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Release Week Blog Tour and Review: The Last Good Knight by Tiffany Reisz

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The Last Good Knight by Tiffany Reisz
An Original Sinners novella told in five parts

LGK 1 coverScars and Stripes by Tiffany Reisz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s lust at first sight when Mistress Nora encounters a sexy newcomer to The 8th Circle. She’s happy for the distraction, since she left her lover, Søren, but her session with Lance is cut short when her boss, Kingsley Edge, reveals they’re all in danger….

 

 

LGK 2 coverSore Spots by Tiffany Reisz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With a potential stalker on the loose, Kingsley hires Lance as Nora’s bodyguard, but stipulates no sex while he’s on duty. Frustrated by the ex-SEAL’s noble chivalry, Nora is driven to seek release with the one man she’s trying to forget….

 

 

LGK 3 cover
The Games Destiny Plays by Tiffany Reisz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Shocked to see Nora’s bruises, Lance is furious that she put herself in danger and demands to know where she got them. As Nora confesses her true nature, she’s equally shocked to learn that Lance has some secrets of his own, drawing them together despite Kingsley’s orders….

 

LGK 4 coverFit to Be Tied by Tiffany Reisz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With her feelings for Lance warring with her recent encounter with Søren, Nora returns to Lance’s bed and finds herself toying with the idea of…toying with him on a permanent basis. But after she gets a glimpse into his personal angst, Nora realizes she has the power to rescue this white knight….

 

LGK 5 cover
The Last Good Night by Tiffany Reisz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Now that the perpetrator has been apprehended, Nora sadly acknowledges she doesn’t need a bodyguard anymore. She adores Lance and wants to keep him but is faced with a dilemma—if she uses her connections to help Lance, she’ll have to give him up forever…

 

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Amazon US
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V

Barnes & Noble
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V

Author Bio & Contact Links:

Tiffany Reisz lives with her boyfriend (a reformed book reviewer) and two cats (one good, one evil). She graduated with a B.A. in English from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and is making both her parents and her professors proud by writing BDSM erotica under her real name. She has five piercings, one tattoo, and has been arrested twice.

When not under arrest, Tiffany enjoys Latin Dance, Latin Men, and Latin Verbs. She dropped out of a conservative southern seminary in order to pursue her dream of becoming a smut peddler. Johnny Depp’s aunt was her fourth grade teacher. Her first full-length novel THE SIREN was inspired by a desire to tie up actor Jason Isaacs (on paper). She hopes someday life will imitate art (in bed).

If she couldn’t write, she would die.

Twitter: @TiffanyReisz https://twitter.com/tiffanyreisz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littleredridingcrop
Website: http://www.tiffanyreisz.com/

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My Review:

It’s no secret around these parts that I am a huge fangirl for Tiffany Reisz’s Original Sinners. (Team Søren, in case you were wondering.) So despite my equally well advertised weariness with romance serials, I knew I had to get my grabby hands on her new five part Original Sinners serial, THE LAST GOOD KNIGHT. It tells a brief but memorable story of how Nora found some momentary solace in her 30th year on earth (and 2nd year separated from her first and only love) with a type of hero not seen too often in erotic romance: an alpha male submissive.

Lance is an ex-Navy SEAL who just got a job working security for the one and only Kingsley Edge in the infamous 8th Circle BDSM club where Nora is now the top earning Dominatrix. But for Nora, Lance isn’t a job – he’s a treat, and one she’s deserved for quite some time. They share the beginning of what promises to be an amazing sexual encounter, when the one person who could enter Nora’s inner sanctum uninvited arrives to whisk everyone away to the safety of Kingsley’s townhouse. Another Dominatrix has been nearly beaten to death at a rival BDSM club, and the fear is that her attacker looking for others to harm in much the same way. Of course, Nora refuses to abandon her clients, so the next best compromise is for her to accept her own personal bodyguard until the culprit is found. And because Nora can never catch a break in such things, the bodyguard Kingsley’s picked for her is Lance, with a strict “no sex” rule in place for the duration.

