Review: Sugar and Spice (#1)

Sugar and Spice by Mari Carr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ginny is turning 30 and she just got dumped by her douchey boyfriend. In steps Travers, her best friend since childhood. He agrees to take her out for some birthday fun - at an exclusive sex club that she's been dying to go to. Once they arrive at the club, Ginny spots the douchey boyfriend all up in some blonde bimbo's fake tits. To comfort her, Travers says all the right things and then takes her back to his private room for some, um, fun.

I love a good best-friend-turned-lover story, but they only work when we get to see the friendship first. That's the element of this book that just made me giddy. I loved the friendship between all of the characters. Ginny is the lone girl in a group of three guys. They've all been BFFs since childhood, and now they all work together. Travers has always had the hots for Ginny, but he never admitted it to himself or anyone else. Too bad....everyone else sort of already knew. Well, except for Ginny. Ginny had always sort of had a thing for him too. (Damn it, these kids and their failure to communicate!) There are several great flashbacks to their childhoods that do a good job in establishing not only the deep friendship and love the four have for each other - it also shows that there was something all along between Ginny and Travers, if you read between the lines.

I absolutely love all of the characters that were introduced in this book, so it makes me quite happy to know that we'll be seeing this world continue to expand in the form of a series. (YEA!!)

Review: Tequila Truth (#2)

Tequila Truth by Mari Carr

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kylie, Colt, and Heath have been best friends and roommates since college. It's their tradition to play "Tequila Truth" during every birthday celebration. What is tequila truth? They each take a shot and honestly answer a question that is asked of the group. Usually the questions are highly sexual. So....at their most recent birthday celebration, the question was about what their ultimate sexual fantasy was. Kylie's answer....to be with two men, with bondage and spanking thrown in for extra fun. Fast forward to a shot time later. Neither Colt or Heath can forget about Kylie's answer, even though they are all "just friends". It's not until Heath walks in on Kylie and her boyfriend and a BDSM session that turned into an actual beating that things change. Heath and Colt think that THEY should be the ones to fulfill Kylie's ultimate fantasy, rather than her getting careless with guys that don't have her safety and well-being in mind. So, they purpose a weekend of sexual fantasy fulfillment for Kylie. When the weekend's over, they go back to the way things were - friends and roommates. But after the sex play begins, all three realize that they all might have been more than "just friends" all along.

So much of this book worked for me.....but so much of it didn’t. I didn’t like Colt’s constant use of the word “darlin’”. Yea, I know he’s a Southern gentleman and all of that. I get it....I’m Southern, and I know people like that. And it gets on my nerves in real life as much as it did in this book. And while I bought them all as friends, I didn’t buy them as much as a sexual trio. No doubt, the sex was super hot....but I never saw that transition from hot sex to love between the three of them. I think it was probably there all along, so there wasn’t a place for a transition from just friends having hot sex to true love....but I wanted to see it. I needed it in order for me to be able to buy them as a lifetime committed trio.

And there were just a few lines that made me groan. Granted, they were said in jest....but they took me completely out of the moment. They happened in the same scene, almost in the same paragraph. “Darlin’, are you ready to take a little ride on the roommate roller coaster?” and “Buckle up and keep your cocks inside my body at all times, boys.” Oh good God, no. I repeat....the characters were joking when they said these lines....but really? Really.

I’ve read many books that involve a menage fling winding up as a full lifetime commitment - and it’s worked. I just didn’t buy it in this book. Realistically, I don’t really get people having these relationships in real life, but when it comes to fiction, I can suspend my disbelief. I mean....it is fiction, after all. But I just wasn’t able to do it in this book. Don’t get me wrong, though....there is some entertainment to be found in this book. The sex is smoking hot, no doubt. I just didn’t grow to care about these characters like I have in some of Mari Carr’s other books.

Review: Erotic Research (#1)

Erotic Research by Mari Carr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Julia and Ross have been coworkers and best friends for ten years. She is a best-selling romance novelist and he is her editor. But for those same ten years, Julia has been somewhat of a recluse - she hardly dates or goes out. Ever. And then her cat dies and she loses it.

To help her out of her funk, Ross suggests she try writing erotica and he gives her a ton of books and the keys to his mountain cabin so she can go do "research". But underneath his helpful exterior, Ross is plotting to seduce his best friend. He's been in love with her forever and he can't keep it from her any longer. BUT, he fears his somewhat kinky sexual tastes might scare the somewhat vanilla Julia.

