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Review: Boss (The Donovan Dynasty #3) by Sierra Cartwright

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No-Brainer

Title: Boss
Author: Sierra Cartwright
Publisher/Year:  Totally Entwined Group 4/19/16
Length:   265 Pages
Series:  The Donovan Dynasty #3

Overview

His erotic demands test everything she believes.

When the fearless, larger-than-life Nathan Donovan becomes her boss, Kelsey Lane’s life is turned upside down. The multimillionaire wants her by his side, but his demands don’t end there.

Kelsey avoids romantic entanglements, especially with overwhelmingly dynamic men like Nathan. But she quickly discovers his attention and sensual desires ignite something deep inside her, leading her on a journey that tests everything she believes.

The youngest, boldest of the dynamic Donovan brothers, Nathan is accustomed to getting what he wants. And he focuses his attention on the smart, sexy Kelsey. He quickly discovers she’s unlike any woman he’s ever known.

She meets him, desire for desire, getting deep inside him, destroying the barriers he keeps around his heart. He wonders, though, if she’s willing to give him the one thing he demands…

My Thoughts

We didn’t really get much of a chance to learn about Nathan in the past 2 books so it’s nice to see his life come into play in this third installment.  What we do know is that he’s meticulous about finance and all things tied to that, so it’s not surprise that we see that come to be a key part of things as Donovan Wordwide takes over a new company in the Houston area.

Kelsey, our leading lady comes into the picture as the executive assistant to the company that Nathan is buying, and we quickly learn that she’s more of the backbone to running the company than what her title implies.  Things can’t run without her, and Nathan begins to see that she plays a pivotal role in her life as well.

While there’s chemistry off the bat with these two – true to our author’s form in writing character dynamics – it’s a wonder as to how they will ultimately come together.  Work seems to put a fine line between things, but fortunately for the two of them, Kelsey has a friend Andi who’s involved somewhat in the BDSM lifestyle, and gets Kelsey into a new club that just happens to be part owned by Nathan’s brother.  So nice how that works out right?

Where the rest of the story takes us is on a journey of self discovery, understanding that the need to be independent actually goes hand in hand with being in a D/s relationship, and it’s Nathan’s job to teach this all to Kelsey. The story takes place really only during a span of a week, but i think that it’s an itense few days that you can’t wait to see what happens next.

The other underlying story here is not just about the intro into the lifestyle for Kelsey, but seeing how she’s empowered to take on more, and when an opportunity presents itself to be a CEO for Lara (Connor’s wife) – well you see that she’s grown even more than imagined.

While i’m a huge fan of Ms Cartwrights, and def of this series, i think that there were times throughout that i felt like the story was lacking just a bit.  The scenes as hot as they were didn’t seem as original as i’ve come to appreciate from our author – but nonethless, at least the pace kept up. I can’t wait to see what’s next in this series since i feel like there has to be more.  Erin still needs her own installment, and i feel like after seeing her reaction to Julian Bond having a girl with him at Connor and Lara’s party in book 2, i feel like there’s definitely a good juicy story there.  On that note – enjoy everyone and i’ll be back soon!

Review: Brand (The Donnovan Dynasty #2) by Sierra Cartwright

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No-Brainer

Title: Brand
Author: Sierra Cartwright
Publisher/Year:  Totally Entwined Group 9/22/15
Length:   253 Pages
Series:  The Donovan Dynasty #2

Overview

Book two in The Donovan Dynasty series

He wants her subject to his will. She’s scared she may never want to get away.

The first time Sofia McBride meets the strong and determined Cade Donovan, he warns her to keep her distance. She tells herself to heed his words, but she’s stunned to realize her depth of attraction to this intimidating man.

She knows she should stay away from him, but try as she might, she’s unable to resist him or his sexy, erotic demands. The deeper she becomes ensnared, the more she realizes she may never want to escape.

All his life, enigmatic rancher Cade Donovan has chosen women who don’t expect too much from him. But when a storm strands him with Sofia, his lovely, won’t-take-no-for-an-answer event planner, all his dominant and protective instincts flare.

Cade wants everything she has to offer, but he soon discovers Sofia’s beauty hides a determination he hasn’t counted on. Her untamed responses send him on a journey that will banish his demons and change them both forever.

My Thoughts

I’m enjoying this look into the different brothers lives and how they are intertwined or not.  I think that the way that Ms Cartwright is telling this series is a nice smooth progression since each story gently rolls into the next.  When we first met this family, we met Connor and Lara through their interesting story – and here we are with Cade now – the brother who’s always been a bit distant from the family – not really because he’s a half brother since everyone has accepted him but because he feels that he shouldn’t be getting the bits of life and family that he has.

