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Archives: Reviews

  • Saving Forever by Jasinda Wilder

    This book that ends trilogy, like all of the other Jasinda Wilder books I’ve read, is a roller coaster of emotions and tremendously sexy. I admit I was scared to finish reading the story of these characters after the maceration she performed on my heart in the first two books, but I grabbed my Big Girl Panties, and dove in. Holy shitballs, this book—and trilogy—is amazing. Without a doubt, I highly recommend it to anyone strong enough to handle broken hearts, depressing stories, twists, turns, and some of the best sex scenes ever written. The Ever Trilogy is meant to be read as a whole, and the three books are best read back-to-back. Be strong, grab your tissues and extra batteries, and get these books! [February 2014]

    SIDE NOTE: I don’t like feeding trolls or addressing drama straight-on, but the “controversy” (I use quotes because the issues people are having with this series are borderline insanity) over the subject matter in this trilogy has made me ragey. This story is intensely emotional. Not only is it based on real life stories, it is deeply rooted in reality. Just because we don’t agree with the choices a character makes doesn’t mean the entire book, series, or author are worthy of being boycotted. And yes, there are some pitchforks being carried by readers who have strong public opinions on how Jasinda should have written this story. But they are not worthy of being the author of this trilogy—she is.

  • Song of the Fireflies by J.A. Redmerski

    She goes there. Finally, after reading so many books where the author stops just short of GOING THERE, J.A. Redmerski finally lets herself and her characters go to where you hope they won’t, but they do. No, I’m not spoiling anything, because it’s nearly impossible to predict the route they’ll be taking. And thank GOD for that. There is so much struggle for Bray and Elias, both in their relationship and in their lives outside of one another. Song of the Fireflies is one of the best emotionally taxing books I’ve read in the last year, and I can’t recommend it enough for those of us who enjoy reading deeply emotional books with intensely sexual scenes. [February 2014]

  • Staking His Claim by Tessa Bailey

    I love a dirty talker. LOVE. I fall in hardcore lust with a fictional guy who can make my loins quiver and my tummy flutter. Matt is one of those guys who, time and time again, made things happen in my Down There while I read Staking His Claim. Just like Tessa Bailey’s other dirty-talking alpha male books, this is fun to read, heart-warming, and undeniably hot. While I was reading, I highlighted more hot quotes in this book than I have in any other book. That is a testament to how much I loved Matt and his filthy mouth. And Lucy? She gives it right back to him with her goading and temptations. I stand up and slow-clap your dirty writing, Tessa. Staking His Claim is explosive erotica that made it to my Certified Favorites list. This book is required reading! [February 2014]

  • The House on Hancock Hill by Indra Vaughn

    When you want a quintessential romance book, you pick up a book like The House on Hancock Hill. Full of everything that makes up romance—unrequited love, history, mystery, sexual tension, loss—this book is different from the typical romance novel in that it is about two men rather than a man and a woman. For anyone who has not read an M/M story, this book is an excellent one to start with. The buildup is great, the self-discovery is not overtly filled with angst, and I wasn’t left with the feeling that any part of the story was left behind. The House on Hancock Hill is a definite must-read! [January 2014]

  • Wounded by Jasinda Wilder

    Maybe this has been said before about Wounded, but they’re not me, and I’m gonna say what I wanna say, dammit. This damn book left my heart wounded. Yes, that sounds cliche. But there’s really no other way to read this book and not be affected deep down in your heart. As with all of Jasinda Wilder’s other books, Wounded is an emotional roller coaster, complete with intense love scenes that are meant to make you feel at some times slightly uncomfortable and other times grateful you get the chance to read them. There are very intense scenes of violence, sexual assault, scenarios of war, and taboo subject matter. This is not a comfortable book to read, but it is one I highly recommend for those of us who enjoy having our emotions shaken. [January 2014]

  • RAW by Belle Aurora

    This book is 70 shades of messed up, and I loved every last word of it. True to its warning, this is not a love story; it is a story of pain, angst, criminal behavior, lust, love, lies, intense emotional turmoil, and seriously hot sex. If you’re looking to read this to feel better about the world, don’t read this book. Read this book if you’re strong enough to handle the dark, twisted underbelly of humanity and get turned on by it. There’s no better title I could have chosen for RAW because it lives up to its name. Every single thing about this story is raw and leaves your heart hurting. I can’t recommend RAW highly enough for those of us who don’t necessarily need hearts and flowers to make a brilliant story. RAW is an instant favorite!Tap to read our ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ recommendation of RAW: Rebirth

