Tag Archives: All or Nothing

ARC Review: Power and Possession (Reckless #1) by CC Gibbs

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Title: Power and Possession
Author: CC Gibbs
Publisher/Year: Grand Central Publishing 9/1/125
Length: 266
Series: Reckless #1

Overview

The ultimate pleasure lies in sweet surrender . . .

Brash. Brilliant. Devastatingly handsome. Billionaire playboy Rafe Contini can have any woman he wants-no strings, no commitments, no promises. But when American graduate student Nicole Parrish crashes his private party in Monte Carlo, he wants more than a casual one-night stand. He wants to possess this beautiful stranger-body, mind, and soul.
Nicole isn’t interested in being possessed by any man-especially one as powerful as Rafe. But with a seductive smile and enigmatic charm, he lures her into his private world of erotic discovery and pushes her to the brink of ecstasy. In the summer days-and nights-that follow, they explore every forbidden fantasy, every willful desire, every wild, dizzying sensation. And come dangerously close to crossing the line-between love and lust, pleasure and pain, power and possession . . .

My Thoughts

I loved the All or Nothing series and this is a spin off of that so i knew that i’d get something great and fantastic.  That and i think that we got a teaser of this story in the final installment of the former series.  I actually feel like i kept waiting for that scene to show up in this first intro to this new series and it wasn’t until the latter third actually when it did pop up.

So as you guys all recall, Dominic has a niece named Nicole who is 22 and this is her story.  Or at least the continuation of her story.  We meet up with her while she’s on ‘holiday’ or summer break from school with her friend Fiona – and they are living it up in Europe somewhere – on a yacht.  It’s on this boat that her life changes and we don’t know yet if it’s for the better or not.  While she’s walking aorund this yacht, nursing a hangover and recalling the craziness of the night before, she runs into what is propbably the sexiest man that she’s ever seen – and well….the sparks fly.  This man of course is Rafe Contini – billionaire businessman, and playboy.

Where we go on this journey is actually a nice place – both are really strong characters – so it’s not one of those ‘naive girl gets sucked into a world that she’s unfamiliar’.  Similar to how CC Gibbs wrote Kate in the other series – we have a girl who knows her value, and maybe she’s still got a bit of ‘finding herself to do;’ but it’s definitely not due to a lack of confidence.  Rafe also knows that he’s sought after – for his money, sexual appeal and any number of other things.

Rafe finds that because Nicole doesn’t just say ‘yes’ to him, that he’s drawn deeper into her web, and Nicole feels like he’s her match in the sense that he gives her butterflies but also makes her feel like she’s able to push herself and him at the same time.  This makes for some GREAT sexual chemistry – and the scening that we have come to love an expect from our author comes out here with vengeance.

I’d have to say that the one downfall to this story is that 2/3 is really just a lot of banter and sexual chemistry – not a bad thing in reality but there’s really a lack of the story development.  I get that the basis for doing this is to show how far out of each of their comfort zone they are in – neither does relationships and that’s exactly where it seems like this is going – but i think that the excitement really only starts when we’re in the last third and Rafe’s company comes under attack from hackers and then well, Dominic shows up at an inopportune time in Paris.  That’s when it gets tense, angsty and well – things really begin to speed up.

Where we are left in the final pages of this story is the edge – there’s definitely a cliffhanger here.  Nicole and Rafe have to ‘flee to safety’ and there’s a big question on if they will be safe, if someone’s going to die, and who’s going to protect whom since we know that Dominic protects what’s his as does Rafe.

There’s also the underlying story of who Rafe’s father is, when he’s going to find out, and the fact that Dominic is so close to him in an odd sort of way.  So…i guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens in book 2 of this series and i’d love to get my hands on that ARC too since i don’t know that i can wait so long.  so….thanks Netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to this early and i hope that you guys enjoy it as well!