So that’s really where we come into this story.  Connor and Lara are celebrating their marriage in Houston,and Sofia’s event company has managed all of the arrangements.  It’s when they meet on that day that things change completely for them.  There’s a chemistry and link between them that you know they have to act on, and it’s just a matter of how they choose to do it.

It’s when Cade’s family suggests that Sofia help plan the centennial event of their family ranch that things start to fall into place. During a tour of the property, Sofia’s eyes are opened to a side of Cade that she expected somewhat based on what she knows of his brother connor, and well, things fall into place after that – since you know that they can’t possible just tamp that one down.  It’s full on heat ad steam and naughty bits all together.

What we always get from Ms Cartwright in her writing is something that comes through here in full force.  Both of our main characters have a past that’s not so stellar and they’ve either chosen to let it make them stronger or to become a crutch. Sofia decided to be better from it, while Cade lets his demons eat at him and knowing that Sofia will push and push to get that to come to the forefront – it’s also the same thing that will break them apart.

The journey we take here is twofold.  The first is of sexual exploration – we know that Sofia hasn’t had the most experience and Cade’s the one to give it to her – but what boundaries will be pushed and what does that mean.  Then on the flip side, Sofia will push Cade, and we know that he can’t be pushed, and that leads us down a very bad path.

It’s through forces of nature around them, family coming to support and do a bit of ass kicking and just realization that you’re better together than alone – well…it’s all something that has to happen and does happen.

I think that the place where this story ends, and leads into the next installment is such a natural flow.  You only want to see good things happen for these brothers but they are their own worst enemies.  It’s no surprise that they have each other’s backs to the extent that they do, and i can’t wait to see how it plays out in book three.  Enjoy and HAPPY FRIDAY!

Review: Bind (The Donovan Dynasty #1) by Sierra Cartwright

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Title: Bind
Author: Sierra Cartwright
Publisher/Year:  Totally Entwined Group 69/15
Length:   265 Pages
Series:  The Donovan Dynasty #1

Overview

Book one in The Donovan Dynasty series

Only one man can help her. Is she willing to pay his price?

Faced with the potentially overwhelming loss of her family’s fortune, Lara Bertrand turns to the one man who can help her, the gorgeous and powerful Connor Donovan.

She knows he’s dangerous to her on every level. Only desperation would drive her to make such a risky proposition. After all, she knows all about his ruthless nature and relentless determination to succeed.

When the classy, elegant Lara walks into his office with an outrageous proposal, Connor is stunned and more than a little intrigued. Ever since he first met her, he’s been attracted to the cool beauty, but she’s more than kept her distance.

Connor is absolutely willing to help her out. For a price. He not only wants her hand in marriage, but also her total submissive surrender…

My Thoughts

I’m a huge fan of Ms. Cartwrights, so when i came across this series, i had to see what it was about.  I have to say that it lived up to everything else that we’ve been gifted with.

We start off with characters that are not only entwined because of business, but also because of a family bond.  Lara our leading lady and Erin are really close friends, and she’s kind of the tie that initially binds – getting the two together.

Connor is a businessman who is closed off to emotions and relationships, partially because of what his parents relationship was before his father’s death and partially because he’s so focused on work and building is company.

Of course that means that we’ll have two leads that are so focused on doing the right things for their businesses that they sacrifice their own happiness.  It’s only when Lara finds herself in a jam where she needs to bring Connor into the mix in a way that’s going to complicate things both personally and professionally that things begin to get hot.

There’s such chemistry between these two, that you can’t help but to be completely engaged in all that they do.  They scene well, the fact that Connor is a D and Lara really knows nothing about being an ‘s’ – aside from the fact that she likes it a bit kinky, well i think that we’re destined for a great education here.

If i could find fault with one thing is that connor was so willing and quick to admit his preferences in the bed room and i don’t know that it’s realistic that it would have happened that fast.  In all of the other series in the genre that i’ve read, there’s been a bit of hesitancy given that its not quite mainstream, but i guess it works here since they obviously trusted each other quite a bit.

As the story progresses, we see the forming of a true relationship, even if it’s a sham from the onset, and the depth that things go once you open yourself up to the possibility.  Lara fights Connor on everything, but even so, you can see a true relationship forming and it’ll be a question of who breaks first and what it will mean.