During its five part story arc, THE LAST GOOD KNIGHT provides a fascinating peek into Nora’s life at a time not long after she left Søren but before the events of THE SIREN. It’s obvious that Søren is still the only man for her, but that doesn’t mean she’s not going to take advantage of her time with Lance, a man who would never permit himself to behave in any way other than with honor, even to the detriment of his own happiness. Along the way, we meet a few members of Nora’s eclectic clientele, and see how having a bodyguard can be a real advantage for her, especially when a new client gets himself placed on the No-Play list for gross disrespect and generally bad behavior. And as Nora and Lance form an emotional connection in lieu of a sexual one, we discover just how much Lance has sacrificed to protect the person most beloved to him. Once the danger to Nora is neutralized by one of my favorite Original Sinners, Griffin Fiske, she and Lance can finally have the many-splendored night they’d been prevented from sharing earlier. Their physical joining is just as spectacular as both they and we had anticipated, with a deeper level of intimacy that only strengthens their newly formed bond. But the true heart of THE LAST GOOD KNIGHT lies in the grave wrong done to Lance by his ex-wife and a society that refused to accept him for what he was, culminating in Nora’s deliberate violation of Kingsley’s number one rule in the name of justice, even at the cost of her own new-found joy.

I will always be Team Søren, but Lance gives him a run for his money in THE LAST GOOD KNIGHT. Lance may be submissive, but he is every inch an alpha male, and as the title reveals, a conscientious man who will always put those entrusted in his care first, no matter what the cost. He’s also funny and sweet and so amazingly hot that any woman would be lucky to have him in her life in whatever capacity she could manage. And anyone who thought Nora unable to truly commit to a man other than Søren will have their assumptions tested when seeing her with Lance in their most intimate scenes. For THE LAST GOOD KNIGHT makes it clear that one day Nora will be able to collar her own exclusive submissive without compromising her love for Søren, even if the two of them appear to be irrevocably separated. Lance may have not been fated to be that lucky man, but one day her destined submissive will appear, and THE LAST GOOD KNIGHT shows us that Nora will be ready when he does. It’s essential reading for lovers of the Original Sinners, and thanks to Harlequin MIRA releasing it all in a single week, you won’t have to wait too long to get your complete fix. 5 stars for all 5 parts.

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Review: Since I Saw You by Beth Kery

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Since I Saw You (Because You Are Mine, #4)Since I Saw You by Beth Kery

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

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

This review may contain spoilers for previous books in the Because You Are Mine series. You can read this book as a standalone, but I believe you’ll enjoy it more if you’ve read the other books first.

When I found out there would be one more book in Beth Kery’s Because You Are Mine series, I wondered if it could live up to the others, especially now that Ian and Francesca had finally gotten their HEA. But I should have known Ian Noble’s brother Kam would have no problem bringing the same intensity to his romance with Ian’s coolly efficient right-hand woman that I’d come to expect in this series, and not just because he’s practically his half-brother’s double. For despite all the similarities between Ian Noble and Kam Reardon, Kam is most definitely his own man, and that’s what makes him irresistible to Lin and to this reader as SINCE I SAW YOU brings this wonderful series to a satisfying close.

My impression of Kam in the previous book, BECAUSE WE BELONG, was that of a man who didn’t give a damn about what anyone thought of him. After all, he already shared a common blood bond with his two half-brothers, Ian and Lucien, thanks to the criminally insane father. But unlike Ian and Lucien, Kam had been in direct contact for most of his life with the evil man who’d spawned the three half-brothers and many more like them. Only by appearing to reject his own beloved mother could Kam protect her from that man’s retribution, but in the process, Kam began to doubt his own ability to love and protect anyone else in his life. There had been another woman he’d thought loved him for himself, but she’d ultimately let him down. So when Kam first spots Lin Soong walking toward him for a prearranged business meeting in SINCE I SAW YOU, he has remind himself no woman like her would ever want a life with him, even as he knows he must get this woman in his bed as soon as possible. But as Lin becomes an all-too-essential part of his new life in Chicago, can Kam keep himself from crossing the line between business and love?

Unlike Kam, Lin has spent her entire life keeping her own wants and desires locked safely away where they can never derail her successful career and devotion to Ian Noble, the only man she ever thought she wanted. Lin already knew even before Ian had found love with Francesca that he’d never be more to her than her boss and friend. But when she sees Kam Reardon for the first time, his physical resemblance to the man she can never have nearly takes her breath away. There are other similarities in personality and temperament, but it’s Kam, not Ian, who will stop at nothing to make Lin his own. Now Lin has to decide if it’s worth blowing up her carefully constructed life for someone who is either the best or worst thing that has ever happened to her.

