Archive for the ‘5 Whip Review’ Category

ISBN: 978-0-373-60543-9
Publisher: Spice Books

In Victorian England vice of every kind can be purchased, and Matthew, the Earl of Wallingford, makes certain he avails himself of every possible pleasure. Bored and jaded, he is as well known for his coldness as for his licentious affairs with beautiful women.

While these numerous daliances fulfill Matthew’s every physical need, they secretly leave him numb and emotionally void. Until one night when he finds himself beaten, eyes bandaged and in the care of a nurse with the voice of an angel–and a gentle touch that soothes the darkness in him and makes him yearn for more.

Yet Jane Rankin is a lowly nurse, considered shy and plain by most. There is no place for her amongst the lords and ladies of aristocracy–despite Matthew’s growing craving for the fire that burns behind her earnest facade. And then there is Matthew’s secret. A secret so humiliating and scandalous it could destroy everyone he loves. A sin, he fears, not even the love of a good woman can take away…

Here’s another book that I chose to read because of the partially naked, well-buffed man on the front cover. Amazing how shallow I can be! This lovely picture, however, led me to one of the most heart wrenching books I have read in some time.  Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone is an amazing book!

Matthew, the Earl of Wallingford, engages in every vice that he can. He is truly a dissolute character! He is being persecuted by his father, a Duke, to marry and start producing heirs. Matthew isn’t interested in getting married, but is interested in opening an art gallery. Since his father is restricting his money, he decides to hold an auction for one of his more erotic paintings to raise the funds. After the auction, he is beaten and robbed and left for dead in a rough part of London. He wakes in hospital tended to by his nurse, Jane.

Jane Rankin works as a companion to an older woman and is working off the cost of her employer’s medical bills by working at night as a nurse in London College Hospital. She is on duty the night that Matthew is brought in and manages to sooth him so that he can be treated. His eyes are bandaged so he can’t see her but he uses his other senses and seems mesmerized by her voice and her touch. Once he is sent back to his father to finish his recovery, he continues to obsess over Jane’s identity; desperate to find her.

I’ll leave the rest of the story for you to enjoy. I will say, I continue to be surprised how much I enjoyed this book! I tend to be drawn to glittery Ton romances, filled with balls and alpha males! This book absolutely doesn’t fit in this description! I have read other books with “tortured” heros but they weren’t as tortured as Matthew! We find out through the story that Matthew was sexually abused as a young lad. Jane is also a somewhat troubled heroine. Her mother was a mistress to a peer and they were thrown out into the streets when Jane was young and her mother turned to prostitution to survive. Lady Blackwood rescued Jane from the streets and offered her work as a companion. She has served as a mother figure throughout the years and has helped Jane come to terms with many of the issues of her childhood.

I was impressed by how outstanding Charlotte Featherstone’s writing is! She skillfully weaves Matthew’s memories from being abused into thoughts that come out while he is with Jane. She doesn’t really write about the abuse, but Matthew’s thoughts lead us through the stories. Throughout alot of this book, the story isn’t pleasant. Matthew isn’t a likable character! After he did something appalling, I would put down the book and walk away. I was always drawn back to see what would happen next.

Sinful is by no means a “formula” historical romance. It is written bluntly, and is not a typical “happy ending” kind of a story. I was continually drawn in by Jane and Matthew’s interactions and developing love for one another. I appreciated (after the fact) that the author didn’t turn this story into a more conventional happily ever after. It is a skillfully written erotic, historical romance and I will seek out more by this author!

This review was originally posted on Sugarbeat’s Books

Publisher: Carina Press
ISBN: 9781426890697

Ten years ago, Rori Simon left town shy, unattractive and with zero self-esteem. Now she’s back, older, stronger and finally loving herself-and it shows. Hot men are soon knocking at her door, including Jude Callahan, the bad boy who starred in her teenage daydreams…and her adult fantasies.
Jude can’t believe the sexy, confident woman before him is actually Rori! She’s gotten under his skin like no other woman has…and she brings out secret desires he can’t resist. He wants to dominate Rori with every fiber of his being. Wants to own her and pleasure her. To cherish her as he makes her his.
Rori discovers she likes being controlled. She also knows Jude is not a one-woman man. Everything changes when she meets Zach Helm. Edgy, sensual Zach knows just what she needs, and before long, she’s in love. Jude watches them together and wonders if he’s lost his chance forever…

I requested and received a copy of Second Chances by Lauren Dane from NetGalley to read and review. I had seen various blogs lately posting comments about this book and thought it looked interesting. I was not disappointed!