We’re given the expected level of anxiety and stress when they realize that maybe there’s more than they bargained for, and then it’s a question of who will make the first move to bring things back full circle.  Will Lara be able to help save her family’s business, and what cost will that come to her father given that he’s the one causing all of this.  Then there’s the question of whether Connor and Lara really are compatible and what that will mean since it’s not something that they are either open to.

On that note, i’ll track down #2 and see who gets featured next.  Happy Memorial Day!

Review: Mastered: Over the Line (Mastered #3) by Sierra Cartwright

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Title:  Mastered:  Over the Line
Author: Sierra Cartwright
Publisher/Year: Totally Bound Publishing 6/21/13
Length: 156 pages
Series: Mastered #3

Overview

He can’t say he wasn’t warned…

From the moment he’s cautioned to avoid the submissive who snares his attention, Dom Michael Dayton is intrigued. With her tight dress, flowing hair and honest dialogue, what could be more perfect than a few hours together?

Sydney Wallace fears only one thing—being tied down. She lives for adventure and fun, including the occasional BDSM party. By always scening with different Doms, she avoids emotional entanglements that might complicate her life. A man who owns a ranch and has roots deep into the soil is definitely not the kind of Dom she wants to play with.

Sydney has never met anyone as complex as Master Michael Dayton. From the moment he issues his first command, she knows he’s different. He watches her reactions, sees what she wants, and unselfishly gives her what she needs. Getting involved with a man like him would be the biggest risk of her life, crossing over all of lines she’s drawn to protect her way of life.

After the first night together, Michael realises he should have heeded the warning. But it may already be too late

My Thoughts

The journey continues with yet another Dom from ‘The Den’, and i have to say that i think that i may need to take a pause from this series since it’s just not doing it for me.  What we have here is a great role play between to strong leads, but i feel like it’s just not intriguing enough for me – there’s something missing.

We meet Master Michael at the Den one night – a man who’s divorced and who has decided that he doesn’t want anything serious just yet with anyone.  That same night, he spies Sydney walking across the room, and although he’s been warned that she likes to ‘top from the bottom’ and play games, he’s still decided to go for it.  The story of these 2 really just supports the dynamic that she’s not willing to give up control, and yet that’s everything that’s in his nature – to control.

This story takes us through the course of their first night together – where Master Michael figures out what makes Sydney tick and why she’s gotten away with what she has with other Doms and pushes her past those limits.  Sydney in return turns into a brat, doesn’t adhere to his requests and orders and gets punished – which is exactly what she wants.

The story only gets interesting when we start to see their lives outside of one another – when we learn why they are each the way that they are.  The challenge is that we only got a glimpse of that – we didn’t really get to dig in.  And the resolution and closure aspect comes very quickly without too much of a struggle.

The one constant though that’s in all of Ms. Cartwright’s books is that we get heated passionate scening.  There’s a naughty-ness to everything that she writes and you really do get a strong sense that she knows what she’s talking about in the BDSM world.  That gives the story a strong authenticity and you wonder which limits will be reached.  As a result of this as well, there’s hot sex and chemistry that at times really does come off the page, but maybe in this story just not enough.

To sum it all up, it’s average – there were redeeming qualities for sure – but i think that i’m going to take a break from the remaining installments of the series and pick it back up in a few weeks.  so…Enjoy!

Reviewed: Mastered: On His Terms (Mastered #2) by Sierra Cartwright

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Title:  Mastered:  On His Terms
Author: Sierra Cartwright
Publisher/Year: Totally Bound Publishing 4/22/13
Length: 167 pages
Series: Mastered #2

Overview

It was business only… Chelsea Barton is terrible at the whole submission thing, and she wants to snare the Dom of her dreams. She seeks out the renowned trainer Master Alexander. Alex has his hands full with Chelsea, especially when he realises he doesn’t want to turn her over to another man…

Damn, damn, and double damn. This was so not supposed to happen.

Chelsea Barton always gets what she wants, and she wants the up and coming rocker Evan C to accept her as his sub. But her performance always disappoints him.

Determined to have her way, she begs Master Alexander Monahan to train her.

Alex has given up training submissives, and no matter what, he would not work with someone as bold, headstrong, and stubborn as Chelsea.

But there’s something about her that intrigues and impresses him, an enthusiasm that is missing from his too-dull life. Under very strict guidelines he agrees. She has to try her best. She has to submit uncomplainingly to his punishments. And there’s a two week obligation, after which they will part ways. Being a trainer is a very different relationship than a D/s, and despite his intentions to remain aloof, he starts to care deeply for the headstrong Chelsea.

