Review: Forbidden Fantasies by Jodie Griffin

Title: Forbidden Fantasies
Author: Jodie Griffin
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: March 5, 2012
ISBN: 9781426893339
Received via NetGalley
Genre: Erotic Romance


The Blurb:

After fifteen years of marriage, Jessica Meyers's sex life is, well, a little predictable. Her handsome husband turns her on, but missionary style once or twice a week? It just can't compare to the hot new world she discovers in the pages of erotic romances. Her fantasies fuel the fire of her desire, adding a new spark to her and Alex's lovemaking. But Jess is afraid to tell her husband what shereally wants in bed-and her secrets start coming between them.

State trooper Alex Meyers is a master at uncovering the truth-except when it comes to his sweet, shy wife. She's clearly keeping something from him. An affair? She wants out? When he finally confronts Jess, he's shocked to learn she wants to turn her forbidden fantasies into nightly realities. But when he takes her to a unique B and B-Bondage and Breakfast-catering to couples and multiples, Alex is about to find out just how far he'll go.


My Take:


Jess has been living her sexual fantasies. In her head that is. She's afraid to tell her husband about the erotic books she's been reading and even more afraid to tell him that she wants to try some of the things in those books. It's a very believable fear, especially because the unknown often is scary. Alex believes the worst, thinking his wife is having an affair. She's been distant lately even after they're together and it bothers him. Until he finally confronts her and all is finally revealed.


This novella is hot, hot hot. It worked well for being so short and as such I didn't have a problem with the plot feeling too rushed etc. It was enjoyable to read and had parts that even had me blushing (and it takes a lot to make me blush.) Mostly, this type of story was right up my alley heat wise.


The one thing that I found I had a problem with was the dialogue. I had a hard time "listening" to the characters as thought the dialogue felt forced and stilted. Not believable. At least not to me. I find this to be a shame, as there is so much potential here to convey so much emotion and it fell flat in this area. I, unfortunately, found myself wanting to skim over the dialogue and get to the internalizations and "action" because it was all conveyed much better than the dialogue. I wish I could have connected to it more as I really enjoyed the story, but problems with dialogue are hard for me to overlook when reading and as such my rating reflects this problem.


My Rating: 3/5 Lattes







All My Best,


Kayla

Review: Wicked Weekend by Gillian Archer

Title: Wicked Weekend
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: March 12, 2012
ISBN: 9781426893391
Genre: Erotic Romance containing BDSM
Received via Net Galley


The Blurb:

Why did Lauren Vaughn introduce her sister to the man she herself was crazy about? Now Lauren is watching the happy couple at their combined bachelor/bachelorette party-while Lauren sits all alone at the bar. Until she spots a hot stranger with the telltale black handkerchief in his pocket: the signal for "seeks no-strings affair with sexy submissive." Lauren can't take her eyes off him. So when he comes over, she kicks her inner good girl to the curb and follows Jamie Forman to his room, where he makes her scream with pleasure all night long.

But Jamie is a complicated man. He can't handle how desperately he wants her in his bed-and his life. It's up to Lauren to teach him how to make all night last forever.

My Take:


I've read maybe a handful of erotic BDSM type romances in my life so as such I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from this novella, but I very much enjoyed it. I thought the portrayal of a Dominant/Submissive sexual encounter was done very tastefully and gave me (I think) a realistic glimpse into this particular area of sex. It was tastefully done and very hot, just the way I like my romances :-D. 


Jamie was delicious and sexy and I loved how "gentle" he was with Lauren in her first few encounters with this particular type of sex life. Despite her always wanting to have a BDSM type relationship with a man where she could be completely submissive, she's never truly had one and as such has always been slightly unsatisfied with her sex life. That is, until she meets Jamie. He handles her with care, and makes sure she is completely one hundred percent comfortable with their respective roles in the bedroom. This being an erotic romance, they don't spend much time out of the bedroom, but that's totally fine and I feel that there was definitely character growth between the two of them regardless of them hardly leaving the bedroom.


The one thing I had a problem with is Lauren's complete lack of self-esteem. I know she craves being a submissive, and I know that he sister is a royal beyotch and always puts her down, and sure she should have doubts like any normal person during a sexual encounter with a man they've never met particularly when they are going to partake in some "kink", but her constant doubting of herself and her appeal and whether she can truly please Jamie and why he would want someone like her, got a bit annoying. I like my heroines to be somewhat confidant in themselves, we all have doubts, but it just seems that if someone has as many doubts and concerns running through her head during sex as Lauren did, wouldn't be able to enjoy themselves at all.


Otherwise, it was a very enjoyable read. It's hard to be completely objective to the BDSM quality of this particular story having never really read any prior, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a super quick and super sexy read.


