal to all your senses and Vincent was no exception to this rule.

Vincent Armand Buonfiglio is a network specialist by day and an erotic romance writer by night. Oft late, his muse has sort of disappeared leaving him in a dry spell in more ways than one. Vincent needs to find something to jolt start the words that needs to flow in order for him to finish his book and Katherine Julia Wyatt (Kiki) seems like the best bet when she has been occupying far too much of his thoughts ever since he had seen her around 5 months back.

Kiki is determined that her crush on Vincent remain just that, a crush. She has no intention of getting entangled with a man who is notorious for leaving bleeding hearts in his wake and Kiki knows that although her girly bits would love nothing more than to jump his bones, her heart and other emotions are more wary of laying her heart on the line ever again.

But somehow, through a quirky set of events, both Kiki and Vincent find themselves in each other’s company, saying yes to that undeniable desire that courses through them whenever they lay eyes on each other. For Vincent, Kiki is someone who tests and pushes his comfort zone and tests his boundaries when it comes to his emotional involvement. Kiki has no doubt in her mind that when it comes to Vincent, everything between them is temporary and she is determined to not put her heart on the line.

But sometimes, the best of intentions are waylaid, and through all the chaos that reins, two people do find that special something called love that is worth holding on to, and that is exactly what Cari gives her readers with the story of Vincent and Kiki.

Vincent is such a fabulous hero. I swear. He is broody, a bit tortured and possessive enough to make this girl melt in all the right ways. I loved how possessive Vincent’s thoughts turn when it comes to Kiki, a foreign concept for a man like himself. And his ‘surliness’ as a result lends him that edge that I find extra appealing when it comes to heroes that I love. And yes, Vincent wins any contest in that department hands down.

Kiki was a wonderful heroine, everything that Vincent needs in his life and more. She is beautiful inside and out and her giving nature is what drew me to her and kept me a fan until I turned the very last page. She has her own issues when it comes to relationships and giving her trust, understandable after what she has gone through. But her willingness to put it to test with Vincent who makes all her senses hum just by being in the same room made her win my affection. I love a heroine who doesn’t dilly dally and Kiki is someone who is gutsy enough to go after what she wants and I loved her wholeheartedly for that.

A little toned down in the sexual aspect than what Cari usually delivers, nevertheless Virgin Territory makes for an awesome read, a book that is worth your time and money if a good, emotional contemporary romance is what you are itching to get your hands on.

Favorite Quotes

He threaded his hand through her hair, tugging her closer. Her body strained toward him, her breasts all but bursting the buttons of her flannel pajamas. She swallowed the last of the candy cane as he lowered his mouth to hers.
He didn’t ravage, as she’d expected. His mouth was soft and warm on hers, and the scrape of his stubbled jaw added to the thrill. She moaned and clung to him, her mind emptying like sand tumbling from a bucket.
Resist? Absolutely not. She wanted this. Him.

He tugged her over the threshold with his good arm, barely cognizant of her startled squeak before his mouth swooped down to cover hers. She tasted pepperminty, as if she’d been sucking on a candy cane again. He swept his tongue between her lips to taste more of her while her arms locked around his neck.

There were so many ways he could have answered her snarky question. But sometimes, direct worked best. Leaning forward, he hooked a finger in the waistband of her pants and tugged. She stepped forward without hesitation and met his mouth hungrily.
Well, hello.
[…]
She wound her hands into his hair, arching against him so that her thighs pressed against his. With the added height from her heels, everything lined up perfectly. Center to center, mouth to mouth, heart to heart.

Soft. She was so soft, and warm. So giving as she moved with him. Rising to take him in, the covers shrouding her back as she arched.
His lips clasped her nipple and she cried out, her fingernails dragging down his hips. She clamped around him. Squeezing. Taking. Giving more.

