Tag Archives: 5 stars

Review: A Certain Latitude by Janet Mullany

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A Certain LatitudeTitle: A Certain Latitude
Author: Janet Mullany
Genre: historical erotic romance
Publisher: self-published
Format: ebook and print
Release Date: November 23, 2013

A copy of this book was purchased by me for my own personal enjoyment during a time when it was free on Amazon.

Publisher Summary:

1800—Allan Pendale, lawyer and the youngest son of the Earl of Frensham, is bound by ship for the West Indies, to impart the news to his estranged father that his mother has died. But he also has another mission—to find out the truth of his origins.

Miss Clarissa Onslowe is also on board, traveling to take up the role of governess to the daughter of the wealthy planter Mr. Lemarchand. There is nothing to keep her in England. An indiscretion five years before led to her reputation being ruined; her abolitionist family has disowned her and no gentleman would marry her now. But now she seeks redemption with her family by revealing the truth about the miserable lives of the slaves who work on the sugar plantations.

Clarissa’s previous encounter with love has left her aroused and restless, and Allan is a man for whom lust is a daily pastime; thrown together belowdecks during the long sea voyage, they embark on a sensual odyssey where no desire is left untested. But if they thought their exploration and ecstasy could not be bettered, then there are more pleasures to be taken and boundaries to be broken at their island destination—where “March” Lemarchand, sugar king and master of seduction, awaits them both…

This is a substantially revised version of Forbidden Shores (2007) published under the name of Jane Lockwood.

My Review:

Although I am a big fan of Janet Mullany’s work in contemporary erotic romance (Tell Me More, Hidden Paradise) this was my first experience with one of her many historical novels. A Certain Latitude was originally released under a different pen name, and it would have remained unread by me (even at the temporary price of FREE) if she hadn’t reissued it under the one I already knew and trusted. I couldn’t tell you if what she refers to as “substantial revisions” made this a better book than the original, but I can say that A Certain Latitude far exceeded any expectations I might have had going in, and is as good as any other historical erotic romances I’ve read. What made this book so enjoyable for me was what I’ve now come to expect in Janet Mullany’s work, namely a plot that turns a well-worn trope on its head and scenes of intimate passion which envelop not only the titular hero and heroine but also the supporting characters who enter their sphere with intentions both good and evil.

The notion of “civilized” people devolving into depravity while isolated in a more primitive place where the rules of polite society don’t apply is a trope less commonly found than it once was. It dates back to a time when the “old skool” romances were the norm, and often featured ugly racial stereotypes as a lazy shortcut in lieu of actual character development. But while it’s true that the veneer of civilization began to decompose for Allan and Clarissa even before they reached their destination, it’s clear that what remained was there all along, irrespective of what would take place on the island. It needed only the close quarters of the ship to emerge, and the all-too-knowing encouragement of one dissolute and dominant man to be forced into full flower as they move inexorably toward their shared destiny.

I must emphasize most strongly that A Certain Latitude is a true erotic romance in every possible way. The sexual encounters involving each of the featured characters are absolutely essential to the plot, as well as those which occurred well before any of them had arrived on the island. The scenes we experience as the story unfolds are explicit and unforgettable, with pairings that may shock those unused to such graphic detail. It’s rare to find such unflinching scenes in historicals that are written so well and in such loving detail, although they do exist in the works of Kate Pearce, Robin Schone, Sharon Page, and Maire Claremont. Thanks to A Certain Latitude, Janet Mullany is now a member of that elite list for me, and I’ll be seeking out all her other historicals for another chance to experience that special reading joy. 5 stars

Review: Deceptive Innocence Part 2 by Kyra Davis

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Deceptive Innocence: Part 2 (Pure Sin, #2)Deceptive Innocence: Part 2 by Kyra Davis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Romancing Rakes for the Love of Romance.

When we last saw the woman we know as Bellona, she had just discovered that Lander Gable, the man she had targeted as the instrument of her revenge against him and his entire family for the wrong done to her late mother, knew that she was not the woman she had portrayed herself to be. Assuming the worst, Bellona steels herself for the unmasking she has always feared, only to find herself even more tightly connected to this man who could be either her savior or the undoing of all she has worked for. As she is drawn more deeply into Landon’s world and the seedy underbelly of his family’s activities, Bellona starts to question everything that has brought her to this moment in time, even as her feelings for Landon grow stronger and more threatening to her well-being. And when the debts accrued from her recent past collide with her current precarious position, it’s not just Landon that she’s in danger of losing for good.

