I want to welcome buddy blogger Cecile to share her review of Joey W. Hill’s vampire Series, which sadly I have not read.

The Mark of The Vampire Queen

Description: “Full servant.” With his new title, Jacob must attend to Lady Lyssa’s every need, venturing into a world of passion darker than he’s ever known. As a vampire hunter he wasn’t prepared to embrace a world where humans are sexual commodities, but he has adapted. Now he finds the integrity of his soul challenged as he serves his Mistress’s needs as fully as he services her desires. He loves her, though other servants warn against giving her his soul. Everyone knows that Vampires have no regard for humans, so why would a Vampiress bother treating a mere sex toy with respect? But Jacob knows a human servant is far more than that. His Mistress needs a warrior, a friend and a lover. A man who will serve her in all ways, even if he has to betray the priceless treasure of her love.
I obtained this information from Borders.

This is my own personal copy and this review is for my own viewing pleasure.

First off let me say that I loved The Vampire Queen’s Servant. This is part two in Jacob’s quest to win his masters heart and soul. I will not say that you must read the first one… but to understand the world that Ms. Hill has created for these two and what they have gone through to get there, you really should read the first one.

Okay… moving forward…
The romance between Jacob and Lady Lyssa is very breathtaking. Their relationship blossoms into the fullest it possibly can. Jacob has received his third mark; which means that he has bound himself to his Master until death. Imagine saying our wedding, you say: till death do us part… now imagine if that were true, your spouse died, you died with him/her. This book does not deter away from the BDSM parts of Ms Hill’s style. Her writing style just simply amazes me. To read her books (the two that I have) will throw you in a world of her very own. Be prepared to go on a journey you will sure to be enthralled in.
Lady Lyssa is slowly dying and Jacob will do everything in his power to stop that from happening. Along with her sickness, there is the meeting coming before the Council. Lady Lyssa is trying to pave a better future for the vampires. One of her goals is to address the issue of permanent asylum for the fugitives in her territory. And the other is to push for them to become more civilized by only needing to kill one human a year for them to maintain their strength. But some vampires do not agree with her thinking and want to over throw the Council. and her. So the plot thickens…
I will tell you this though, this story left me wanting more… It’s in the ending, but I am not quiet sure where and that is my problem. I am not sure if her being of two heritages got me, or that she shifted, or that the love did not go the way I wanted it too (yea, I am selfish like that) or what… but something was missing for me. Maybe the power struggle… the grand ending. I will struggle with this and it will bother me… Because I love this woman’s writing!!
I love what has become of Jacob and his Master. The journey he goes to get there. If there is a man out there like Jacob… oh please let yourself be known! This man will do anything, everything and back again for his woman. OMG… Jacob remains my Sex on a Stick man.

There are two more books after this one, but they are stand alone. The characters flow in and out of them… but they are stand alone.

The Vampire’s Claim is the third book. Here for details. It came out in March 2009.
The Beloved Vampire is the forth book. Here for details. It came out in August 2009.
Vampire Mistress is the fifth book. Here for details. It comes out in May 2010…. This one is Jacob’s brother’s story… Oh yea… I am waiting!!!!

To read my review of The Vampire Queen’s Servant, please go —>>> here.

To learn more about Ms. Joey W. Hill, please visit her website —>>> here.

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.

———-

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

When his father dies, Thomas is forced to abandon a burgeoning art career in New York. As difficult as it was to give up his lifelong dream, it’s nothing next to walking away from the man he loves. Marcus taught him to embrace who he is, a sexual submissive who responds to the touch of only one Master. But why would the sophisticated Marcus need some farm kid from the South?

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Then Marcus shows up and offers him a way to continue his art career and help his family. There’s only one hitch – he asks Thomas to spend a week with him in the Berkshires. Thomas knows he should refuse. But he’s never been able to say no to his Master.

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Rough Canvas by Joey W.  Hill

Review by Terry Kate

5/5 Whips

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Sometimes a story comes along that moves you, and reaches deeper then the everyday read.  It could be that this is the right time in your life to find this book, or the story hits your soft spot, sometimes the book is just that good.  For me Rough Canvas is all three.  I love the depth of the the relationship between the two heros, which we are dropped into at the deep-end.  The boys in this M/M romance have a history that get revealed in bits and pieces, flashbacks, and third party accounts.