My Rating: 4/5 Lattes







All My Best,


Kayla

Review: Motor City Mage by Cindy Spencer Pape

Title: Motor City Mage
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Carina Press
Publication Date: March 12, 2012
ISBN: 9781426893384
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance
Series: Urban Arcana Book 4


The Blurb:



As a cop who keeps paranormals in line, Des has a hard time trusting them. So why does he want the beautiful werewolf Lana more than his next breath? She's mouthy, flamboyant and distractingly sexy-not the type of woman for a reserved mage like him. Lana admires Des, but she can't be with someone who won't take her seriously, no matter how much she'd love to rip off his dress shirt.


When a dangerous new drug shows up in Detroit, Des must locate the source, and Lana is determined to help. But their plan goes awry, trapping them in a demon dimension. To return home, Lana and Des must flee through a series of unpredictable alternate realities, fighting enemies while trying to shut down the drug trade. But if they're going to survive, they'll have to rely on each other, even though getting closer will add fuel to a fire that's already burning out of control...



My Take:


Lana and Des clearly have some history, that starting the series with book four, I missed out on, but it's okay I was able to follow along quite nicely. Des is a Wyndewin (a mage) that works for The Legion a secret government type organization that helps regulate the different species of populace in the world. Lana is a werewolf who is also friends/bicker partner to Des, their friends are friends/husbands/brothers etc and their little group is a mismatch of all different types of species. Fae, Werewolf, Mage, etc. The Legion isn't happy about because it's old fashioned in it's thinking that the different species shouldn't associate with one another so Des' work is constantly on his ass about his relations with the other species. 


Lana and Des get together to try and stop the making and distribution of a new drug called Demon's Dust and in the process come in contact with a Demon that let's Des know that his boss at The Legion is involved with Malen, an evil demon in the processing and distribution of this new drug. The three of them team up to take out Malen, but the plan backfires and all three are shoved through a portal that takes them to Malen's demon world where they are thrown in a dungeon. 


Then ensues the escape attempt and then following that their attempt to get back to their own world using a combination of portals that will hop them to different worlds in the process. It's the getting to these portals that most of the story takes place and then of course there's the big show down once they return home because Des discovered that his boss is telling The Legion that it's Des that's involved with the Demons, after all what's to stop him from dealing with them when he already deals with many other species. The whole family, blood and not, set out to destroy Des' boss and Malen in hopes of getting proof of Des' innocence.


My Thoughts:


As a new reader coming into the series in book four, I didn't have a hard time following along with the story because the author tries to fill you in. My problem with it was that at times the author gave so much information regarding all the past characters that I really thought I was missing something and found myself having a hard time following who was who with it, which I'm sure, is the opposite of the author's intent. I think it would have been easier to follow if I was given tiny tidbits to get me through. That being said, I was still able to read the story fine.


I felt as though the relationship between Lana and Des progressed waaaay too fast. Now this may be in part (I'm thinking it's probably so, but am not sure) due to the fact that the tension in their relationship probably started in earlier books in the series so me, coming into this series in book four, missed out on all the "foreplay" so to speak. Which the sexual tension leading up to the first sexual encounter between hero and heroine, is one of my favorite parts to read in a romance novel, so I found it to be a bit disappointing. It just felt like one minute they're bickering and the next they're going at it on her couch. Speaking of foreplay...all of the love scenes severely lacked it and as such, for me, the love scenes fell kind of flat. His manly parts are out and inside her before he even puts his mouth to her breasts half the time and that's really the extent of the love scenes. They're too short and lacking in heat for my taste. I'm all for reading a quickie in a story, but not every time they have sex. It needs to be mixed up etc. 


The characters both Lana, Des, and their whole slew of friends and family, are very fun and I'm intrigued enough to pick up the first three books to see the other's relationships unfold, just so I can revisit these characters. 


The one thing that bothered me character wise was Lana's attempts at movie humor. I just felt like her jokes fell flat to me and taking those bits out wouldn't have changed the way I see Lana one way or the other. It's like they were added in as an afterthought. 


I love that both Lana and Des complement each other in their roles, taking turns being alpha/submissive to satisfy both their needs for control and I love Des' anger every time Lana tries to take things into her own hands to protect him. It shows just how much he cares for her and doesn't want her to get hurt. 


I'd like to take a moment and applaud the author on her world building. The worlds are so detail oriented without info dumping, she weaves the descriptions into the story effortlessly and makes me wish their was such a world like this and at the very least, makes me want to revisit this world she created over and over again.


Finally, I absolutely LOVED the ending. Even though I hadn't read the earlier books, it was really awesome to be able to see both Des and Lana, as well as their loved ones from previous books, finally get their happily ever after in full. It was cute, sweet, and touching.