She surrounded him. Wet, hot. Indescribable. Spasms rocked her, and she lost herself in their rhythm, riding him so fast she was nothing but a blur. But as much as he wished it would never end, no times tables and no images of grungy linoleum floors could keep the flood of her orgasm from inciting his own.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Decadent Pub

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Requested Review: Heart Signs by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookheartsigns
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Samson Miller
Heroine: Rory Fowler
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 3, 2012
Started On: February 4, 2012
Finished On: February 10, 2012

Cari Quinn’s first release of the year 2012 is an emotionally gripping one. Samson Miller (Sam) is a man who is unable to let go of the memories of his dead wife. Sam keeps punishing himself for all that he had failed to do during their marriage by working to keep the love he had for Dani alive by posting love notes on billboards. 

Rory Fowler works at JD Signage and deals with Sam’s requests to put up the billboards. Rory and Sam’s many interactions had certainly made them e-mail friendly over the past 2 years. Rory finds Sam’s love notes romantic, her fascination with his love notes something that she keeps to herself. When she finds out that Sam had recently become a widow, her only intention in reaching out to Sam is to pass on her condolences. But Rory reaching out to Sam sparks something that has long since being buried deep inside of him and thus starts a chain of events that changes both their lives for the better.

The small spark of feeling that flares to life inside of Sam has him seeking out Rory’s company because for the first time in 2 long years, Sam feels something more than desolation and despair. Rory’s quirky and energetic nature, together with the way she blurts things out without thinking and the way the big and beautiful man that Sam is practically melts with Rory’s touch works as a healing balm on his tattered soul, bringing Sam back to life.

Sam Miller is such a big sweetie that all the while I was reading the story I just wanted to draw him into my arms and never ever let go. There wasn’t one inch of him, and I mean this literally and figuratively, that I didn’t want. Sam’s is a bleeding soul, the love notes that he writes to his wife practically seeping with emotion that one cannot help but be drawn towards the man who writes such beautiful words made all the more poignant by his tortured nature.

Rory Fowler is the character that zaps this story to life. Her vivid and vibrant nature that brings color to the story as well as to Sam’s life, lighting both up until you can’t help but be mesmerized by the events that unfold and lead Rory and Sam to a place where they attain their happily ever after. And beneath all the emotional angst that Cari so effectively delivers in the story lies that unique thread of humor that had me bursting out into laughter in several places.

Recommended!

Final verdict: Lovable characters, intense emotions and mind melting hot sex. Erotica doesn’t get any better than this.

Favorite Quotes

You hold my heart. Even when you didn’t want it anymore. I waited for you since the beginning of time and no separation will ever keep us apart.

… she stepped into him, tipping her face upward until their mouths brushed. Her soft lips heated under his, encouraging him to press his tongue against their parted seam. She made a sound of acquiescence, of excitement. The deeper he slid, the more she made the noise. Almost a purr. Carefully, he reached up to hold her head in his palms, tilting her so he could explore. She tasted like grape bubblegum. Sweet, a little wicked. A lot sexy.

He waited for her to say something. Anything. But she only watched him watching her, their equally ragged breathing fighting for dominance. With a flick of his fingers, he slipped beneath the cotton and absorbed the feel of her delicate skin, now way past warm. Past even hot. She burned for him. Skating lower, he brushed her thatch of damp curls. His heartbeat kicked up and that lightheaded sensation overtook him again, stealing his attention from her face for as long as it took him to get control. Then he met her eyes once more before he slid into the steam.

I can’t stop loving you. If I do that, what will be left of me?

“… The moment your tongue met the head of my cock I almost fucking lost it right there. Just looking at you made me so hard.”
“Like you are right now?”
The hope in her tone made him smile. “Yes. Believe me, baby, I’m like steel for you and I only have a memory and your sexy voice to guide me.”

He leaned in and took her mouth with his, snatching away her words and her protests and whittling the moment down to just them. No words, no worries. Just two pairs of lips, two eager tongues and two unsteadily beating hearts that throbbed against each other when she pressed close.

Longing for you is the sweetest anticipation I’ve ever known.