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Unlike the other titles in this series there is not the build to emotional overload with Marcus and Thomas.   The reader gets the feeling of being caught in a wave – wading in an ocean.  There were waves before we did not see, there will be waves after, but the times we are treading water with the ups and downs of this homosexual relationship are all encompassing.   Faced with family opposition, human insecurities and unpleasant histories Marcus and Thomas have a great deal that could come between them, and does.  What pulls at my guts in the story is how connected Joey Hill makes us feel to the characters pain.  The element of family obligation pulling at Thomas, his personal desire, and struggle not to disappoint the ones he loves is all absorbing.

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I decided I had to read it one more time before I wrote the review.  Not that I have not read it more then a dozen times, but I wanted one more peek.  I cried, it made my chest hurt, and it is hot hot hot.  The emotions Rough Canvas evokes lends the intimate moments double the pleasure, double the fun because it is not just reading sex.  The erotic scenes are varied and engaging, there was no part of this book I skim or speed through even in the re-reading which is a high compliment in deed.  Who can resist a hero, seemingly so perfect who deep down needs you and you alone?  We all want to be needed and loved.  Watching Thomas and Marcus make that journey makes this a great read.

- PS – It really does totally work as a stand-alone.

Find out more about the title at Joey Hill’s Website -http://www.storywitch.com

Mistress of Redemption

by Joey W. Hill

The white collar life Jonathan Powell created for himself is gone. Standing outside of Wentworth prison after serving his five year sentence, he knows he has to start over. No more hooking up with Dominant women so he can enjoy the challenge of fucking up their minds. But who knew his latest target would turn out to be a psychopathic killer who tried to off two cops? No, it wasn’t the game that was the problem. He just made some key mistakes. Mistakes he won’t make again.

Then Mistress Dona shows up to give him a ride from the prison into his new life, and his resolve goes out the window. She’s everything he can’t resist. Dona knows she has to make Jonathan understand that he has to make the right choice this time, because Hell doesn’t offer options. He has to understand and accept what surrender truly means. His only hope is a Mistress of Redemption. The problem is she may lose her soul in trying to save his.

—–

Mistress of Redemption by Joey W. Hill

Review by Terry Kate

4/5 Whips

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This book stands out for me amoungst the Series and Joey Hill’s work.  Let’s face it, it takes place in Hell, with Devil himself making a cameo.  That is pretty different then the Contemporary set titles.  I was caught totally unaware that we would be entering the Twilight Zone.  Not that the story had the same feel, and it is certainly hotter then any episode of the show from TV.  So can our main character, a decidedly bad guy be redeemed?

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It is Mistress Dona’s job to try and save him.  Pretty much her time is spent to save him from himself.   Jonathan Powell is lashing out.  His pain is so deep and strongly tied to his soul that it has made him do terrible and hurtful things.  I thought this book was a powerful and intense look at the other side.  The man who was the villan in previous titles by Joey Hill now gets to tell his tail.  It brings home something a FABULOUS teacher of mine said to me after he read my script.  He read my character and said – why is the antagonist doing this.  I said cause she is the bad guy.  His response was – Everyone’s pain is as real as yours and you have to remember that for all of your characters.  I realized it is something I needed to keep in mind in life in general.

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Jonathan Powell is not just bad, because he is bad.  His path is a bumpy and painful one in the book.  The activities are graphic and run towards the extreme.   This is not a light read and the setting might throw you off a bit, but the writing is suburb and engaging.  Mistress of Redemption came as a surprise to me, but the skill and inditensity that characterizes Joey’s work in going strong.  The talent and interesting take on character choice makes this a recommended read .  For a ticket to see Hell’s world is  it is definitely worth the price of admission.

Natural Law

Mackenzie “Mac” Nighthorse is a highly respected homicide detective and a career cop. There isn’t a dangerous situation that can back him down. However, the personal becomes uncomfortably entangled in the professional when he goes undercover in a high class BDSM club as a male submissive to find a Dominatrix who is winning the trust and then murdering her chosen partners. When his path crosses Violet Siemanski’s, he realizes he’s found a Mistress willing to be his ally in finding the murderess. But Violet is also going to shatter Mac’s shields and make him question who he is and what he wants, a challenge more disturbing than any case he’s ever worked.