One of the things I enjoy the most about Kyra Davis’s writing is how she is able to ratchet up the suspense without letting it overwhelm the romance. I was worried for Bellona in every moment, but was always aware that Landon was the key to her happiness, even as her need for revenge sent her down a path that could only end in tragedy for them both. Both here and in her previous serial Just One Night, Kyra Davis has shown that one’s identity is more than just the name we choose, or the way we interact with others, and that a facade is no real protection for one’s heart. Bellona fears Landon because he knows her body so well even as he has no idea who she really is. Yet Landon is just as much of an enigma to her, and he’s made it clear that although he knows their relationship is a pretense on both sides, it’s worth it to him to continue the charade for as long as it will last. The real risk to them both beyond the physical danger is what will happen when the masks are stripped away.

This second part of Deceptive Innocence is full of twists and turns, leaving us with yet another a cliffhanger where it seems all is lost for Bellona. Only the third and final part will show how this can possibly end well, and I love not having any clue what that might be.

Favorite Quote:
I wish we were the man and woman we pretend to be. I wish I didn’t have to destroy him.

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Review: Letting Go by Maya Banks

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Letting Go (Surrender Trilogy, #1)Letting Go by Maya Banks

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings

LETTING GO is the story of a woman who already found and lost her perfect love, but has decided after three years of lonely mourning that it’s time to go after the one thing that was missing in her otherwise perfect marriage. Josslyn will never forget Carson and the once in a lifetime love they shared. But both Carson and his sister Kylie suffered unspeakable abuse from their alcoholic father and could never have understood the need Josslyn had for a man to take charge in the bedroom and bring her both pleasure and pain. Three years is a long time to mourn. It’s time for Josslyn to find someone who will dominate her sexually in the way her late husband never would.

After Carson’s tragic death, Dash was the solid stable core at the center of Josslyn’s upside-down life. As her husband’s business partner and best friend, he has worked hard to ensure that she was taken care of in all ways, except the one he most desired. For unknown to anyone except Josslyn’s late husband, Dash has been head over heels in love with her since the moment they met. It was his misfortune to fall in love with his best friend’s girl, but to his credit, he never acted on those feelings or even gave her a hint he felt that way about her. Now that Josslyn is finally ready to put her marriage in the past, Dash will stop at nothing to make sure that she becomes his. He was prepared to take his time and move slowly toward his goal, even if it meant ignoring the Dominant side of his personality, That all changed when Dash saw Josslyn walk into a private BDSM club on the arm of another man. Could Dash have her as both his love and his submissive? Or would Carson’s memory always be an obstacle between them?

One of my favorite erotic romance series last year was the Breathless trilogy by Maya Banks, so I was happy to learn that she had another one planned for this year. Just like with that series, the Surrender trilogy features a group of interconnected characters with overlapping storylines but each book can still be read as a stand-alone story. This first book does a good job of setting up all the relationships between this group of friends and provides clues to how the other two books will progress without turning into a data dump. A special bonus for readers of Maya Banks’s Sweet series is the appearance of Damon Roche and “The House”, his members only BDSM club in Houston. This trilogy takes place in that world so I’m looking forward to more glimpses of those beloved characters in the next two books.

For me, the best part of LETTING GO was how Maya Banks portrayed the perfect tension between Josslyn’s needs and Dash’s insecurities. Just because they want to make things work doesn’t mean that their new life together is without problems. The problems they face are exacerbated by their inability to fully share what they are feeling, and the initial disapproval from their friends and loved ones only makes things worse. Josslyn’s struggle to embrace her new life with Dash feeds into his irrational sense of competing for her love with the ghost of her dead husband. Their individual fears and doubts inevitably lead to a terrible misunderstanding, and it takes a near tragedy to finally force them to communicate more fully so they can have the happy ending they both deserve.

LETTING GO is a beautifully written depiction of how a widow and her late husband’s best friend learn how to move forward as a couple while honoring the memory of the man they both loved. It features Maya Banks at her best, with the heart-rending emotions and scorching sex scenes her readers have come to expect. Kylie’s story is next in GIVING IN, and I can’t wait to read it.

