Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Devil's Kiss Series, Gemma James

Amazin UK link Amazon US link


BLURB BOOK 1 ULTIMATUM----Kayla Sutton faces a question no mother wants to face: what would you do to save your daughter? Broke and desperate, she siphons thousands from the company she works for in order to pay for her daughter’s experimental life-saving treatment. But when Gage Channing discovers her theft, she is shocked to learn that her domineering boss has no intention of turning her over to the police. Instead he issues an ultimatum—submit to him, or go to jail.

Backed into a corner, Kayla signs his contract and spends her first weekend at his home, at his mercy, and is stunned when he awakens the desire she’d believed long dead.

NOTE TO READERS: ULTIMATUM is a novelette with a BDSM edge and contains material that is only suitable for adult readers. If dark and edgy erotic fiction isn’t your kind of read, you might not enjoy this story. Part one of a three-part series. Approximately 12,000 words.


Freedom is but an illusion . . . 

BLURB BOOK 2 ENSLAVED---Kayla Sutton finds out the hard way that Gage Channing’s dominance doesn’t end once she leaves the confines of his basement. His rules dictate her days and nights, his watchful eye keeps her in line at work, and the memories of her weekend with him, spent under his absolute control and his firm hand, keeps her on her toes. Having been blackmailed into submitting to him, Kayla doesn’t fully understand what it means to relinquish control of her body and free will, and she doesn’t understand how a man who derives pleasure in whipping and humiliating her is capable of awakening the desire she hadn’t known existed. 

As her daughter’s life hangs in the balance, Kayla must dig deep to find the strength to fully submit, to travel down the path of pain and pleasure. But when her past catches up to her, prompting a free fall into forbidden territory with a man she once fiercely loved, she knows her only recourse is to come clean about her transgression to her Master and beg his forgiveness . . . only she never imagined he’d have such a horrifying punishment awaiting her, or that his jealousy would send her life into a further tailspin.





 REVIEW ULTIMATUM---Kayla Sutton has been stealing money from work to pay for her 3 year old daughters treatment for leukemia. Her boss Gage Channing has found out and is now giving her the option to either be turned in to the police for embezzlement or sign a contract to be his 'slave' for 6 weeks. 
She chooses to be his slave......

What follows is actually really good considering it's not even 40 pages long, if you have ever considered reading a story with dubious-consent or BDSM then this will be a good read to test the waters. 
Kayla ignores all of Gage's requests/demands at first by going to visit her daughter and his treatment of her really makes him quite the bastard. 

It's a nice fun read and the content is quite thorough considering it's so fast paced. We see little carrots dangling as to where the story is going to go and how the characters will progress. We learnt a lot about Kayla in this book which I wasn't anticipating because it is so short. But no, it's got a little depth actually! 

I don't know how it settled with me though with the 3 year old daughter Eve being in hospital, I just didn't like it. Probably just because I'm a mum and i don't want to be thinking about that, but yeah....I just kept thinking about the poor baby! Asking for her mummy! Shit head Gage wouldn't let Kayla call her daughter.....NAUGHTY BOY!!!!!

Don't read it expecting anything other than what it is...... BDSM/slave contracts/shitty men. 
It's a great choice though if you are wanting to experiment with boundaries or are just in the mood for a quick half an hour intense burst of a twat-man who you want to slap.Slap Reaaaalllyyyyyyy hard

REVIEW ENSLAVED---4 *. Now Kayla is under contract to be Gage's slave for 6 weeks, It's getting harsh! God he's a prick, really. Gage is the oddest man ever.

This was MUCH better than the first! Now I want to know what happens!

I have not read many novella's and have learnt that I need to read them in a different way.
I was frustrated with the shortness, the speed to which Kayla adapted to her role. Then I changed the way I was reading because it's unfair to expect so much from such a short book.
They are interesting enough to make me want to know a lot more detail. A lot of the time you have to just accept what is happening. I love Gemma's writing style and would love a full length book.
I have lots of things I would think deeply about in this book and detail in this review, because it's all there- character development, interesting plot and such. But it would not be fair to criticize a lack of background detail when this is not what that is. It is not a long thorough book and should not be judged in this way. It is a fast intense burst which hits the spot.

As a novella, it is incredibly packed and rich with detail. I really enjoyed reading it and it was a great way to spend half an hour. There is so much in it and the last 10 pages or so were a game changer for me. I have never been so shocked by the creativity of an ending that didn't feel like a cheap random twist. It makes sense! And really upped how much I enjoyed it.

