Review - " Wild Child " by Shelley Munro

Zoë Underwood and Matt Cantrell were crazy about each other since the first moment that Zoe's mother and Matt's father married. Even though it was complicated and they were not really brother and sister, the attraction never faulted to be there between them.
Matt managed to put a sea between them but Zoe followed her heart and chased Matt, loosing the man she loved was not on her plans.
But when their relationship comes out into the spotlight, will they be strong enough to stick together and fight the prejudice of those around them ...

So, this is a short story and I really didn't know what to expect from it. It's based on the concept of step sister/brother relationship and the prejudice that society inflicts on family relationship's. This story had a lot to give but it was short handed by it's length and by the fact that the action was rushed in the ending.

Matt seemed to me like an honest man that took it's actions from what he thought was the right thing to do, run away and forget the "wild child" that lived in his mind and in his heart. I liked him and even though he faltered there for a moment, he always played fair with Zoe.

Zoe on the other hand was a not so a grown up woman but to me, a little childish in fact, I think she still thought that Matt was one of her boyfriends and not the man she wanted to marry.
She does have my sympathy for going after the man she loved and being blunt and forward in the sheets but overall I found her lacking of something I quite can't put my finger on.

I liked this story, I liked their fun, sensuous loving, but here also I could see that Zoe was not ready to take on a man like Matt. So much she has to learn ...

I would recommend this novella to people that like to read romance without much drama and fun "play" between the sheets.

ARC acquired through NetGalley

I So Love Dallas ... I'm an O'Kane strait to my soul !

This book is quickly climbing up to a 5 star milky way, a favorite and must have on my list, I want it near when I need a Dallas to dream with.

" ... I'm a selfish bastard," ... " When a woman's mine, she doesn't take pleasure. I give it to her. "

Dallas

"Beyond Control" by Kit Rocha

Just a thought, maybe a dream ...

There's things that happen in a person's life that are so scorched in the memory and burned into the heart that there's no forgetting them.

John Boyne

Review - Spirit Wild #1 "Dark Wolf" by Kate Douglas

From author Kate Douglas comes a new series that entails a sexy wolf, a very sexy lady and a magical world filled with magic, love and breathless moments.

Sebastian Xenakis never knew what his mother meant when at her dying moment she pleaded to him to not re-connect with his father. Against her wishes he finds him and starts the road of uncovering who he is and how his magic links into his wolf.

When he meets Lily Cheval he knows he has found his mate, but will he be able to prove that he is not responsible for all the killings going around and most importantly, will Lily stay by his side and love him without any restriction ?

I'm a lover of wolfs, all their sexyness and all that alpha male attitude that comes with the finding of their true mates.

Here, we find two characters that are perfect for each other but due to the circumstances, have to fight their way through the danger and deception. They were effectively well written and page by page the reader get's to know more about who they are and what values they live by.

The secondary characters were also well inserted in the story, each having their place well defined and each having an emotional link to Lily and Sebastian.

The world building was created with a perfect descriptional background, and the author  brings us a story that is fast paced with a touch of mysterie and thriller. To the sound of it this book was almost perfect to me.

Why didn't I give it 5 stars ?

Because as much as I love a good alpha male, powerful and demanding, I also love a woman willing to "obey" and give her pleasure without reservations. I didn't feel that Lily was that woman and as much as I understand that she was an Alpha's daughter, I would have liked to see her more involved with "only" Sebastian and if they had to share their bed, I would have loved to see Sebastian more shure of himself, calling the shots.

Overall I liked this book and it's on my favorites list, so if you love all this ingredients together buy it, read it and get inspired by it.

ARC ACQUIRED THROUGH NETGALLEY

Publisher: Aphrodisia

Pub. Date: Apr. 30, 2013

Maya Banks "Rush"

Rush by Maya Banks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Breathless Trilogy tells us the story of three friends that bonded as teenagers and linked their lives for the future, today we find them well established in life, wealthy and sexually evolved into three dominant, alpha males.

In "Rush" we get the story of Gabe Hamilton and Mia Crestwell.

Mia Crestwell is Jace's younger sister and 14 years younger than Gabe. Her teenage fantasy used to be Gabe. Her grown woman fantasy is still Gabe and she wonders if she will ever get over this man.
But as fate helps and Gabe takes a step forward, Mia jumps at the opportunity of fulfilling her most forbidden fantasies with the one man that she never forgot.

Gabe Hamilton has had enough of relationships and after his divorce nothing like a contract to lay things clean with no entanglements. But when he sees Mia he knows his in trouble and even if he can't afford all the trouble that can appear, he can't turn away from the one woman that drives him out of his mind.