  • Return to Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia

    I’ll first say that it’s necessary to read Poughkeepsie before reading Return to Poughkeepsie. Of course I won’t give away any details from either book that would spoil anything for you. When I read Poughkeepsie many moons ago, I liked it. It was long, detailed, and wove itself around the characters’ dark pasts in a way that didn’t make me feel sorry for them. I loved Return to Poughkeepsie. Wherever the first book was lacking (not that I remember details from that far back), Return more than made up for them. We get to see Eve and Beckett’s human sides, check in with the other characters, and get caught up in the suspense of the underworld no one wants to know exists. I loved the *ahem* coupling scenes that Debra wrote, more specifically how Eve and Beckett are damn animals for one another. Both books are tremendous reads for anyone who loves an epic love story mixed with drama and seduction. [January 2014]

  • After Forever by Jasinda Wilder

    There are things you don’t even want to imagine happening. Not even an inkling of what could happen if [insert bad thing here] shook your life’s groundwork. How would you react? What would you do? Who could you turn to? Every one of those questions and situations is where Caden lives in this second book of The Ever Trilogy. I didn’t think I could cry or feel more than I did with Forever & Always, but I surprised myself with all the tears I shed while reading After Forever. Things happen in this book that shouldn’t happen—shouldn’t HAVE to happen. But it’s life. It’s real life, and Jasinda Wilder is perfection at writing real life in a way that opens up my heart—and warms my traitorous lady bits. Once again, this is a must-read continuation of the trilogy. [December 2013]

  • Come to Me Quietly by AL Jackson

    I am anointing AL Jackson the Mistress of Angst. The two other books of hers I’ve read—Lost to You and Take This Regret—were ★★★★★ hardcore sob-fests for me. Just like with those two books, the full-on ugly cry came out of my face while I read Come to Me Quietly, and I loved every minute of it. AL Jackson makes me FEEL. Her words are wrought with emotions and worry and love and deep, deep feelings. Sure, I wanted to strangle Aly and Jared a few times to get them to actually talk to one another and get the truth out in the open, but then the book would have been over in the first two chapters. With Come To Me Quietly, I didn’t feel their connection right away like I do in most books; instead, their deep connection is revealed over time and with intense struggle. Come to Me Quietly can be read as a standalone book with the continuation of their story coming in July with Come to Me Softly. I can’t recommend Come to Me Quietly enough; it is emotional reading at its best.

    Recommended by Adrian

    Oh my God…this book. I don’t even know where to start. It’s a love story full of heartache and regret and guilt and acceptance and pain. It’s beautiful, it’s gut-wrenching, it will make you feel every emotion, sometimes all at once. Jared is so broken that I don’t know if he can ever be fixed. Aly’s love for him has gone on for years, but not even her love is enough to save him. I love how we get their story piece by piece through flashbacks. I can’t say enough about this book, and I can’t wait to get the rest of their story. (This can be read as a stand alone, not a cliffy). Total book hangover. [January 2014]

  • Beck by Harper Sloan

    Reading these Corps Security books are like watching my favorite TV series and never wanting it to end. The interconnected characters and storyline are entertaining, compelling, and incredibly sexy. Beck is complete with its own share of intense drama that came unexpectedly, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. If you haven’t yet read Axel and Cage, get them now with Beck, binge on the series, and wait (im)patiently for the next books in the series from Harper Sloan. You will NOT be disappointed! [December 2013]

  • Forever & Always by Jasinda Wilder

    When you start to read this book, know you will need at least one box of tissues, a moment to wallow in the emotions drawn out of you, and uninterrupted alone time. The uninterrupted alone time is both for getting to experience the emotions without breaks and for, well, the afterglow of some of the most intense sex scenes I’ve ever read. [Aside: Jasinda, you’ve topped yourself with the sexing scenes. They’re long and intense and nearly cheesy but SO completely not.] Forever & Always is the first of the trilogy, with the second book, After Forever, being released alongside this one. The third, Saving Forever, will be out shortly after these two are released. The entirety of Ever (one of my favorite names) and Caden’s story is told over the trilogy, so if you’re not one who loves cliffhangers (like me), you may want to wait to read them all together. Thank the sweet baby Jesus and indie authors like Jasinda that we don’t have to wait months and years for the story to be complete. Once again, Jasinda has given us an emotional roller coaster that is a MUST read. [December 2013]