If you can just not ask too many questions, accept where this is going and not expect to much from it. This is really fun and again a nice way to test the waters with BDSM Non-con/dub-con.

Monday, March 18, 2013

The Tease, Nikki M Pill

UK AMAZON US AMAZON

Anna Zendel is your average 32-year-old therapist, stressing about clinical exams and struggling to recover from an abusive relationship. But at night she transforms herself into the saucy burlesque dancer Velvet Crush, enchanting Chicago audiences with the art of the tease. 

As Anna struggles to keep the therapy and burlesque worlds separate and get over her crush on the troupe's emcee, a new danger threatens women across the city. The papers have dubbed him the Darling Killer, because after strangling his victims, he scrawls the word "darling" on their skin.

When one of Anna's fellow dancers is murdered in the dressing room, she realizes that Darling Killer could be closer than she thought. Could Max, Anna's new therapy client who confessed to fantasizing about dead girls and obsessing over the Darling Killer, have anything to do with the murders?

As more women are murdered, and Anna begins receiving mysterious gifts, this burlesque dancer pits feathers and sequins against foul play in the deadliest dance of all.


It was good and done in a very unique way I think, which was refreshing. The plot is interesting and intriguing. I like the descriptions of burlesque and the way Anna loved her cat even though she was quite detached emotionally. That was nice and made her human. The fact that she was a therapist was interesting too. 

I think the strongest point of the book is that everything felt accurate. I know that sounds quite bizarre but the way everything was put across was totally believable. From the burlesque to the therapy....even the police investigation. I imagine it was researched very well

I liked this but it frustrated me SO GOD DAMN MUCH. It is written wonderfully, I love this descriptive writing style, but my GOD was it descriptive. 
Everything is described, there is a funeral scene and I know every single detail of every single outfit worn by the people there. There is a lot that can be skimmed and you don't miss anything about the plot or character development.

Another issue I had was Anna's internal monologue. It was massively irritating, she questioned everything constantly. It was exhausting to read and not in a good way, I found myself groaning a lot wanting to scream SHUT UP WOMAN. 
 I understand it's because of her past relationships and stuff, but it was still annoying.

It was good but there were too many characters in my opinion, I found myself going Max.....which one is he again? Grant.....so he's which one? And there's also Kevin, and some other guy whose name I can't remember but he's her boss anyway.

Oh I'm upset I didn't love it, I would have done if i could just cut out some description, beef up Anna's background so I get more of idea of why she is the way she is. And warmed her up a little, she isn't very likable to be honest, so detached and clinical- which again I understand because she is a therapist and this is how things are approached but it just didn't make for a nice main character.

But if you're a fan of a good mystery give this a go. It is not a bad book by any stretch, if it could just be tweaked it could be a very good book.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Broken Megan Hart

UK                                          
US

 *This is the link to paperback as it is no longer available to kindle



BLURB---Sadie and Adam are having troubles in their relationship. Adam is a quadriplegic due to an accident years ago. Sadie has a friend Joe who reveals  explicit details of his latest conquests. As time goes by Sadie become more and more infatuated with Joe and begins to look at her life with a new perspective. 







I never cry when reading books....I just don't, I get sad and emotional but I have never been pushed to tears. That was until this bloody book. Dear God, I was heart-broken for Sadie and Adam. 

Quick basic plot line- Adam and Sadie are married, Adam had an accident leaving him a quadriplegic. The book details the effects of this on their relationship and them as people. There is obviously more to it than this, but I don't feel the blurb given hints at the depths in this book, don't get me wrong the sex is awesome but this is not just some porny smut book. In fact in my opinion the sex scenes could be described as undermining a very serious emotional book. I think the only reason they didn't negatively affect my rating is because they are so far removed from Sadie and Adam's story.

Adam's emotions are so raw and real that you couldn't not be devastated for him. Sadie.....you feel so much for Sadie, I was angered by her even though I kind of understood why she did the things she did. It still stunk of self pity. But then I'm still conflicted, what would I do? What would you do? I don't know what I think of her truth be told. 

This book exhausted me, things happened that I didn't want to happen. But then that's life I suppose.....shit happens. I was not expecting this from the blurb. At all, it came out of nowhere and hit me like a truck. 