So, my heart is divided in two because this book is really my thing but the new perspective that this relationship's take in the story's are really strong and heavy, I get breathless, literally, my feelings get conflicted.

Mia was so sweet, a good sister, a good friend, and a good woman where Gabe is concerned. She jumped into the black void, turning her most wanted wish into reality, to me that was a huge demonstration of strength and courage. I don't know if I would jump at it, not on this conditions involving the contract.
She is the kind of character that I love, heart warming and having a lot of love to give, to her family and to her lover, also to all of those who surround her.

Gabe is a another story ...
Being ruled by his sexual drive and by his bitterness on love, he is a man that money made him have all that he wants, bought or not, power made him cold and detached from almost everybody but his close friends  and his parents.
Even though he still has it in him to love, especially concerning Mia, he really fights it all the way through. What a complicated man, sometimes lovable and sometimes such an ass!
I'm glad that the walls come tumbling down and in the end he becomes a prince charming and getting his act together, otherwise I could beat him away and give him a piece of my mind.

Now, M. Banks gives us fans and first time readers, a story that can break our hearts, warm our nights, and keeps us on our toes all the way to the end.
I so loved this book and looking forward to reading "Fever", not expecting the same line of story, but certain that a whole new set of concepts will flow through my fiction mind and turn into something to think about.
She is a perfect character builder, turning fictional characters into temporary "real" people.

I have to tell you that I really didn't know what I was getting into when I started this book but I'm glad I read it and really glad that it was a great book to have by when I get a Gabe hangover ...


View all my reviews

"The Secret Sex Lives of Wanda Mitty" by Felix Baron

Author: Felix Baron

Publisher: HarperCollins UK, Avon  Mischief Books

Publication Date: March, 27 2013

ARC acquired through NetGalley


Wanda is a passionate, young lady, that for family reasons and traditions is having an arranged marriage with the fabulous, good looking, Henry.
Always having to be cautious about her sexuality and her desires, the only way she can outrun her mother's prying eyes is when she let's her mind run free and fantasize about what she really craves ... dominance and pleasure all in one package.

When real life and her fantasies blur into something that she can't control anymore, will she find a way to tame her desires or will Henry give her what she needs ? 

I'm so split in half by this book, really cut in half by it ... On one side I understand Wanda's need to get away from the duty imposed to her by her mother, the need to run free in her mind and give in to her fantasies, but on the other side I don't understand that in this day and age, there are still arranged marriages and girls giving up their lives and their sexuality in prol of tradition and parents wishes.
Don't get me wrong, I know this is a work of fiction but I tend to try to understand from where this came from and the why's, I really dwell on the books I read.

Wanda really struck me as someone that liked to be controlled, I could find no other reason for her going along with her mother's wishes. Then I started having the idea that she was some kind of gold digger, marrying for money and social position.
Really, what I came up with was Wanda liked to be controlled and she really had a problem about fantasizing all the time. She was empty to me, without character or will.
But, Felix Baron did give me some insight on what this story was all about, voyeurism, forbidden fantasies considered tabu by major society and a really huge need to step out of boundaries and follow the dark road to oblivion.

I really disliked her mother and I really didn't care much for Henry, he neglected her all the time, but because it was an arranged marriage I didn't give it much thought.
What I really would have liked was to read more about Wanda and Henry together, interacting more with each other and I was left with the feeling that the book was cut short.

Overall I liked the book and I'm following up with the other books from M. Baron. Let's see what are her books all about.

"Beyond the Wall" Exploring George R.R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire

I'm a fantasy lover but my biggest sin is to not yet have read any of George R.R. Martins works. Unbelievable, I know, unforgivable, I also know that.

But through NetGalley I found the chance to be introduced to this author's books from the eyes of people that know what to say when it comes to writing fantasy and perhaps give some light into my unforgiving "ignorance" on this great author's books.

"Beyond the Wall" was elaborated by James Lowder and had the participation of people that are master at what they do, they are for us, that always want to know more, light in a dark room.

It's divided into various parts and each of them is written by one person. I don't really know what I was expecting but I got positively impressed.

From R.A. Salvatore comes Foreword, with an easy speech the words analyze the question that is frequently asked, why fantasy and what are the various opinions of who defend that fantasy is just fantasy or the ones like me defend that fantasy is food for the mind.

One phrase striked out to me to be the reason that I love fantasy so much and like other fantasy authors, George R.R. Martin tells stories that feel "like we were sitting around a campfire on a dark winter's night, whispering of adventure.".