Ratings:

Overall: 5 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (intense private BDSM scenes between the hero and heroine, one semi-public BDSM scene involving a second man)

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Review: The Delicious Torment by Alison Tyler

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Title: The Delicious Torment
Author: Alison Tyler
Series: A Story of Submission #2
Genre: erotica
Publisher: Cleis Press
Format: ebook and print
Release Date: January 14, 2014

A copy of this book was provided by the author for an honest review.

Publisher Summary:

The second in a series of novels by bondage connoisseur Alison Tyler features heroine Samantha progressing with her predilections and exploring the deepest recesses of her master’s dungeon and her heart. The Delicious Torment is a Story of O meets 9 1/2 Weeks coming-of-age tale fueled by lust, longing, and based on the author’s personal diaries. The Delicious Torment takes readers to Sunset Strip, way up in the sky in a penthouse apartment overlooking Los Angeles with a love affair ensconced in an S&M relationship filled with corsets, crops, and plenty of kink. In the introduction Tyler notes, “This is a novel with me at the center. That is, my heroine is based on me. I’ve sketched her with broad strokes, but at our core we are the same. She’s gotten herself entwined with an older man — nothing new there. But now she has to learn how to maneuver a 24/7 relationship.”

My Review:

Before I tell you how much I enjoyed reading The Delicious Torment I need to insist that you must first read Dark Secret Love, the previous book in this series. You could try to read The Delicious Torment as a stand-alone, but your experience would not be half as rewarding.

In Dark Secret Love, Alison Tyler introduced us to Samantha, a fictional character who is more like her than not. We saw Sam grow from a teenager exploring her power over men (and vice versa) to an adult woman discovering her sexual persona through a series of increasingly meaningful relationships. But after the man she nearly married had all but broken her with his withholding behavior and emotional abuse, Samantha was able to begin healing through her submission to Jack, a man more dominant and dangerous than she’d ever known before.

When we return to Sam’s world at the start of The Delicious Torment, she’s moved into Jack’s penthouse apartment and committed herself to him in a 24/7 power exchange. Jack continues to push her limits further out, and she responds to his demands with her complete and unwavering submission. Well, mostly. When it’s Jack who commands her, Sam can’t help but comply. But it’s another matter when Jack uses his assistant Alex as his “designated Dom” during the times when he can’t be there himself. Her brain knows that Alex is only doing what Jack has directed, yet she senses that the two men have a connection far more complicated than what they’ve presented to to the world. As Jack leads her deeper into submission, Samantha wonders if what they have can transcend Master and slave as long as Alex remains in the picture.

As much as I adored Dark Secret Love, The Delicious Torment was an even better read for me. I was so pleased to be back in the thick of Sam’s life as she continued her path of self-discovery as the slave of the first man strong enough to earn her complete submission. Jack is easily one of the most terrifying and desirable Dominants I’ve ever read, and The Delicious Torment ultimately becomes his story as much as it is Samantha’s. If it seems like he’s continuing to test her capacity for submission, it’s because his need for her exceeds hers for him, even if that’s not always what he wants to reveal. And now with his long-time assistant Alex in the mix, Jack is forced to face his deepest secret, leaving us to wonder how it will all work out in the end.

What makes both of these books so compelling is how authentic they feel as the events in Samantha’s life play out. The characters and their actions may be fabricated, but there is a thread of realism that makes me feel like I’m reading Alison Tyler’s secret diary instead of a work of fiction. There’s no fairytale romance here – just fascinating portrayals of people who could be anyone you might meet in real life, if only you could ever be that fortunate.

The Delicious Torment provides the essential next step in Samantha’s journey and is just as riveting as the book which preceded it. I can’t wait to read the next book. 5 stars

Review: Bind And Keep Me by Cari Silverwood

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Bind and Keep Me (Pierced Hearts, #2)Bind and Keep Me by Cari Silverwood

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was purchased by me for my own enjoyment. The complete review is available at Night Owl Reviews.

This book took me to a place I’ve never gone before with Cari Silverwood, and kept me off balance all the way to the ending I could not have predicted. We see how Jodie and Klaus have found the relationship that works for them, although its nature must be kept secret from all but their closest friends. But when Klaus is forced to pick the least worst choice in an effort to save both Jodie and himself from what could send them both to prison, he vaults past any notion of dubious consent well into what no one could deny is non-consensual activity. This is not a capture fantasy. This is real life with real consequences. Can the undeniable love between Jodie and Klaus survive what they have both become?