I loved it

Insanity Lauren Hammond






Adelaide Carmichael and Damien Allen couldn't have been more opposite.
Adelaide's mother abandoned her when she was ten years old, leaving her to be raised by her abusive and alcoholic father.
Damien on the other hand came from a wealthy family, was a local celebrity, and seemed to have a bright future ahead of him.
Despite their differences, Adelaide and Damien were young, wild, and fiercely in love.
And they had a plan.
They were going to run away together.
To live and love each other freely without restraints.
And their plan was set in motion, until tragedy struck and for some reason, Adelaide wound up in The Oakhill Institution for the insane.
Adelaide has no idea what she did to wind up at Oakhill, but she knows one thing for sure...
She wants out.
And after Damien follows her there to aid her in escaping, Adelaide slowly begins putting together the pieces of her missing memory.
And it doesn't take Adelaide long to figure out that sometimes...
That one true love never dies.
This is a mature New Adult Romance novel, intended for ages 17 and up. 




Well that was fun! 

In Insanity we follow Addy, who along with her boyfriend Damien were planning on running away together until Addy wakes up in an asylum and doesn't know why. 
So much going on, weird doctors, abusive parents, judgmental parents, freaky nightmares. It's so busy you can't possibly get bored. 

I loved it so much it was really intense. Slightly too sickly sweet for me on the romance front but I didn't really care in the end. I'm never a fan of overly sweet romance I like it and all but you know what I mean right? When it's like every encounter they have is this epic moment and blahhh. I just cringe but there was enough of everything else to still make it great. 

The pacing was excellent, really fast paced but still only drip feeding small details. Each chapter alternates between before Addy got sent to the asylum and after she got sent there. Ooooooh just read it.

The writing has a weird dreamlike quality, so I did feel Addy's scattered brain. Really short sentences, snappy words, repeating little phrases all added to the claustrophobic feel, I really felt the poor girls confusion. 

I can't really say anything else for fear of ruining it. I read the last 10% with my jaw dropped laughing like a psycho and just saying NO WAY NO WAY NO WAY over and over. 

What I want to say is:
GUESS WHAT?!?!?......is really.....and you know ??!?!?? well whats actually going on is........and when ??!?!? yeah!....well really what is happening is.....?!?!?!?!? 
But alas.....I can't, so just reeeeead. 

I thought it was obvious what was going to happen......How arrogant I was!!! I was right but that was just a drop in the ocean of what was happening.

I'm slightly peeved though because book three was supposed to be released a while ago and it kept being put back and now nobody knows when its going to be released. If I had know that I would have waited before reading this. I don't cope well with not knowing, I am not a patient woman. 

But anyway......this book is a seriously fun twisty-turny upside down around and around read

Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Opportunist, Tarryn Fisher




BLURB----Olivia Kaspen is a sharp tongued manipulator used to always getting what she wants. With just one exception-Caleb Drake, the one she foolishly let slip away. After a chance encounter brings Caleb back into her life, Olivia finds herself wanting a second chance with her first love, and asking herself how far she is willing to go to get him back.  Her only problem is a red head named Leah, Caleb's new love. Olivia must fight for what was once hers, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.







Oh Man....I don't even know what to say right now. I will say I cried though.....I DON'T CRY! 

Caleb and Olivia are essentially high-school sweethearts who break up badly. They bump into each other years later after Caleb suffers from amnesia and Olivia decides to....I don't even know what she was hoping for to be honest but she talks to him but doesn't reveal all about their history. (bit more to it than that but that covers the important stuff)

Olivia is a really complex character on the surface she is cold and manipulative but to me......she was really just a fragile and reactive immature girl. She is so selfish it's shocking but I don't believe there is particularly any malice behind her actions so much as an ignorance and unwillingness to take responsibility for anything. She is so full of self-loathing that her behaviour doesn't even matter, she just does what she wants because she knows in her head she is an awful person so she just lives up to this. I found it really sad because she is lovely....sorta. Don't get me wrong she does some horrendous things....but I feel like I understand her. I think....I don't know.
We get explanations for her behaviour like her parents deaths and the fact that she was a loner who people only started to pay attention to once she got 'pretty', which I suppose added to her lack of respect for people.
The girl just needs a hug and to be told she's lovely. Then a slap across the face and told to grow up and get over herself.


Caleb...Caleb you are....huh. I really loved Caleb too, I think he worked for Olivia because he took all the control from her. Sometimes though I wished he tried to help her more rather than just pushing her and withdrawing from her. 