Launch Day Blitz & Giveaway: All He Desires (All or Nothing #3) by CC Gibbs

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9780399167836_p0_v2_s260x4201 Strangers for the Night E-Book Cover

Title: All He Desires
Author: CC Gibbs
Publisher/Year: Grand Central Publishing 11/4/14
Length: 284
Series: All or Nothing #3

Excerpt

He glanced at his vintage Cartier Santos Dumont watch. “I don’t have any appointments till noon tomorrow so we have plenty of time. And my appointments can be canceled if necessary.”

“How very accommodating of you,” Kate said softly.

Dominic smiled faintly. “We try.”

Suddenly the image of countless females being accommodated by the incredibly beautiful, sexually talented Knight Enterprises CEO filled Kate’s mind and brought the teasing game to a screeching halt. “But you’re accommodating only me from now on, right?” she said, challenge in the obstinate jut of her chin.

“Only you,” he readily agreed, when he would have found such limitations incomprehensible a few short months ago.

Leaning back against the flax-​colored sofa, her green gaze shimmering with delight, she smiled at the man she loved. “So,” she murmured, with delicate impertinence and a little dip of her head. “Have I really tamed the premier playboy of the Western world?”

A lazy flicker of a smile. “I didn’t think you liked it tame?”

His words hovered palpably in the sudden silence.

Spiked through her body, a flame hot and riveting.

Pooled in seething delirium deep down inside her.

“Meaning?” she whispered, finding it hard to breathe.

“Meaning, why don’t we find out what you do like?” he said gently, coming to his feet in a graceful flow of toned muscle, having patiently waited through the unwrapping of countless boxes for her to finally read his mind. He held out his strong hand with its dusting of dark hair, his long fingers faintly splayed.

A shiver of pleasure raced through her. Broad-​shouldered, lean hipped in jeans and a faded blue Peace T‑shirt, Dominic’s dark, brooding beauty was breathtaking: the long silky black hair, the bad-​boy scorching blue eyes, the high cheekbones and fine bone structure, the arrow-​straight nose, the mouth saved from outright sensuality by the contradictory don’t‑mess-​with‑me firmness. The whole package transcendent male perfection.

And when he leaned down and his hand closed around hers, she trembled at the glut of prodigal sensation, at the feverish need coiling in the pit of her stomach, at the blazing hot desire streaking up her spine. Agitated and restless, she said on a suffocated breath, “I’m sorry. But it’s been so long I don’t think I’m going to last.”

Drawing her to her feet, he slid his hands under her arms, lifted her over the pile of boxes, and set her down. “Then let’s go take care of you.”

Overview
Kate Hart and Dominic Knight’s volatile love affair continues in the last book in the All or Nothing trilogy from C.C. Gibbs. Being tied down to just one woman was the last thing Dominic wanted. But from the moment he laid eyes on Kate, he couldn’t deny his overwhelming desire for her or his need to possess her.
Praise for Book #1, ALL HE WANTS: “There are so many Fifty Shades-esque books on the market nowadays, but book one of the All or Nothing trilogy will be remembered. This sensational debut will spark interest among the most dedicated erotica fans. Gibbs doesn’t beat around the bush, gets straight to the point, and will leave readers gasping for breath…this story is much more imaginative and will take readers to heights they never even believed existed.” —RT Book Reviews
Praise for Book #2, ALL HE NEEDS: “This electrifying follow-up to the debut of the All or Nothing trilogy will satisfy readers across the map. Gibbs’ writing has a way of connecting with one’s libido and keeps readers wanting more. Our hero and heroine’s relationship seems stronger than ever since they’ve been apart, and their explosive meetings together will stay embedded in erotica fans’ memories for a very long time. All He Needs is suspenseful, emotionally driven and will keep Gibbs’ fans wondering how in the world she will be able to top this installment.” —RT Book Reviews
Buy Links:
About the author:
C.C. Gibbs is the pen name of a New York Times bestselling author. She lives in the Midwest, at times in Northern California, is married with three children and considers the life of a writer the best of all possible worlds. Bringing characters to life allows her imagination full rein, while the creative process offers fascinating glimpses into the machinery of the mind. And last but not least, researching anything, but particularly a book like ALL HE DESIRES—thank you Google—is great fun!
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Review: All He Wants (All or Nothing #1) by C.C. Gibbs