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Natural Law by Joey W. Hill

Review by Terry Kate

5/5 Whips from the Backseat

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My discovery of Joey Hill as an author was serendipitous.  I was handed her book out of the recycling at the Elora’s Cave Recycling.  I was there in Ohio as a filmmaker working on a documentary on Romance and Erotic Romance and asked to take a few examples of books from some damaged in shipping.  I grabbed a few and some extra printed covers and kinda just had them around.  Of the four books from the example stack I read Joey’s and was hooked!  Hot guy, Dominant lady, intense writing and an unbelievably believable relationship crafted between two engaging characters.  I was addicted.

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A strong man who wants to commit and serve one Mistress, I mean he might not be on the active lookout for Mistress Right but I sure enjoy what happens as he finds her.  What makes or breaks a steamy book like this is the connection between the pair.  I have to believe, follow, and feel it or it is usually a lukewarm read.  My chest tightens for these guys.  I root for them and marvel at the insight we get into what makes this D/s relation ship work.  This is the first novel I had read with a female top and it is still the best I have read.

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I confess it makes for an interesting element to have the physically stronger partner as the physically submissive half.  Alright I am guilty of falling into a little gender stereotyping, but it is more then that.  I think it makes the psychological element that much stronger and more understandable.  If the top can hold their partner down that is an unconscious shadow on the wall.  It might never come into play, but it is a known factor.  With Violet and Mac they are under a bright light that throws no shadow.  She is smaller, it is not about forcing her will even if she could.  It gave me a great deal of food for thought that no other BDSM novel before this had.

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Oh and thankfully the murder mystery suspense part did not over shadow or distract from the true story of the main characters.  That is what I hate in many suspense and mysteries and what makes me a reader of romance – I like that to not be obscured by the who dunit.  All in all I recommend to all readers even if the woman being the Dominant partner is a little out of your comfort zone.

Find out more about Joey Hill and her books on her website – http://www.storywitch.com

And I will be posting more reviews all week.  I look forward to hearing others reaction to the titles.

-Terry Kate

I know other readers out there have had this experience.  Finding an author you just LOVE.  Wanting to read all of her titles.  I have even bought a few of these and if you know how cheap I am that is saying something.  I confess that I have only read her work with Ellora’s Cave – I only found out about her books with a NY Publisher later and could not get my hands on the books, well they are trade and as I have stated, I am cheap.  I am sure that her Vampire Series is awesome, because everything I have read by her has been pretty awesome.  AND I have discovered characters I really, really, REALLY want her to write about in future.

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So this week I will be discussing the books by Joey Hill that I have read and sharing a review or two from friends.  Like I said, a few of them have escaped my miserly grasp.  This will be a discussion of some hot books, BDSM, D/s, and in most cases the lady is top dog.  Or Dominant in the relationship.  Ans I do mean Dominant.  Not just a little role play – these books are intense.  I will lay out the titles in the series and when I will be posting reviews.  Two of these are on my read and re-read list.

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Holding The Cards

Lauren just wants to find Mr. Right. That’s not an easy goal for a woman who wants a man willing to be chained to her in more ways than just matrimony.

A successful doctor with a healthy attitude toward sex, unashamed of her proclivities as a sexual dominant, she wants love and a family. But she’s beginning to believe that there is no Mr. Right willing to stand by her in sickness and health, and be cuffed, stripped, and smacked with a riding crop.

Then Lauren’s friend Lisette invites her to spend a long weekend on a private island. It turns out Lisette can’t come with her, but Lauren opts to go anyway, with no one for company but Joshua, the island caretaker and his visiting friend, Marcus. Though both men are beautiful, it is Joshua that catches Lauren’s attention, and not just because Marcus prefers men. Something in Josh’s stormy eyes calls to her. When Marcus facilitates a game of submission and control between the three of them that will last throughout the weekend, Lauren embraces the opportunity. Josh overwhelms her with his willingness to submit to her body’s desires, but her heart wants to get to the secrets behind those eyes. She is going to have to tear down his defenses and make him give her everything. And this is one Mistress who doesn’t take no for an answer.