She was whole and real, not someone he held in his mind and heart but whom he couldn’t touch. God, she was so alive.
“Rory,” he managed, lifting his hands to frame her flushed cheeks. Her startled gasp became a moan that flowed between his lips when their mouths fused. She opened for him at once, her dark lashes falling down to hide her eyes. It didn’t matter. He tasted what she felt when her tongue tentatively curled around his.

“… You were summer and freedom and everything I hadn’t had in so long. Everything I hadn’t allowed myself. I’m going to allow myself tonight.” He tossed his shirt aside and she glimpsed his broad chest in the flickering light from the portable woodstove she’d noticed out of the corner of her eye. “You’re going to be my ocean and I’m going to drown myself in you.”

Rory,
I used to think home was a place. Four walls with a door. Now I know it’s your voice. Your laughter. Waking to your smile against my throat and your breath fluttering over my pulse while I turn you over and bury myself inside you…that’s home. That’s life and I’ve never appreciated it more.
~ Sam

Purchase Links: Amazon | EC

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Score Sheet Review: No Dress Required by Cari Quinn

Format: E-booknodressrequired
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Hero: Jake Conroy
Heroine: Noelle Gregory
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 25, 2011
Started On: December 29, 2011
Finished On: December 29, 2011

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 90 A
The heroine 90 A
Story line 90 A
Emotional Intensity 85 A
Story’s ability to suck me in 90 A
Heat & Sensuality 90 A
Conflicts within the story 80 A
Writing Style 100 A
Quotable Factor 50 C
The Ending 90 A
Overall Grade 85.5 A

Score Sheet Summary

Noelle Gregory has always had a thing for her best friend’s older brother Jake Conroy. Though Jake has always viewed her as a pesky younger sister, Noelle’s feelings for him run far deeper towards a whole different direction. The timing has never been right for Noelle to pursue her feelings towards Jake. And when the opportunity does present itself, who is she to say no to exploring what could happen between them? She is willing to take the chance that maybe, just maybe, Jake might feel the same way about her.

This is Cari’s first non-erotic contemporary romance and I loved it. After my last read which was pretty intense, I found the change of pace this offered sweet and just what I needed. Though a short novella, Cari’s writing is always superb with that emotional intensity that always sucks me in with her stories. I loved Jake and Noelle both, Jake because he was the one with the self confidence issues and Noelle the one who shows him that he is just mighty fine the way he is.

Though it is a non-erotic romance, don’t be fooled into thinking that there is no heat in this novella. There is plenty of that and more and Cari always delivers with her stories and leaves you begging for more!

Recommended for fans of Cari Quinn and fans hot contemporary novellas!

Favorite Quotes

“Jake,” she whispered, the hot blast of her exhalation making him groan. He gave in and fisted his hands in her hair.
She opened to him at once, her body melting against his, wilting into his embrace so that it felt like his light pressure on her cheeks was all that held her upright. But her mouth was a hungry thing, her tongue diving in to tangle with his while her arms wound around his shoulders. He slanted his head to plunder her as deeply as he could, ravenous to explore every inch of her mouth.
Forget kissing. They were eating each other alive.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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ARC Review: Unwrapped by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookunwrapped
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Loose ID
Hero: Tristan, Matthew
Heroine: Caitlyn Sachs
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: December 6, 2011
Started On: December 5, 2011
Finished On: December 5, 2011

Reading is a luxury I can barely afford these days, time wise. With my day job taking up the whole day and my new exercise regime taking up quite a patch of the time available for reading, I am too tired most nights to really concentrate on a book and see it through. But Unwrapped by Cari Quinn, which I opened up with quite a few reservations since I have never delved into a ménage themed book before kept me engrossed late into the night, my fascination for the characters, the storyline and of course Ms. Quinn’s fabulous way with the words that just refused to shake off its hold on me.