Make no mistake: Bind And Keep Me is not for everyone, not by a long shot. But if you like reading beautifully written dark erotica with romantic elements, then this book might be for you. I loved it as much as the first one, and couldn’t put it down until I was done. And the ending went off into such a perfect alternative to my guess that I’m just as mad to read the next book as I was to read this after completing the first one. You can’t ask for more than that.

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Review: Blood Mate by Kitty Thomas

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Blood MateBlood Mate by Kitty Thomas

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was purchased by me for my own enjoyment

Kitty Thomas is one of the few authors who can release a new book and I will immediately buy it without a second thought. This trust has been rewarded by her time and again, but never more thoroughly than now with Blood Mate. It made me question what is real and what is delusion, and what love can mean in the face of eternal suffering.

If I sound like I’m wallowing in purple prose, it’s because this book has done such a thorough job of f*cking with my head in the best way possible. Only Kitty Thomas could take a 600 year old vampire looking for the one woman able to resist him so he could make her his own by choice and put a Beauty and the Beast spin on it that compelled me to love and curse him simultaneously. I don’t want to say more about what happens, because you need to read it for yourself. All I can say is that if you love Kitty Thomas, you will love this story. It’s everything you expect and everything you don’t.

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Release Week Blog Tour: Unraveled by Jen Frederick

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Unraveled (Woodlands #3)

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Twenty-five-year-old Sgt. Gray Phillips is at a crossroads in his life: stay in the Marine Corps or get out and learn to be a civilian? He’s got forty-five days of leave to make up his mind but the people in his life aren’t making the decision any easier.  His dad wants him to get out; his grandfather wants him to stay in. And his growing feelings for Sam Anderson are wreaking havoc with his heart…and his mind.  He believes relationships get ruined when a Marine goes on deployment.  So now he’s got an even harder decision to make: take a chance on Sam or leave love behind and give his all to the Marines.

Twenty-two year old Samantha Anderson lost her husband to an IED in Afghanistan just two months after their vows. Two years later, Sam is full of regrets—that she didn’t move with her husband to Alaska; that she allowed her friends to drift away; that she hasn’t taken many chances in life. Now, she’s met Gray and taking a risk on this Marine could be her one opportunity to feel alive and in love again. But how can she risk her heart on another military man who could share the same tragic fate as her husband?

Note: Although these books are part of a series, they do not need to be read in order

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Sexy Excerpt

His tongue and mouth left mine to leave a hot, wet path from my mouth, across my jaw line, and down to my neck. My leg lifted of its own accord and he took it as a sign to hitch me up higher until both my legs either dangled off the floor or wrapped around him. I chose to wrap my legs around him and was rewarded with a thick hard column pressing into my sex. We both groaned at the contact and I could feel his sound against my neck. The reverberations sent minor shocks throughout my nervous system. Holding me up against the wall, he began thrusting against me rhythmically, every impact of his hips making me hotter and wetter than I remembered I could get.

I gripped him tighter with my legs and dug my hands into his hair, using every bit of his body as leverage. He held me up with ease, as if I were a feather. One hand was under my right butt cheek and the other was exploring my left side, pulling out my T-shirt, only to find the tank underneath. Needing his mouth back, I tugged on his hair and he took the hint immediately. He fastened his lips over mine and we devoured each other, still rubbing our lower bodies against each other as the bass from the dance floor pounded the floor boards.

Whimpering, I begged in moans and small cries for more. A familiar but almost forgotten tension was winding its way from between my legs outward. All thoughts of storage rooms and hallways and strangers were lost in a swirl of bright lights that were bursting behind my eyelids.

“I got you, baby,” he growled against my mouth. “Just let go.” And so I did. I closed my eyes and let those long dormant feelings wash over me, spreading from the inside of my legs to the nerve endings in my toes and fingertips and the very top of my head. All the while, he kept grinding and grinding and grinding against me, whispering in my ear how I was the hottest thing he’d ever held, how he couldn’t wait to taste, how he’d die if he couldn’t be inside me tonight.

Fun Excerpt

“You do this before?” I asked Bo as we surveyed our work. The mattresses had been laid end-to-end and covered much, but not all, of the drive. The pressure of one end of the mattress on the other was to keep them in place, like a stacked set of blocks. The tarps, which would ordinarily go beneath the tent, were stretched across the top of the mattresses tautly. Bo, Finn, Noah and I had worked in pairs to drive in the stakes to hold down the tarps while Adam and Mal, the other two roommates, made sure that the bouncy house was set up securely down at the base of the hill. “Nope.”