I very much look forward to reading more of Ms. Pape's work.


My Rating:


4/5 Lattes





All My Best,


Kayla

Review: The Devil of Jedburgh by Claire Robyns

Publisher: Carina Press
Published: February 6, 2012
ISBN: 9781426893162
Genre: Historical Romance

May I just say that I loved this novel. I didn't feel disappointed at any point during it. Claire Robyns' weaves a tale that has you unable to put the book down from the start. She's created vivid and lively characters that complement each other well.

The Blurb:


Raised on rumours of The Devil of Jedburgh, Breghan McAllen doesn't want an arranged marriage to the beast. The arrogant border laird is not the romantic, sophisticated husband Breghan dreams of, despite the heat he stirs within her.


In need of an heir, Arran has finally agreed to take a wife, but when he sees Breghan's fragile beauty, he's furious. He will not risk the life of another maiden by getting her with child. Lust prompts him to offer a compromise: necessary precautions, and handfasting for a year and a day, after which Breghan will be free. For a chance to control her own future, Breghan makes a deal with the Devil.


Passion quickly turns to love, but Arran still has no intention of keeping the lass, or making her a mother. He loves her too much to lose her. But when a treasonous plot threatens queen and country, Breghan has to prove only she is woman enough to stand by his side.


My Take:


Breghan, right from the beginning you can tell she's independent and full of life and imagination and even when confronted with her biggest fear, being married to the Devil of Jedburgh (just one of many names her betrothed has all referring to how evil he is), she takes him on only to find that though he can be infuriating, he really isn't evil and is in fact just what she's been looking for her.

Arran, what can I say about him, he's sexy and kind and authoritative and totally alpha without being too overbearing. You can truly feel his emotions and love for Bree and see his mind and heart tearing him in two different directions as he realizes that because he doesn't want to hurt her or see her killed, he can't bear to be apart from her either.

Both are afraid to fall for each other, knowing that eventually they'll have to part ways and I enjoyed the experience of watching these two grow both individually and as a couple.

This story kept you turning the pages and I don't believe I found a dull moment in it at all. If I did, then all the great parts far outweighed the dull parts so much so that they've left my mind. The author has a gift with words and the perfect voice for a historical romance. Normally, I have a hard time reading historical's that take place in Scotland due to the fact that some authors go a little heavy on the accents of their characters to the point of distraction. Ms. Robyns did not. She weaved just enough of their accents in so that you could hear the voices in you head and still enjoy the story.

The brief side stories of Bree's ladies maids finding their own romances were cute and charming and did not take away from the main storyline at all. I, for one, cannot wait for another story by Ms. Robyns.

My Rating: 4/5 Lattes




All My Best,

Kayla

Review: Gentlemen Prefer Nerds by Joan Kilby

Publisher: Carina Press

Publication Date: March 12, 2012

ISBN: 9781426893377

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb:

Self-professed nerd Maddie Maloney is an expert on jewels. Jewel thieves are another matter entirely! So when a mysterious Englishman warns her that a thief known as The Chameleon is after the rare pink diamond on display in her aunt's shop, she tells herself it's just a joke. Even if she can't get Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome out of her mind...

But Fabian Montgomery doesn't give up easily. He's everywhere she goes, convinced the thief will strike. And when the diamond does go missing-and Maddie is suspected of stealing it-he whisks her away from the police and together they pursue The Chameleon.

Fabian plunges her into a glamorous world far from her humble workshop and transforms geeky Maddie into a sophisticated siren capable of espionage. Her mission: to seduce The Chameleon and steal back the diamond.

But Fabian isn't telling her everything-like who he works for, and why he's so interested in The Chameleon...

My Take:

Gentlemen Prefer Nerds, a cute catchy title that is obviously a play on the Marilyn Monroe film, Gentle Prefer Blondes, and this story has diamonds to boot, though if you ask me, the Rose diamond is far greater than anything I could want from Harry Winston or ever Cartier. Grin.

The story was cute and fun and the pacing was awesome. Maddie, a self-proclaimed nerd, is a well-respected Gemologist who discovered a large and extremely rare pink diamond. Soon after obtaining it and getting it ready for display at her aunt’s jewelry store, a mysterious man warns her that the diamond is in danger of being stolen from right under Maddie’s nose. Convinced the man is doing nothing other than trying to startle her, she dismisses him. That is until the diamond does indeed get stolen from right under her nose and discovers she is the main suspect. She’s thrust into a whirlwind escape and an adventure with the mysterious man as the two of them try to recover the stolen diamond and clear her name.