Caitlyn Sachs is about to turn 25 and has a teeny tiny problem that she wants to deal with and be done over with. Cait has always been the good girl in the family, the one her mother has always counted on to follow the rules. The fact that her childhood had been spent trying to become as different from the rest of her family as possible had led her to be one of the extraordinarily rare women to still be a virgin, and she would like nothing better than to ask one of her best friends to take care of the problem. A couple of thrusts in and out and the one she choses would be done with it is how Cait envisions the encounter would be, not really knowing the complete 180 degree turn her life would take once the cat leaps out of the proverbial bag.

Matt and Tristan have been biding their time, their love for the woman who shares their professional and personal life a visceral part of the bond that keeps them together. So when Cait stumbles upon Matt and Tristan in a position that will forever be etched onto her mind, Matt seizes the opportunity to finally make all their dreams come true knowing that either they would all come out as winners or lose a friendship that means so much to all of them.

Though I am not new to the erotica genre, I am a virgin when it comes to ménages and sex between more than two heterosexual partners. And I don’t really know how to express on what I was expecting when I delved into Cari Quinn’s latest because lets face it, if the author is Cari Quinn my response has always been “Hell yes!”. So there I was, gingerly turning the pages, as skittish as a new born colt, prepared to flee the minute things got to be too much for me. But I should have trusted Cari a bit more because underneath the very hot and well done encounters between two sexy as sin heroes and one very virginal heroine, Cari managed to give me the angst, the emotion and the conflicts that she handles so very well in her stories, something that I crave for in my romances.

As much as the off the charts scorching hot sex got to me (and believe me it did), it was the emotional impact of the novel that had me glued to the pages, foregoing sleep just so I could experience the magic that is the combination of Cait, Matt and Tristan. The complexities of such a relationship, its impact on their loved ones and other such questions I have always had about such an arrangement even long before I read this were answered and though I know that this is fiction, it was heartwarming to see Cari give all aspects of at times their complex relationship equal amounts of time and attention.

I loved both Tristan and Matt. They are both so different from one another but yet they are a case of opposites attract, their relationship forged out of their mutual desire for the woman who shares their lives, though Cait might be totally clueless at first. I loved Tristan’s intensity, the way he has that no holds barred attitude towards their sexual encounters as well as the other more complex aspects of their relationship. It is Matt who serves as the peacemaker, the one who formulates, plots and plans and kicks into gear the weekend of decadent pleasure that is initiated to win over Cait’s affection.

Cait is the glue that holds their three pillar relationship together. Though Cait might crave for “normalcy” and wants to write off their weekend as a one time thing, deep down inside she knows that without Matt and Tristan in her life, she might as well be buried six feet under. And I loved Cait’s character because she knows exactly what her two lovers want and need from each other and has the guts to prick and poke at them until they are ready to give in.
I have that first encounter between Tristan and Matt that Cait spies on etched which would be onto my mind forever. The power and restrained violence of the encounter (whew!), needless to say, I could totally become a m/m fan girl if that is what the genre entails.

Though I would always remain a m/f fan girl at heart, I am just thankful that my first attempt at reading a ménage featuring sexual acts between the two males involved didn’t scar me for life. In fact in true Cari Quinn style, Unwrapped charmed and enticed me to look beyond the surface to find out that underneath all the panty-drenching hot sex, there is ALWAYS plenty of emotion and character development happening in her novels that just makes Cari’s style of erotica unbeatable.

For those who love ménages of the m/m/f variety, Cari Quinn’s Unwrapped is definitely a treat for your senses. And for those who love their erotica not just for the sake of panty melting hot sex, Cari Quinn definitely delivers on the emotion and angst that undoubtedly makes this book a winner all around.

Favorite Quotes

Idly, he (Matt) twirled a lock of her hair. “You think I coerced him the way you obviously believe I do with women?”
“You got him into bed. Not the other way around. Right. That’s why he was inside you, ramming away.”
“You’ll learn, sweetness, that sometimes the one on the bottom isn’t any less powerful than the one on top.”

At first it was the complete antithesis of the kiss she’d shared with Matthew. That one had been crazy, emotional. Uncontrolled. This was a gentle mating of lips. Soft, sweet, and easy. He didn’t press for her to grant him access, but she gave it, opening for him with a low moan.

