Archive for the ‘book review’ Category

Bound By Trust

by Lila Munro

Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press – Torrid
Genre: Contemporary
ISBN: 978-1-60313-869-7

The Widow:
After her husband Gage is killed in combat, Madi Melbourne finds out just how hard being a widow can be. She’s been left destitute piecing together a life she never knew Gage was living, and as the puzzle takes shape she begins to fall apart.

Her Savior:
Rafe McCarthy has always been known as the unit playboy. Having never married and childless he finds himself examining his life and looking at the what-ifs, then a beautiful widow moves in next door and he begins to discover something he never knew existed inside of him.

Learning to trust…
How can he convince her to trust again and place that trust in him? Will he be able to live up to the responsibility he has taken in teaching her love again?

Rating: Erotica – Controversial

Bound By Trust by Lila Munro

Review by Pepper

4.3 Whips in the Backseat

Bound by Trust by Lila Munro is a heart-wrenching story of love and betrayal. It focuses on both the dark and the light side of being the wife of a man in the military: the extreme loneliness faced by the wives of men deployed overseas, the fierce loyalty and camaraderie of men serving together in the military, and the ample opportunities for betrayal of marriage vows by both husbands and wives when separated for long periods of time. Being a military wife myself, I thought Munro handled these issues with honesty and sensitivity. Yet she didn’t downplay the emotional and financial devastation that one spouse can cause another when betraying the sacred trust of marriage.

Bound by Trust gives an insider’s look at the effect military life can have on married couples, though deception and betrayal are certainly not limited to military spouses. And while the story centers on Madi, who discovers her late husband led a secret life filled with lovers and unpaid debts, Munro makes it clear that there are as many stay-at-home women who betray their deployed husbands as there are deployed men who betray their stay-at-home wives. Munro also points out how easy it is to be betrayed when you are young, naïve, and willing to let your spouse handle all the finances. As Munro makes abundantly clear, “Check, Don’t Trust” is a motto that shouldn’t apply to marriage, but too often does.

Bound by Trust has a few plot surprises, which I enjoyed immensely. Though it started out with the cliché of two people who have a one-night stand and try to build that into a relationship, it quickly expanded into a much more complex plot, filled with conflict, tension, and suspense.  These plot twists, coupled with Munro’s intriguing and enchanting characters makes Bound by Trust time well spent.

Everlong

by Hailey Edwards

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Synopsis:

Madelyn’s life is far from fairytale perfect. She is second in line for the throne of a corrupt, brutal monarchy. Or at least she was until her dark guardian sacrificed his life to hide her safely in a realm of infinite possibilities.

For years she’s lived among a colony of escaped slaves as her guardian’s widow. Even in this simple life, though, nothing is as it seems. Her hero kept a secret—a younger brother named Clayton Delaney. Warrior, winged demon…and the man who now wants to lay claim to her heart.

No longer cast in his brother’s shadow, Clayton meets all obstacles head on, including one named Maddie. His infatuation with her reaches the breaking point when she undergoes a royal rite of passage, going into heat and pushing them both over the edge.

Just as Maddie learns that some risks are worth taking, she discovers that her guardian may be alive. And she’s forced to make a choice between the man she’d thought she loved, and the demon willing to lend her his wings.

Warning: This book contains virginal angst, a hero who’s too nice for his own good, wings, claws, and convenient use of glamour. It contains heartbreaking loss, conversation with a woodland creature, and sweet, sweet demon loving.

Everlong by Hailey Edwards

Review by Pepper

Everlong by Hailey Edwards is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Edwards has created a complex world filled with danger and intrigue. Her characters are complicated and well developed. The pace is fairly fast for most of the book, and even when it slowed a bit, the characters and their world were enough to hold my interest. And the touches of humor only add to the appeal.

Everlong is told from the point of view of Maddie, the demon princess with her tragically amputated wings, who is thrust into a new life in a strange place, where her royal blood is more of a handicap than an asset. In this earth-like world, where coffee is addictive —the demons’ drug of choice—our hero, Clayton Delaney runs a settlement for demon who have escaped the slavery enforced by the queen, Maddie’s mother. When Maddie ends up in his settlement, she blames her attraction to Clayton on his resemblance to his brother Harper, Maddie’s long-lost first love. She tries to resist Clayton, but he refuses to be denied. Gotta love a demon that just won’t give up!