Chelsea unhesitatingly agrees to Master Alexander’s rules, after all, he’s going to give her the skills she needs to get what she wants. But, damn it, the longer she trains with him, the more she is attracted to his rugged good look as well as to his firm, but relentless ways. She reminds herself of her goals, but that becomes more difficult every day.

For Alex, falling for a sub who will belong to another man was never part of the deal.

My Thoughts

As much as i love Sierra and what she’s written that i’ve read, i have to say that this one took me a little bit to get through.  The idea behind the story line is a good one, the characters seem to have the depth and dynamic that would make for a GREAT read, but it took me much longer to get through this 2nd installment than it should and i’m not sure why.

While this 2nd installment gives us a female lead that’s already familiar somewhat with the BDSM lifestyle, she’s really not in it for the right reasons – meaning that she’s after the attention of one man, who won’t give her the time of day.  It’s because of this that we get to see our leading duo grown and blossom.  Chelsea reaches out to Master Alexander in the hopes that he’ll train her and make her into the kind of sub that Evan C will be interested in, and this is the tale of how Master Alex works to break her.

The scening here is great – we get a different perspective on all things sub training related.  The means that Alex goes to in order to make Chelsea realize what the lifestyle is all about, and maybe that’s what’s so off putting to me.  His style isn’t necessarily what i’d warm up to and even in other series that we’ve seen a sub trainer in, his approach is a bit more rough so to speak.

The other piece that throws me is that i think that Chelsea could be a great lead – she’s got a successful business to fall back on, she’s really not reliant on a man to make her happy – she’s just crushing on one, yet the seriousness or lack there of that she gives the lifestyle is what makes it a bit painful for me to read.

The redeeming quality here though is that even though the mid-section of this shorter installment sagged and dragged a bit, we didn’t go more than a few pages without something hot and naughty.  that’s something that Ms Cartwright surely knows how to do well.  The nature of these scenes is hot – we get a lot of pain and bondage together, and a lot of manners training which of course makes for a great denied experience.  I admit that i did skim from time to time just to get to those scenes since they managed to resonate well for me.

So all that being said, i’m still invested in this series and i’m going in for book 3 now, in the hopes that we’ll get picked up again into the heat and passion with these D/s relationships.  Hopefully you won’t take my lack of love for this book to mean that it’s not worth it – i’m sure it works for some folks….so with that – Happy New Year and try to enjoy!

Review: Mastered: With this Collar (Mastered #1) by Sierra Cartwright

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Title:  Mastered:  With this collar
Author: Sierra Cartwright
Publisher/Year: Totally Bound Publishing 2/18/13
Length: 167 pages
Series: Mastered #1

Overview

Julia Lyle will have nothing to do with domineering men, no matter how tall, dark, and sexy. But Dom Marcus Cavendish will be satisfied with nothing less than collaring the fiercely independent Julia.

Nothing could have shocked her more…

Julia Lyle is invited to her best friend’s wedding and is stunned when Lana kneels to accept her husband’s collar. When Julia starts to object, firm, relentless hands land on her shoulders. The man behind her threatens to turn her over his knee if she interrupts. She’s outraged, but there’s no doubt he’s serious.

After the ceremony, he offers her a glimpse into her friend’s lifestyle, if she’s brave enough to accept.

Master Marcus Cavendish is everything she doesn’t want in a man—dominant, self-assured and arrogant. So why can’t she resist him?

Telling herself that learning about the lifestyle will make her a better friend, Julia agrees to submit to Master Marcus, but only for the evening. Firm and unrelenting in his handling of her, he introduces her to his tawse and the pleasure/pain of a spanking delivered by a competent Dom. The experience unnerves her, making her question everything she thought she knew about relationships, and his forced orgasms leave her shattered.

No doubt the scene seduced her, and that makes her doubly determined to avoid him. She has fought hard for her freedom and vowed only to date nice men, and Master Marcus is anything but safe.

Marcus is undeterred. Julia is a natural sub. The way she responded to his touch, his voice, his punishment proved it. Now he has to convince her to yield to him, submitting to his tawse as she kneels to accept his collar

My Thoughts

I’m a sucker for a story about an established Dom – someone who knows exactly what it is that they want and who can take the time to train a sub who doesn’t even know that she IS one and someone who’s actually kind of against the lifestyle in general.