Trying to get himself back in line, he kissed the inside of her knee. She touched his hair, reaching down to loosen his ponytail like he’d done with hers. She brushed her fingers over the back of his neck, saying more with that one gesture than she could have with a thousand words.I want you. I trust you. I love you.

He (Tristan) pushed her onto her back and braced his arms on either side of her shoulders as he ranged his body over hers, nudging his cock against her in the most intimate way possible.
With the slightest flex, he’d be buried inside her—without a condom. And she didn’t even possess the strength to tell him no.

He (Tristan) ripped his mouth away and raised above her, his expression positively lethal despite his ragged panting. “If I didn’t love you, I’d do it and hope to God you got pregnant. Even though it would be stupid for a lot of reasons, I’d do it.” He swore and grabbed a fistful of the pillow beside them. “Christ, I can’t think when I’m around you.”

Deaf and blind to all but her pants and her hazy bluebell eyes as she rocked into bliss, he clenched her hips as if she held his life in her hands.
Like she already held his heart.

He framed her face between his palms and met her eyes. Everything inside her slid into place, key into lock. Then he lowered his head and took her mouth in a kiss that felt more like oral f#cking than it did an easy mating of lips and tongues.

Purchase Links: LooseID 

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Requested Review: Hot Text by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookhottext
Read with: iBooks for iPhone
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Jeffrey Maddox
Heroine: Karyn Colette Allison
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: November 2, 2011
Started On: November17, 2011
Finished On: November 17, 2011

With Hot Text, Cari Quinn once again proves to me the reason why she is my go to author when it comes to quality erotica that delivers on all fronts. For some Hot Text might be “offensive” in the sense that sexual relations takes place between a married woman who is on the verge of divorce and the hero. But hey, lets face it; in real life things do not exactly go according to our well laid plans. If it did we would all be married to men who wouldn’t let us out of our bedrooms because they cannot get enough of giving us multiple orgasms. And yes, I digress but I just love the fact that Cari is bold enough and is daring enough to write about scenarios that might not be sometimes well received by 100% of the romance reading population but nevertheless for fans like us who want and crave something different, Cari ALWAYS hits the spot with plots of the said nature.

Jeffery Maddox is the two time divorced older brother of Daisy Maddox whose current beau is the married Lonny James who just rubs Jeff the wrong way. Wanting to do something about Lonny before he can break Daisy’s heart, Jeff takes an opportunity that presents itself and meets up with Lonny’s soon to be ex-wife with the intention of asking her to take Lonny back and work things out.

But from the moment Jeff and Karyn lay eyes on each other, the sparks that fly between them are evident. For Karyn who is a pre-school teacher who defines herself as an average person, who has had 10 years of marriage which had failed miserably when her husband had asked for a divorce is not prepared for her almost forgotten body parts to come alive at the sight of the very fine Jeff whose gruff nature just calls to something deep inside of her. 

A night of unforgettable and decadent sex follows, a night during which every misconception that Karyn has ever had regarding herself and her sexuality is put to bed by Jeff who focuses on her with an intensity that just drives her crazy with wanting. For Jeff, its not just a night of sex and he falls hard and fast only to face the harsh and brutal face of reality come morning when none other than Lonny strolls in.

In my opinion, Cari has done what very few authors manage to do in a novel of this length. She has taken two characters who have no inkling of the other’s existence until the night that changes their lives forever, showed sides of them that both endears and makes them unforgettable to the reader and together with that Cari has pitted them in a situation that you don’t find in the average romance novel. And that’s what made this book a winner for me and of course the out of this world scorching heat that Jeff and Karyn generates right from the very start is worthy of mentioning. 