Lin had been portrayed throughout the series as an emotionless superhuman, so it was gratifying to see her reactions to Kam as he quickly shook her sense of self down to its foundation. Even as she attempts to “civilize” him, he continues to expose the wildness she’s spent a lifetime keeping locked away. The passionate result of their physical alliance soon terrifies them both. But as they realize just how similar they really are, it’s trust that Lin and Kam need to find with each other, for only then can love survive whatever happens next.

What I loved the most about SINCE I SAW YOU was how the romance between Lin and Kam was the driving factor for the entire story, even as the various external pressures loomed large in the background. After the rollercoaster suspense of the previous book (which I did enjoy immensely), it was a relief to discover that what was most important in this book was learning more about what motivated both Kam and Lin in their lives up to the point when they first saw each other, and how they needed to trust their feelings for each other now over what had hurt them both in the past. Their understandable concerns about a lasting commitment may have led to the Big Misunderstanding that nearly split them apart, but it made sense in what had been slowly revealed during the story. Best of all, both Kam and Lin were able to realize their mistake in time to produce a beautiful scene of mutual apology leading to their own satisfying HEA.

SINCE I SAW YOU is a captivating example of a romance between driven personalities from different worlds who share a common goal of success in both business and love. It was a beautiful conclusion to one of my favorite recent series, and my only regret was that it had to end.

Ratings:

Overall: 4.5
Sensuality level: 4 (multiple D/s scenes with main characters including semi-public sex, anal sex, and bondage)

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Review: Giving In by Maya Banks

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Giving In (Surrender Trilogy, #2)Giving In by Maya Banks

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

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

This review may contain spoilers for LETTING GO, book 1 in the Surrender trilogy. You can read GIVING IN as a standalone, but I believe you’ll enjoy it more if you’ve read the previous book first.

GIVING IN continues the story of a group of friends and family devastated by the untimely death of Carson Breckenridge and how their lives have changed since then. In the previous book, we saw Carson’s best friend finally acknowledge his long-suppressed feelings for Carson’s widow after three long years of mourning. Here in GIVING IN, Jensen Tucker, the man who replaced Carson as partner in his successful management consultant firm seeks to rescue Carson’s still-grieving sister from the emotional black hole she’s been in for most of her life. What neither Jensen nor Kylie could have anticipated was that Jensen needed rescuing just as much as Kylie, and that together they would find the path toward real healing and true love.

Kylie Breckenridge and her beloved older brother Carson had already survived a horrific childhood, thanks to his success at planning their escape and unwavering determination to keep them both alive. But Carson is gone, and Kylie feels abandoned all over again. Now there’s no one who can understand what she went through and why she can’t bring herself to live the full and happy life he’d always wanted for her. What Kylie doesn’t realize is that there is someone who senses what she feels and what she really needs, and it’s the one person who makes her angry enough to fight for what she wants, even as she resists him every step of the way. That person is Jensen Tucker.

Jensen may have only recently arrived in Kylie’s world, but he can already see that letting her continue to drift through life would be the same terrible mistake that her late brother and their friends have already made. Now Jensen is determined not only to drag Kylie out from behind her walls of self-protection, but to seek her complete emotional surrender to him as the only man who can protect her from everything she’s been hiding from for much too long.

Although I’m a big fan of how Maya Banks incorporates BDSM into many of her other books, including LETTING GO, it was just as satisfying to see GIVING IN focus more on the non-physical aspects of Dominance and submission, and how one can provide the emotional grounding for the other, even when the roles are switched. Jensen is willing to do just about anything to prove to Kylie that he can be trusted unconditionally, including suppressing his innate desire to dominate her. But Jensen’s need to be Kylie’s protector is tangled up in the damage from his own violent childhood from which he’s never completely recovered. When this unresolved trauma triggers Jensen into doing the one thing he’d promised Kylie would never happen, his heartbreaking decision to keep her safe becomes the catalyst for her to finally give him the surrender they both need for a genuinely happily ever after together.

GIVING IN is a remarkable story of two damaged souls who find their perfect counterpoint in each other. It never flinches from showing the long-term effects of domestic violence and child abuse while always keeping the delicate romance between its hero and heroine front and center. Up next is TAKING IT ALL, and it will finally address all the problems we’ve seen between Chessie and Tate caused by his repeated work-related absences. As sad I as I’ll be to see the Surrender trilogy end, I still can’t wait to read it.