  • The Redhead Plays Her Hand by Alice Clayton

    The first two Redhead books were some of the first I read in the modern-day romance and smut world. Admittedly, I wasn’t sure how “humor” and “smut” were going to marry well in a book, but of course, I read them and loved them with the heat of 1000 suns. It’s been a while since I’ve visited Grace and Jack, and I was super excited to get to read how their story would continue. Grace and Jack and their friends are some of the most lovable, funniest characters I’ve read, and I wanted only good things for them. They have their romance and sexy times, they grow together, and their relationship is tested. The Redhead Plays Her Hand is a good ending to a great series and a must-read for those of us who love Gracie and George![December 2013]

  • Reaper’s Property by Joanna Wylde

    I ridiculously hardcore loved this book. Reaper’s Property is everything a motorcycle club *slash* romance book needs to be: frustrating, hot, dramatic, violent, sex-filled, and compelling. It can be read as a standalone book, but there are more coming in the series about other brothers in the MC that I will definitely be reading. Horse and Marie make me want to throw my civilian life away and ride off into the sunset on the back of a giant docked badass biker. Reaper’s Property is a must read, Certified Favorite. [December 2013]

  • Driven by K Bromberg

    Much in the same vein as trilogies like Fifty Shades of Grey, Driven is angsty, 1st-person-reflective, and hot sex. Marred by tragedy and heartbreak, Rylee is a deep thinker who second, third, and infinity-guesses her attraction to be with Colton. Colton is a famous manwhore with a dominant side and a dangerous life. Driven came HIGHLY recommended by many readers whom I can assume are huge Fifty Shades fans in need of a new couple to love. The trilogy is definitely meant to read together, and with the third book coming in early 2014, there’s not long to wait! [December 2013]

  • Nocturnes by Kendall Grey

    Not only is Nocturnes gratuitous in its offering of smut, it’s unexpectedly lovely. Nocturnes is smut in its purest, most entertaining definition. Kendall Grey forces us to fall in love with Rax, an unloveable rock star drunk, and root for his relationship with Eve, a stripper-cum-whore, to succeed. The whole Hard Rock Harlots Trilogy (Strings, Beats, Nocturnes) is a must-read for all of us hardcore smut lovers. There are no apologies given for its raunchiness or its unexpected romance. Simply, Nocturnes is a must-read. [December 2013]

  • Holy Frigging Matrimony by Emma Chase

    I love catching up with some of my favorite characters, especially ones that are funny and sexy. Of course, we all fell in love with Drew and Kate in Tangled, and we got to know their friends and family who play a big part in their story. If you—like me—loved Tangled, I recommend reading Holy Frigging Matrimony to tide you over until Twisted and Tamed are released. [December 2013]

  • Sex Love Repeat by Alessandra Torre

    Maybe I’m a tad “off,” but a cheating story is one I love to read. There are so many variables to a story when more than two people are involved, and in the case of Sex Love Repeat, everyone’s aware of the people involved. You’d think the story would be straightforward if the secrets were out in the open, but that’s just the beginning of the roller coaster. I love the alternate POV and the surprise of mystery, and can say without a doubt that Sex Love Repeat is a must-read! [November 2013]

  • Rock Bottom by RK Lilley

    I knew when I started this book that there was going to be a crapton of emotions falling out of my heart and eyeballs. Having read the Up in the Air series, I knew the middle of Danika and Tristan’s story, but Rock Bottom is the why of their tumultuous relationship. Rock Bottom did NOT disappoint in its heart-breaking drama. I knew what was coming, I just had to find out the details. Throughout the book, there is insurmountable drama and forces pushing against the couple. But even with all of the forces against them, they love and make up hardcore. I hardly ever (read: never) read teasers for upcoming books, but I couldn’t help reading the first chapter of Tristan and Danika’s final book, Lovely Trigger, and now I’m dying to get my hands on it. A MUST read! [November 2013]

