Kayla Lords – The Adventures of Sir and Babygirl

The Adventures of Sir and Babygirl by Kayla Lords
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Source: Review by Request
Copy Provided by the Author
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Katie, a blogger recovering from a broken heart, has sworn off relationships, even though she misses being the babygirl to a strong Dominant man. Afraid to make another connection, she hides behind her blog.

Johnathan knows he’s no Dominant without a submissive. A few conversations with Katie, and he thinks he may have found the woman he needs and craves.

Will Katie and Johnathan find what they need in each other? Can they become Sir and Babygirl?

Join them as they embark on an adventure of the heart, mind, body, and soul with big doses of kinky, BDSM-filled sexual escapades along the way.

Buy This Book:
Amazon

Houston Havens – Phantom Desire

Phantom Desire by Houston Havens
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Series: Psychic Menage #2
Source: Review by Request
Copy Provided by the Author
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mind traveler Chandra Lamar is on the run, not only from her post-catastrophic dystopian government but from a past she can’t remember. A psychic vision pushes her to recall her purpose for being, but it’s a ghost that awakens her desires for a life she fears she’ll never have. Both push her to remember the past because it threatens what she wants in the now; the Nodin men.

Andonis Nodin battles to accept his failures. The heavy burden nearly breaks him when he can’t save the one he loves from the grim reaper’s grip; he questions his desire for Chandra, the woman he blames for the death around him.
Nikias finds true love with Chandra in his arms, but is desperate to stop her from seeking revenge on a mission he knows is a one way trip.

Ortello knows for them to recapture the love they once felt for each other, he must be willing to let her go. But overcoming his obsession to make Chandra his and his alone isn’t easy.

Will Chandra go through with the vengeance in her heart or give it up for love? Who is the powerful woman in her haunting visions and will those revealing apparitions crumble her world with the Nodin clan? Does Chandra find true love in the arms of the Nodin men or does her Phantom Desire forever own her heart?

Buy this book:
Amazon

Blakely Bennett – Stuck in Between

Stuck in Between by Blakely Bennett
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Series: Bound by Your Love #1
Source: Review by Request
Copy Provided by Author
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jacqs is a twenty-eight year old woman caught up in an on again, off again relationship with Bond, who is her best friend and the one who causes her the most heartache. She succumbs, yet again, to his powerful charisma, but vows not make it into more than it is, a great night of sex.

Bond, too sexy for his own good, wants Jacqs for himself as he “dates” his way through the female population of South Florida. He selfishly doesn’t see the conflict of interest.

Red, Bond’s best friend, has watched Bond take Jacqs for granted for way too long and soon stakes his own claim on her.

Will Red and Jacqs budding relationship pull apart their tight-knit group of friends and will Jacqs survive being Stuck In Between.

Sometimes a book just rubs me the wrong way…
THIS is one of those books…

“I’m not sure why you need so much drama in your life, Jacqueline. My advice is to forget them both and move on.”

Let me be clear: I have never ‘DNF’d a book before, but I came dangerously close to closing this one for good.

The writing had multiple rough edges which could have been smoothed out with the use of an editor or even careful proofreading.

The dialogue was awkward and stilted, there was questionable sexual innuendo, and completely unbelievable (to the point of mood-killing) pillow talk…

There were a ton of superfluous details regarding makeup, clothing, etc which managed to turn a story about a group of people in their late-twenties / mid-thirties, to a story about obnoxious teenagers.

This sophomoric vibe was enhanced by the endless angst which dripped from every page…

I might have been able to handle all of those detractors if not for one VERY IMPORTANT fact: The three main characters were completely unlikable.

I couldn’t get invested in this twisted love triangle because I didn’t have a desire to see any of these people happy. Why should they be rewarded for making ridiculous decisions over and over again?

I guess the only redeeming thing about this entire book is that these three deserved each other.

I don’t remember ever wanting to strangle a fictional character as much as I did with Jacqueline.

JACQUELINE

“This can’t possibly end well and I know you are smart enough to know it.”

Jacqs has herself stuck in a love triangle between her cheating asshole ex-boyfriend Bond and her ex-boyfriend’s domineering best friend Red…

Some might be inclined to believe that these two men are taking advantage of the dim-witted Jacqueline… But Jacqs got herself into this ridiculous position… She seems particularly adept at lamenting all of the self-inflicted problems in her life, yet seems incapable of making any positive decisions for herself.

BOND

“When will you understand that my dating other women doesn’t take away from my love for you?”

Yeah… No… Bond & Jacqs have been on-again-off-again for almost a decade. He cheats, she’s helpless to refuse his charms, she keeps going back to him, he keeps fucking everyone else.