Ratings:
Overall: 4.5 stars
Sensuality level: 3.5

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Review: Naughty Bits, Part I: The Lingerie Shop by Joey W. Hill

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Naughty Bits, Part I: The Lingerie Shop (Naughty Bits #1)Naughty Bits, Part I: The Lingerie Shop by Joey W. Hill

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.

Serial novels have been a popular trend in romance for a while now, and frankly, it’s one I’ve grown tired of. These days I’m limiting myself to serials written by my favorite authors, and with no more than five parts. NAUGHTY BITS qualifies on both counts, although I’ll admit I would probably waive the five part rule for Joey W. Hill. She’s one of my all-time favorite writers of contemporary BDSM erotic romance, and this first installment, THE LINGERIE SHOP, has already assured me that her talent for plot and character development will lend itself well to this new format.

As you might expect, most of THE LINGERIE SHOP is setting up the premise for why our heroine finds herself running her late sister’s sex boutique in Charlotte instead of being back in Boston at her boring but safe finance job. Madison and her sister Alice had exceptionally close until the day Alice pushed too hard about Madison’s sex life (or lack of one) and Madison responded by moving away and avoiding all contact. It took Alice’s terminal illness and subsequent death to force Madison back to Charlotte and the shop she’d always mocked. Now all Madison has is the store, her memories and her regrets. But Alice’s bequest extends beyond the building and its contents. She’s also made sure that Madison will finally find sexual submission with a man who can make it all happen. It’s now up to Madison to decide if she’s ready to finally accept the gift her sister always wanted her to have.

The man that Alice has found for Madison is Logan Scott: hardware store owner, woodworker, and sexual Dominant. Even before Madison knows who Logan is and what he will mean to her, she’s mesmerized by his looks and demeanor. She knows he represents what she’s always both wanted and feared. Logan knows Madison been too afraid to embrace her submissive desires, but that the decision must be hers, and hers alone. All he can do is point her in the right direction and hope that he can earn her trust along the way.

In THE LINGERIE SHOP, we see how Madison had always been threatened by Alice’s embrace of her own sexuality, even though Alice was right about why the men in Madison’s life had never measured up. We also see how Logan had fit into Alice’s life and why he is the perfect man to help Madison embrace her hidden self. By the time we reach the end of this first part of NAUGHTY BITS, we have a good idea of how our heroine got here and what our hero has to do to make her his by the end of the final installment.

What I loved best about THE LINGERIE SHOP was how it neatly avoided the problems that have made me burned out on serial novels in the first place. So many of the serials I’ve read have consisted of a relatively simple plot, doled out in tiny portions that either end on an insane cliffhanger, or at what appears to be a predetermined page length, regardless of where the story is at that point. But THE LINGERIE SHOP has absolutely none of these problems. First of all, it’s well over a hundred pages, qualifying as a novella in its own right. And it ends at a logical stopping point, after Madison has used Logan’s offering of the erotic cards and handcuffs, and sets the stage for THE TRAINING SESSION, Part 2 of NAUGHTY BITS. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Ratings:

Overall: 5
Sensuality level: 3.5 (several BDSM-related discussions, brief descriptions of BDSM club activity, heroine’s solo sexual activity and related thoughts/dreams)<

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Review: The Submission Gift by Solace Ames

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The Submission Gift (LA Doms, #2)The Submission Gift by Solace Ames
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the author and the publisher for an honest review at The Romance Evangelist.

I enjoyed reading THE DOM PROJECT earlier this year, and was glad to see that there would be additional books in the LA Doms series. But I did worry (because I’m a worrier) that the loss of the previous book’s co-author might somehow have an adverse affect on the series going forward. The good news is that THE SUBMISSION GIFT isn’t merely the equal to its excellent predecessor; it’s even better, with what I believe to be one of the most realistic portrayals of what it means to have a truly polyamorous relationship in the present day.

Before we even meet the person who will change their lives forever, we see how the past year has tested Jay and Adriana’s marriage. The car accident that nearly took Jay’s life has wreaked havoc on their finances, their love life, and their peace of mind. Even now, Jay is only able to handle the most basic tasks involving physical effort, and has to be ever mindful of what he can and cannot do. Meanwhile, the bills aren’t going away, and Adriana struggles to provide financial stability while laboring in a demanding work environment where the hours are long and her co-workers are trying to sabotage her on a daily basis. But she still has needs in the bedroom that Jay just can’t fulfill, so when an unexpected windfall from the insurance company provides the means, they agree to use the money for something they’d always discussed doing: paying a professional Dominant to share their bed for a night or two. What they didn’t expect was someone like Paul, a man whose rightness for them would surpass any fantasy. But when a series of unconnected events expose still hidden secrets, it will take all three of them working together to transform this fantasy into a lasting relationship that can survive their new reality.