One of the things I particularly liked about Edwards is that she wasn’t afraid to have Maddie fall for someone other than Clayton prior to their first meeting. So many times in romantic fiction, the hero and heroine come together never having loved anyone before each other. Which to my mind, isn’t the way the real world works. In Everlong, Maddie comes to Clayton, not only still harboring feelings for her first love, but thinking that first love is dead. That makes him almost a legend in her mind, so Clayton has a great deal to overcome.
Maddie’s life is no picnic either, especially with all the complications of being a demon about to come into her first heat. Still, with all the luscious demons she had to choose from, I’d put up with all the problems just to be Maddie’s situation myself. Too bad things like this only happen in fiction.

Maddie’s story is told in first person, which I normally don’t care for, but Edwards handled it well-enough I could lose myself in Everlong despite my obvious bias. Read it and see if you don’t agree.

See More of Hailey Edwards Books at her Site: http://haileyedwards.net/

Night Ranger’s Moon

by Tara Nina

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

ISBN: 1-60154-800-1

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Synopsis:

Weylin Anthropos is a Lykoian with anger issues and a demon in his past that haunts his soul.  He’s a Night Ranger, one of the elite protector’s of the Lykoian clans. Without the backing of the council, Weylin sets out to find his brother. The trail leads him to Mississippi and a village that many Lykoians would rather forget.
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Ghosts of the past linger on these hallowed grounds but are disturbed by an intruder…an enemy from his ancestry. One he must face and defeat if he is to survive and find his brother.
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Long and lethal, a charcoal gray wolf from an unfamiliar clan interferes in his surveillance. Her presence toys with his mind, body, and soul. Where did she come from? How did she find him?  And most of all, what did she want?

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Night Ranger’s Moon by Tara Nina

Book Review by Pepper

3.6/5 Whips
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Night Rangers Moon gives a different slant on the wolf-shifter genre, bringing together two Lykoians who are both an elite type of wolf cop. One a rogue and the other by the book, they are forced to work together to complete their missions. It’s an interesting premise, and Tara Nina handles the plot well, giving us lots of twists and turns, suspense and excitement, and hot steamy sex.
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I had only one problem with Night Ranger’s Moon. While I enjoyed the sex scenes, after the first one I didn’t really feel they moved the story along like they should have. It was almost as if they were inserted to fill space. That said, the plot was really first class, and the villain more than a match for the hero and heroine. There were enough twists and turns and interesting characters to make Night Ranger’s Moon worth reading.

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Find out more about Tara Nina’s other titles on her website – http://www.taranina.com/

READ AN EXCERPT:

Excerpt:

An unusual, erotic scent filled his nose as he caught the surprised and angry heat in a set of sexy cobalt blue eyes staring back at him. He paused and suddenly knew he couldn’t snap the creature’s life vein even if he wanted. The knowledge of who lived within this wolf’s flesh washed over him. Pure need filtered through his system causing him to harden. Intense animal urges thrashed through his veins yet he refused to bow. Never had he taken a female in wolf form, and he wasn’t about to do so now. To do that mated him for life, and he wanted no mate.

Not now, not ever.

On an angry growl, Weylin released the death grip he held to her throat and backed away. He shook his entire being and returned to human form. Naked, he stood before the female wolf and knew he stared at the woman he followed through the village.

She sat upright on hind haunches, held her chin in a regal tilt, and returned his steady gaze. The dilation of her pupils gave the only indication that his naked form affected her in any way. He read defiance in those hot cobalt blues. Good, he decided. It seemed to him, she battled nature’s demands and wanted no mate either.

Though, according to an antiquated Lykoian law, he’d won the right to take her as his own. He’d beaten her. In the ancient culture, that meant he could mount her and mate her if he chose, and she could not resist. But he didn’t believe in the archaic testaments of the old tribal ways. With a sister of his own to protect, he was a true believer in the freedom of choice when it came to a mate. His lip curled as he stared at the beautiful wolf. Desire roared through him urging him to claim his right.

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Tara Nina’s other titles with The Wild Rose Press

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Blue Moon Rising

by Tara Nina

ISBN 1-60154-058-2

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Missing children, werewolves and a mysterious castle in the swamps of South Carolina test Rae Richardson’s version of reality. Strange things happen around her convincing her that maybe werewolves do exist. The sight of a large black wolf in the swamp only fuels her overactive imagination. Crossing paths with a handsome man ignites a fire in her soul she refuses to acknowledge. Something about this stranger raises her suspicions. Did he have a hand in the children’s disappearance? Or was it the over-powering need in her gut to be near him the reason for her mistrust?

