Review: Surrender to Me (#4)

Surrender to Me by Shayla Black

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

OK. Well. I didn't HATE this book. There were elements of it that I really liked. But.....

The story centers on Hunter and Kata. They meet in Vegas during her birthday party. Kata's friend, Ben, invited Hunter in order to fill a fantasy for Kata. The fantasy being a menage. Well, after one too many beers, Ben passes out and the menage never happens. But Hunter and Kata hook up, and after a wild and drunken night....they end up married.

For the most part, the protagonist was a complete asshole. There is a part in the book when he (Hunter) tells his wife, Kata.....Don't confuse a Dom with an asshole. And while that may be true - in this case Hunter the Dom was, indeed, an asshole. No doubt that Hunter loved Kata - but for about 75% of the book....that love came across as possession and not in the most healthy definitions of that word, either. Maybe I just don't "get" the whole Dom/sub thing - but from the beginning, Hunter never took the time to understand Kata's physical and emotions needs or her fears about being a sub. Yes, eventually, he got it and he stopped being a total douche....but it took way too long.

Again, I didn't hate this book.....but damn, it made me want to punch kittens sometimes.

Review: Delicious (#3)

Delicious by Shayla Black

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ok. I have to say....out of the 3 books in this series, this one probably had the most plot and much less sex than the two previous books. Oh, don't get me wrong - there was PLENTY of sex....but, to me, it just seemed like there was less. And I'm ok with that. I do like plot in my smexy books. BUT.....

The reason I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 4.5 or 5 stars.....the plot had holes aplenty. And some supposedly smart characters who were completely effing stupid.

First off - Luc was an asshole for like 75% of the book. What happened to sweet Luc from book 2? Geez. Then Tyler - who is the character who is effing stupid, but I can't say why because it would be major spoilerage.

That being said....if you ignore the holes in the plot and Luc's assholery - you have a descent story between the two main characters. Granted, you wanted to scream at both of them to just communicate like normal people and their problems would be solved....but if that happened, the book would have simply been a novella.

That ALL BEING SAID - I still read this book in (basically) one sitting. I cared enough that I really wanted to know what was going to happen next....even if it did frustrate me a lot along the way.

Review: Decadent (#2)

Decadent by Shayla Black

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Soooo. Another hot book from Shayla Black. This one was all about ménage. Personally, this kind of thing would skeeve me out in the bedroom.....but reading about it doesn't bother me. Too much.

Yes - there were plot holes the size of the Grand Canyon in this book. But really - a solid plot isn't really the reason we read these sorts of books, now is it? The sex is really hot - and the plot is just enough to drive the book from one hot sex scene to the next. And somewhere along the way you do begin to care about the characters. Deke, especially. He was obviously a tortured soul who had a past experience with a woman that he couldn't quite come to terms with.

I would probably give this story 4.5 stars, rather than 5, but Goodreads doesn't do point-fives. :)

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.