Slave...

Slave by Sherri Hayes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet story… more sweet than really dark for the most part.

Rich Dom - check
Poor tormented submissive - check
A love story in the making - check
Dark - semi-check

I've had this book on my Kindle and on my TBR for quite a while, and thanks to a reading challenge on The Erogenous Zone, I finally tapped the glass on the front of my Kindle and started reading. And I didn't stop. Except when I absolutely had to. This book captured me in the first few pages and it didn't turn me loose.

Told from a dual point of view between Stephan and Brianna (Anna), the story unfolds quickly, but not so quickly as to feel rushed.

Stephan's friend contacts him about a girl that is enslaved to another Dom, but he feels that she isn't happy, and hints at the idea she may not be there of her own free will. This piques Stephan's interest. The caring part of his Dominant side that demands that he protect a submissive, any submissive. Stephan's friend came to him because he knew that he could afford to "buy" her in order to help her.

The man Brianna is with at that point, Ian, is a cruel and heartless bastard. Not the kind of man that should own a guppy, much less a beautiful submissive. He has broken her so severely that she may never be anything but broken ever again.

Brianna is young and for the last 10 months all she's known is cruelty and constant abuse. She is scared and scarred, beaten and broken. And she doesn't trust any man, not even the kind Dominant, Stephan. All she is waiting for is the other shoe to drop. Figuring that the time will come when he will beat and abuse her too.

Stephan is a kind and patient, and he cares about Brianna. He wants to help her, not enslave her but he also knows that, at first, she *needs* to be enslaved then slowly build the trust and take her from the wrong kind, the demented monstrous kind of slavery to the loving and gentle kind, then let her decide what is right for her.

Which will she choose, a loving D/s relationship with Stephan, or her freedom? You might be surprised.




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Forgotten Sins Is Unforgettable!

Forgotten Sins by Rebecca Zanetti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, let me preface this with, this was a pretty good book. But there were some inconsistencies that kind of glared at me.

I enjoyed the characters, well, most of them. I liked Shane and his brothers of course, and Det. Malloy.

I found Detective Malloy to be a fatherly sort. Very protective of Josie. Sweet in his own way. A lot smarter than his rumpled suit implied. I loved the connection to the "nice ties" throughout the story, and I wonder if the Detective will get a chance to headline in a future book with the brothers, or at least feature in some way or the other.

Shane and his brothers were well... pretty hot! And Shane and Josie were just hot, hot, HOT together!



Josie... hmmm. She kept going on and on about how she didn't need help, she didn't want help. But was constantly putting herself in situations where she needed to be rescued, over and over and over. I don't think I've ever seen a character so susceptible to being kidnapped before! She was strong. She was soft. She loved Shane and could, didn't want to, live without him. She was tough enough to live without him. She waffled so much from page to page she should have been slathered in butter and covered in syrup!



But even with that, I still enjoyed the read.




The last 10% or so of the book was full of twists and turns, it kept me guessing and at times on the edge of my seat. But, there were a few... inconsistencies that really made me wonder. It seems the author got so caught up in the fight scene and wrapping up the book that she forgot something that was, in my opinion, fairly important.

--When Shane was running after the plane to get on board, "He caught a glimpse of dark hair in a side window. Dr. Madison turned her face, a smile lifting her lips..." So she was on the plane. Matt had already warned Shane that Dr. Madison was his (to kill).

--Fight ensues on board the plane, Shane and Tom fight it out. Shane of course wins this fight. Next they are in Montana at the ranch. What the hell? No mention of Dr. Madison at all once Shane entered the plane. It's like she evaporated. She was deadly and psychotic and she worked for The Commander so why didn't she get into the fight, do something to Josie, pick up the gun that Tom dropped and threaten Josie to get to Shane? Did she just sit there, tapping her nails on the armrest while all the craziness was going on around her? Was she taking a nap?

Some other things that stuck out to me.

