Tag Archives: 50 Shades of Grey

Review: Release Me (Stark Trilogy #1) By J. Kenner

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Title: Release Me 
Author: J. Kenner
Publisher/Year: Random House Publishing Group, 1/1/13
Length: 352 pages
Series: The Stark Trilogy Book 1

For all you fans of 50 Shades or Bared to You or Gabriel’s Inferno, here’s another series that’s definitely going to be right up your alley.

This story is centered in LA where we are introduced to Nichole (Nikki) who has just moved to LA from Dallas in the hopes of reinventing herself.  She’s trying to get away from a past that haunts her – a mother that’s over bearing and controlling, the suicide of her sister which then turned into self mutilation (cutting) and led to a boyfriend who drunkenly said that because of her scars she was disgusting.

So we meet Nikki at a gallery party honoring an artist, attended by A-listers.   At this party, Nikki is there in a professional capacity, she works for a tech developer who’s looking for investors for his next new ideas.  One investor in particular is on the list – Damian Stark – a young 30 yr old billionaire who is known from being a tennis pro, turned businessman with an eye for the science and tech industry.

At first sight (at least for the night), Nikki and Damian’s eyes lock and there’s is such heat that it’s palpable.  J. Kenner likes to remind us that the air moves and sizzles around them so that they always know when one another is in the room.

From that night on, Nikki’s life will change completely.  She is swept up in the heat and control that is Mr Stark and the demons and secrets that lie beneath.  She learns to trust him with her secrets but finds that there are more secrets that Damian has that maybe she shouldn’t know about and should therefore run.

the heat and passion in this story are obvious and quite enticing without being to graphic.  We get into the basics of bondage but i feel like there’s so much more that could be done given that Damian has his own gear.  we don’t see that come out much yet, but maybe in book 2.  Nikki is growing and coming into her own and it’ll be great to see where this all goes.

so for my questions:

1) what is damian hiding really?

2) what is carl up to?

3) what’s the next move for Nikki’s career?

4) will evelyn play a role in their future?

5) ollie and Jamie ….what’s next for them?

6) what crazy twists and turns will Stark and Nikki take as their relationship develops?

Review: Rush (Breathless #1) by Maya Banks

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Title:  Rush
Author: Maya Banks
Publisher/Year: Penguin Group  2/5/13
Length:  416 pages
Series: The Breathless Trilogy #1

Overview 

Gabe, Jace, and Ash: three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country. They’re accustomed to getting anything they want. Anything at all. For Gabe, it’s making one particular fantasy come true with a woman who was forbidden fruit. Now she’s ripe for the picking…

When Gabe Hamilton saw Mia Crestwell walk into the ballroom for his hotel’s grand opening, he knew he was going to hell for what he had planned. After all, Mia is his best friend’s little sister. Except she’s not so little anymore. And Gabe has waited a long time to act on his desires.

Gabe has starred in Mia’s fantasies more than once, ever since she was a teenager with a huge crush on her brother’s best friend. So what if Gabe’s fourteen years older? Mia knows he’s way out of her league, but her attraction has only grown stronger with time. She’s an adult now, and there’s no reason not to act on her most secret desires.

As Gabe pulls her into his provocative world, she realizes there’s a lot she doesn’t know about him or how exacting his demands can be. Their relationship is intense and obsessive, but as they cross the line from secret sexual odyssey to something deeper, their affair runs the risk of being exposed—and vulnerable to a betrayal far more intimate than either expected.

My Thoughts

after all the dystopian ‘doom and gloom’ / love triangle YA stuff, i felt like i had to find something a bit racier to entertain me for a Sunday night.  I’m a sucker for good cover art, and well, that’s kind of how i stumbled upon Rush by Maya Banks.  Suffice it to say, i’m a bit beat this AM cause i was up until 330 reading this book – i just couldn’t put it down and that makes for a very happy reader.

So, along the lines of 50 Shades, and Bared to You, we’re introduced to Gabe, who’s a VERY SUCCESSFUL and very sexy billionaire who’s got his issues with women and relationships.  He’s a hotelier and partners with Jace and Ash who are on even playing fields with each other.  all successful, all sexy and all have their fair share of women hanging around.

During the opening we also meet Mia who happens to be Jace’s little sister – yet we don’t meet her in that context.  She’s alone at the opening of one of the guys’ hotels and she’s looking for Jace, but Gabe comes to her rescue.