I’m a big fan of menage romances, but I’m also aware that many aren’t exactly what one could call true to life. They tend to take place in lovely fictional towns where everybody accepts menages, or where one or more of the involved characters has enough money to let them exist untouched by any possible controversy. But in THE SUBMISSION GIFT, the triad relationship begins as a financial transaction between a somewhat non-traditional couple and a part-time rent-boy. Even before their first sexual encounter, every one of these three characters is already living on the financial edge, and where they live and love is present-day Los Angeles, in neighborhoods far from the rich and famous. So when Jay and Adriana and Paul make the decision to commit to each other publicly, the direct effect on their day-to-day lives will be immediate and significant.

Even before Paul entered their lives, Jay and Adriana already had to deal with those who thought that their marriage was a sham just because Jay was, as he put it, “a bi guy on the femme side.” But this loving couple soon realizes that Paul is as intrinsic to their happiness together as they are to each other. So when Paul’s hidden past is revealed at the worst possible moment, Jay and Adriana must make the hard choice between reaffirming their love and trust in him, or letting him go for their own security, if not their long-term contentment. It’s to the author’s credit that she never hesitates to show us every ugly moment of doubt, and never flinches from the ugly facts of what these three people will face if they choose each other. But as we see how Paul fills the gap between what Jay and Adriana have and what they need, it’s clear that their unconditional love and determination to make it work will be more than a match for whatever life has to throw at them next. THE SUBMISSION GIFT is a gift to readers who love romance in all its permutations, and it made me believe that a polyamorous relationship could work in a world outside the borders of fictional Romanceland.

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Review: Bound To Be A Groom by Megan Mulry

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Bound to be a GroomBound to be a Groom by Megan Mulry
My rating: 4 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.

Although I’m a big fan of Megan Mulry’s contemporary romances, this is my first time reading one of her historical romances, but if BOUND TO BE A GROOM is any indication, I’ll be adding them all to my To Be Read list. This book featured something I haven’t seen too often in erotic romance, and especially in historical erotic romance: a true MMFF polyamorous relationship. And to her credit, Megan Mulry made it work for me in this unusual context, although I’ll include the disclaimer that what I know about the year 1808 in Spain and England would fit on a grain of rice.

As our story begins, we meet Anna Redondo, the unacknowledged by-blow of her mother’s affair with a visiting English diplomat while still married to the Conde de Floridablanca. Anna has been locked away in a Spanish convent for most of her life, now newly released to attend her friend Isabella’s wedding. Then it’s off to a lifetime of servitude as a lady’s maid in the King of Spain’s court. Anna has other plans for her future, and they all involve Pia, her best friend in the convent and secret lover. Anna intends to become a noted courtesan to raise the money to keep herself and Pia together forever, but needs to learn the ways of men (and rid herself of her pesky virginity). So when a handsome man catches her eye in an all-too-knowing way, Anna presses her advantage, and changes her future forever.

Sebastian de Montizon didn’t expect to find his future bride at the wedding of his friend Javier de la Mina, but when a sweet little convent girl turned out to be the Domme of his dreams, how could Sebastian possibly resist? He’ll do anything to keep her happy, including sending for Pia to be an essential member of their new household. But when the three meet up in England with Lord Farleigh, a mysterious duke from Sebastian’s past, can their unconventional relationship expand by one more without ruining what they already have together?

The one word description that came to mind when I finished reading BOUND TO BE A GROOM was voluptuous. This book is all about sensual pleasure in a way not often found outside of erotica proper (as opposed to erotic romance, which this most definitely is). There isn’t too much worry about whether each additional member of this polyamorous relationship will be able to fit in properly, but there doesn’t really need to be, either. It helps that there are clearly two Dominants and two submissives in the mix, and that no lasting jealousy ever rears its head as they try out various pairings and positions. The only time I even briefly questioned its plausibility was when Farleigh’s mother was so understanding about his proclivities, but hey, she’s a mother who loves her son dearly, so why not? I’m not going to look too closely when the interactions between the two heroes and heroines are as interesting and well-written as these, with an elevated sexual excitement that (figuratively) steamed up my Kindle. Even the prerequisite baby epilogue (another detail that differentiates this from regular erotica) provided a lovely end to the story without losing its innate naughtiness to standard romance conventionality. I can only hope there will be more adventures to come in this unique series, as I’d love to read them all.