--Shane had super hearing, could hear a horn honk blocks away, supersonic hearing even, right? But every time he was in the same building as Josie, and some other kidnapping plot happened, he could be just around the corner, but he never heard her being threatened, never heard her talking? Ever? Did he have selective supersonic hearing then tuned out Josie's voice? At times I could probably understand that!



--When Josie was taken to the 9th Floor with George. And she hit him in the head with the bolt cutters and ran, "she YANKED the door and ran inside". "Yanking" the door tells me that it opened towards her, so that means that once inside the storage room she had to "pull" the door closed. Then it goes on to say that she "yanked a shelving unit down in front of the door. Then another." Then she "grabbed several tiles and piled them between the downed shelves." "George pounded on the door." She kept piling the tiles until they were all between the shelves keeping the door shut. "Even if he had a key and could unlock the door, no way could he *push* it open." Umm, when did she lock it? And wouldn't he just have to reach down, turn the knob and *YANKED* it open?

But these were just a few things in a very long, fun book. I'll read the next ones in the series... Maybe I'll find out what happened to Dr. Madison!


This was a 3.75 star read, and i have hopes the rest of the series just gets better and better.


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Review: Round One

Round One by Lucian Bane
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book. Really?

I felt it did nothing but make fun of the lifestyle. Took everything about it and stomped it in the ground making light of it. Turning the collar into something insignificant. Making fun of what a Dom and a sub are. Anyone *not* in the lifestyle would be confused as to what a Dominant really is and what a submissive really isn't.

I couldn't make a connection with these characters. Mainly Tara who is a pain in the ass. I didn't like her, she's neither Dominant or submissive in the lifestyle sense of the word. Her constant whining throughout the whole book grated on my nerves. Her "acting" as a Dom and then having Lucian put a collar on her and lead her around gave me one of many "eye roll" moments.

Lucian... I don't even know what to say or think about how this character is even remotely either Dominant or submissive either. Lucian is a Dom? Really? He sounds weak to me. Not believable.

And all the laughing about other peoples kinks that Tara does. "Ew" this "giggle" that. Drove me insane.

This is obviously written by someone that knows not one damn thing about the lifestyle.

These characters, if anything, should have been written as Tops or bottoms. They aren't even Switches. Both characters are weak, both trying to gain the upper hand and failing miserably.

I almost felt insulted by this book having anything to do with the D/s lifestyle.


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Right idea... wrong execution...

Alpha by Jasinda Wilder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a tough review, and one I find that I have to write with much regret. I think maybe my hopes were too high for this book, I loved the synopsis, or maybe it was just the premise of the story, which was actually brilliant, it grabbed my attention, made me anticipate this book. It was also a Book of the Month on my group and I could hardly wait to start it.

The story idea was great, it started out pretty well with a little mystery and intrigue, but then it started to fall flat before it even got my complete interest. Kyrie and Layla sound like 16 year old high school girls instead of 26 year old women. They were not believable in their interactions. And frankly they drove me a bit crazy.

Roth sounds like a stalker to be quite frank. And I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop with him, which I think might have made for a much more interesting story.

I never thought I'd say this, but OMG toooo much sex!

All it was, was bouncing boobs, throbbing clits, pebbled nipples, and a bobbing penis. Page after page after page of over the top descriptive, and at times downright boring, sex.



I actually started skimming the book. Erotica I enjoy, but it's got to feel real between characters that I connect with, neither connection or realism were present for me.

Kyrie was always having these descriptive orgasms. I get it, the girl can cum, again and again and again... great, but cut back on the over the top descriptiveness. Again, there was just no connection.



All the years that Valentine Roth watched Kyrie, started sending the checks with cryptic little words on them, then sending Harris, his right hand man to "collect" Kyrie. Sorry, but it really was just plain creepy. But, it seemed he was willing to do anything to have this girl.



There is a big deal made of this *not* being a BDSM relationship, that he's not a Dominant, but they play around the edges of it. He "owned" her, she "belonged" to him. He spanked, tied up, threw her over his shoulder and carried her out of a restaurant, used a "sharp edged tone"... from a person that loves her BDSM reads, this was skirting on the edges of just that, and could have, would have, made it MUCH more interesting if that avenue had been explored instead of trying to desperately deny it or cover it up throughout the story.