Leah I DON'T LIKE YOU, damn I hated her. She was worse than any of them.
The title is the best thing ever. They were all an 'Opportunist'! All three of them, naughty manipulative people!

There is so much more I want to say, I just don't want to spoil anything or give clues. I have certain other feelings towards many other characters but I'm not gonna go there.
I absolutely loved this book, the writing was awesome and really cleverly put together. The way certain things were juxtaposed really cut through me at times. Like when Caleb is being all sweet with Olivia and she is reacting by being flippant or pushing him away. That huge contrast made it hurt that bit more because it was incredibly obvious that Olivia was ruining things for herself. 
Poor Girl! I want to be her mum. 

Urgh....I need a nap now. I'm devastated. 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Heron Park, C K Raggio






BLURB---DON'T WALK YOUR DOG ALONE IN THE WOODS...

A small Long Island town erupts in a panic when a woman and her dog are found savagely killed on a popular hiking trail. And that's only the start. Homicide Detective Cassie Logan and FBI Agent Rick Sanders grow increasingly desperate after another woman is found murdered at the same park, this one more gruesome and disturbing than the last.

HE'S WAITING...
A sadist has chosen his hunting ground. With the help of his unusual, but highly-trained best friend, the bodies start to pile up. Cassie and Rick fight to stay a step ahead of the killer, but how do you catch a predator who evolves with each of his brutal attacks? And what if the killer ultimately decides that you will be his next prey?


Content Advisory - Mature Adult for Violence, Sex, Adult Situations and Adult Language


I loved it!

It had everything, romance, mystery, intelligent writing, suspense and creepiness that made me need a break. And nothing was held back, the murders and sex were in graphic detail and the characters were all human and flawed. Damn it was good. 

With these kinds of book I have a tendency to skim and just read the juicy parts, but there was so much going on I needed to read it all.

The story follows some small town cops investigating a murder, the FBI are brought in after it is suspected he is a serial killer who has a long history of gruesome murders. We follow the detailed police investigation and the chase of our evil guy. 

Oh it was so good!

The first half of the book I treated like a whodunnit which was awesome as far as whodunnits go. There were clues all over the place but they were subtle enough for me to think I was piecing it together myself and working it out. The first time I had a suspicion and thought A-HA! A few pages later we then went to that character and I thought Hmmm....is this acting as another clue to point to this character? Or an acknowledgment that this was what it thought I would be thinking? 
This happened like three separate times over three separate characters and I actually laughed out loud and thought this book is fucking with me! I imagined it laughing at me to be honest so after that point I tried to turn my investigator brain off and went with the ride.

Usually with a whodunnit the "who" falls into one of two catagories....
1) an incredibly obvious character and you want to throw the book at the wall for insulting your intelligence
2) a completely random character and you want to throw your book at the wall for cheating you.

But no not here, it was awesome.

The second half it's revealed who our guy is (which in itself was a great choice I hate it when a book waits until the bitter end to reveal who the guy is) and then we follow the chase and find out his reasons for being what he is, why his dogs are so important (They're really important) and all kinds of little details that enriched the story.

I loved watching the police investigation unfold. All that frustration they felt and seeing people being harmed by pride, sexism and all that human crap piled onto an investigation was quite eye-opening. 

Throughout the book we see things from the serial killers point of view at times and he is a NAUGHTY MAN! NAUGHTY NAUGHTY MAN!!!!
Really, He's quite terrible. The scenes that he appears in are incredibly brutal, and I'm pretty unflappable but really there was some nausea going on. His mentality really comes across too which was amazing and actually quite interesting.

I have huge respect for this book, for not following the bog standard format by having the ending just be the big reveal, and also for leading me to believe I was being a good detective only to laugh at me a few pages later.

All in all, if you're a fan of crime or thrillers this ones a winner. BUT it is GRUESOME. Listen to me....SO GRUESOME! Violent violence, sexual violence, Disgusting violence, bleeuuurghh. But I loved it all! 

Good stuff!

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Dark Souls, Aleksandr Voinov




BLURB----FROM BOOK 1 TO STOP POTENTIAL SPOILERS----Stefano Marino is a made man, a happily married west coast mafia boss who travels east to await the death of a family patriarch. All the old hands have gathered—of course sharks will circle when there’s blood in the water—but it’s a new hand that draws Stefano’s eye.