As the marketing blurb for the book says, Rori Simon returns to the small town she grew up in. She left Oakley ten years ago a different person than she is now. In the years since she has left, she has shed some weight, gotten a university degree, done some traveling and is now a published writer. She is recently out of a relationship with a boyfriend who cheated and is done with the lying male segment of the population. She returns to her sister and her husband and two boys, all of whom she is very fond of, and a mother who is on her third husband who she is not so fond of.

Her arrival in town creates quite the stir and within hours she has a date with her high school crush, Jude, and a new apartment in his complex. Jude is well known for his serial dating, but Rori thinks she could have something special with him. Sadly, he’s part of the population that is male and a liar, so he’s kicked to the curb. He’s replaced with Zach, the younger brother of one of her high school girlfriends. As you can tell by the blurb, she falls in love with Zach, and Jude realizes that he has lost out.

I don’t want to spoil the storyline for anyone wanting to read this book, so I won’t give away anymore of the story! I was totally blown away by this story! I’m not sure what I expected. I do tend to gravitate towards the Regency Romance and only read contemporary romance on occasion because I don’t find them as romantic. This book proves that theory wrong! Yes, this book has plenty of sex in it, and most of it is pretty graphic. There is a fair amount of BDSM in this book also. That doesn’t detract from the absolutely heart-wrenching love story that develops. At one point in the book, I actually had tears running down my face when I was reading a particularly touching part.

Zach is a great hero for the story. He is strong, without being overbearing; mature for his age and confident in what he likes. He absolutely cherishes Rori – a beautiful thing to read about! Rori is a confident woman who is open to new experiences and despite her history with a cheating boyfriend, she doesn’t paint all men with the same brush. The character I liked the most was Jude. Although he got kicked to the curb at the beginning of the book by Rori for his lying, he learns from this and grows as a person. The Jude at the end of the book is a much better human being than the skirt chaser that exists at the beginning of the book!

This book is a keeper, and I am going looking for more written by this author!

This review was originally posted on Sugarbeat’s Books

Spoils of War

by Aleksandr Voinov & Raev Gray

Published by eXcessica in an anthology called “Divine Matches.”

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When Achilleus, the greatest warrior who ever lived, falls before Troy (or Ilion, as it was known), Ares, God of War, stands ready to take his spirit with him to his palace. There, Ares demands that Achilleus yield to him. But can the embrace of a god and the offer of immortality make Achilleus forget his one true love, Patroklos?

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Spoils of War by Aleksandr Voinov & Raev Gray

Book Review by Jasmine

4/5 Story 5/5 Whips in the Backseat for Writing

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Spoils of War is an excellent erotic romp.  A worthy Naughty read and the writing duo Aleksandr Voinov & Raev Gray are undeniably talented writers!  I love their style, the precision and execution of Achilleus’ tale speaks of their talent with words and the amount of care they put into the mythology and research.  Part of the mythology is what stood in my way as a reader.

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The opening lines of the book:

When Achilleus, the greatest warrior who ever lived, falls before Troy (or Ilion, as it was known), Ares, God of War, stands ready to take his spirit with him to his palace. There, Ares demands that Achilleus yield to him. But can the embrace of a god and the offer of immortality make Achilleus forget his one true love, Patroklos?

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Thank you for your research and accuracy to the time and history, but if I had not seen the movie Troy I think I would have been very lost.  It is from that film that I recall that Achilles as I am more familiar with the name being spelled, is the son of a water goddess and makes a prophecy about the two paths in life that he can choose from, a long life, or glory.  Maybe calling Illion – Troy and Achilleus – Achilles the story would have played down the style that those added touches using more accurate names lends the story.

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The story is a fulfilling read and has a clear style that if you enjoy take the time to go out and look for more titles by these authors.  Spoils of War stands out from the pack.  It is a read that you will not forget.

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See more of Aleksandr Voinov’s work at his Official Author Web site

Aleksandr Voinov’s Blog

Visit Raev Gray at Excessica.com

Review: Ellora’s Cavemen:

Jewels of the Nile Volume II Anthology

The Debutante by Samantha Kane

The last in my series by Joey W. Hill, a bit late, but I am still excited to share.

Branded Sanctuary

Book VII of the Nature of Desire Series (best read after Ice Queen/Mirror of My Soul, where Brendan and Chloe are introduced as secondary characters)

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Chloe has always been a creature of joy and laughter. However, since a brutal attack nearly a year ago, the trauma she experienced from the event has gotten worse. Much worse, such that she has started hiding from her life, even putting up walls between herself and those she cares about most. However, during a panic attack one night, she impulsively calls a number that’s been hiding under her lamp all these months. She met Brendan at her boss’s wedding. With confidence and seduction, he easily steps into the role of helping her manage her fear. By the end of the long call, they’ve indulged in some serious flirtation and mindblowing phone sex – and she’s feeling emotions and needs she’s buried for too long.

