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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Real was "UnReal"

Real by Katy Evans
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I didn't make it past 3% on this book before I had to quit. I don't think I'm reading the same book everyone else read.

It reads like a souped up Young Adult, and nothing to do with *adult* erotica.

This book was a...



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Don't underestimate Underestimated!

Underestimated by Jettie Woodruff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book. Yes. This book.

I loved it. I hated it. Ohhhh! I loved it!

The Drew, Morgan/Riley, Dawson, Lauren, and let's not forget Derik characters were an entanglement of characters that I won't soon forget!

You've read the blurb, you've read the reviews, but until you read the book you won't get the love/hate relationship most have with the characters in this story.

The way Jettie Woodruff spins this tale making you want to hold your book close right before throwing it across the room is unique.

The book is dark and disturbing. And Drew, oh how I hated him. He was a narcissistic, sadistic bastard with no redeeming qualities who tortured Morgan(/Riley) in the worst possible ways. Dawson was a wonderful man that took care of Riley(/Morgan) to the best of his abilities, considering all she'd been through, and much of it she couldn't tell him. Confused yet?

Lauren, she was one of my favorite characters. I love how she decided that she and Riley were going to be friends, no matter what Riley thought about it. Luckily Riley was all for it. Lauren was a good, dear friend. I loved how she'd just pop in, eat Riley's leftovers, make herself at home and made it her mission to find a man for Riley.

Morgan was Drew's wife. He was mean and vicious to her. She was finally able to escape (with help) and changed her identity. She became Riley. It was as Riley that she met Dawson. I was cheering for these two for the majority of the book, even though I felt that Dawson was a little judgmental about the things that Riley wanted and needed.

Riley and Dawson settled in to a comfortable (read that not exciting and non-descript) pattern. Riley *needed* more, but Dawson kept that pretty much tamped down. She thought she was, or could be, happy with that.

Until she ran into the back of a bus and lost her memory.

In walks Drew back into her life and Riley becomes Morgan again, even though she doesn't remember *who* Morgan really is, and she has even less memory of Riley.

It was from that point until towards the end that I wanted to shake n' break my Kindle!

When her memory comes back in a rush. She is then Morgan/Riley in a love triangle with Drew & Dawson. The woman couldn't make a decision if her life depended on it. Back and forth she went between both men. She and her vagina, that she had conversations with, were always open for business when it came to these two men.

Some of my favorite things she said about her vagina:

"The sight of him sent a quivering sensation straight to my attention deficit disorder vagina."

"I closed my eyes and visualized our love making on top of the world. Of course, my vagina had to go and stick her nose in it too."

"I think maybe my vagina was on break, pissed off, or just not interest in making love..." (now there was a first cause her vagina was *always* interested in throwing out the welcome sign!)

All the back and forth, can't make a decision, sleeping with Drew, sleeping with Dawson... I think a few less of those would have been better. Again, my poor Kindle took the brunt of my frustrations as I proceeded to squeeze it so hard every time she went one way or the other, that it threatened to throw *itself* out the window!

But even with all of that, Ms. Woodruff pulled it all together into a nice neat little story. Without giving away any more than I may have already done, I didn't think I would be happy with Morgan/Riley's choice. But I found that I was. At the end I found myself satisfied.

This is a must read if you like dark non-con and it's a solid 4 star read for me. The only thing that keeps it from being a 5 star is I think it went back and forth too many times with Morgan/Riley's indecision. I am however looking forward to reading "Underestimated Too". I've already purchased the book and taken a sneak peek at the first chapter and it's already caught my attention!

**********
This past update says it all!

Past update: Review to come... but in the meantime..



I loved it but I wanted to slap the crap outta Morgan/Riley!!

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Goin' Once, Goin' Twice.... Sold!

The Auction by Claire Thompson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Another great Claire Thompson story! Some edgy BDSM and a love story all rolled into one nice little quick read.

Carly is down on her luck and pretty desperate, so she goes to the "Auction House" for a week of hard core training to become a "professional" submissive. At the auction, she is purchased by Adam Wise for $50,000 and he will own her for 30 days.

Contracts signed, sealed, and delivered, Carly goes home with Adam.

He's intense and at times pretty reckless with Carly and her safety. But underneath it all, he feels *something*, but continuously shoves it aside. She's a "paid submissive" there for his entertainment. A sex toy. Nothing more, nothing less.

She's sensitive, and wants to please him. She also feels *something*, and doesn't want to "shove it aside", she wants to explore these feelings, but he won't allow it.

I think the story, in the beginning, the "feelings of love" moved a bit too fast, but all in all, it worked in a way that only Ms. Thompson can make it work.

There is a part where Carly is locked in a box with Glory Holes.. she has a panic attack, and myself being very claustrophobic, felt ever bit of that. The author described it so vividly. There is also breath play/water play where she is put into a water locker. *takes a deep breath* It was all very descript.

I enjoyed this story very much and wish there was a sequel to it, much like I do many of the books written by this author.

Four stars!







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