Favorite Quote:

“Anna…”

“Yes, darling? You like that, don’t you?” She tapped the crop a few times against her palm, testing its resistance.

“Yes,” he whispered.

“What a fine instrument you are.” He wasn’t sure if she was talking to the crop or to him.

Then she began.

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Review: Having Her by Jackie Ashenden

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Having Her (Lies We Tell, #2)Having Her by Jackie Ashenden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the author for an honest review at The Romance Evangelist.

After experiencing one of my biggest book hangovers ever with Jackie Ashenden’s first book in the Lies We Tell series, TAKING HIM, I knew I would be in for it with HAVING HER, and boy howdy, was I ever right. In this second book, we get to see what happened after Kara, Ellie’s best friend, suddenly excused herself from the bar at the comic convention they were both attending in a scene from the previous book. We already know how things went down with Ellie and Hunter — now it’s Kara’s turn with Ellie’s super hot but totally disapproving brother, Vin. And as wonderful as TAKING HIM was, HAVING HER manages to be even better.

Kara may put up an aggressive front against the world at large, but it’s all just to protect herself from more heartbreak after her trust in love and family was shattered at the hands of her alcoholic mother. Since then, it’s been easier for Kara to put others off than to let them close enough to reject her first. But that’s made it difficult for her to accomplish her new self-imposed task of finally losing her virginity, despite her multiple attempts to pick up a strange man for just that purpose. Picking up guys was easy; it’s what to do with one once she had him that still had Kara stumped. At least she knew that Ellie’s brother Vin would always be there to rescue her, even when she didn’t want him to. Especially then. But when Vin insists on picking Kara up at the door of yet another random guy who’d expected more than she was prepared to offer, she realizes that the answer to her problem is right in front of her. Vin.

When Vin and Ellie’s mother became seriously mentally ill and their father did his disappearing act, it was up to Vin to keep his baby sister safe. Now, years later, protection mode is all that Vin seems to know how to do well. He’s also convinced himself that he’s just like his rotten father, that he could never truly love another person. Despite all this, Vin still finds himself drawn to Kara, even as everything she does grates on him. The crazy clothes, the ever-changing hair colors, the insistence on constantly placing herself in what he considers dangerous situations…it’s enough to make a man insane. So when Kara sets her sights on him as the man to relieve her of her virginity, he refuses outright, only agreeing after she goads him beyond his otherwise iron control. Vin makes it clear that this will be on his terms only, and love should not be expected or given. But Kara needs someone to take charge, and Vin is just the guy to do it. Things between them seem to be progressing nicely, until the day when an unexpected event changes the nature of their relationship forever. That’s when Vin and Kara must each face what damaged them in the past if they want to embrace the happiness they both deserve in the future.

When I say this HAVING HER was an emotional read for me, I mean it was all cheering, laughing, yelling, swooning, and crying in large amounts. Jackie Ashenden knows how to make you feel for her characters in a way that pulls at your heart without piling on the drama in outrageous ways or unbelievable amounts. Yes, Kara and Vin both had traumatic childhoods, and yes, it’s messed them up in ways that kept them both from being able to reach out to anyone else until now. But the emotional moments in HAVING HER come from the intimate scenes where their hearts and souls are exposed to each other, not from wallowing in overwhelming grief at what’s already past. This book is a true erotic romance, in that the intimate scenes between its hero and heroine are essential to the plot and character development in every way. It’s only through kinky sex that Kara and Vin can even begin to learn to communicate with each other, and it’s the result of their sexual relationship that forces them into deciding whether to commit to each other fully, or to walk away from their first, and possibly last, chance at true love. I was so drained by the time they reached their happy ending that all I could do was grab a box of tissues and cry it all out. In a good way, mind you. In a very good way. I don’t know if Jackie Ashenden has other books planned for this series, but I know I’ll be the first in line to read one. I may have recovered from this book by then.

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Review: Requested Surrender by Riley Murphy

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Requested Surrender (Trust in Me, #4)Requested Surrender by Riley Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the author for an honest review at The Romance Evangelist.