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Natural Law – REVIEW SAT

Mackenzie “Mac” Nighthorse is a highly respected homicide detective and a career cop. There isn’t a dangerous situation that can back him down. However, the personal becomes uncomfortably entangled in the professional when he goes undercover in a high class BDSM club as a male submissive to find a Dominatrix who is winning the trust and then murdering her chosen partners. When his path crosses Violet Siemanski’s, he realizes he’s found a Mistress willing to be his ally in finding the murderess. But Violet is also going to shatter Mac’s shields and make him question who he is and what he wants, a challenge more disturbing than any case he’s ever worked.

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Ice Queen

Some stories can’t be contained between the covers of just one book. Keep an eye out for Ice Queen and the sequel, Mirror of My Soul.

They call her the Ice Queen. At the exclusive BDSM club known as The Zone, Mistress Marguerite is a legend. Tyler Winterman has been fascinated with her since he’s known her, though the rules of their world say they shouldn’t share more than mutual admiration. He is her male counterpart, one of the most powerful male Doms practicing at The Zone.

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Mirror of My Soul

Some stories can’t be contained between the covers of just one book. Marguerite and Tyler’s story continues in Mirror of My Soul. Having resolved some of the issues that arose between them as two sexual dominants, they now explore whether Marguerite’s desire to be Mistress and slave both will be accepted by Tyler, and whether the shadows of their respective pasts will have the power to destroy the love growing between them.

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Mistress of Redemption

The white collar life Jonathan Powell created for himself is gone. Standing outside of Wentworth prison after serving his five year sentence, he knows he has to start over. No more hooking up with Dominant women so he can enjoy the challenge of fucking up their minds. But who knew his latest target would turn out to be a psychopathic killer who tried to off two cops? No, it wasn’t the game that was the problem. He just made some key mistakes. Mistakes he won’t make again.

Then Mistress Dona shows up to give him a ride from the prison into his new life, and his resolve goes out the window. She’s everything he can’t resist. Dona knows she has to make Jonathan understand that he has to make the right choice this time, because Hell doesn’t offer options. He has to understand and accept what surrender truly means. His only hope is a Mistress of Redemption. The problem is she may lose her soul in trying to save his.

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Rough Canvas

Wide shoulders, muscular, defined arms, tighter-than-tight buns and thick, virile thighs. In my college days I found everything that is manly and admirable in soccer players, but as an adult I discovered construction workers! Or one particular one at least, who I kept for myself. Just yesterday I was admiring his compact form and perfect shoulder to lean hip ratio and was reminded of why I thought he had the perfect body at twenty-two.

Physical work has a way of keeping the body in great shape better than any gym workout. A body using muscles on the job keeps proportion better. Construction workers, even the more technical types like my man, tend to do a lot of digging at times, and trust me, it does a body good!

Construction workers have to do a lot more thinking than you might expect as well. They have intense safety guidelines to follow that are constantly being updated and do more technical work than you might expect. Did you excel at geometry in school? Have great spatial skills? I admire these types of brains because I do not have one.

Another thing is these guys are men’s men. It’s a rough and tumble world, often far away from home as they build and repair our country’s roads, utilities and infrastructure. There are few women in the business. They fight more readily than in many careers and spend lots of time with each other around the clock doing man things. Yes, they are driving a truck and it probably has a gun in it too, for protection out in the middle of nowhere.

My erotic romance, Lucky Number Seven, my personal bestseller, is a werewolf construction worker tale. It’s on sale this month at my publisher’s site! A sequel, Bijou’s Bonds, is also available. Those are at Ellora’s Cave and I have an unrelated werewolf tale, Playing Lycan Games, available at The Wilder Roses (erotic imprint of The Wild Rose Press). All are available on Kindle and for other many ebook devices. You can also find Lucky Number Seven in print. It’s in the Even Naughtier Nuptials anthology.

Blurb:

Meet the hottest werewolf in town.

When Vi Lane’s cheating fiancé cancels their wedding only the day before the big event, she decides she’s never going to trust a man again. But that doesn’t mean she’s willing to give up sex! In fact, she promises herself she’ll experiment with the next man she sees. When she has a flat tire a few hours later, she’s thrilled to see Cere come to her rescue. Little does she know his werewolf pack, Brotherhood of the Dog, has declared her to be Cere’s true mate.