While Julia is secluded in Ross's cabin during the winter, he drives up from the city for a surprise visit (and hopefully a seduction). Of course, they get snowed in together. And that's when things really begin to heat up. (bad pun, *rimshot*)

The sex is, whoa, incredibly hot. And about as un-vanilla as you can get! While it starts off as "research"....or at least that's what Julia thinks....it quickly turns into so much more. What these two crazy kids had was a failure to communicate! Both have always had the hots for the other one, but neither of them ever had the balls to admit it. But I swear, during the story....I just wanted to slap them both to make them confess their feelings to each other. They're bubbling just barely below the surface....it's the subtext of every word they say to each other.....and yet it goes unsaid for so long! It's so frustrating as a reader, but as frustrating as it is.....it's that much more satisfying when their feelings true finally do come out.

I can't think of a hotter fantasy than best friend turned love of your life. And if said best friend-turned-true love can also manage to give you the best sex of your life....well, that's all just icing on the cake, baby.

Review: Cracklin' Rosie (#2)

Cracklin' Rosie by Lissa Matthews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We first meet Rosie in the first book of this series, Sweet Caroline. She's the waitress/owner of the local diner, and she's a pistol. A pistol with a fetish for being spanked. But due to the small town she lives in and their everybody knows everything about everybody else mentality....it has remained her dirty little secret. Until she meets Decker.

Decker is a friend of Buck (from book 1) and after Buck moves to the mountains to be with Caroline, he calls Decker and asks if he wants to go into business together. Shortly after sort of moving to the mountain town, Decker meets Rosie when she hires him to replace her roof. And he's a goner. He wants Rosie and he has a feeling she wants him - but she is stubborn and doesn't want to admit that she feels the same for him. Eventually she admits it, and somewhere in the conversation Decker also realizes that Rosie has thing for being spanked. And wouldn't you know it....Decker likes to spank.

I loved Decker. He's super sweet, hot as hell, and he's covered in tattoos. What's not to love? Rosie, as I said, is a pistol. A pistol that I sometimes just wanted to smack. I was all "Girl, you have this hot man lusting after you!! Stop running away from him!!" But in her defense, she had a strong fear of being in a relationship that might get a little kinky and might not be the "norm". And more importantly she was terrified of the people in town finding out about her fetish. She's a little paranoid about her kinks anyway, so I can see where she could take any potential relationship and mentally fast forward it to the point where it goes horribly wrong and then suddenly the ex has loose lips and tells everyone in town that she's a kinky wench. Ok, so maybe she's more than a little paranoid. But I come from a small town, so I can certainly understand where she's coming from.

The sex is hot and takes place all over - in a truck, in the woods, on a porch, and yes....even in a boring old bed. But I can promise you that the sex is anything but boring. As with all of this author's books, the sex is smoking hot. (And there is plenty of spanking for those of you into that sort of thing. *wink*)

I love this series, and the world that's been built for it. And I can't stand the wait for book #3. I just know it involves Cort and Blue. (Cort being a friend of Decker and Buck's.....and Blue being Rosie's childhood best friend)

Review: Sweet Caroline (#1)

Sweet Caroline: Blue Jeans and Hard Hats, Book 1 by Lissa Matthews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The hotness drips off the pages of this book like lava. Good Lord....

Caroline is a 40 year old, recently divorced woman who is looking to sell her house and move to the mountains. While wandering through the a home improvement store, she encounters Buck. Buck is a contractor who normally doesn't do the kind of work that Caroline needs done....but he feels an attraction to her - so hey, why not. Things stay completely platonic until he runs into her in a sex shop. Here, the slightly shy Caroline boldly shows Buck what kind of things she likes - from clamps to whips to glass dildos. And thus their relationship begins.

The hot monkey sex starts out hot and continues to get even hotter....if that's possible. If you're not a fan of BDSM, I would suggest you skip this book.....because it does go there. A lot. But don't get me wrong. While there is a TON of sex in this book - there is a good storyline as well. Caroline's ex-husband got her interested in the lifestyle, but after years and years, the relationship eventually morphed into something Caroline didn't want. Swinging was always something they did.....but when the ex-husband started getting it on without Caroline's knowledge....well, it just started going downhill from there. Finally, she asked him to move out. It was this move that prompted Caroline to take a road trip that landed her in the mountains of Georgia, in what would soon be her new home. As soon as the repairs on her old home were made, that is, and she was able to sell it. The one thing she didn't factor into her new life was Buck - and falling in love with him.