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Nick Anthropos is on a quest, one that does not include saving children or meeting the woman of his dreams, his Lykoian soul mate. Her scent teases his senses and keeps him on edge. It’s obvious to him she doesn’t know her true self. But can he teach her to be the wolf he knows lies within her soul and save her from the very creature he set out to destroy? If he fails she would be lost forever.

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Lykoian’s get one chance in life to bond with their soul mate forever. Failure is not an option.

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

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

Synopsis – Tamar is a Seraph, a member of an influential organization of powerful psychics known as ANGEL. Seraphs are humans who have evolved to have varying psychic abilities. Possessing a greater lifespan and intelligence than ordinary humans, Seraphs within ANGEL grow to their full potential through study and practice.

In the year 4287 on planet Earth, ANGEL has deteriorated to become the harbor of the bored elite. A small but passionate rebellion rises to take back the power they once held. In pursuit of his own dreams, Tamar is caught in the chaotic struggle for evolution, power, and to define the greater good.

Kir, an old rival from his days as an apprentice within ANGEL, resurfaces, threatening to shred Tamar’s world into bits…along with his heart. Their ideals clash, and a bitter fight ensues between them. Can Tamar’s courage save Kir from the darkness which plagues him while remaining true to himself and what he holds dear?

4/5 Whips by Terry Kate

And I will tell you why – IT WAS TOO SHORT!  Adrianne Brennan builds this fabulous and captivating world and then only gives us 60 pages of it!  I kid you not, at least 10 times I looked up to compare the page I was on to the 60 page count down and was so sad about how close I was coming to the end.  I loved the two main characters and wanted more then just the tease and tidbits of their past together.  This is a hot M/M and just a fabulous futuristic story.  

There is such a complex society within the book that often I felt I was speeding past it with no way to slow the train down.  I realize that having a complete story in such a limited page count is no easy feat and this was one of the most successful I have ever read.

Adrianne Brennan is a truly impressive author who I hope and pray will go back to this story and make it 3 to 4 times longer.  Please ma’am I want some more!   This is a worthwhile read even if it left me ready to go a little Misery on the author.  I am not often a fan of futuristic and this is amongst my favorites I have read.
Terry Kate 

Table for Three 
Cass Abernathy is heading to Oregon to claim an inheritance. She doesn’t expect to find sexy twin brothers determined to make her theirs, or an amorous attorney holding on to her inheritance. Will she accept the love offered, and discover the truth about her inheritance before it’s too late?
[Menage Amour: Erotic Ménage a Trois Romance, M/F/M, May-December]  
3/5 Car Horns

A Table for Three by Missy Martine is the story of a divorced, abused woman who decides to change her life by leaving her native state, all that she knows, for the property and home left to her by a deceased uncle.  During her stay in Mountain View, Oregon, she falls in love with identical twin brothers. The situation is a problem for Cass, who had been physically abused by her ex-husband, whom she had sent to jail, but has not psychologically handled.

 There is a certain warmth that lures the reader into the storyline in a very slow manner, however there seems to be a few flaws with the story that if rewritten and corrected could make it even better. The characters of Cass, David and Matt are well-set in the storyline and the main idea is unique, but there are a lot of details that are mentioned within it that just hangs in the story.  For example, there is the repeated mention of the ex-husband throughout the story so that one would expect him to make a guest appearance. Also there is more than one emotional display of jealousy by the lawyer’s secretary, Serena Dammler, that is never resolved. An unique and surprising twist in the story because the culprit is never a suspect until the end.
 The author of this book shows an unique flare for writing, and this tale of woe between Cass and the twins is a good one, but it leaves a lot of hanging questions and suffers from a lack of flowing long conversations between characters to really cement the story together, however, I think it is an exceptional story that is well written and brilliant in its concept.
I would give this novel a three out of five for content/hotness and I think in the future, this author will indeed show tremendous works of exquiste novels, so she is an author to watch and read.
Review by Heidi Jo
Read Other Reviews
5-Stars ***** 
Reviewed by Stephanie Rollins for BookreviewsRus.com
Rating: 5 Whips
Reviewer: Gabrielle for Bella’s Erotic Reviews 
See More on Missy Martine’s Site