Can she learn to trust again, especially with a man who is hiding his true identity from the world? Will Cere himself be satisfied with a human mate? The Brotherhood is waiting for their answer.

link:  http://www.jasminejade.com/p-5745-lucky-number-seven.aspx

http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-7882-430-even-naughtier-nuptials.aspx
Heather Hiestand/Anh Leod
www.HeatherHiestand.com
Holly’s Pledge – now available at www.EllorasCave.com
Playing Lycan Games…now available at www.thewilderroses.com

So readers, let’s face it.  Some jobs have sex appeal.  It is just a fact.  While others are not so very appetizing.  So this week I have invited some naughty authors to come in and share their thoughts.

What profession lights their fire and why, how, who…

The inspiration for this week and today’s blog?

Sports.

I don’t watch or follow them except 1 and I am pretty clueless, though I have read some romances that feature players.  On the scedule tonight was the Lakers game for the BF and some of his family – which left me staring at the very tall basketball stars and thinking I had never read a book with a basketball player as the hero.

Football – Yes

Nascar – Yes

Baseball – Yes

Hockey – Yes

I have heard the rumor of wrestling, Golf might be there somewhere, soccer has to be, Boxing, equestrian, runners, and for such a large sport basketball seems to fall in here with popularity.  Do you know any books that show sports/player/participant Heros?

Am I forgetting any sports?

Are some sports just sexier then others?

I like the wrestlers  – I blame BF for making me watch the WWE.  -  Fine I confess – I like it too.

My Faves are shown below and I confess it was a struggle – I really, REALLY do not watch sports.

Brian McBride Soccer

Randy Orton – I love him and this shot is back before he ruined his perfect tatoos and got the new sleeves

Angel of 13th Street

by Eden Winters

Publisher Torquere Books

Synopsis

The Angel. That’s what the young hustlers call Noah Everett, the man who’ll help them get off the streets. Once a hustler himself, Noah doesn’t take his own good advice, which is, “Don’t let this ruin your life.” Haunted by the past and those he couldn’t save, Noah carefully keeps others at bay until his self-imposed loneliness is shattered by determined, ambitious, but homeless eighteen-year-old Jeremy Kincaid.

A ruthless pimp has targeted Jeremy, but if Noah will fight to get anonymous young men out of the life, he’ll fight harder to keep Jeremy from getting in, even if it means a return to old stomping grounds to make a deal with the devil. To save Jeremy, Noah risks more than just his body. He risks his soul as well, because Willie Carnell, pimp, was once Billy Cordell, Noah’s lover.

Angel of 13th Street by Eden Winters Review

Review by Missy

5/5 Whips

Bravo! No joke. Angel of 13th Street is a well executed, complex story that makes this world of semi-underground male prostitution believable. Maybe believable is not the best word, perhaps there are others that work better, like accessible, relatable, insightful? Okay, maybe not 100% of the time, but as a reader I was there with our main character Noah every second and drawn into his story and struggle.

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As for the young man, Jeremy, who falls into his life there were a few issues with him as the catalyst to the story. He is being followed by a former lover who would like to recruit him to work the street corner. That is when the “Angel” steps in. Noah and Jeremy have a believable attraction – though I might have been happier if the younger half of the couple had a few more years on him. You can be 20 and still look young. But his age worked for the story, and to stop the city pimp from bothering Jeremy, it forces Noah back into the lions den to see HIS former lover.

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Which brings me to the elusive Billy Cordell/Willie Carnell. I do NOT want him to be elusive. I loved the snap shots we see in flashback of Noah and the then called Billy as lovers. If there was one disappointment with the book it was that there was not enough interaction between Noah and the now called Willie. Their dynamic was the most interesting element of the whole tale. That was an area I would have explored happily in the story. Oh, and is Willie really an intimidating enough name for a bad ass pimp? Who is afraid of the big, bad, Willie?

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The story is one I could not put down, plan to re-read, and would recommend to any reader who enjoys M/M and is willing to look into the darker side. I really can not call it a happy story, but it is uplifting in its own way. It is easy to fall in love with Noah. It is also hard NOT to fall a little in love with Billy, and even Willie. What can I say? I am a sucker for a man who pines for his lost love. Adore the book, and I will be searching for more by this author.

- Missy

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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