Silvio “the Barracuda” Spadaro is protetto and heir to retired consigliere Gianbattista Falchi, and a made man in his own right. Among his underworld family, being gay is a capital crime, but the hypersexual—and pansexual—young killer has never much cared for rules. The only orders he follows are Battista’s, whether on the killing field or on his knees, eagerly submissive at Battista’s feet.

But Silvio has needs Battista can’t fill, and he’s cast his black-eyed gaze on Stefano. A fake break-in, an even faker attack, and Silvio is exactly where he wants to be: strung up at Stefano’s mercy, driving the older Mafioso toward urges he’s spent his whole life repressing. Stefano resists, but when the Russian mob invades his territory and forces him to seek aid, Gianbattista’s price brings Stefano face to face once more with Silvio—and his darkest desires.



At the point of writing this review I am three books in. Books 1 and 2 although enjoyable didn't hold a candle to this one. So if you started the series, didn't like it but saw something there you did like. You really should stick with it. It really comes together on book 3.

Right so....first thing I really wanna say is the writing is brilliant. I'm reading and my brain is telling me I should be repulsed and horrified but I am sooo not. I don't even know how I am finding certain bits sweet and really tender....and I want to say erotic?!?.... I think?....don't judge me.

I like it when a book makes me puzzled by my emotional responses. What I should be thinking is oh my god! These people are awful! Murdering horrible cold calculating manipulative bastards! Instead I love them. I HONESTLY DON'T GET WHY I FEEL LIKE THIS!!! I'm an awful person.....

Basically the gist of the story is Stefano is some Mafia guy and some stuff is happening with the Russians. And the book is detailing the fixing of this with a primary focus on interpersonal relationships. If I'm completely honest the whole Russian stuff is not even what's hooking me in. It's everything to do with Silvio and also Stephano and his struggle with his sexuality.

Silvio is a babe. God I love him. I can't write about him how I want to because I don't know how to do spoiler tags but what I will say is that he behaves quite cold and intense. But he's lovely really just a lost little boy trying to find things to cling onto.
I think if the books stuck with Silvio and I got a bigger internal voice from him these would be 5 star reads. 

We got a new character! Franco, haaaaa wait till you see what he does!
I'm not saying anything else there.

This one is 10 thousand times better than 1 and 2.

Loved it!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Interviews


Interview time!!!


This time its Tabitha McGowan, Author of The Tied Man! This is my first interview ever I need to say a Big Big Thank you to Tabitha who was so open and gave me so much more than I could have hoped for!



Hello Tabitha and thank you so much for this!  Right then.....What came first the characters or the plot line? Did you know you wanted a Lilith and Finn as they are and they led you to this? Or did the idea for an original take on this type of tale lead to Lilith and Finn?


Oh goodness, Lilith came first! Before I had a story, or even a general direction, I had a stroppy, independent young artist who lived in Spain. I knew how she looked, how she sounded, even how much she weighed, and what her taste in music was. Her core character changed so very little over the course of the story development. I’m really, really fond of her.

Finn was a later addition. Even before the current obsession with alpha-males, I wanted to create someone entirely different. In most of the stories I looked at, if a man wasn’t some testosterone-powered nightmare, he was automatically a sub who got off on being dominated; the simple question, ‘What if he doesn’t like it?’ gave me Finn. I wanted someone who was absolutely beautiful, but had no idea of his beauty, because of his circumstance. And at the end of the day, someone who is so utterly fucked-up as Finn is going to be delight to write! 
The story was a lot more organic (and by organic, I mean, ‘a pain in the arse’ ). There were times when I had no idea what was going to happen, and I must have spent a total of months working out all the twists and turns, and even the logistics of the plot. My long-suffering and incredibly supportive husband lost count of the times I asked, ‘So, do you think this would be possible?...’, and my writing buddy helped me to iron out myriad glitches where I thought it was bleedin’ obvious, except that it turned out it wasn’t!
As I kid, I re-wrote dozens of fairy tales and traditional stories to make the woman the hero – looking back, I’m so glad I had that as a guiding theme. There are countless nods to wicked queens, heroic (gender-reversed) knights and lost children all the way through The Tied Man. 

As a side note, I also think the locations are very nearly characters in their own right; Albermarle Hall is a good example (actually a combination of a small island on Derwentwater in the Lake District, and two different houses here in my native north-east England). Without that menace and inaccessibility, Blaine – my villain – would not have her power base.