We learn through their brief glimpses into their minds that they’ve each had a fixation on the other for some time, Mia since she was 16 and met Gabe and Gabe – well it’s been a while now, but he hasn’t be able to take action on that until now – when he’s realized that it’s worth it enough to risk everything.

so…Gabe draws Mia in, and takes her to places that she’s only dreamed about.  Upon their first real discussion, Mia’s presented with a contract laying out the rules and guidelines for their ‘relationship’.  what you have to like here is that she’s a mix of the mains in the books i noted above.  she’s a bit naive like ana from 50 shades, yet she stands her ground on things that are important to her like Eva from Bared to you.

this story takes us on a bit of a roller coaster starting from the point when Gabe ‘hires’ Mia to work for his as his PA – kind of as a cover so that Jace has reason to believe that they all spend so much time together, but partly because of his desire for easy access.

Issues in Gabe’s past come up to haunt him and cause problems – his parents divorce, his ex-wife, and because of his actions on one occasion, a contractor who wants to stir up trouble.

All in all, a GREAT 358 page book that i was able to read through in a matter of hours.  Now i just have to track down Fever (and/or hope that it’s out soon since i think that maybe it’s not out until April).

rush

While I’m finishing my latest read…

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I feel like i’ve been neglecting everyone/everything this week since life has been really busy. I’ve been trying really hard to finish the latest book on my list and I’m fairly certain that i’ll be done tonight and able to share my thoughts tomorrow.  in the meantime though, with all the chatter that i’ve been reading in forums talking about who readers like better, Christian or Gideon – i thought that it was about time that i asked you guys what you thought.

Review: Reflected in You (Crossfire Book 2) by Sylvia Day

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Title:  Reflected In You
Author: Sylvia Day
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Group (USA) 10/23/12
Length:  432 pages
Series: Crossfire #2

Overview

Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest of pleasures. I couldn’t stay away. I didn’t want to. He was my addiction… my every desire… mine.

My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We’d never work. It was too hard, too painful… except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity. We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession…

 

My Thoughts

OMG – that’s basically the feeling that i’m left with after i read this book, and let me tell you it was SO HARD for me to put it down yesterday morning when i had to come to work.  This second installment of the series DID NOT DISAPPOINT.   I think Sylvia Day is one of the best authors out there today because of her ability to draw you in, keep you intrigued and then throw even more curve balls at you that you can’t quite get your head around.

Book 2 picks up right where we left off in Bared to You – the night of the huge orgy fest in Eva’s apartment and Gideon trying to help deal with that aftermath while also trying to deal with the fact that he kind of blew it again at the party where his ex fiance and Maggie were there.  Eva is still so hurt and upset with what Gideon has done that she’s not sure how to deal with everything, and on top of it all, both of them are SO DAMAGED that they continually want to keep hurting each other even if it’s just as a test (subconsciously).

so in this 2nd book, we see even more of the roller coaster known as the Eva/Gideon train wreck yet their intentions are so good deep down that you want to root for them. Throughout the story, Eva continues to try to get the the bottom of what is going on with Gideon, yet he’s so secretive because he thinks that if she knows all about him she’d run.  She’s told him that she won’t but that’s not good enough apparently.  He still has his nightmares which plays an even larger role in this story because now they are coinciding with Eva’s nightmares as well.  Nathan is not only haunting her in her dreams, but he manages to do the same in real life to an extent as well.  Gideon’s nightmares makes it so bad that the decision is made at one point that they can’t share the same bed at night anymore because it’s just not safe.  one night a nightmare causes Gideon to leave and Eva to realize that she doesn’t have the strength to ask him to stay.

Cary plays a smaller role in this story, kind of more in the background until much later in yet another twist.  We get to see a brief attempt at Eva trying to make ‘female friends’ and separate herself from Gideon a bit since it’s just not healthy how much she ‘needs’ him.  Megumi and Shawna are our token females, yet i’m not quite sure if there’s going to be more for them in the 3rd book.  i kind of feel like it’ll be a let down if not because we had a chapter or 2 with both, and i kind of grew to like them.  also, with the introduction of Will the new assistant – i’m kind of wondering what will go there.  i’m a cynic to think that you can’t just introduce a character that briefly without having some type of story for him.