And I’m supposed to understand Jacqueline’s love for him?

RED

“Thank you.”
“What for?”
“Loving me back.”
“You didn’t give me much chance to refuse.”

Apparently Red has been in love with Jacqueline for a long time and it’s been killing him to watch his best friend treat her like shit… So in oder to hide his feelings for her, he’s been treating her with a combination of hostility and complete disinterest for years… Sounds like a knight in shining armor to me…

I can’t recommend this book to anyone.
I can’t think of a single reason to enjoy so much absurdity…

***I was gifted with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
If you ever wondered how honest my reviews are for books I’m provided, you now have your answer.

Julianne Reyer – Desires of the Wolfman

Desires of the Wolfman by Julianne Reyer
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Series: Werewolf Erotic Romance 1 – 3
Source: Review by Request
ARC Provided by Publisher
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

As the dark of night looms and the bright full moon rises, a faint howl is heard in the distance. Wolves are rare in the little rural town. Yet newlywed couple, Lacey and Mark, are about to embark on a steamy paranormal adventure.

Lacey has been keeping a dangerous secret from her husband and denying her own deepest feelings. She just can’t bring herself to tell him that he’s turning into a werewolf, especially when this bold new side of him sparks her most forbidden desires. But will her anxieties tear their marriage apart?

Mark is a hard working, down-to-earth man with simple needs. He just wants to please his wife and have a safe home out in the mountains. However, he knows something strange is going on–even if it doesn’t make sense to his rational mind. But as the truth is unveiled, and sizzling fantasies come to life, he’ll have to take control or risk losing the one person he loves most.

Sexy, fun, and full of both action and passion, Desires of the Wolfman is the newly revised novel edition of the Wolfman series of short stories: Married to the Wolfman, Threesome with the Wolfman, Swinging with the Wolfman, and Unleashing the Wolfman. Also includes bonus short, Suburban Wolfman.

This book was a total trainwreck.

I wrote full reviews on the first two books this collection:
– You can read my review of Married to the Wolfman here
– And my review of Threesome with the Wolfman here

There are tons of Shifter romances I could reccomend to you, this is not one of them.

Shifter Erotica?
Read The Heat, book 1 in The Big Bad Wolf Series.

Science Fiction Shifter Suspense?
Read Bound to Night, Book 1 in the Sisters of the Moon Series

Shifter Laws and Society?
Read Bonded, the first book in the Law of the Lycans Series.

Shifter Humor/Erotica?
Read He Ain’t Lion, Book 1 in the Ridgefield Series.

But I can’t recommend reading this.
You’ve been warned.

***I received an ARC of the Shifter Romance Boxed Set in exchange for an honest review***

Julianne Reyer – Threesome with the Wolfman

Threesome with the Wolfman by Julianne Reyer
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Series: Werewolf Erotic Romance #2
Source: Review by Request
ARC Provided by Publisher
My rating: 1.5 of 5 stars

Lacey dreams of the woods, and of strange and wild encounters. She’s torn by her newfound power, and the secrets she’s keeping from her loving husband. When a handsome stranger appears at their door, she finds the facade crumbling and her primitive urges taking over.

Warning: This explicit 6400 word short story is intended for adults only. Contains: a strong-willed heroine getting in touch with her wild side, a loving husband with bestial tendencies, a sexy stranger with his own secrets, and a ravishing werewolf threesome (m/f/m).

Although this book was slightly better than Married to the Wolfman, I still feel trapped in a world of crazy with these books…

Dear Lacey (wife who is telling the story),
You are obviously a werewolf. Quit being an idiot. Its not mysterious; its obnoxious and it makes you seem incredibly stupid.

Why are you still not telling your husband that he’s a werewolf… and why can’t he figure that you by himself by the way? He’s a researcher. He’s smart, and analytical… What gives?

So… you suspect that your “dreams” where you’re a “wolf” might be a little more real than you think. And you’re pretty sure your husband murdered a guy, and brought back his cowboy hat…

The owner of the cowboy hat shows up at your house, and your husband assumes you’re having an affair. In order to diffuse the situation, so do the smartest thing I’ve ever seen you do…

“You’re both Werewolves!
…and I’m one too.”

Alright! Finally! Things are starting to get on track with this story line… What now?
Propose a threesome!

Wait, what?

So you’re going to screw both of them until they turn into uncontrollable murderous beasts? That’s the plan?

You’re an idiot. You deserve to get attacked by that wolfpack in the woods. You make poor decisions.

Sincerely,
Shurrn

P.S. This book has taught me that maybe I should refuse to finish bad books occasionally. I’m grateful that these were mercifully short.