When you started the book did you know what would happen or did your characters tell you?

At the risk of sounding a bit wanky, a lot of the time, the characters told me. The more I trusted them, the easier the writing became. I was a good way through the story when I realised that it was going to be told through their voices (that was a hell of an edit – about a hundred pages of ‘he’ and ‘she’ to be changed to ‘I’, plus a decision as to whose turn it was to speak). I think the technique really works, though, so it was worth the effort! Once I’d got some of the key features of the main players, their responses to situations became a lot easier to write. When I hit a block, it was usually because I was using the wrong character to narrate that section, or I was making them do something that was against their personality.


What are your hopes for this book? Do you wish for people to experience characters in roles that go against what people are used to reading? Or did you simply have a story you needed to tell?


To be honest, I’m blown away by the positive reception – I’d really underestimated just how fucking terrifying it would be to launch my ‘baby’ out into the big wide world. My initial aim was to write a book for intelligent, geeky women (and men, for that matter) with an interest in the dark side of life, and it really seems to be paying off. It’s great to read that people have abandoned their loved ones and responsibilities so they can finish off my book, or haven’t quite known whether to puke or do the Happy Dance once they’ve reached the end (that one is a particular favourite, by the way. And I still got 5 stars in the review, so it was clearly a compliment. Intelligent, geeky women give the *best* feedback). Obviously I’d love even more people to buy it and enjoy it, but right now, just reading the reactions of those who’ve had a blast turning the pages is beyond brilliant.


What can we expect from the second book? Are we going to see any revenge? Or is it Lilith and Finn healing?

Oof. The second book. Well, the plot’s about 85% there in my head! Considering I had about 10% of The Tied Man in my head when I set out, that’s pretty good as far as I’m concerned. And yes, it’s revenge, and healing, and also an opportunity for both Finn and Lilith to put their lessons from the first book to good use. I don’t want to give too much away, but Dublin is a major location, and Finn’s sisters are just yelling out to be written! It’s also home to the O’Halloran family, who are the biggest load of bastards , as you can imagine.

I can’t wait to start to write it. But one thing’s for sure: the shadows are still there!


Do you have any other new books planned for the future?


I’ve had an idea for story set in a dystopian future bimbling (professional writer’s word. Honest…) around my head for the last 10 years. Maybe after the sequel, I’ll start getting it down on paper.


Pure nosiness, haha but how long does it take to write such a book from initial idea to completed book? 



Jesus, too bloody long for The Tied Man. Even though I’d worked as a playwright and copywriter for years, I wasn’t prepared for just how much slog was involved in writing a book. Dead ends, writer’s block, family crises (not to mention holding down a full-time job, and raising a kick-ass daughter) - you name it, I hit it whilst working on this thing! So, seriously? How long? Oh bugger, I may as well be honest. Five years. Bloody ridiculous. If I thought the next one was going to take this long, I’d take up another hobby, like extreme marathon running, or wild boar hunting, on the basis that it would prove easier in the long run…
But my dad has a great expression: ‘If you’ve done something once, you’re an expert.’ This time round, I know my story, and even if I don’t know exactly how it all works out, I have a far better idea of what doesn’t work, and what the warning signs are if I’m approaching a block. Ultimately, I can’t not write. Does that make any sense?

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Devil's Pawn, Elizabeth Finn







BLURB----A common enemy. A secret untold. One dark and handsome man determined to despises. One inexperienced, innocent, shy woman swept into a life she cannot control. Both pawns in a torturous game that will bind them together or tear them apart . . . forever.

When Ashton is left orphaned after her parents are murdered, her life becomes a hell she could never have imagined. Left to fend for herself, and responsible for a debt she doesn’t owe, she is swept into a life as a gentleman’s escort at a private men’s gaming hall. Her new manager makes it abundantly clear he doesn’t appreciate her inexperience, innocence, and shyness. On the contrary, he despises everything about her.

Derek can be “difficult,” she’s been told. And however dark and handsome he may be, he terrifies her in a way that chills her to the bone, but leaves her begging to understand him. As they are pulled along together, more secrets and threats than either one could ever conceive are revealed, and a common enemy emerges. This enemy will stop at nothing to bring Derek to his knees while using Ashton as the greatest pawn in his torturous game. 

Will Derek be able to let down his shield of cold, harsh emotion before it’s too late? Will he be able to sacrifice himself to save Ashton, or will they both be destroyed by the secrets of their pasts?