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Title:  All He Wants
Author:  C.C. Gibbs
Publisher/Year:  Grand Central Publishing. 7/9/13
Length:  374 Pages
Series: All or Nothing #1

Overview

Dominic Knight is a man who is always in control. A self-made billionaire by the age of twenty-three, a genius of innovation, and CEO of a global tech empire, Knight always gets what he wants. And he wants Kate Hart. . .

A rising star of cyber forensics, Kate is well aware of Knight’s reputation as a master manipulator, uncompromising leader, and demanding lover. But she’s determined to stay cool and professional-no matter how hot and bothered her new boss makes her feel.

First he appears in her dreams. Then he comes to her in the night. And so begins a journey of erotic awakening and discovery as rich and powerful as Knight himself. In locales from the sultry red-light district of Amsterdam to the private sexual playgrounds of Hong Kong, Kate will shed every inhibition and surrender every part of herself-body, mind, and soul-to give her lover all he craves, all he needs, and all he demands . . .

My Thoughts

This is a slightly new spin on the usual, but it was quite enjoyable to read nonetheless.  What we got was a dynamic between the to mains, Dominic and Kate that was hot and steamy, and only slightly tainted by the past damages of death.  Dominic is still haunted by the death of his wife, and as a result, he’s not only over-protective and commanding, he’s also a ‘playboy’ for lack of a better word.  he doesn’t do anything more permanent than ‘friends with benefits’ and escapades that involve various stages of BDSM.  Kate on the other hand has the loss of her parents at a young age as her past, however it’s not really harmed her based on what we know, it’s only made her stronger.  she’s incredibly brilliant as a forensic accountant (i.e. legal hacker) and knows her worth.

This story opens when Kate is going in for an interview at Knight Enterprises, expecting to meet with Max, Dominic’s right hand man, yet to find herself in an awkward encounter with Dominic himself, and that first meeting turns her off from him because of his temper.  I hope that we get into this a bit more in the next installment, but we know that she HATES him off the bat because of his anger and Kate alludes to the fact that it’s her past trend to associate with men like that.

Somehow Dominic manages to convince Kate to work 1 project for him that requires her immediate departure on the private jet to Europe and she finds herself in a world that’s so far from her norm.  What we know will happen of course is that ‘Nick’ will use his money and power to try to control Kate, and woo her with all the wealth that he can just throw around.  He does this by installing a new wardrobe in her room, offering her more money than she could ever need, offering her to ‘write her own ticket’ for her fee among other things.  The nice thing though is that Kate isn’t after his money (like every other woman in the world) and that’s an interesting concept for Dominic to deal with.

Where the story goes from there is an overt wooing trip from Amsterdam to Singapore to Hong Kong, where Kate is trying to fight her attraction to him and Dominic tries to ‘behave’.  As expected, they can’t keep their hands off each other but it’s not without rules and boundaries.  The question that really comes up is that while Dominic keeps telling her that she has to ‘obey’ for the length of her contract (i.e. 6 more days), they both wonder what will happen after those 6 days.

The writing here is great as well trying to find the balance of Kate’s vanilla sex life and her fear of anything ‘kinky’ and how it plays with Dominic’s clearly kinky and erotic style.  They are insatiable which means that the chemistry and heat has to maintain in order for each scene to seem new and exciting. (which it does)

The great cliffhanger of this fist installment of course was expected but quite nice.  I can’t wait for the next book to come out so that we can see what happens next between these 2.  We see that Kate’s taking a hold of Dominic’s heart in ways that he’s not used to, and Kate’s walls are coming down too.  but they both have this innate fear of what will come next.  The good thing is that with all the heat and passion that they share, you know that you’ll get something great.