That’s what we get in this introduction to the series.  As the summary above says, Julia only becomes aware of the BDSM lifestyle because she’s been invited to her best friend Lana’s wedding, which turns out to be a combination wedding and collaring ceremony.  Lana feels that Julia is the least likely to have issue with her choices, and while that should be true, it’s not since Julia is about to contest it during the celebration.  Lucky for her, Marcus – MASTER Marcus is there to put a stop to her complaints when it could become problematic, and from there, we get to see exactly what it is that he’s capable of.

What was meant to be just one night for Julia we all know will have to be more.  If there’s nothing more to expect from our author – Ms. Cartwright delivers the pull of BDSM in a way that few authors are able to successfully do for us.  We see that he’s in control, on a variety of toys and tools, and that’s something that everyone know will have to last for more than a night.  Marcus has a way of showing us that Spanking, be it in whatever form is required is intense, and Julia – someone who’s never even imagined experiencing it learns that it’s a great thing for her.  The other piece is that we also see the varying levels of comfort among the characters which is something that i’ve really come to appreciate from our author.

While we don’t get the back story on any of our mains, we come to appreciate how they have come to the place that they are in.  Be it the controlling relationship that Julia was in that makes her avoid all things domineering of men, or the fact that Marcus had collared someone in the past to learn that she wasn’t what he needed.  That’s what makes the story great.

It’s a battle of wits, pride, and inner strength in the sense that while we know what the outcome will be, we don’t necessarily know what path it’ll take to get there.  I for one would love to see more of Ben and Lana – i’d love to hear about how their story really began.  I’d also love to see more of Gregorio and even Damien since we only got a glimpse into them in this introduction to the series.  So , here’s to hoping for more great heat, passions, sex, and lessons in all things BDSM, and i’m going to continue on with the series to see who’s next on deck.  enjoy!

Review: Claim (Bonds #2) by Sierra Cartwright

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Title:  Claim
Author: Sierra Cartwright
Publisher/Year: Totally Bound Publishing 11/28/14
Length: 215 pages
Series: Bound #2

Overview

It had to be her. He won’t be satisfied until he claims her.

Kennedy Aldrich has perfected the art of dodging any romantic entanglement that will lead to marriage. That is until he sees Mackenzie Farrell at a BDSM gathering.

When they meet, he’s entranced by her intelligence and submission, not to mention her stunning good looks. For the first time, he has met a woman who captivates his interest on every level, someone he wants to share his life with.

Mackenzie is overwhelmed by Kennedy’s attentions. A failed marriage taught her to distrust men, and she’s vowed never to walk down the aisle again.

It takes all her resolve to resist the devilishly handsome Dominant. After all, the whole world knows of his legendary reputation with women. Every feminine instinct warns that this man will demand more than she can offer.

But she hasn’t counted on Kennedy’s determination to claim her and prove that love is worth any risk.

My Thoughts

I have to say that i have the same thoughts coming out of this 2nd installment to the Bonds series that i had from the first – that we get exactly what we have come to love and expect from our author in terms of the characters and story line, yet i think that there’s so much more that could have been done that it felt like a novella v. a 2nd installment.

So like the summary tells us, we have 2 characters that have their own fair share of relationship issues.  Kennedy is the successful member of the  boys club, and it’s his turn to step up to the relationship game – although it’s not something that he really went out looking for.  His mom wants him to get married off and while that’s not his motive in life, some of this friends (outside of the boys club) are taking it upon themselves to help him out.  In a way, it helps him since there has been gossip tied to him lately and that’s something that while he doesn’t care about it, he’d like to diffuse it.

That same night when Kennedy is trying to diffuse, he re-meets Dar as we meet her here, real name Mackenzee – or Zee as he likes to call her.  She’s damaged – coming out of a relationship where her husband cheated on her and while she knows that it wasn’t her, she isn’t in the market to ever get married again.  Meeting Kennedy, a dom that clearly knows what he wants and how he wants it it becomes a huge challenge for her and a sexual draw.

The journey that we go on with these 2 is a nice one – we see that Zee really needs to be pushed by someone, to be challenged since she’s really been the one to put the limits on everything in her life.  from professional to personal.  She calls the shots, she says when, and Kennedy is definitely not the sort to even abide by any of that.  Kennedy goes out of his comfort zone in the sense that he’s allowing a woman to distract him from life – to get absorbed into the romance of things and that’s a great transition for him.