WAIT THERE’S ANOTHER ONE?!?!?! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

***I received an ARC of the Shifter Romance Boxed Set in exchange for an honest review***

Julianne Reyer – Married to the Wolfman

Married to the Wolfman by Julianne Reyer
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Series: Werewolf Erotic Romance #1
Source: Review by Request
ARC Provided by Publisher
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Lacey is keeping a dangerous secret from her loving husband… he’s a werewolf. She’s faced with an agonizing choice to either tell him or leave him, during what might be their last romantic night together.

Warning: This explicit 3300 word short story is intended for adults only. Contains a gentle husband by day/aggressive werewolf by night, a strong-willed sexy wife, rough sex, and a romantic struggle (in more ways than one).

That’s right… I just gave my first one-star review. Trust me, I’m not happy about it either. Authors work hard to produce their work, and they deserve credit for putting forth the artistic effort to tell us their stories. I’m trying to keep that in mind, but this novella was a total bust. It was thirteen pages of absurdity.

Have you ever seen this meme?

Its the “Unamused Puppy” meme and I was making that exact face the entire time I read Married to the Wolfman.

The book starts off with Lacey terrified of her beloved husband who is turning into a monster every night – he has no memory of these changes. Apparently he is a researcher of some kind who was involved in a lab accident, which we can assume caused his dark shifting behavior.

She has resolved not to tell her husband that he is turning into a Wolfman every night and trying to kill her. She decides she’s going to leave him… But she decides to have one last screw… Because yeah…

Her husband begins his beastly transition mid-coitus, but provides her with an earth-shattering orgasm. Which is probably the only reason the next series of events could possibly make any sense:
She goes to the bathroom and discovers that her throat is covered in blood. After washing up she finds four puncture marks marring her skin and she’s so freaking cavalier about it “Oh, I guess I’ll be wearing turtlenecks for a while tee-hee!” This is the same woman who was convinced that her husband was going to slaughter her, but after finding herself covered in blood, she’s completely calm about the whole thing?

What?

This little book is the launching point for Threesome with the Wolfman which I will be reading next (against my better judgement) because it comes next in the Shifter Romance Boxed set, and I seem to be incapable of marking a book “DNF”

Excerpt:

His piercing blue eyes examined her, conflict splashing across his face. He’s getting suspicious. She’d always been a terrible liar.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He was halfway through his question when she reached down, hooked her thumbs in her panties and dropped them to the ground. She laid back on the bed, pulling the hem of her dress up to her chest.

His eyes locked on her pale, smooth legs and tracked all the way up to her neatly trimmed pussy.

“I need to be serviced by my handyman,” she ordered, playfully. It was the game they used to indulge in. He would dress up in coveralls then ring the doorbell while she acted like the lonely housewife. Of course they’d always break the moment by laughing and just end up naked before they could get into their roles.

***I received an ARC of the Shifter Romance Boxed Set in exchange for an honest review***

Tracy Wolff – Tie Me Down

Tie Me Down by Tracy Wolff
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Source: Review by Request
ARC Provided by Publisher
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

As the only woman on her homicide squad, star investigator Genevieve Delacroix maintains a tough-as-nails attitude that keeps men at arm’s length. She never gives in to her secret fantasies—until she meets a mysterious stranger who teaches her how little control she really has over her mind or her body.

Cole Adams arrives in New Orleans believing Genevieve is his last hope for solving the murder of his younger sister. He just doesn’t expect the hard-bitten detective to look like a blond bombshell. Once he breaks through her inhibitions, he soon finds an unexpected obsession driving Genevieve right to the edge of desire . . . and beyond. But when the serial killer who has been terrorizing the streets of the French Quarter sets his sights on Genevieve, they realize that they both have let down their guard. And losing control can have fatal consequences.

Sorry folks, this one was NOT for me…

((SPOILERS))

Yikes! I make it a point to avoid writing reviews for bad books – The author worked hard on this, but it was sloppy. Grammar and punctuation mistakes aside, it was a ridiculous collection of words strung together and called a book.

Tie Me Down was all about Sex, New Orleans, corrupt cops, gruesome murders, stalkers, women who should know better than ignoring the stalkers (but do anyway), and men who want to protect them from danger… It’s like this book was comprised of out takes from Full Exposure (the only other book I’ve read from Tracy Wolff) to the point that I immediately knew that Chastian was the serial killer.