I'm coming back to this review now I've calmed down.
This book could have been really good. The writing is great, I liked the characters and the whole premise was good. 

But to have such a deep emotional twisted book the desired effect can not be achieved in 180 pages.
I'm frustrated with it. I just couldn't connect with it as much as I knew I would of had it not been so short.

It was worthy of so much more story and I needed more answers instead of wishy washy rushed paragraphs explaining the driving force behind the whole book.

I don't even want to criticize it as it is a well written book, very well written in fact. 
But it could have had at least 100 more pages. Specifically to do with Derek. I didn't know enough about him....anything actually except he was cold and distant but fell in love with Ash for, like, no reason?!!? I don't get it!

Also all the bad guys and their reasons for....well....everything. Needed more info on that. A lot more, there were two sets of bad guys, I think. I don't know why they existed or why they did stuff. Pffffft no I thought I could redo this review and be calmed down but I'm not!

I think Ash's character is very well put together. Derek......I really liked him but because it is so short we don't really get any sufficient answer as to why he is the way he is. I mean..... its addressed......but hmmmph

I think the only way to explain my frustration is to say this book is too good for me to overlook its faults. Yes that's it.....because it's not bad as such it's just hollow

In fact if the writing had not been so good it probably would have had a extra star but because the writing took me that bit deeper I expected more than I was given. The thinness of it all left me hanging. So I can't call it a guity pleasure or a fun read because it was deep, just unexplained.

They just fell in love! Like instantly. 

URGHHHH gutted

Although, I will still read other stuff by the author because as I have said far too many times- it is written brilliantly and the potential was great.
I so don't want to write my review like this I just can't say any different

The Flesh Cartel Series, Heidi Belleau and Rachel Haimowitz



BLURB----The Flesh Cartel, orphaned brothers Mat and Dougie Carmichael are stolen in the night from their own home. Taken to a horrifying processing facility, they are assessed, microchipped, and subjected to unspeakable brutality—all in preparation for sale to the highest bidder.
In a world where every person has a price, the beautiful and subduable PhD student Dougie is highly prized. His brother, a rough-edged MMA fighter, is less desirable—and potentially too dangerous—but he still has his own appeal.
Abused and locked up under round-the-clock surveillance, with no idea where they are or even why they’ve been taken, escape seems impossible, which leaves staying together their only hope. And after being separated once by the foster system, they'll do anything to keep it from happening again. Anything at all.

This is only the blurb for book one in order to prevent potential spoilers. 

It's taken me three books to form an actual review that's not just me bitching and being all WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!?!?!?!? I hate it, I love it, I hate it. But I'm going to try..........


The writing of these books is really something special. The writers have this amazing ability of forcing the readers to experience the trauma alongside Dougie and Mat. 
It's not simply voyeuristic, you sufferwith them. Via Nikolai in this one. 

I initially thought the brutality would make me not be able to take the series seriously so I put off reading them and it was only my curiosity that got the better of me, that and the fact that I like to push myself and my reading limits. 

Don't get me wrong.....I love dark, violent and disturbing- it's perversely fascinating watching people struggle and wondering how people are going to cope. My only concern was that because they are short I may not get anything except dark, violent and disturbing without any character depth. 

So before I picked the up and started reading them I didn't have much interest in such a- what I naively assumed- mindlessly violent abusive short book. How much story can there be? I thought. How emotionally invested will I get in only 50 pages? I thought. Turns out a lot, its fucking E-motional reading these.

Not enjoyable as such but yeah.....completely overwhelmingly enjoyable. Like an actual roller-coaster thinking NOOOOOOOO I'M GOING TO DIE. I HATE THIS REALLY REALLY HATE IT. Then get off and like huh...I wanna do that again!!! 
God Fuckin Shit, they're so good.

The sense of futility and suffering is just so real its unnerving. It's incredibly frustrating reading these, I'm three books in and essentially nothing has happened except my poor boys have suffered. That's not even a criticism, I don't mean there is a lack of plot just simply that the guys have had no reprieve. Nothing good has happened AT ALL .

I don't know what I'm supposed to think of Nikolai, I hate him obviously but I don't at the same time. Don't judge me. He is a strange strange man. Like he gets more satisfaction in the training and the journey rather than a full blown sadistic shitbag. 