Start reading this book for the hot sex....but keep reading it for the great characters you'll be introduced to here and in the other books in the series. I love Lissa's writing style and she sure as hell can write a hot scene. No doubt.

Review: Seven Day Loan

Seven Day Loan by Tiffany Reisz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what I expected from this book. To be honest, the premise kind of skeeved me out. A man loans his sub to a Dom whose wife/sub died three years ago. I've read a lot of books featuring a Dom/sub relationship, and the concept of "you're my property and I'll loan you out as I see fit" has always made me uncomfortable. But, the book made it clear that the heroine, Eleanor, wasn't exactly forced to do anything. She didn't have to have sex with the guy she was being loaned to, whose name is Daniel. No, no sex had to be involved unless she was ok with it.

Turns out, Daniel is actually a nice guy. Smart, handsome, wealthy, and very much a Dom. But what I loved about Eleanor was that even though she was a sub, she wasn't Miss Meek and Mild. She was a smart-ass, she was bold, and she dared Daniel push her to her limits (which he did), and she seemed to enjoy every second of it. And in turn, she challenged him and pushed him to his limits as well. Since his wife died three years ago, he had been celibate and had not left the house since her funeral. We quickly learn that Eleanor's presence there isn't simply about her being his sexual plaything....she's there to heal him and bring him out of his self-imposed exile.

It doesn't take long for you to want Eleanor to end up with Daniel and not go back to Him (as he's called in the book.....her current lover/Dom) I won't say how it all ended, but I know there is a sequel on the author's website......so I hope the continuation of the story goes the way I think it might. *fingers crossed*

When I opened this book up on my Kindle, I had only planned to read a few pages before drifting off to sleep, but as I got into the story, I couldn't stop clicking through to the next page. I couldn't read fast enough to get to the end.

All that being said, there was one scene that made me go "whoa!". It definitely pushed my comfort level to its limits, but it was dealt with in such a way that I wasn't turned off or grossed out by it. It just simply pushed me to that point. And that's part of the reason I read books like this.....to push my mind to places it might not otherwise go.

Review: Black Jack

Black Jack by Mari Carr

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was not the pirate story I was expecting. Black Jack tells two different stories, sort of. It features Jack and Emma.....two lifelong best friends. Emma manages a fetish club, called Scoundrels. The third guy in their BFF trio, Travis, owns the club. So Emma calls in Jack to fill in as an actor in a pirate fantasy show they're doing at the club. The male actor called in sick - and as Emma is helping Jack through the scene, they find out that the female lead has also called in sick - forcing Emma to take over that role. As the two best friends are rehearsing the scene, some of their not-so-well-hidden feelings for each other come to the forefront and their rehearsal leads to some hot dry humping and fondling and eventually Emma has a powerful orgasm. Naturally, this could be a somewhat awkward situation for two lifelong BFFs who have never gone past the "just friends" stage.

After their performance in the pirate fantasy, it become clear that they can't be "just friends" anymore. Both confess that they've always had feelings for each other - and actually - that they are in love with each other - and they move quite smoothly into the girlfriend/boyfriend roles.

The pirate part of the story is told as a fantasy in each of their minds - a fantasy that was inspired by their fantasy play at the club. It seems like both stories wouldn't work together, but they do.....so effortlessly. And really, who hasn't had a pirate fantasy? Geez. H.O.T.

But there's more to it than that. Jack is into some kinky stuff - sex in public (which is why he agreed to sub for the actor in the first place), whips, chains, wax play....all kinds of stuff. Stuff he didn't think that Vanilla Emma would be down with. Oh, but was he wrong. But he has a thick skull....and it takes him a while to believe that Emma really is into it all.

I know this story is the first of a two part series - and thank goodness, because I need for Travis (the 3rd BFF) to find his HEA. He prefers to shy away from the crowd and he likes to watch the activities in his club from the two way mirror in his top floor office. He also like to get off while he watches, so his story should be quite interesting.

I loved everything about Black Jack. I thought it was sweet without being sugary and incredibly hot without being unrealistic. And besides that, who hasn't had the fantasy that their perfect mate and the love of their life will turn out to be a best friend who has been there all along and who knows you better than anyone. Throw in pirates - and good Lord - it's kind of the perfect scenario.

My only complaint (sort of) is that the story is just too short. But I always say that with any novella that I love. I always want more; I'm selfish like that. The thing I love about Mari Carr's stories is that the characters are always fully fleshed out, despite the fact that the story is novella-length. You know who these people are and you care about them, and really, if wanting to know more about these people because I find them so compelling is the only thing I have to complain about, well, then, I think that's OK.