When the answer to the only real mystery is blidingly obvious to the reader, it makes your Man Character seem like an idiot for not figuring it out…

Here’s what was good about this book:
(because I feel kind of bad trashing anyone’s book):
1. The sex scenes were good.
2. Cole had some steamy bedroom dialogue.
3. The moments when we saw Genevieve working the case were fun.
4. The serial killer was delightfully twisted, I liked his taunting clues…

But here are the problems:
I have no issue reading erotica that is simply sex with little-to-no plot line. Unfortunately Tie Me Down claimed to have a plot line… We saw nothing about the alleged plot line for most of the book. And it definitely wasn’t as full of suspense as the book’s description would have you believe. You have to get at least 75% though the book before anything happens with “suspense” and it’s a chore to make it that far…

Genevieve Delacroix was an infuriating, unreliable character. Just because the author tells us she is an Ice Queen, hard ass detective does not make it true if the character acts in an opposite fashion through the entire book.

Why was she constantly putting herself in dangerous situations with this guy she doesn’t know, who has files about her and photos of gruesome murder scenes?!?! She’s a homicide detective, she knows what the possible consequences could be. She knows that the killer has taken an interest in her. But she’s like, “well screw it, I’d rather have sex than think about it.”

You have to get 28% through the book before the two main characters said anything to each other that that wasn’t sexual. It lasted less than two pages. They had breakfast together. Genevieve even took the time to think about having a dialogue:

“You never did answer my question last night.” He leaned against the counter, his body suddenly tense as he watched her over the rim of his coffee cup. “Which question was that, sweetheart? ‘Where’d you earn to fuck like that?’ or ‘Could you do it some more?'” She narrowed her eyes, refused to blush at the reminder of her blatant demands. “The one where I wanted to know what the hell you were doing researching my department and various sexual homicides from the last few years. How did you even know about them?”

A perfectly reasonable question!
I’d been wondering the same thing!

And what happens?

They fuck again rather than answer any burning questions…

Because yeah…

We have to go through several pages of sex before any conversations were resumed, and amusingly, Cole says what everyone is thinking:

“And while you’re at it, think about what it says about you that you fucked me while you had even the slightest suspicion that I was involved with raping and killing seven young women. I guess I’m not the only sick bastard around.”

And so Cole and Genevieve argue, Genevieve leaves, and the book continues to deteriorate in spectacular fashion…

Final Thoughts:

I like to come away from a book with a new experience, or having learned something. I learned something very important from Tie Me Down. I learned that I’ll never ever read Tracy Wolff ever again.

***I received and ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review****
(and it can’t possibly get more honest than what I just said.)

Z.L. Arkadie – Parched

Parched by Z.L. Arkadie
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Series: Parched #1
Source: Personal Library
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

A note from the author about writing this book:

I’ve been conceptualizing this story for two years now. It’s gone through many drafts and has been written in many settings before I settled on the first novel in this series.

Ultimately, this series is about discovering love in all forms… romantic love, familial love and the ultimate love for all creation. The series deals with loving someone who betrays you, loving someone who breaks your heart, loving those who disappointed you and how do you love two creatures that are so different at the same time, which emerges in book two of the Parched novel series titled, “The Seventh Sister”.
I hope you enjoy this series. I have to say that the story, the characters, the world is alive and unfolding in my head. And I can’t wait to put it all in writing.

Consider yourself Warned…

I’ll refrain from spoilers, but be warned. I’m not saying this was the worst book I’ve ever read, but I’m having a hard time remembering anything as unsatisfying as this book. The truly upsetting thing about the text is that it had the opportunity to be a very engaging story, unfortunately the writing style was awkward to the point of distraction.

I believe the description on the book indicates that readers are left “yearning” for more. If that is the case, it is only because the author rushed through the conclusion in the most fumbling and rushed manner possible. Truly disappointed with this book.

Crystal Dawn – The Forgotten Ones

The Forgotten Ones by Crystal Dawn
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Series: Legend of the White Werewolf #1
Source: Personal Library
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

When Ariel’s friends convince her to go out for a ladies night with them, she doesn’t realize her whole life is about to change. She meets Blake, a handsome enigmatic man hiding a big secret. That’s alright, because she has some secrets of her own she has no intention of sharing. The problems start when the secrets begin to come out and their lives become hopelessly entangled.

Classic case of “Great Idea killed by Poor Writing”

The plot line had great bones, but the writing was just terrible – the author did not spin a single scene worth mentioning (I do try to include a few redeeming qualities in reviews for books I do not enjoy) I’m not even entirely sure that she tried to proof-read the text before publishing…
Names were switched in one particular scene,
Specific words were overused to the point of distraction,
There was way too much superfluous information about construction…

All of this is quite upsetting, because beneath all of this, the author had all of the elements of a nice Paranormal Romance… If she hadn’t fumbled all over the place…

Dear Crystal Dawn,
If you should ever have the opportunity to release an updated and fully edited version of this book, please let me know and I will happily re-read and re-evaluate my review. It has promise; please continue writing.
Thank you,
Shurrn