There’s great scening, the way that the story is written from within The Hub (the BDSM club that things kick off in) is hot – there’s really a great variety of what can be done there, who’s involved and the rules and safety tied to it.  Maybe not as hard core as a lot of other stories in the genre, but still hot enough to make you feel like you’re right there tied up to the cross or square with these D/s relationships.

The anxiety and tension that we get comes in the form of an ultimatum which is something that Zee can’t stand for and doesn’t – and the resolution is up in the air on who will make the move, if either will and what it will mean.  While the story takes the expected path, i think that it felt a little rushed to me.  Again back to the notion that this felt more like a novella than a novel, i think that it’s because the story takes place over a path of just a few weeks to get us to this climatic place, and while in erotica that’s normal, it felt like it was still hurried.  we get great kink and sex, but i don’t know that we were taken to the level that we could have if it were expanded on.  Regardless, i think that we get to see a lot more of Kennedy and get to learn quite a bit about Zee and that in itself is a success.

The question remains as to which of the boys is next, and i kind of hope that Julien’s pilot Svetlana continues to play a role and that we get to see her as a main one of these days as well.  so….Enjoy!

Review: Crave (Bonds #1) by Sierra Cartwright

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Title:  Crave
Author: Sierra Cartwright
Publisher/Year: Totally Bound Publishing 5/30/14
Length: 174 pages
Series: Bound #1

Overview

She still craved him… The sight of a collar in her boyfriend’s drawer had stunned Sarah. Panicking, she had fled. But no other man has ever been his equal.

Two years ago, the woman he’d hoped to collar and marry disappeared. So Reece McRae is stunned to find his former girlfriend on her knees, behaving as the submissive he’d always wanted.

Is it too late? He should refuse her, but an undeniable sexual attraction consumes him.

Sarah had been under Reece’s spell from the moment she met him. When she found a steel collar in his drawer, she panicked. The idea of a lifetime of his relentless demands, sensual and otherwise, suffocated her.

In the years they’ve been apart, she hasn’t met his equal. Now, convinced one last night will vanquish his memory, she sets out to seduce him.

The Reece she returns to is even more determined to have his way. Is she now strong enough, brave enough, to surrender to his love?

My Thoughts

What we have here is what felt like a novella as an intro to a series when i think that it would have been ok to be longer.  I don’t know yet though – maybe the cadence of the whole series will be better suited as these shorter installments.

the sense that i get from this story is another one along the lines of The Billionaire Boys Club which is one of my fav series – where there is a group of 4+ really close knit guy friends who are all successful in their own right and who have yet to settle down.  Their tastes are rather similar and that’s something that i feel like will continue to bring their journeys together.

In this first book we meet Reece and Sarah – a couple who has been apart from each other for 2 years after Sarah got scared of what it seemed like Reece wanted from her.  He was her first introduction into the lifestyle and what a collar represented to her was different than what it meant to Reece – causing her to run scared.

The past 2 years have given Reece time to harden towards her and Sarah’s regretted the choice over and over again.  It’s when she decides to use their mutual friend Julien as a way to get back together that things get dicey.

This short story is really about what it will take to admit to yourself that you’re still really attracted to one another and then decide whether you’re able to put the past behind you to come together or if it’s better to be left alone.  With the way that these 2 main characters are written, i think that it’s safe to say that we will see them fight for what they believe and really not let anyone else sway them from what they want.

The chemistry that we get typically from Ms. Cartwright follows suit in this series.  You can feel the sparks between them coming off the pages and what they do – their scenes and play time is hot, naughty and full of those elements that make it just a bit darker than straight up erotica.  There are moments of clear cut BDSM here that show that Reece is a dom that knows what he’s doing and we see that Sarah’s knowledge and skill at being a sub was basic before and has been perfected to what we see now.  All great bits of a story that make it even more intriguing to read.

All of that put together makes me pleased that i found this story (thank you great cover art) and i think that the journey that we take with this group of guys will be one that will keep me entertained for quite some time.  enjoy!

Review: Doms of Dark Haven 2 – Western Night

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Similar to the first short story compilation, this set brings us to Dark Haven on another themed night – this time it’s Western night.  3 authors bring us back into the BDSM world within the club where we are introduced to yet another group of Doms.