REQUESTED SURRENDER is the fourth book in Riley Murphy’s TRUST IN ME series, and while you don’t need to have read the first three books in the series, you should read A DATE WITH A DOM (Trust in Me #3.5) before you read this book. A DATE WITH A DOM is available at Amazon for 99 cents (free read with Prime), but portions of it can also be read for free at Author Riley Murphy. You could be lost at the beginning of REQUESTED SURRENDER if you do not read this short prequel.

I’ve been enjoying Riley Murphy’s Trust in Me series at Ellora’s Cave for a few years now, but hadn’t seen a new book since early 2013, so I was pleased to learn that she would be self-publishing the next book in the series this year. I’m pleased to say that REQUESTED SURRENDER is just as good as the books which preceded it, and happy that self-publishing has rescued a series I’ve always loved.

David Hollan is one of several Doms who co-own The Carlyn, an exclusive resort with a BDSM flair. We’ve seen in the past two books how he’s been trying to get closer to Lacy Pembrook, a woman he finds equally attractive and frustrating. It seems to David that Lacy is always playing a version of herself, one who never takes anything seriously even to the detriment of her own happiness, and he wants to know why. Because David suspects the real Lacy is the woman who can be the submissive he needs, even as she clearly needs him to keep her safe and happy and loved.

Lacy does appear to be a scatterbrained happy-go-lucky type of woman who runs away when things get difficult. She starts all kinds of plans, but never fully follows through. She’s a gifted artist, but never really did anything with her obvious talent, instead choosing to attend veterinary school to please her father. Yet even with her successfully completed degree, she still hasn’t managed to open her own practice. And even though she and David have been dating seriously for a while, Lacy still hasn’t let him know that the “Jo” she still spends time with in her house is actually “Joe” the hunky contractor with whom Lacy had briefly toyed before David came into her life. Now the revelation about Joe has finally pushed David into confronting Lacy with a plan to show her how she needs him in her life to provide structure and guidance, and help her embrace her true submissive self.

Although I was happy to return to the Trust In Me series, I’ll admit I was as all over the place as much as Lacy was, at least at first. REQUESTED SURRENDER began right as David’s discovered Lacy’s major lie of omission and moved forward immediately into what David did to keep Lacy from running away when he confronted her about it. Even as David and Lacy grew closer in their new D/s relationship, it became clear that neither one of them was quite ready to commit to another person, thanks to their individual past experiences with people who had betrayed them. David’s issue with trust stemmed from the only other woman he’d ever loved, and how her addictions had ultimately forced him to kick her out. Her ability to constantly mislead led him to be overzealous in his protectiveness of Lacy, which has then goaded Lacy into deliberately defying him at every turn. Lacy’s problems were more deeply hidden, and even I had no idea what could be causing her to throw her happiness away with both hands even as she acknowledged how important David was to her.

It wasn’t until all of Lacy’s past history was revealed in the face of David’s confrontation with those who hurt her that REQUESTED SURRENDER finally came together for me. Only then did I truly understand what made Lacy tick and how David’s patience was the key to happiness for both of them. Their romance was a long time coming in this series, and its satisfying ending bodes well for book 5, REPUTED SURRENDER. Its hero, Michael Kavanaugh, has been waiting for his own true love since the very first book in the series, when he attempted to come between a married couple trying to find their way back to each other. I can’t wait to read his story next.

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Review: Teach Me A Lesson by Jasmine Haynes

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Teach Me a LessonTeach Me a Lesson by Jasmine Haynes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

I really loved Jasmine Haynes’s THE NAUGHTY CORNER, and the way she introduced us to Gray and Lola as they discovered a mutual kinky love after being inadvertently brought together by Lola’s bratty nephews. So I was happy to see that TEACH ME A LESSON follows directly from that story, although it could still easily be read as a stand-alone book. I enjoy seeing couples from an earlier book in the context of a new one, especially when they play a key role in the new couple’s romance. And with TEACH ME A LESSON, we also get another great erotic romance set in the deliciously naughty background of an ordinary suburban high school, where consenting adults secretly meet to privately engage in oh-so-inappropriate behavior.

While THE NAUGHTY CORNER featured a successful CEO moonlighting as a part-time high school football coach, our hero in TEACH ME A LESSON is the principal himself. Married and divorced twice, Lance Hutton has become resigned to the fact that he isn’t likely to find a permanent relationship with any woman. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t taken notice of the delectable Miss Moore. She’s only part-time at his school, which limits the moments he has to ogle her from afar. One fateful afternoon, Principal Hutton decides to stop by Miss Moore’s office just as she’s crawling on the floor for a misplaced apple. And that’s when everything changes.