Following comes one of my favorite explanations for the success of this author, the Romanticism that we catch in so many parts and chapters, that leaves us wanting more and coming back to the nostalgia of the old days and the old ways.

This book definitely takes off the legend of George R.R. Martin being cataloged as a genre.
His definition has an author is so much more than a literary genre, he is one of a kind and in his works the fantasy genre takes on a much higher level of fantasy.

"Beyond the Wall" is a must in criticism, understanding and analyses, on the various roads that Mr. Martins works and adaptations take.
For people like me that have missed his books, it was an unique opportunity to understand and be prepared for the reading of such an important work of fantasy and I'm glad that I had this opportunity.

The book has the collaboration of various people that write in an understanding, clear way, where knowledge and simplicity is the word.
I'd recommend it to everyone and anyone that has read George R.R. Martin's works and to those like me that are only starting the fantasy.  

NetGalley - " To Seek a Master " by Monica Belle

From: Monica Belle

http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/authors/monica-belle

Publisher: Random House UK, Ebury Publishing

                  Black Lace

Pub. Date: April 11th. 2013

ARC acquired through NetGalley

Surrounded by dominating, high powered business people, Laura Irving does her job the best she can and excels in it. Shy Laura lives a life of routine but inside her mind she plays make believe, leading her imagination to create fiction characters from everyday people.
Laura craves dominance from a master, the meaner the better. When one man, the one she craves the most known to her as "The Devil", shows his interest she is terrified but she will not loose this opportunity to learn and belong to someone that can fulfill her most intimate cravings.

At first I didn't identify myself with this character, her life was so boring and the escape she provided for herself  was so unsatisfying to me that I kept reading to see if my mind would be changed.
Then as pages flew by, I got the idea of it all. In the midst of a lonely life, organizing your priorities was necessary. When you live an austere, routine and mind set life, I think it wouldn't be any other way.
Sexually viewing this "desert" and bearing in mind the dominance craving that she needs at a full physical level, the discovery of pain/pleasure experiences is what drives Laura to find out more of all the things that are possible under the hands of a master.

"The Devil" is also a character that we come to know as the true dominant master, always correct and again set to give Laura all that she craves, pleasure, pain, the fulfillment of her dark desires such has the punishments and the rapture and freedom that comes after them. He is truly what she needs.

I liked the pace that the author gave to the book. From the beginning I kept turning the pages to read what happened next, never got bored and opened my mind to this type of erotica, classical all the way, different from what I'm used to reading.

I believe that we should read all types of romance and genres in fiction, it leaves us hanging in the dark out of our comfort zones and possibly finding new authors like M. Belle that keep us coming for more.  

"Lush" by Lauren Dane

Author: Lauren Dane
Published: April 2nd. 2013
Publisher: Berkley Trade

Series: Delicious #3

ARC acquired through NetGalley






Mary Whaley has made a successful business in catering and overseeing her supper club. After so much hard work, she has everything she's ever wanted.
But when she meets the very hot, sexy Damien Hurley, the attraction kick's inn and she can't deny herself this sweet treat.
As far as Damien goes, living a hard, fast life is good for now. Living the life of a famous rock star is awesome and he's brothers think so too. But then he meets Mary and suddenly there's nobody else and he can't get by without her.

As love finds it's way into Mary and Damien's heart, things start getting tough and when things get tough, the tough get going ...

I'm such a big fan of Lauren Dane and her books get me in such a good disposition that this one is no different from the other's I've read.
Her character's are always so strong and enticing and the boys are always hot, it's such a pleasure to read something that leaves you with a million ideas that you can practice and make your own way, as I said, it's always a pleasure to read any book like this any day of the week.

Mary is really a down to earth person, she doesn't get caught in Damien's rock star lifestyle but she doesn't run away either. She's different from the other women that Damien is used to and he knows it right away ... smart boy.
She really isn't looking for love but this time around she get's caught in this web and Damien has a little help from his brother's and his mom.

Damien is my kind of a favorite rock star. He's nice, hot and sinful, such a nice guy, and deep down there there's a farm boy hiding inside his soul.
He get's all the credit for pushing Mary to the limit, all the way down, and never giving up on his feelings and on the woman he loves.

This book was a great read, if you love a good romance and hot loving between a couple that burn the sheets pick up this book and you won't regret it.

Review - "Bitten by Deceit" by Shawntelle Madison

Bitten By Deceit by Shawntelle Madison

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Alpha wolf Emma Parker is loyal to a fault, even if it means losing the love of her life when he’s ousted from the pack. She’s never stopped needing him, and when a black witch curses the pack, she wonders if she’ll even survive. It’s a poison of the blood, and with each bite, the virus spreads, leaving the infected rabid and under the control of an evil Alpha.