Review: Management Skills

Management Skills by January Rowe

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Um. Yea.

So I don't even know what to say about this book. The most positive thing I can say is that it was a free copy from NetGalley. I would have been pissed if I had paid money for this. I feel guilty for hating a free book, but I can't, in all honesty, give this book anything but a 1 star rating.

It features Allie and Grant. Allie was a former dancer (named Silver) at a high class club where Grant did the lighting arrangements. He was always fascinated with her, but because of club rules....he was never allowed to meet her or even talk to her.

Fast forward several years, Allie is done with dancing and school and is now working for a company that specializes in theatrical and concert productions.....lights, sound, etc. And guess who the CEO of the company is? That's right, Grant. Now that she's not at the club, he's free to talk to her and fuck her if he wishes. And he does. And they fuck. Of course, Allie always used to see Grant while she was on stage and she kinda had a thing for him as well.

Soon the fucking turns into Grant being a Dom-douche to Allie. It doesn't take long before he collars her and starts calling her "Mine". He tries to make her into the perfect submissive.

So, here's the thing. I know nothing about the BDSM world other than what I read in books. The BDSM described (poorly) in this book is the stereotypical crap that I used to think of when I thought of a Dom/sub relationship. The man is a mean douchebag who talks down the woman and tries to break her spirit until she becomes his slave. He treats her (literally) like a dog. He spanks her....and it's not like sexy bedroom punishment spanking - it comes across like punishment mean "I'm doing this instead of beating you like the caveman I am" kind of spanking. And at some other point, Grant interrogates Allie because she hasn't been "chaste". She wasn't with another man, she just accidentally orgasmed because Grant had not been allowing her to orgasm and she had had enough. And when I say he interrogated her, I mean he sat her down in front of a high powered stage light (remember, that's the business they work in) and shined it right in her face. Seriously, it was fucked up.

There was absolutely no emotion or passion in this book. None. There wasn't even a build up to where we saw any kind of anything - attraction, love, respect - for each other. Nothing about this book worked for me.

Granted, there was a tiny itty bitty bit of redemption at the end when Allie decides that she doesn't have to let Grant withhold orgasms from her. She sort of takes her power back and Grant gives in to her (for once). That being said, it happened in the last few pages of the book. Redemption....but poorly written and too little, too late.

And the writing. Meh. I won't even go there. But I will leave you with this little gem of a quote from the book: "He was like an oilrig. His thrusts would turn her into a supernova, throwing the shimmering substance of sex back out into the universe. Where was he? Why wasn't he drilling into her?" Yea. Exactly.

*ARC provided by NetGalley

Review: Take Your Pleasure

Take Your Pleasure by Jasmine Haynes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Good Lord, the hotness of this book.

Lincoln Masters and Natalie Beaumonde.....boss and employee. Natalie has been a little "off" lately, seeing as how she just caught her jackass boyfriend of two years with another woman. Lincoln is a stickler of a boss - and doesn't like mistakes. And up until this week, Natalie had never made any. When he calls her into his office, she is sure she is about to be fired. Instead, he offers her a choice - take a spanking or report (in detail) what has happened to cause her mistakes. She chooses the spanking and the hotness just goes up from there.

As the relationship progresses, Natalie eventually tells Lincoln what happened between her and her asshole BF, Van. (Natalie caught Van with a leather clad dominatrix......double-teaming it with some toys of the rubber cock variety. They boyfriend tried to say it wasn't cheating. I would love to have heard a more graphic explanation from Van as to how this wasn't cheating. "No baby, it wasn't a human dick in my ass. It was rubber. It ain't cheating if it's a rubber dick." Um, that's not in the book....that's just in my head. Anyway...)

After Nat tells Lincoln the deal with Van - Lincoln offers to help Natalie dominate Van in the way he wants and possibly help them get back on track. OK - for a hot minute there, I did not like where this was going. I was all......Lincoln, you asshat, YOU want Natalie. Why the hell do you want her back with her artsy-fartsy douche of an ex? I seriously considered not finishing this book because I was so convinced that I was going to be pissed off. BUT, it came highly recommended to me.....so I didn't give up. I new my GR friends wouldn't recommend a book that had a bullshit ending. :) So I kept on trucking. And thank goodness I did. Besides the whole scene between Natalie, Van, and Lincoln being awesome ("Suck my dick, boy." I'm paraphrasing, but whatevs....), it was actually nice to see Lincoln step outside of himself and think only about Natalie. And then it was nice to see Van man up and think only about Natalie. THEN, it was nice to see Natalie stop rolling over and playing dead with her wants and needs and lay it all out on the line for Lincoln. And the memo she gives him is priceless.