Bo flipped the hammer in his hand. “Haul up the hoses.” We’d also had to buy to extra hoses to make sure that we could hoist one to the top of the drive. The bill for all the supplies was astronomical but Adam paid without a blink. Bo told me in the car ride back that Adam’s dad would think this was the best use of his money ever. I shrugged. Not my dime and it did look fun as hell. We’d also bought a couple of gallons of baby oil. Bo threw one at me. “Time to lube up. I’m sure you’re familiar with this.”

“Oh I am,” I replied. “I always apply lube. It’s the only way any chick can take my monster cock.”

“Is that the pick-up line you’re using now? Because it seems like you’d end up disappointing them when you get home.”

“No girl has ever left my bed unsatisfied. That’s probably something you don’t know a lot about.”

“If you have to use lube, then I’m worried you don’t know what you’re doing in bed.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m using lube because I’m going places no man has gone before.

“You’re fucking their earhole?”

“Bo, I thought for sure we’d taught you a few things when you were in the service, but now it seems like you don’t know your earhole from your asshole.”

“That’s not what AnnMarie was saying last night,” he said smugly.

“Actually, AnnMarie told me that she didn’t realize dicks were longer than her hand and wondered if mine was bigger than average.” I squirted more baby oil on the tarps. “I told her no, that you were just really small. Poor girl. Good thing she isn’t required to do a lot of math.”

Sam and Gray together

“I’ve been watching you all night.” His mouth was right above the tip of my ear and I felt something crack inside me, a fissure was forming in the mask I’d donned earlier today or perhaps his breath, his touch, his words were simply hastening the demise of the barriers I’d held between myself and everyone else for two years. Because inside my body, it felt like there was an awakening and every fiber of my being reached toward him, upward and outward as if I was a flower on the first day of a spring rain. I lifted my head to gaze up, wide-eyed and anxious with anticipation.

Some part of my brain was telling me that the storage closet was just two steps to my right at the end of the hallway and the exit door was just beyond that. My Rover was outside and all three were safer than standing here almost in his embrace but I couldn’t hear the warning over the pounding of my heartbeat. He bent toward me, his face serious and even in the low light of the corner I could see the gold flecks feathering out from the center of his eyes.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” His voice was deep, rough and matched the rest of his thoroughly masculine body.

“I know,” I whispered back. And I wanted that kiss from Gray who ordinarily wouldn’t be my type at all. I wanted it more than I wanted to breath. When his mouth molded against mine, it felt like bliss as if my whole cold body had been submerged into a warm bath. If I thought I was engulfed before it was nothing like I felt at that moment. My entire world—my thoughts, my feelings, my senses—were full of him. I tasted the mint and hops on his tongue. I inhaled the cinnamon, bergamot, ocean of his faint cologne into my airways. I felt the calloused palm on my waist and then lower against the exposed skin of my thigh. His dense muscles were drawn tight under his skin and the fabric of his t-shirt and he felt as strong as a citadel. The moan that had been building since he first backed me into the wall escaped. It had been so long since I’d had the touch of a man’s hand on any part of me and I nearly wept at the pleasure of it.

Undeclared (Woodlands #1)

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For four years, Grace Sullivan wrote to a Marine she never met, and fell in love. But when his deployment ended, so did the letters. Ever since that day, Grace has been coasting, academically and emotionally. The one thing she’s decided? No way is Noah Jackson — or any man — ever going to break her heart again.

Noah has always known exactly what he wants out of life. Success. Stability. Control. That’s why he joined the Marines and that’s why he’s fighting his way — literally — through college. Now that he’s got the rest of his life on track, he has one last conquest: Grace Sullivan. But since he was the one who stopped writing, he knows that winning her back will be his biggest battle yet.

Unspoken (Woodlands #2)

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Whore. Slut. Typhoid Mary.

I’ve been called all these at Central College. One drunken night, one act of irresponsible behavior, and my reputation was ruined. Guys labeled me as easy and girls shied away. To cope, I stayed away from Central social life and away from Central men, so why is it that my new biology lab partner is so irresistible to me?

He’s everything I shouldn’t want. A former Marine involved in illegal fighting with a quick trigger temper and an easy smile for all the women. His fists aren’t the danger to me, though, it’s his charm. He’s sliding his way into my heart and I’m afraid that he’s going to be the one to break me.

Impulsive. Unthinking. Hot tempered.