One thing that i LOVED was that we get to see Victor – Eva’s dad.  their interaction is so genuine and so loving that you wish things could be different.  Sylvia Day did an amazing job with him – he’s the kind of guy that saw what he got dealt in life, and what he deserved and yet realized that he shoudln’t hang on to what would never work out and just be happy with how things ended.  Even though he didn’t marry Eva’s mom, and even though he loved her and STILL loves her, he knows that things were all for the best and if for nothing else, he got an amazing daughter out of it that really wants to keep that relationship open.  I loved also seeing the interaction between Eva’s mom and dad.  that was ‘golden’

speaking of Golden – wasn’t that a nice surprise – that one of Eva’s past men comes back.  kind of nice that she had that happen while Gideon has Corinne (and Maggie) around.  I can’t wait to see how persistent Brett becomes in book 3 since i recall that interview that he did saying that he wasn’t going to give up that easy (in different words though).

In addition to a great story line that keeps giving and giving, the sexual chemistry between Evan and Gideon is insurmountable.  there’s nothing to compare it to, and i think that the author accomplished quite a feat by being able to keep it so hot every time they come together, especially since it’s so often.  I think in stories like 50 Shades we’re able to see the variety there since there’s a lot of BDSM involved – meaning that there’s always another toy to play with but in the Crossfire trilogy, we’re seeing just raw animal sex here – it’s just person to person without any of the kinky stuff.  just people who want to touch one another and can’t get enough.  It makes you realize that you don’t have to necessarily be into all that other stuff if you want to have a hot sex life – you can still accomplish it one on one and i like that.  it’s one thing to get all hot and bothered reading about a submissive being controlled by her dom but here, we know that Gideon is a dom, but not in the same pain/pleasure way that we’ve read about so much before.

so a few things

1) we never find out what Gideon left in Eva’s apartment that night in book 1 did we?

2) what’s going to happen with Corinne and Brett (not together clearly, but for their respective exes)

3) what will come of the investigation?  will it truly be over and closed?

4) what will happen for Eva at work – will she get promoted, quit, or what?

5) WHAT WILL HAPPEN FOR EVA/GIDEON?  given that we’re all hopeless romantics, i’m sure that we’ll get to see a happy ending eventually, i just hope that book 3 is a LONG one so that we can wrap up the story with a lot of juicy ness – relationship roller coasters and GREAT Sex

Review: Dark Citadel (Masters of the Shadowlands Book 2) by Cherise Sinclair

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Title:  Dark Citadel
Author: Cherise Sinclair
Publisher/Year:  Loose id  4/7/2009
Series: Masters of the Shadowlands #2

Overview

After Kari breaks up with her date during Beginner’s Night at Club Shadowlands, she’s given the option to continue with an experienced dominant. Despite her steamy fantasies about BDSM, the inexperienced schoolteacher plans to simply observe. Yet under the unyielding hands of Master Dan, she not only participates, but gives him everything he asks for. There is nothing she can hide from him. Not her passion…or her love. Publisher’s Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, BDSM theme and content (including/not limited to bondage, caning, restraint, spanking, tethering) exhibitionism, voyeurism

My Thoughts

here we find ourselves again..so HOT and bothered and it’s not because of the weather!  Who would have thought that you could create yet another great story line just from being in a BDSM club right?

so in Dark Citadel we are reunited with the Masters of the Shadowlands, this time focusing on Master Dan.  From book 1 Club Shadowlands we got the sense of all the doms being strong enormous men with lots of muscle and in this story we aren’t disappointed.

so let’s just back a second and talk about our key female Kari who goes to Shadowlands because the guy she’s dating feels like BDSM is a lifestyle that they are interested in.  She’s kind of on the fence, thinking that it’s exciting yet the guy that she’s with doesn’t treat her properly and that goes all pear shaped.  She’s then introduced to one of the Shadowland Masters and things make a 180.  She finds herself with a guy that’s so intimidating who introduces her to a lifestyle that’s also very intimidating, yet quite arousing.

Master Dan – well Master Z puts Kari into his care, asking him to teach her about all things BDSM.  Dan’s had it rough, yet the allure of Kari just makes things that much better.  He’s brooding and dark, yet incredibly sexy.  He knows his way around a woman’s body and that’s exactly what both Kari and I personally needed.