Charlotte Moore doesn’t want to submit to any man ever again, not after the awful one who had her doubting every thought and decision. The only independent decision she was able to make in that relationship was finally choosing to leave it. Since then, Charlotte has focused solely on casual affairs with much younger men, ones that let her take charge so she never has to worry about losing her identity again. So she’s puzzled by her apparent attraction to someone like Principal Lance Hutton. Not only is he at least 10 years older than her, but he’s also clearly someone who likes to be in charge. Of *everything*. But when Principal Hutton’s surprise visit prompts Charlotte to slyly express interest in a certain naughty activity, they seize the moment without realizing just how life-changing that decision will be for them both.

I love Jasmine Haynes books because they are always the perfect blend of kinky sex, adult relationships, and true romance. TEACH ME A LESSON is yet another example of this winning formula. We have a hero and heroine who are older but wiser, never hesitating to express what they want and do not want, and willing to expand their sexual horizons for something that makes any previous couplings pale by comparison. More importantly, Jasmine Haynes also gives us a story that displays the true qualities of both characters, as they prove their innate worthiness through the actions they take to help the vulnerable teenagers in their care. We get to laugh and cry and cheer for the bad guys to lose and the good guys to win, and then discover that maybe the bad guys weren’t really all that bad after all. And throughout it all, there’s that magnetic attraction between Lance and Charlotte, and their mutual discovery of kinky sex that ties it all together so well.

As I’ve found with so many other Jasmine Haynes books, reading TEACH ME A LESSON was like coming home. It may not be everyone’s idea of home, to be sure, but it’s one that I’ll want to return to (and I’m hoping for many more visits in the future).

Ratings:

Overall: 5 stars
Sensuality level: 3.5 (BDSM-lite scenes including spanking and outdoor sex, discussions of cuckold fetish)

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Review: Dangerously Bound by Eden Bradley

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Dangerously Bound (A Dangerous Romance)Dangerously Bound by Eden Bradley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

Eden Bradley was one of the first authors I read when I was just starting out with BDSM-related erotic romances, and she’s still one of the few I can always count on to provide a story in that specific sub-genre that’s as accurate as it is enjoyable. DANGEROUSLY BOUND is the first entry in her new Dangerous series, and much like all her previous books, it’s one that left me thoroughly entertained and ready for more to come.

In this new series, we are introduced to a related group of characters in New Orleans and the BDSM club where some of them meet to play and fall in love. This first book is the story of a hero and heroine with a long history that they’ve both tried to move past in their separate lives, before coming back together to give it one more try. When Mick’s newly discovered inner Dom emerged during the one night of passion he shared with Allie, her tears made him think he’d damaged her, ruining their chance at true love. His abrupt departure the next morning was followed by her own, resulting in a separation that lasted nearly a decade. But after years of training overseas as a pastry chef by day and experienced submissive by night, Allie is back in New Orleans for good. Mick may not be ready for what she has planned for him, but she is determined to confront him in any way necessary to force him to see her as she is now, not as she was then.

One of the things I love about Eden Bradley’s books is how she so easily sets up a new series without spending excessive time on things that are best revealed as the story unfolds. We know right off that Allie and Mick have a history that has kept them apart despite their obvious love for one another. We also know that there are other traumatic events in Mick’s past that are keeping him from fully committing to Allie, ones that she can’t help him get past if he won’t forgive himself. But all of these details inform our understanding of their push-me-pull-you relationship without intruding on what’s important, namely their rekindled romance here and now.

The best parts of DANGEROUSLY BOUND for me were the numerous and lengthy intimate scenes between Mick and Allie, especially when they were in a BDSM scene featuring rope bondage and Mick’s apparent fondness for biting. His struggle to keep a Dom’s control over his emotions as he plays with Allie tests him more than he can bear, and he runs away from her more than once, which did become a bit frustrating for me. But Allie wouldn’t give up on him or their relationship, not until she realized that she had to let him go so he could realize that he needed to return for good. Their hard-won happy ending made me eager for more tales of BDSM romance when Eden Bradley’s new Dangerous series continues with DANGEROUSLY BROKEN.

Ratings:

Overall: 4 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (several intense scenes between H/h with biting and rope bondage, brief descriptions of BDSM club play)

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