Because I'm selfish, I always want more story, more background, more character development....everything. This book was no different. BUT, the characters seemed to be more defined than in other books of similar length, so at the end of the day....I was kind of OK with the shortness of the story. I wouldn't hate it if there were more to the book.....but at the end, I wasn't pulling my hair out, dying for more. I was satisfied. (I think it was the memo that did it. It made me LOL.)

Gah. Easy 5 stars here.

(And finally - an erotic story that knows what a condom is!!!)

Review: Spitfire

Spitfire by Mari Carr

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this short story. I really did. But the truth is, I sort of hated it. The "hero" was a complete asshole of caveman proportions. I get that he was into spanking and such. But his spankings came across like he was actually punishing the "heroine", rather than just spanking her for some sexy bedroom fun. I don't mind the men in my books being dominate. I'll admit, it's kind of hot. And authors that write about these types of men do walk that fine line of dominate sexy male versus caveman douchebag asshole. Our hero, Rem, came across as the 2nd type. As a result of the caveman hero, I didn't even find the sex hot.

I'm disappointed. This was the first Mari Carr book that I didn't love. Boo-hiss-grrr. So mad.

Review: Educating Rose

Educating Rose by Lissa Matthews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Oh where to start....

First - it's a super short story, so I get that there isn't a whole lot of time for character development. BUT.....there needed to be some in order for me to even care about these characters. (Honestly, I really didn't care for either of them.)

I'm always torn when I read books with a BDSM theme. I'm torn between finding it kind of hot - and incredibly offensive. The hot part is the spanking and the tying up. The offensive part is the whole "you're mine; I own you; I'll share you with others if I feel like it; now put on this collar and let me lead you around like a dog." Um, no. Not hot....not sexy. AT ALL. (I know there are some that are into that. I'm not judging. I'm just saying - for me - it's a no go.)

Rose is a virgin librarian who has basically stalked Professor Jack since she was a college student. She wants him.....bad.....but he is out of the lifestyle. But he finds he can't resist Rose, so he comes back to the lifestyle. For her. And over a weekend, they become a Dom/sub pair. Sound vague? Yes, it was. The whole relationship needed to be explored more. The whole reason of WHY Rose was so obsessed with Jack and why Jack turned away from the lifestyle. Ok, yes....so it was VERY BRIEFLY explained during the course of the story - but not enough to where it made sense.....not enough to make me care about these people.

I still love Lissa Matthews' writing, even if I wasn't all that impressed with this particular book.

Solid 4 stars for the writing - 2.5 stars for content. Average rating of 3 stars.

Review: Pink Buttercream Frosting

Pink Buttercream Frosting by Lissa Matthews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was one of those quirky stories that I didn’t expect to work for me at all. I wasn’t a fan of the title - it was, for lack of a better way to put it, too sugary. I expected it to be a sappy love-fest with touches of erotica. Or something like that. It had it's moments of hotness, no doubt, but our hero leaves much to be desired. And Bailey puts up with his antics for far too long. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

So, it starts out with Aidn the lawyer spotting Bailey the baker crossing in front of the cafe where he’s having lunch with a friend. Aidn, who apparently hasn’t gotten laid in a while, decides to follow her. He recognizes her from somewhere, but he can’t quite figure out where. He spots her in a beauty and bath store, looking at some scented lotions. He stands outside the store, waiting for her to come out. When she finally does come out, he remembers where he’s seen her before - The Abyss (a BDSM fetish club). See, Aidn is a Dom.

At the club, they had exchanged some smalltalk, but never formal introductions. When Bailey comes out and sees Aidn, she immediately recognizes him from the club. She’s always had a little crush on him, so she welcomes the interaction in front of the bath store....however awkward. They share introductions and agree to have some coffee. Afterwards, as Aidn’s walking Bailey to her car - he asks her to have sex with him. And (not surprisingly) she agrees, although she does explain that she doesn't usually do the sex-on-the-first-date thing.

And of course, they go to her place and have crazy hot monkey sex and then Asshat Aidn leaves while she’s sleeping. And by sleeping, I mean she’s having an orgasm in her sleep and she moans his name and he’s awake to witness it all, freaks out a little, and leaves. *cough*douchebag*cough* Yep. Aidn is a fuck and run. Bailey is disappointed to find him gone when she wakes up, but I imagine she’s thinking....”well, that’s what I get for fucking him two seconds after we officially meet.”