Again, what i love about what this author does is that we’re not brought to focus on a stick thin model.  we have another REAL woman who feels a little insecure, but is deemed incredibly sexy.  Read this, but i warn you, keep a fan and some water near your bedside because you will need it!

Club Shadowlands (Masters of the Shadowlands book 1) by Cherise Sinclair

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i don’t know if it was inspiration from reading 50 Shades of Grey or Bared to You, but lately i’ve found myself really intrigued by all things BDSM.  The good thing is that there’s PLENTY to read out there in that scope!

Masters of the Shadowlands as it turns out has become an addiction – one of those series that i just can’t put down, and i’m really pleased about that.

Club Shadowlands is our introduction to the series, where we find ourselves in balmy Tampa FL.  which adds a bit to the ambiance of the story line.  Shadowlands is a private club that hosts a variety of ‘themed’ nights throughout the week but focuses on BDSM on Saturdays.  Run by the owner, kept in line by the ‘Masters’ – Shadowlands really shows you what a safe and secure fetish environment can be like.  what i love about what the author does in this series is that she brings in a sense of real personality and character to the plot – you really learn about the characters and who they are, what makes them tick and you feel like you can really picture the club and what’s going on in it.

The lead male Master Z is a man that’s clearly established and mature.  we fear him yet like we’ve found in all other stories similar to this, there’s a quality there that you really can’t help but love him too.  he’s caring and protective, yet dominating as his ‘master’ or ‘dom’ title suggests.

Jessica is our female lead, and quite the lead she is.  She’s ‘human’, meaning that she’s curvy and attractive, but not model perfect.  (which is something that the author really talks up in the story and in following books).  We’re introduced to her on a ‘dark and stormy night’ when her car has broken down on the way home from a bad blind date and she’s a wreck.  She finds herself at The Shadowlands because it’s the closest place to make a phone call, and well….it just progresses from there.

suffice it to say, this series is MUCH HOTTER than 50 shades or Bared to you…it’s graphic (in a good way), gets you so intrigued that you’re not able to put it down, and you immediately want to pick up the next book in the series to find out what’s going to happen next.

Definitely pick it up to find out what happens with these 2 characters and the other MASTERS of the Shadowlands…

Bared to You by Sylvia Day

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who wants to know all about the NEW 50 SHADES OF GREY?  i was on the search for another series that would keep my interest as piqued as that one did, and i’ve found it.  Alas, Sylvia Day has mastered the art of creating a story that’s relatable, romantic, and yet oh so unattainable. 

in walks Eva, you’re fresh out of college, yet not quite so naive main character.  the thing that i like about her is that she’s been through the ringer in her past, and she’s actually well established in herself, being from a background that opened doors for her and all that.  i really liked that it was a change from the innocent in 50 shades so there was a character that we wanted to root for because she could hold her own.

now…here comes Gideon, the successful male lead, who you can’t help but create yummy pictures in your mind about.  he’s young, yet really successful, knows what his power is, and to be honest, has a back story that doesn’t take over book 1 which is nice.  i feel like that was kind of the case in 50 shades.  (trust me, i’m not mocking 50, i just like the change in pace that Crossfire offers).

anyway, so Eva literally falls at Gideon’s feet for her first meeting just like we saw in 50, and got basically the same reaction.  it was like deja vu but in a good way. the way the story was crafted, learning who Eva’s roommate was to her and how they got acquainted, how Eva was ‘damaged’ and all that yet how she still felt good about herself and knew how to make men want her – that was all really refreshing and enjoyable.

There’s so much that i want to know more about that i now have to wait until Oct to resolve.  Here are my questions:

1) do we ever find out what really went on in Gideon’s past – especially with his family and brothers?

2) why does he reference ‘safe words’ – since it doesn’t seem like he’s into S&M? is he though?

3) will his harem fall away and leave him and Eva in peace?  i’m not sure it’ll be that easy, but we’ll see

4) where does eva go professionally?  and how will that intertwine with Gideon’s business?  seems like he owns the world and all that, and she not only loves her job but is good at it – so will we see anything come of it?

suffice it to say, October can’t come fast enough for me since i really want to read book 2.  Thanks Sylvia though for such a great alternative to 50 Shades.  i’m already recommending it to everyone i know!