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However, the problem is that Brendan is the perfect male submissive – and Chloe isn’t wired for the D/s lifestyle. While their attraction is undeniable, Chloe doesn’t know if she can be everything Brendan needs. Whereas Brendan believes that, once he helps her overcome her fears, he must let her go. As a submissive, he’d never ask her to be something she’s not – even if it will break both of their hearts to turn away from how they feel about each other.

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Branded Sanctuary by Joey W. Hill

Review by Terry Kate

4/5 whips for me 5/5 for the story

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I cried.  I did I read the book and I cried.  I felt for Chloe.  Her trauma was real, the struggle she had, the walling up of the emotions.  It is skillfully crafted and and I know I am an empathetic reader, but I certainly felt her embarrassment at moments as well as her pain.  Which also takes talent to evoke in a reader.  The story differs from the other works in the series in that Chloe is not a dominant to Brendan’s submissive.  It is not a classically BDSM story.

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Maybe that is where the story lost me.  Brendan is like the uber-slave extraordinaire.  Thousands and thousands of dollars are bid on him for one night, but what he will be happy with is outside this life-style?  I am not sure I totally buy it.  So though I like both characters and I adore Chloe’s struggle not to lash out at Brendan with all the pain she has locked up inside after her devastating experience, the fit between them does not feel as perfect as those between the couples in earlier books.  Their story did make me interested in reading the two stories in the series  had skipped.  And which are recommended to be read before this one.  Hey I never claimed to be one to follow the rules…

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The story is touching, the romance between Chloe and Brendan is sweet, the emotional level that Joey Hill raises the book to is as usually unmatched.  Is this my fave in the series, no.  Will I revisit and re-read it? Yes.  It is a hard to put down read that takes us through a dark time in a woman’s life and the journey is what makes this a powerful read.  Oh and if anyone has read the two books I skipped please comment and share your thoughts on those!

- Terry Kate

Rough Justice

By: KyAnn Waters

Synopsis

It is not Roxanne’s night…but it soon will be.

Five miles from home, she runs out of gas. Unable to reach her best friend Jay on his cell, she calls local sheriff—and current object of lust—Ivan Soto. On the dark and deserted country road, Ivan shocks Roxie by forcing her to assume the position—against her car with her legs spread.

When Jay rushes to Roxie’s to make sure she’s made it home safely, he discovers her in the custody of Sheriff Soto, experiencing a little Rough Justice. Jay wants Roxie to have a good time, but if Ivan wants to frisk her further, he’ll have to learn to share.

Synopsis from Ellorascave.com

Rough Justice by KyAnn Waters

Review by Book Reader Fairy

5 out 5 whips in the Backseat

Rough Justice by KyAnn Waters is anything but Rough unless your talking about the sex. The story was fun, fast paced and with so much steam I had to wipe the fog from my glasses.

Ivan the hot small town sheriff has had a thing for Roxy for some time and when she calls in to the dispatch needing help he is more then ready to take advantage of the situation.

Jay is the all american guy who all young girls fantasize about and who wouldn’t? He is hot, fun and knows just how to please a girl.

But Roxy is the one to really envy who wouldn’t want to be a sexy stripper with two hot guys both willing and ready to fulfill her every desire.

I loved Rough Justice, again my only complaint is the story was so short I could have read more and more. I would highly recommend this book if your looking for erotic romance, just be sure to have your significant other or a cold shower near by trust me, your going to need it. I give it a 5 out 5 whips in the backseat.

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Skywalker

by Kiernan Kelly

Publisher: Torquere Press

Robert Prescott Reyes-Waterson is a man with four names, an office-with-a-view, and a superior attitude, particularly when it comes to blue collar workers. That changes when he meets Joseph Brant, a full-blooded Mohawk ironworker who isn’t what he seems, and won’t take “no” for an answer. – Synopsis from TorquerePress.com

Skywalker by Kiernan Kelly

Review by Jasmine

4.95/5 Whips in the Backseat

Skywalker by Kiernan Kelly is a great short read.  And by short I mean a compact 28 pages.  What amazes me is when authors, and I include Kiernan Kelly among them, are able to give you a complete story in so few words.  It is skill that is missing in a number of the short Romances I have read that I walked away wanting more.  With this story I was quickly drawn into the Romance and the characters.

Joseph and Robert work the “Opposites Attract” angle, facing a white collar, blue collar misconceptions after meeting in a bar.  Sometimes you wonder as a reader what made these two characters approach each other almost at first site across a room.  In this case there was no doubt, it just worked and their interaction was engagingly believable.

It is a great short read and one I will definitely be revisiting it in the future.  I am a notorious re-reader.  So if you read M/M this is a great one to add to your TBR List.  It was one of those reads where I was looking at the page count cause I just did not want the book to end.