A Good Sub Would… By Sierra Cartwright is the first short story in the series.  She introduces us to Masters David and Trevor while they are at Dark Haven for a charity poker game.  The dynamic between these 2 is very tense- they have a short history of Master Trevor stealing David’s subs….although i’m not quite sure how one can ‘steal’ a sub.  So this evening, Master David has Shelby with him, his ‘sometimes sub’ – as she is a long time friend and sometimes sub when she’s in town.  Their relationship is a relatively casual one but it works for them.  The challenge between these 2 is that Shelby sometimes tops from the bottom (a phrase that i’ve learned reading these types of stories) – she may be the sub, but she usually gives the direction to Master David in scenes.  Master Trevor on the other side though is one of the most domineering Doms that Dark Haven has known.  He’s got a reputation of expecting perfection from his subs, he dominates completely and punishes strongly when he’s not obeyed to the letter.

During the Poker game, some how Shelby is put up as a prize if the hand is lost by Master David, and some how that happens…..meaning that Shelby is in for the shock of her life.  She’s going from the safety of a dom that she’s known and knows what to expect to that of Master Trevor – 100% the unexpected yet that’s highly arousing

I enjoyed this story by Sierra much more than i did her story from Doms of Dark Haven (1) – i feel like there was much better development of the relationship between Shelby and the doms.  what i also REALLY ENJOYED was that Destiny was brought into this story as more than just a receptionist type character.  We see that she’s strong, caring and clearly very aware of everything that goes on in the club and around her.  i hope that one of the next stories that we read has her as a main character.

Hunting Holly by Belinda McBride is the 2nd story that we check into in the compilation and true to what we saw in Doms of Dark Haven 1, we’re revisiting the wolf pack.  Instead of meeting up with Harte’s pack, we’re back with the wolves from Chase’s crew – as they are summoned to Dark Haven by Master Xavier.  There seems to be something amiss that the Xavier seems to think that the wolves can help with and upon arrival, they find another young boy – similar to the one that we encountered in Doms of DH1 – and the wolves claim him since they know that he was ‘delivered’ by the Abraxas.  backing up a bit – once the wolves get to the club and learn that they are there for ‘someone’ – 2 wonder if it’s one of their own – a female (holly) that had run away from the pack a year ago.  Xavier confirms that it’s not a female and both Hunter and Tex seem a bit deflated since they were both hoping that they’d find her.

After claiming the boy, the wolves turn to leave when they get the sense that another one of their own species is in the club and while 2 leave with the boy, Hunter and Tex tune into the scent to figure out who it is.  That’s when they discover that in fact it IS Holly and that she’s there – and they go on the hunt to find her, and then stake their claim.

What i found in this story though, is that even though they are in a BDSM club, there really isn’t much of that at the forefront of the story.  Hunter is clueless in anything sexual since he’s quite the virigin, and although Tex has been at the club before and is comfortable with the environment (he has his own bag of toys) – he’s really not a commanding dom.  at least not compared to all those other doms that we’ve met at Dark Haven.  The little love triangle that kind of develops is really anti-climactic since it seems very PG to me.

what i did like though is that Destiny again takes a role in this story – she’s always watching out for what’s going on and Holly even gets a little sense from her that something’s up but she can’t put her finger on it and doesn’t give it another thought.  I hope that sometime soon we get to see more of a story about her.

Welcome to the Darkside  by Cherise Sinclair again reminds me of the reason to keep her as a fav and to read any collection that includes her since she truly is a good author.  This story is written in the same tone as all others, and ocntinues along with characters that we’ve met and enjoyed in previous books.  In this story, we re-meet Virgil who is Kallie’s cousin (from Master of the Abyss- Mountain Masters series). …and he’s not quite sure if BDSM is for him since he know how much he didn’t care for the lifestyle in the series.  He never looked favorably upon the reputation that it had from Logan/Jake in the series.  So here we are, finding Virgil at Dark Haven one night because he’s trying to determine if he’s a ‘pervert’ as he likes to call himself or if he’s just into a bit of kink and can put it on the back burner.

That same night we are re-introduced to Summer whom we met in Doms of Dark Haven 1 – when Rona was first involved with Simon and discovers Summer with a BAD DOM (Dirk) who isn’t respecting the use of a safe word.  So, because of that, Summer’s a bit gun shy around doms, yet she knows that she’s a submissive through and through.  Simon knows what Summer needs, and also knows a bit about Virgil, so it’s an easy pairing in his mind to put the two of them together.