I allow instinct to rule my behavior. If it feels good, do it, has been my motto because if I spend too much time thinking, I’ll begin to remember exactly where I came from. At Central College, I’ve got fighting and I’ve got women and I thought I was satisfied until I met her.

She’s everything I didn’t realize I wanted and the more time I spend with her, the more I want her. But she’s been hurt too much in the past and I don’t want to be the one to break her. I know I should walk away, but I just can’t.

Bonus Content: Upon reaching the USA Today Bestselling milestone, I wrote a 10,000 word epilogue as a thank you to the readers who loved and supported Unspoken.  I posted it for free on my blog but at the urging of readers, I have added it to the original version.

Note: This is a New Adult Contemporary Romance with mature content and sexually explicit scenes. 91,000+ words. Standalone novel.

Website: https://JenFrederick.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJenFrederick
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jensfred
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jenfred

Jen Frederick lives with her husband, child, and one rambunctious dog.  She’s been reading stories all her life but never imagined writing one of her own. Jen loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at jen@jenfrederick.com.

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Review: Unraveled by Jen Frederick

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Title: Unraveled
Author: Jen Frederick
Series: Woodlands #3
Genre: contemporary New Adult romance
Publisher: self-published
Format: ebook
Release Date: January 20, 2014

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

Publisher Summary:

Twenty-five-year-old Sgt. Gray Phillips is at a crossroads in his life: stay in the Marine Corps or get out and learn to be a civilian? He’s got forty-five days of leave to make up his mind but the people in his life aren’t making the decision any easier. His dad wants him to get out; his grandfather wants him to stay in. And his growing feelings for Sam Anderson are wreaking havoc with his heart…and his mind. He believes relationships get ruined when a Marine goes on deployment. So now he’s got an even harder decision to make: take a chance on Sam or leave love behind and give his all to the Marines.

Twenty-two year old Samantha Anderson lost her husband to an IED in Afghanistan just two months after their vows. Two years later, Sam is full of regrets—that she didn’t move with her husband to Alaska; that she allowed her friends to drift away; that she hasn’t taken many chances in life. Now, she’s met Gray and taking a risk on this Marine could be her one opportunity to feel alive and in love again. But how can she risk her heart on another military man who could share the same tragic fate as her husband?

My Review:

One of the best things about reading and reviewing is when I find a new series that gets even better as it goes on. Jen Frederick’s Woodlands series is a very recent discovery for me, but if what I’ve read so far is any indication, it’s one I’ll be enjoying for quite some time to come. Both UNDECLARED and UNSPOKEN are great reads, but the latest book, UNRAVELED, is easily the best of the three. It tells the story of how a woman still mourning her dead husband two years after his death is brought back to the land of the living by a man who finds her love is worth taking every chance in the world.

Samantha was never a particularly adventurous person before Will died. But his death only made her hide even more, existing more than living, and the way everyone still treated her like his grieving widow just made everything worse. It’s only when a perfect stranger instantly awakens her comatose desire that Samantha realizes what she really wants, and decides to go after it…and him.

Gray can’t decide if he wants to stay in the Marine Corps now that his contract is nearly up. He’s a natural leader and the Corps has been loyal to him in a way he never had with Carrie, the woman he’d once planned to marry. But when Samantha comes into his life, Gray thinks he has to choose between her and reenlistment because he’s convinced no relationship could ever survive any length of time apart. In UNRAVELED, both Gray and Samantha learn just how much they are capable of doing for each other when love is on the line.

We get to see the whole Woodlands group from the other books in UNRAVELED and it’s great to see how their relationships have progressed. But what I loved the most about this particular book was how both its hero and heroine had their own emotional baggage to deal with, but neither one ever lost sight of how much they cared for the other person. Samantha had to learn to love another person who could die and leave her like Will did. Gray had to learn to love another person who might cheat on him like Carrie did. But they both knew they had these issues and kept trying not to let it affect what they had together now. There were setbacks, of course, including one gigantic screw-up that nearly ruined everything. But Gray and Samantha never truly gave up on each other despite all the obstacles in their path, and that made their HEA all the sweeter. 5 stars

Review: Deceptive Innocence Part 1 by Kyra Davis

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Deceptive Innocence: Part 1 (Pure Sin, #1)Deceptive Innocence: Part 1 by Kyra Davis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Romancing Rakes for the Love of Romance.