So two weeks goes by and then out of the blue, Aidn shows up at Bailey’s bakery. He locks them in her store, basically tongue-fucks her face, tells her how much he wants her.....and then he walks out on her - AGAIN.

What an asshole. This is the point where Bailey should have given up....but no. She goes to see him at his office and he sends her away - saying that they are better off this way - i.e. not together.

Sometime later, Aidn happens to be at the fetish club and sees Bailey being flogged by a fellow Dom....and he loses his shit! I mean, he freaks the fuck out, grabs Bailey, and drags her out of the club.....all the while he’s making a big scene and telling her how she is his and no one else’s. At this point, I’m banging my head on the wall because I just can’t believe that Bailey is going to let this guy be such a total fucking douche to her.

Anyway - they go back to his place, have some hot monkey sex and (get this) he freaks out AGAIN and was all “I need a shower RIGHT NOW!”. Well, nothing warms a girl’s heart like a guy feeling so dirty after he fucks her that he needs a shower two seconds after pulling out. Bastard.
Aidn’s dickishness and tendency to run away when emotions get high is only evened out by Bailey and her forward, ballsy way about her. She may be a sub, but she’s not a doormat. She follows Aidn into the shower and she basically demands (begs?) to be his sub. They both want each other, that much is obvious, so why fight it? And finally....FINALLY....some of Aidn’s walls begin to come down.

After the shower, Aidn explains why he is a scared little Dom.....and why he runs. He caught his last sub with another man. Although this was something they often did....it was something they did together. Aidn’s sub wasn’t with other men unless he was there - or unless he knew about it. But in this one case....he didn’t know she would be with another man. And to add insult to injury.....she removed her collar. And as Aidn said....”She knew, or rather I thought she knew that the collar was the symbol of that bond. Taking it off broke us, destroyed the trust and the respect we had built together.” At this, Aidn packed up and left - and never thought he would have another sub again. More than that....he never thought he could trust another woman not to break his heart again. After opening up to Bailey, he kisses her goodnight and leaves the room....not intending to sleep with her that night.

Early in the AM, Aidn goes to his kitchen to find Bailey in there.....making (of all things) pink buttercream frosting. (TITLE!) And of course Aidn tastes it by licking it off of her boobs. But despite the sappiness of this scene and the overly obvious need to work the title of the book into the story - this is the scene when Bailey lays it all out on the line. She has a huge set of balls, Bailey does. And like I said earlier, she may be a sub, but she’s not going to just sit back and take it. She demands to know where she stands with Aidn. He answers her by tying her down to the kitchen table, picking up the bowl of frosting, and saying, “I’m afraid you’re going to have to make more later. I’m not going to be able to get enough of it, and I’m not going to be able to get enough of you.”

Despite my issues with Aidn’s extreme dickishness and my desire to smack him on multiple occasions, I actually liked him. It’s one of those cases of a tortured man being scared to give his heart away again for fear it will get broken. Again. With that knowledge, I can almost forgive him for his being an asshat to Bailey for 95% of the story.  Almost.

Review: Wicked Ties (#1)

Wicked Ties by Shayla Black

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

HO-LEE-CRAP. This book was smoking hot. Dare I say - the hottest book I have ever read. But I will say this - the story is driven totally on the sexual aspect. Yes - there is a story there.....but it does take a back seat to the crazy, smoking hot sex scenes.

And a warning - this isn't your plain old vanilla sex. This is BDSM, threesomes, anal sex.....that kind of thing. So, if that isn't your cup of tea - I suggest you don't read this book. That being said - while those sorts of thing aren't part of my personal sexual menu - this book does handle it in a way that I could understand (and enjoy).

My feminist nature has always sort of looked at male domination / female submission as something very caveman.....that it was a weakness to give yourself over to someone. But this quote from the book stood out to me the most - and really made me rethink my ideals on the subject:

"You want to submit because you're strong, because when you're f*cking, you don't want responsibility. You want a man who can understand you and give you what you need - all without a word."

To me, that says you have to have incredible strength to put all your trust in someone. It's not the ultimate weakness to submit.....but the ultimate strength. Wow. The whole theme of the book is basically about coming to terms about your deepest desires and how to trust someone completely - someone who knows how to give you each of your desires without judgement.

Honestly, I thought the subject matter would be a turn off.....but I didn't find that to be the case. I found that on top of the insanely hot sex described in the book.....it also made me think.