I loved Jeff’s character right from the very minute he said “Not a screamer, huh? Gonna prove you wrong.” Now, who in the world can fault the man behind that logic is just beyond me. Jeff is someone who is wary of marriage and rightfully so when his previous two marriages hadn’t worked out very well. He is the gruff and taciturn type and not much of a people’s person, but yet in my eyes, Jeff communicates just damn fine when he wants to. I loved his intensity, the way he just takes hold of Karyn and plunges his way into a world of sensuality with her that leaves both of them hungering for more of where that came from. His take charge attitude, the way he solely focuses on giving Karyn a night she would not forget anytime soon and of course the way he can find humor in those little things just made him a favorite hero of mine.

Karyn doesn’t expect her world to turn upside down when she answers the text message she receives from her husband’s mobile phone. And when Jeff turns out to be the man who proves to her in just one night how wrong she has been in neglecting herself, her wants, needs and desires the past couple of years, Karyn knows its time to take charge of her life and let go of the past and fight for all those things that she has accepted as her due. Divorce is hard and messy on anybody and doubly so for Karyn when she cannot make up her mind, when she still cannot fully comprehend the fact that 10 years of her life had just meant nothing to the man she had shared it with when he had asked for a divorce. It is her encounter with Jeff that bursts through the bubble she has wrapped herself in and it is then Karyn realizes that has a lot of “growing up” to do before she can proceed with whatever it is between Jeff and herself.

I loved the concept, the hero and the heroine and of course the neat little epilogue that Cari tucked in at the end. If you like myself are a fan of tastefully done erotic romances that deliver on the not-your-average tropes and a hero to definitely drool over; Hot Text is the novella for you! For fans of Cari Quinn, this is another little goody which would have to tide us fans over until she can publish another decadently sinful novel for us to enjoy!

Favorite Quotes

He didn’t reply but by then she’d found something else to occupy her attention. His eyes.
Though she’d expected them to be as serviceable as the rest of him, they were a smoky blue-gray fringed in dark lashes. Pretty eyes. Even when he stared her down like a cop might a perp. And not just any perp. One who was heavily armed and an imminent flight risk.

She expected an easy kiss. Good, perhaps, but not intense. He seemed like a low-key, moderately passionate person. As she’d been, without the right stimulation.
Without this.
What she got was a glancing blow of lips that soon turned to a furious meshing of mouths and teeth. It wasn’t elegant. It was messy and rough and God help her, bordered on dirty.

Even when she’d fantasized, what she’d come up with hadn’t ever matched this reality. She’d never envisioned a sexy, borderline grouchy guy with a glint in his eye and an erection this tempting. 

He inched in, slid out. Pumped deeper, pulled away. Just as her frustration swelled to a fuckingly epic level, he hauled her hips up, dragging her higher before he sank all the way in, filling her so completely she gasped.
Her flesh stretched, unaccustomed to a man after so long. Each thrust stirred her unspeakably. More than just her p#ssy linked with him when he slid into her. A little part of her heart did as well. 

Karyn reached out to graze his jaw with her thumb, savoring the beginnings of stubble. She’d never seen her ex with stubble. Or with his mouth as deliciously soft and used as Jeff’s.
“How’d we end up here?” she asked softly, not expecting an answer.
“Luck,” he said, turning his head to kiss her palm. “Blind fucking luck.”

Soft strokes and tender words of praise might’ve made her suspicious but his rough manner helped her to trust him. What she saw was what she got with Jeff Maddox. And what she saw, she liked. A lot.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Jasmine Jade

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Reviewer’s Note: I just had to mention this as part of this review. I was listening to Give Me Everything by Pitbull feat Nayer, Ne-Yo while reading this  and somehow, that song ended up being one that was perfectly in sync with the events that took place in the story.

I loved the following part of the lyrics:

Tonight I will love love you tonight
Give me everything tonight
For all we know we might not get tomorrow
Let’s do it tonight
I will love love you tonight
Give me everything tonight
For all we know we might not get tomorrow
Lets do it tonight
[…]
Grab somebody sexy tell ‘em hey
Give me everything tonight
Give me everything tonight

Requested ARC Review: Bad Kitty by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookbadkitty
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Hero: Patrick Nolan
Heroine: Nikki Carson
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 7, 2011
Started On: September 24, 2011
Finished On: September 24, 2011

The Hero: Patrick Nolan, older than his twin Easton Nolan by six minutes works in the construction business. A man who works with his hands, Patrick has his eyes on the sexy new assistant of his brother.