So this story continues on that path, developing that relationship so much better than the other authors in the collection did with their pairings and that make the story so much richer and deeper.  Cherise doesn’t shy away from kink or dirty/rough sex scenes which is also nice compared to some of the more vanilla tones that we saw in the previous stories.

the question just becomes – what will Virgil decide about the BDSM lifestyle and how it works or doens’t work with his life as a cop in a small town.  Will Summer be ok in another relationship or has Dirk ruined her forever?  I have to give this story a 4 out of 5 stars because it was great – just not long enough to get any of that anticipation and anxiety that i do so love.

Again, these collections have something for everyone who’s into BDSM, Erotica, paranormal, and fantasy.  check it out!

Review: Doms of Dark Haven

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Since I love all things Cherise Sinclair i felt that i owed it to myself to read this supplement to the Mountain Masters series.  This one comes with the good and the less good (can’t quite make myself say bad at least).

so…The Doms of Dark Haven is a series of 3 short stories that surround a few of the doms of the illustrious Dark Haven BDSM club on Victorian Night.  Each of these 3 stories are written by another author yet, they all seem to be occurring at the same time.  (meaning that there are small references to the other stories in each of the subsequent ones

The first story is by Sierra Cartwright  called Met Her Match where we are introduced to Torin Carter – a special agent (i guess) who works for Hawkeye which is a private body guard type firm.  Since we’re meeting him as he’s storming into the club, NOT in Victorian attire, we can guess that something’s bothering him quite significantly and my guess would be a woman.  which….leads us to Mira who is strapped to a spanking bench being ‘played with’ by another dom.  i should note that she is his Partner – at Hawkeye, and is the same woman that crawled naked into his bed last night in the hopes of enticing some reaction that would lead to sex.  didn’t work…but that’s not where their story ends.

So Torin finds Mira, manages to ‘convince’ her admit to Xavier (the club owner) that she’s ‘with’ Torin, and the night’s entertainment ensues.  As we’ve come to expect in stories like this, especially with doms that we’ve been introduced to at Dark Haven is that they are very experienced and skilled and are quite able to get women to do what they want.  Torin though, as much as he wants to go down that path, he also doesn’t want it to compromise their working relationship. The night continues with Mira being ‘educated’ by Torin in all things BDSM, and as a result, they have to figure out the boundaries of what they are doing.  The story goes thorugh a few ups and downs, and then of course the last 1/3 of the books has the expected bit of anxiety and excitement which leads to some unexpected places.

The next story Educating Evangeline is by Belinda McBride takes us back to the club although it takes on a slightly different twist.  i feel like it’s a bit BDSM and a bit TWILIGHT, but that’s not me judging (since i actually like twilight).  we meet Eva as she’s trying to blend into the crowd and make her way into Dark Haven in the hopes of escaping a few guys that are following her.  This is where we meet Harte, who comes to her rescue in a sense.  he steadies her when she’s frightened in the club, and takes her away from some of the craziness to understand what’s going with her.  this is where she finds out that she’s got more in common with him than either expected – they are both of the super-natural.  Harte knows who is after Eva and he and his friends take it upon themselves to help protect her all the while, he gets to entertain himself with Eva – whom he finds incredibly attractive.  He’s so drawn to her that he’s pleased that he gets to introduce her to all things BDSM.  The path that this story takes is one that brings us further into the supernatural, which i’m not quite sure why it was needed, but it happens, and then there’s power struggles, and anxiety.  you really don’t know how things will end on this one…

The third and final story is Simon Say: Mine by Cherise Sinclair and was the story that i was waiting for since she really is one of my favorites.  Cherise reintroduces us to Simon who is a master that we’ve met before and whom exudes power and sensuality on a night where he’s giving a demonstration that Rona is able to catch a piece of.  She’s one of the more mature females that we’ve met and we get a deeper insight into her than we’ve seen from a lot of other subs.  Rona has her apprehensions about men and that’s because she was in an unfulfilling marriage.  So Simon comes in and he’s kind of had a taste of that in his life and knows what he wants – someone that’s more able to keep up with him.  In any event, What Simon offers, Rona’s heart wants to accept and her head DOES NOT, yet often her body wins…so that takes us on a bit of a roller coaster with these 2.

In this story, we are reintroduced to a few of the Mountain Masters folks, Logan, Rebecca and Jake which is really pleasing.  I missed those guys.  We also get to see Rona taken from the comforts of Dark Haven to a house party and even out and around a bit.  The relationship development here is a bit deeper than we’ve seen from a few other short stories, and i think that if you’re accustomed to all things Cherise Sinclair, you’re enjoy this as well.

all in all, i’d say this collection is a 3 out of 5 stars, or 3.5 out of 5 stars.