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2014 was to read fewer serials. With only a few notable exceptions, most of the ones I read last year had so many installments and ended up costing so much money that I was frustrated and annoyed by the time I reached the end. But when I found out Kyra Davis had a new three part serial available for review, I knew no resolution could keep me away. Her Just One Night serial was one of the best stories I read last year, and if this new one was half as good, it would be worth the wait to find out what happened next.

In Deceptive Innocence, we only know our heroine by the name she has given herself as a symbol of her quest for revenge. Bellona was the Roman goddess of war, and our heroine takes her cue from this woman who was “inspired with mad rage.” The rage is focused on righting the wrong done to our heroine’s mother, who had made many poor decisions in her life regarding men, ultimately paying with first her freedom, and then her life, after being framed for the murder of her last lover. After spending too much time choosing to believe that her mother had been capable of such an act, it’s only when her mother dies in prison that our Bellona finds her own reason to live, even if it’s only for the amount of time needed to make the family who framed her mother pay.

Lander Gable is on Bellona’s list of people who must pay, and her plan to become a part of his life works all too well. She knew he was handsome and charming, at least on the surface, but she hadn’t anticipated just how well they would fit together, especially in bed. Bellona’s confusion over her feelings for Lander could derail her goal to destroy him and his whole family. But what if he discovers who she really is before she has a chance to change her mind?

This first installment of Deceptive Innocence was just as delicious as I had anticipated, as good as anything I’ve ever read by Kyra Davis. She set up the motivation for our heroine without giving out more than the bare minimum required to generate interest, then slowly fed out just enough information to keep me hooked all the way to a perfect cliffhanger ending. Staying away from books with cliffhangers was another of my New Year’s resolutions, but they’re unavoidable in serials, and the one featured here in Part 1 restored my belief that good cliffhangers do still exist.

It would be too easy to assume that Lander is simply a misunderstood pawn in his evil family’s machinations simply because he’s the hero and this is a romance. But Just One Night showed me that Kyra Davis knows how to write characters who can’t be easily categorized as good or bad, so I’ll just hang on and enjoy the ride. I can’t wait to see how our heroine can reconcile her only reason for living with her growing need for Lander in Deceptive Innocence Part 2.

Favorite Quote:
I actually highlighted over 20 different passages in my Kindle, but here’s the one that best represents what I loved about Deceptive Innocence Part 1:

In this moment there is no plan. There is no revenge. There’s just Lander. And as he thrusts again, his eyes penetrating me with an equivalent force, I realize that in this moment that’s all I want.

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Review: Control by Charlotte Stein

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ControlControl by Charlotte Stein

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

I originally read CONTROL a few years ago back when I was first starting to venture into erotic romance and I’m still convinced it’s one of the best examples of the genre. In it, Charlotte Stein shows that a person’s sexual desires can’t be contained in neat and tidy boxes and that losing control is sometimes the only way to regain it for good.

Madison needs someone to help out at her bookstore, but she can’t hire just anyone. It has to be someone who is not only comfortable being around erotic books all day long, but is also good at taking direction. Certainly Andy isn’t the best choice, as he would prefer to tell Madison what to do, even as she feels like she ought to be able to say no. It’s only when Madison interviews the quiet and unassuming Gabriel that she finds the ideal assistant and the perfect subject for her own need to take control. The more Madison pries her way into Gabriel’s closed-off world, the more she realizes that her superficial life isn’t any better than his. But with Andy as the wild card, it’s not certain whether any of them will figure out what they want, or who they want to be with in the end.

It’s hard for me to describe why I love this book so unreservedly. Perhaps it’s the way that Charlotte Stein can so perfectly get into someone’s psyche and describe the confusion caused by unconventional sexual desire. Her writing is so understated at times that the sex almost sounds more clinical than conventionally romantic, yet all the emotions are fully present and accounted for. We see how Gabriel has locked himself down as a reaction to a chaotic childhood spent with hoarder parents, and how this has been reflected in his sexuality. It’s his control that Madison both envies and wants to break, not even knowing why until she realizes her love for him. Even Andy, who acts as the bull in this particular china shop, knows that what Madison and Gabriel share is something special. It’s that knowledge Madison needs when Gabriel reaches his breaking point, and she has to take responsibility for putting him back together again.

CONTROL is both a wildly erotic and heart-breaking love story, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s also why I’ll always read everything Charlotte Stein writes.

Ratings:
Overall: 5
Sensuality level: 4 (menage, humiliation play, light BDSM)

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