The Heroine: Nikki Carson works as an assistant to Easton Nolan at Nolan Real Estate. Though partying hard had been the life she had led before, Nikki becomes more goal-oriented and wants to make her life mean something after she gets the job of being Easton’s assistant.

Storyline: Nikki has a serious crush on the hot as sin twin brother of her boss. Though she knows it ain’t wise to muddy up her work life by making overtures to the boss’s sexy older brother, Nikki can’t help but say yes to the wicked proposition that Patrick puts forth on the night of Halloween at the annual Halloween party. Patrick goes on thinking that Nikki has no clue as to whether it is Patrick that she was actually with that night and a repeat performance is certainly in order if Patrick wants to come out with the truth.

First Meet: There is no indication of how or when Nikki and Patrick first meet. But I am assuming it happened during one of those times Patrick had turned up at his brother’s office for something or the other which had sealed both their fates from that moment on.

Time Period: Bad Kitty has a contemporary setting and is told from both Nikki and Patrick’s point of views.

Awareness between Nikki and Patrick: With a Cari Quinn book, you are always guaranteed a scorching hot read with enough sexual chemistry between the hero and heroine to set even your surroundings on fire. Both Nikki and Patrick are super aware of one another, both looking forward to the night of Halloween once again when they would be able to indulge in their fantasies involving one another to their heart’s content.

The turning point: Though Patrick thinks that Nikki doesn’t know the true identity of the lover with whom she had such a clandestine encounter against the basement wall, Nikki has been biding her time, wondering why Patrick continues to act like nothing earth shattering happened between them.
When Patrick finally manages to blurt the truth out, it was a moment of hilarity and tenderness both that turns things around for Patrick and Nikki.

How the relationship grows: There is not much time for the growth of Nikki and Patrick’s relationship as Bad Kitty is such a short novella. However, the book ends with the conclusion that the future shines bright for both Nikki and Patrick and it might not be a moment too soon before we hear wedding bells?

Likes: That fact that Cari Quinn is the author is always enough to entice me to open the glossy covers that grace her books and delve into the stories of the sexy and raunchy fun underneath. But mind you, her stories aren’t just about having a good time in bed, the shower or the outdoors – you name it, and Cari Quinn has the talent to deliver it. But time and yet again, Cari proves to her readers how much she values the emotional aspect of erotica and delivers characters that are both likeable, endearing and sexy – all at the same time.
For me Patrick’s character was the lure that charmed me enough to succumb to his enticing good looks and of course the heart of gold underneath all that.
Patrick makes for a very yummy hero, who has more than a few tricks up his sleeve when it comes to winning over the woman of his heart.

Dislikes: I found myself a bit disappointed with the lack of details of both Nikki and Patrick that would have made this novella much better all around. Though the sex was off-the-charts and trademark Cari hot, I would have loved to know just a bit more about both Patrick and Nikki. And maybe toss in a bit on Easton and Nikki’s best friend Julie as well. *winks*

Recommended for: Fans of Cari Quinn and fans of red-hot short erotic novels!

Momentous Scenes: Nikki and Patrick’s first sexual encounter. Plenty of ice ladies, that’s all I’m willing to divulge at this point.

Favorite Quotes

Patrick was the living embodiment of naughty. He sweat for a living—he worked on houses while his slick, polished brother sold them—and his swagger served as a convincing argument that he knew how to make a woman sweat when the lights were off, too.

She braced one palm on the wall and used the other to bring him inside her more forcefully, tearing away the last bit of civility between them. Her body yielded under his pummeling strokes. Stretching around him, drawing him in that much farther. She couldn’t get close enough.

Purchase Links: Wild Rose Press

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