Even though Maddie considers herself a nerd, and while she is definitely book smart in this story, I personally at least, wouldn’t classify her as a nerd per say. She’s definitely a rule follower and definitely smart, but not a nerd, except when it comes to gems and her style of dress. I particularly enjoyed watching Maddie come out of her shell and grow as a person in this story, she was sort of a late bloomer in life, who even after blooming, doesn’t mind reverting back to her old self, but keeps hints of her new self regardless and knows what she is now capable of

Also, the sexual tension between Maddie and Fabian (the mysterious man) was a little on the flat side for me, especially given that at the beginning of the story it seems Fabian is still hung up on somebody else. Even toward the end when he realizes he’s in love with Maddie, I still felt like he wasn’t completely over this other woman and that he simply thrust his feelings for said woman aside. It could just be me who feels this way and, after all, a review is simply an opinion, but that is how it came across for me.

The main thing I disliked about this entire story was the ending. Sure they get their HEA/HFN, but I didn’t feel as though it was really going to happen for them. I like to have a sense of closure when I’m finished and to me, it felt as though the story was cut off before I got that closure, so unless the author has plans for a sequel or something of the sort which gives good reason for the cut off, I was rather disappointed with the ending, especially considering how much I enjoyed the rest of the story.

For me, this story was good, and I believe it could have been great had I really believed the romance between Maddie and Fabian, but even though it didn’t cross over into my great reads column I still enjoyed it. Quirky characters, I particularly liked Maddie’s father, a fun, light tone that is very different from much of the darker toned books out there of late. Thanks to this book I’ve discovered a new author, who’s writing I very much enjoyed and I look forward to reading some of her backlist, maybe one of those will be shelved in my Great Reads column.

My Rating:

3.5/5 “Pink” Lattes

All My Best,

Kayla

Review: Chain Reaction by Zoe Archer

Title: Chain Reaction Publisher: Carina Press Publication Date: January 9, 2012
ISBN: 9781426893032 Length: 43,000 words Science-Fiction Romance
Blurb:

Elite 8th Wing pilot Celene Jur was taken captive after a mysterious device temporarily disabled her ship's controls. Three solar months later, when Celene receives intel on the man who built the device, she's ready to get the bastard. Only problem is, the higher-ups think her mission partner should be Nils Calder, a tech-head who can understand the disabling device.  The attraction between them is electric, but Celene needs a soldier who can watch her back as she exacts her revenge.


Nils knows his department is nicknamed NerdWorks. Pilots like Celene think the closest tech geeks come to combat is all-night Nifalian chess tournaments. But behind the NerdWorks insignia on his sleeve Nils is an able fighter, ready to prove himself and gain Celene's trust.


The desire between them is unexpected, but with the fate of thousands hanging in the balance, the hotshot pilot and the tech genius must succeed in their mission-no matter the cost.


Thanks to Carina Press and NetGalley.com I had the opportunity to review this novella. I had picked it because I am a fan of Zoe Archer's Blades of the Rose series and thought it might be interesting to try a different book by the author. I am very glad I did. Chain Reaction is book 2 in Zoe Archer's 8th Wing series, and I'm definitely going to grab myself a copy of book 1 and look forward to the release of book 3.

Zoe Archer writes with a talent for grabbing your attention and not letting you stop until the story is finished. The story was fast paced, adventurous, and all around exciting. I especially liked the world building. The author did a great job in that aspect, she created a world that I truly believed, while reading it, could exist. The only down side to this I thought was that because she delved so deep into the world, the names of plants and animals etc were stated, but I had nothing to compare a description to so I had no idea what things really looked like and was left to my own imagination there. Overall, not too bad of a complaint and it was easy to over look for the most part and allow myself to enjoy the story. A glossary of terms either before or after the story would have been helpful.

The characters are very strong, I love myself a strong, kick-ass heroine, and generally I do prefer the hero to still be stronger if not her equal. In this novella, Celene was definitely and extremely strong heroine and the hero, Nils, acknowledged and accepted the fact that she in fact, is stronger than him. I think this is one of the reasons I didn't mind the hero being a tad under the heroine and in fact, they did treat each other as equals despite the knowledge that Celene is the stronger of the two and this really worked for me. The hero accepted the heroine for who she was, which in was extremely important in the relationship arc of this story. And though Nils is the Beta to Celene's Alpha, he is still strong in his own right (and yummy to boot) the two of them meshed extremely well together in my opinion.

Together, they helped to make a big dent in taking down a corporate giant set on universal domination and they didn't let their relationship get in the way when it came to their job duties, this shows the strength of their character, at least to me.

Overall this was a great read and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys science fiction/futuristic romance.

4/5 lattes

All My Best,

Kayla