Kyle Benton is starting over. He’s a lone wolf, betrayed by the only woman he’s ever loved. Until Emma barges back into his life, as gorgeous and determined as ever. He’s hell bent on resisting her, or at least making her suffer. But she needs him in a way that touches him to his very soul. Now he has to determine how to set her free, and if he can, how he can ever let her go.

You can find all the right ingredients to satisfy your reading and find a very sexy wolf and a heroin that knows how to say I'm sorry.

From the start, my curiosity was driven, and page after page I discovered that sometimes choices have to be made, even if those choices hurt you and someone else, higher priorities get in the way and life isn't perfect after all.

The chemistry between Kyle and Emma is still there and they have to overcome the sorrow of being split apart by the villain.
Trust is an element that takes priority in this story and as it progresses turns into something that never went away ... love.

There's the villains that come hand in hand with the payback and they appear just in the right time, with a balance to everything that is going on, never out of place.

For a short story, this book has everything it should have, a beginning, middle and end, a pace that is set from the start always rising until it reaches it's pick and an ending that is very satisfying.

ARC acquired through NetGalley

Author Highlight: Shawntelle Madison

NetGalley is really a marvelous thing for me. As an avid reader, mostly touching an addiction, quite not so organized in my TBR list, I usually go with the flow and my favorite past time is to roam around to find new authors to read.

Now, NetGalley does this for me presenting an never ending choice of people that are so talented and providing me with new visions of authors that I can relate to.

This brings me to today's post about Shawntelle  Madison.

I had never heard of this author even if she is part of Goodreads, so I read "Bitten by Deceit" with no idea of what it could bring or add anything to this sort of genre. Well, after all the shape-shifter's story's I've read, this one was a breath of fresh air to me.

Caught up in witches, heartbreak, deceptiveness, a hot wolf and it's mate, she gave me ride that I loved while it lasted.

Shawntelle Madison is a wonderful storyteller, in fiction you have to be inventive, she is. This girl can write.

I've been researching for other books from her, to catch up to so follow the links and discover another author you can write down on your Favorite Author's List.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5116661.Shawntelle_Madison

http://shawntellemadison.blogspot.pt/

Lauren Dane - Delicious Series

At the moment I'm reading "Lush" written by Lauren Dane, a new series, at least for me, and came to my reader because I'm a huge fan of Lauren Dane and I love it when the pleasure of taste comes together with the pleasure of love.
Combined with a bad boy drummer and a strong female character, this book has all the ingredients to go right.


I'm drawn to this kind of stories like a moth to a flame, I enjoy this scenarios so much that the attraction never wears off. Bad boys with women that know what they want, if they're not certain they battle their way to find out what course to take in life. They're an example to all women, even if they are fictional character's, but Lauren Dane creates them as examples of what we can achieve our selves.




The first series that I read from Laura was the Brown Family and I read the books out of curiosity. Like everyone that loves to read, as soon as the first pages started turning my eyes kept searching for more. I knew at the moment I had found a gem among my list of authors to read.

This series brings us the stories of special people in a world that we all aim to live in.
Satisfied in their work, finding a partner in life, their pasts worked out and solved, who wouldn't like to live in such a world.

All this is accomplished by the author, the way she writes, the imagination she introduces and the way her characters are created, leads the reader's to follow this books and count the days and months for the next book to come out.

Another thing that I find captivating is the cover's of her books, and we all know that sometimes a beautiful cover is not by all means the meaning of a good story.

This isn't so in this case. I think that the visual aspect helps 

a hole lot in this series that before reading, we're already imagining what the plot will be, how our bad boy will look like and how our female is awesome and  beautiful.

In October a new installment will come out and I can not wait to see what comes out of this one.
Lauren Dane has the ability of not repeating herself, from book to book, and we never loose track of the past couples, with new developments in their lives.
Again the next cover is beautiful I urge all of you to roam to the author's website for this and other news on her books and series, http://www.laurendane.com/.

NetGalley - "A Venetian Affair" by Dana Mitchell

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia                                                

Destiny Romance
Release Date: March 15th, 2013
ARC acquired through NetGalley

Always cool and reserved, Helene Stoddart, masks herself and has the time of her life in Venice. When a beautiful stranger saves her from a bad mugging, they spend the night together and on the next morning she vanishes.
Gabriel Venier has returned to Australia but he has not forgotten the night in Venice with the beautiful stranger. He has to find her because there's a piece of him that stayed with her.
When Gabriel and Helene meet and he finds out that she is the one that spent the night with him, he is stunned.
But he will do anything in his power to get her back, even if he has to blackmail her into his bed.