Some areas did keep my interest at the time, but at the moment I really can't remember what they were. I finished the book less than 2 hours ago and already it's drifting away. Coming in at 429 pages was a bit much. This story could have been told in about 200 pages.



Oh and finally, what the hell kind of name is "Valentine". Really? Nothing else came to mind when naming the lead male character in this story?



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A Dark and Twisted Tail.. read at your own risk!

Her Master's Courtesan by Lily White

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Okay, the first thing I have to say is HEED THE WARNINGS on this book! The warning in the synopsis, where Aiden says of himself, "...I am - in no way - a good man." You need to believe that first and foremost before you even start reading this book.

But it's the warning when you open this book, "This book contains graphic descriptions of violence. This is not a light and fluffy story. This is NOT a love story. There are no unicorns, fluffy kittens, squishy feelings or hearts and flowers. This is a story filled with mindfuckery.", that speaks the truth, and then some.

Heed. It.

I've read a lot of dark books in the last several months. C.J. Roberts, Kitty Thomas, Claire Thompson, they are 3 of my favorite "go to" authors when I want to read dark and twisted. But, they *almost* seem tame compared to the tale Lily White spun in Her Master's Courtesan.

This book was horrifyingly dark and twisted. There were times I actually had to put my Kindle down and catch my breath and remind myself this was a work of fiction. The best part? It was original. Totally and completely unlike anything I've ever read in this genre before. There is nothing cookie cutter about this story. This isn't a girl gets kidnapped, broken down, Master can't live without her because they are both so in love with each other. No. This isn't a story about love or even simple kindness. It's cold and it's harsh.

And I loved every page turning, dark, sadistic, demented second of this book!

"Mindfuckery"? It's more than that... I don't think there is even a word for the level of mindfuckery this book contains!

I didn't like Aiden... or at least that is what I told myself. I wanted to hate Aiden, but I couldn't. The book, when being told from his point of view, makes the reader see and understand why Aiden it like he is.

Rebecca. My heart broke for her on many levels. But I admired her strength, her spirit, and her mind. I rooted for her to run and I rooted for her to stay, sometimes both of those in the matter of a single paragraph! Not that she really had a choice to do either one of those. Staying or going were never up to her.

There were even underlying truths in this book, little pebbles that shined through. For instance.

Aiden:
If the slave has been trained right, they would know just by the look on their Master's face what is expected of them- they won't need to be told.

It's a symbiotic relationship: The Master taking care of the physical and mental needs of the slave while the slave hands over all control to the Master.

Rebecca:

"I'd found control in my life by giving it to a man for stronger than me. I'd found freedom by no longer having to conform to the pressures of society or my peers. I was allowed to act with depravity and lust and I was cared for and treasured..."

Truths.

But of course, in this story, those pretty little pebbles of truth are few and far between.

This book had everything, and more, that I love in a dark read. It's the darkest I've ever read, and there are parts that actually made me flinch.

So heed the warnings. Prepare yourself. Then open this book and step over to the dark side. There will be no cookies.

SOLID 5 Star read for me.

***Note: This book has been banned on Amazon, but I found it on Smashwords for $3.99.
"Her Master's Courtesan" - Smashwords***




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Review: Ryder

Ryder by Jani Kay

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Quick easy read. I'm on the fence, I like darker when it comes to my reads and darker when it comes to MC's. This book is classified as "New Adult", not really a genre I understand, but it seems like there is a lot of it out there.

I liked Ryder and Jade, I liked it when they were being snarky to one another, and I liked how their relationship grew. But at the end, on the bike when Ryder first had sex with Jade, the story felt forced, like the author wasn't really sure *how* to write a (the) sex scene.

But this was a Prequel, a 0.5, and I am interested enough to read the next in the series, just to see where it goes.

I hope to make a better connection with Ryder and Jade in the next installment of this series.

2 stars for this introduction in the the Scorpion's MC.



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