Anyway............I don't know where these are going but I hope to god it ends well. Don't know how but please. I need a teeny tiny ray of sunshine.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn







BLURB---When two girls are abducted and killed in Missouri, journalist Camille Preaker is sent back to her home town to report on the crimes.
Long-haunted by a childhood tragedy and estranged from her mother for years, Camille suddenly finds herself installed once again in her family's mansion, reacquainting herself with her distant mother and the half-sister she barely knows - a precocious 13-year-old who holds a disquieting grip on the town.
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims - a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

Bleak, dark and depressing. First thing that needs to be said is you have probably never come across a female character like Camille. Camille is very cold and detached which makes is hard to connect with her and in turn the book. Although if this is embraced and understood and you try to empathize with Camille this is a very enjoyable read. I liked watching the car crash that is her mental stability.....as cruel as that sounds it was very interesting to watch her slip down the slippery slope and lose it a bit. Although it didn't need a plot twist dammit! The characters made it interesting enough. I like my books with meaty characters...a weird form of fictional people watching I don't like cheap little twists to entertain me. Doesn't work. In fact it irritates the shit outta me. 

Camille made this book for me more than the story. I don't think I will forget her to be honest. She's......weird but everything about her is understandable and you can connect the dots between her childhood and how she is now. I found when reading what Camille was doing I was constantly think "Oh Camille, don't do that/don't say that/don't take that" the poor woman was just making bad decisions all over the place.


The ending was done good to I prayed that it wasn't wrapped up too neatly and it wasn't. Another irritation I have! When a gritty book ends all nice and neat with a little bow.... doesn't reeallly happen in real life now does it?

I have yet to read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn even though I own it, as I just need a break from the bleak that is ever-present in her books but I will read it and I look forward to more books from her.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Until The Sun Falls From The Sky, Kristen Ashley







BLURB---Leah Buchanan’s family has been in service to vampires for five centuries. Even so, Leah wants nothing to do with her family’s legacy but when she’s summoned to her Selection by the Vampire Dominion, under familial pressure, she has no choice but to go.

Lucien has been living under the strict edicts of the Vampire Dominion for centuries but he’s tired of these ancient laws stripping away everything that is the essence of the vampire.

So he’s taking it back.

And this is because Lucien has also been watching and waiting for decades for Leah to become available for a Selection and he will not be limited with what he can do with her. He will have her, all of her.

Therefore, Lucien is going to tame Leah, even if he gets hunted and killed for doing it.

What neither Leah nor Lucien expects is the strong bond that will form between them, connecting them on unprecedented levels for mortals or immortals. And what will grow between them means they will challenge their ways of life and their union will begin the Prophesies which makes them one of three couples who will save humanity… or die in the effort.




Ahhhh this was what I needed, my heart couldn't take anymore trauma so this was my recharge book.


If I had read this in a different mood I wouldn't like it as much as I do right now but as it stands I really did love it!!


Kristen Ashley......Ye Olde Faithful, I know I'm going to love her male characters. They are super sexy, dominant and....well.....a bit stupid when it comes to love. Lucien is (fucking beautiful) <i> THE </i> Mr Vampire that everybody adores except- shock horror- Leah, the woman he wants. Leah I love you <b> but your forty years old </b> she acts like she's 15. She was funny and lovable but I just couldn't believe she was forty. I understand it was necessary to display how much Lucien wanted her because he waited 20 years and blahhhhblahhh but she was such a child! Anyway, that was my main gripe.


Gripe number 2, Lucien risked his and Leah's life, nearly started a war and essentially risked everything because..........ummmm......she tasted nice? He didn't even admit he loved her or toy with that idea because it would risk everything <b> BUT YOU WERE DOING IT ANYWAY DICK HEAD </b> It was basically making an issue out of nothing. He should of just manned the fuck up and owned his love for her not ignore it like a big fat wimp. That I can deal with but to just play with her like that? Force yourself into her life, tell her you are lovers then be shocked when people talk about the possibility of falling in love? Don't be an idiot


Random point alert.... everybody seems to have some kind of neck/head default because everybody is tipping/cocking their heads sideways all over the place it's annoying. 


I know I'm complaining and sounding grumpy but this is still an awesome book! It's so funny I permanently had a smile on my face. It's faults didn't matter because it was sweet and sexy and we all know it's going to work out fine in the end and all will be well in the land of love. So you can just switch off and enjoy the ride. I loved it. It healed my poor tormented brain and I will definitely read the others in the series.