Debut author, Dana Mitchell is a true romance storyteller, someone that involves the reader from page one into the story, giving details to our imagination to run free and travel to the most mystical and wonderful places in the world, like Venice and falling in love with the most interesting heroes, like Gabriel.
She also gives in to create a heroine that lives up to the saying that woman are power and almighty, take Helene for example, her icing and cold exterior, strength, and her hidden vulnerabilities and grief, cast away from probing eyes and especially Gabriel.

The story takes us into the world of high corporate finance and wealth.
In this world what meets the eye is not always what it seems and sometimes living in it can be a cruel fate.
Only someone like Helene could do it, probably because she has more high standards than most of the people that live in it.

How I loathed Gabriel by the middle of the book but after his bold move to blackmail her, I kept on watch to see the moment that he would realize what an ass his been.
Even though, he knows that something is wrong he doesn't make a move to understand the reason and when he does, I clapped my hands in contentment ... Finally the man see's the light!

The other character's in the story complemented with perfection it's pace, Gabriel's family were better and down to earth, more than him, and the details were well introduced and in it's right time.

If you do love romance and a perfect couple with bumps along the way, this is the book for you, it was for me.
I loved the book and the author can tell me a story anytime.



View all my reviews

Review - "All Inn" by Raine Miller

The Blackstone Affair Part 2

Raine Miller Romance

ARC provided by NetGalley

What It's All About ...

After Ethan broken Brynne's trust, alone and afraid to have lost the woman he loves, he finds that he's unwilling to live without her and by all means he has to get her back.

Their passion breaks all boundaries and soon they are back together, now without any lies between them, but danger is following behind Brynne and he will do everything to protect the woman he loves, he's All Inn on it.

When I started this series I thought that this story would be like many others, two people falling in love, a story with a great passion, a beautiful dominating alpha male, whatever, just another book following the trail of today's hottest erotica trends.

Now I see how mistaken I was because M. Miller wrote her story in a way that the reader gets sucked in the moment he turns the first chapter and there's no turning back. When you think it's slowing down, there you go again up the roller-coaster, what a ride.

And So It Starts ...

"My hand throbbed along with my heartbeat. All I could do was breathe at the now sealed doors of the lift that was taking her away from me."

And here we go .... Part 2 picks up Ethan and Brynne angry and separated, fact that leaves Ethan crazy, out of his mind. He picks up a bottle, runs to Dad, and pours out his heart in a confessional tone.
Ethan is a character so well elaborated and touching the extreme, so strong most of the time and so weak without Brynne, but always putting his heart out and going not the half way but all the way towards Brynne.
His desperation is a real pain that we feel through his words and what comes to mind is probably what I felt when he states ... "My Brynne had left me for the second time. The first time she did it in stealth in the middle of the night because she was terrorized by a bad dream. This time she just turned and walked away from me without looking back. I could see it in her face, and it wasn't fear that made her leave. It was utter devastation at the betrayal to find I had kept the truth from her. I had broken her trust. I'd wagered too high and lost." ... pain in my heart for this man, so sad. Really, M. Miller created the perfect man.

There are certain details that struck me as simply beautiful in this coming day and age, the letter that Ethan writes is in the least a declaration of love and the most sign that he belongs to her, showing the confidence that all can be worked out with trust and communication.
I loved how Raine Miller shows us that all is acceptable when coming to our hearts desire.

After a period of loneliness Brynne comes to her senses and accepting the white flag of peace she shows that she's also lost without Ethan. For some strong character she possesses, the weak spots shine out with her uncertainties and fears. In my opinion, she leans on to Ethan and overcomes the "ghosts" with the knowledge that he will protect her and take care of everything.
This book is all about the coming together of wills and heart, the acceptance that lies won't do, to move forward together, overcome the troubles and hang on for the drive.

Now, the chemistry between Ethan and Brynne is hotter than ever and here I think M. Miller did a fine job.
Sometimes the words used to describe an extreme sex scene doesn't sound good and instead of picturing a beautiful thing, it simply feels wrong. Here it was not the case, far from it.
The words were sometimes naughty, shocking but well spoken in the moment, and all had a right feeling to it.

Down the road comes trouble and again we're left hanging on a cliff, promises of more things to come and the author is doing a fine job with this three books, I'm just starving for the next one, check out the cover,

and if you haven't yet read The Blackstone Affair, you're missing out !