  • Asking for Trouble by Tessa Bailey

    Tessa Bailey is one of the great creators of the dirty talking alpha male. The lines her heroes—and heroines—say are drop-dead sexy and stomach butterfly-inducing. That little warm feeling you get in your belly when you read or hear something that gets your *ahem* motors running appears so many times in Asking For Trouble, I almost broke my favorite quote highlighting finger. Sure the story is good, the characters are lovable, and it’s nice catching up a bit with characters from the last books (though not necessary to read prior to this book), it’s the off-the-charts lines she gives us that make our insides flutter and melt that makes Asking For Trouble a MUST read. [November 2013]

  • The Best Laid Plans by Tamara Mataya

    When you want to take a break from mind-numbing, emotion-wrecking books, you pick up a book like The Best Laid Plans. It’s just long enough to develop and complete a romance, and in the process, Jayne and Malcolm get all up in each other’s business in some of the hottest ways. These two get it on in a seriousness you want to bookmark and read again. [November 2013]

  • The Home Court Advantage by N. M. Silber

    Much like the first book, The Law of Attraction, The Home Court Advantage has funny stories of Gabrielle and Braden going head-to-head in the courtroom, which really make for some good sexual tension build-up. Again, the sex is hot, the friends are funny, but I some of the “crime drama” didn’t really seem to mesh up with the first story. I’d say read these back-to-back if you haven’t already read the first, and if you have, read this one to find out how they start their happily ever after. [November 2013]

  • Night Owl by M. Pierce

    I don’t like to know much about books before I read them, not even from reading the synopsis more than a scan-through to get a general overview of the subject. Over and over, I’d heard from other readers that Night Owl was THE book to read next, so I moved it up my Reading List, and dove in as soon as I got the chance. I’m more than happy that I did, because Night Owl is a cacophony of genre and alternating POV, undefinable unless you’ve read it. So I won’t even try to tell you more about the book other than there’s a crapton of dirty sex, heartbreak, a touch of mystery, and a whole lot of desperation at the end of the book for the next one. Night Owl is a MUST read! [November 2013]

  • Try by Ella Frank

    TOP 10 OF 2013
    Never mind that Try is a phenomenal male/male erotica book; Try is a flat-out phenomenal erotica book. It’s not about the romance, and it’s surely not about the will they/won’t they. This is all about the down and deliciously dirty coupling of two hot men—Logan, a bisexual manwhore lawyer and Tate, a straight divorced bartender. Spoiler alert: Tate finds out he’s not as straight as he thought he once was. I’ve not read another erotica book that had so much more sex than story that also didn’t make me miss the story. And that’s because Ella Frank is such a great storywriter that she fits in the developing romance into all of the sex without missing out on anything. The second book in their story will be out in Summer 2014, but Try can be read now as a standalone, though there is a teensy bit of a cliffhanger. Plus, I love ending a book wishing it wasn’t over, and that’s exactly what I got. Try easily sits atop my list of 5-star books as a Certified Favorite, and I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone who loves erotica. [November 2013]

  • Nikolai (Dark Light, Book 2.5) by S.L. Jennings

    Niko is Dark, and I don’t just mean in the subjective sense of the word; I mean in the literal sense (or as literal as one can get in a paranormal book). Having met Niko in The Dark Prince, I knew he was a bad dude, but in Nikolai, he’s a very bad dude. He’s also addicted to sex and gets it however he can. Nikolai is a hardcore dark paranormal story with much more heat than Dark Light and The Dark Prince. It can be read as a standalone, but it’s best read as book 2-1/2 in the series. If you love the magic world S. L. Jennings created, you MUST read Nikolai. [November 2013]

  • Better by S. Walden

    There was something about Good—this book’s predecessor—that I loved. Maybe it was the forbidden love story; maybe it was the superb writing; maybe it was just a good combination of everything I love. But Better is just that: better. Cadence and Mark have so many challenges to overcome, and as S. Walden is wont to do, she piles on more adversities in the second half of their story. It doesn’t hurt that she wrote in one of THE HOTTEST sex scenes I’ve ever read, and those are big words coming from someone who can count Favorite Sex Scenes on one hand. Or one-handed if we’re going there. Better is a hardcore must-read, especially if you’re into the whole forbidden, torrid love story thing. HIGHLY recommend! [5/5 stars]

  • Disclosure of the Heart by Mary Whitney

    I really liked Beside Your Heart, the first of this duo series, so I was excited to start reading Disclosure of the Heart. I’m happy to say I was not disappointed because I really liked this book and the end of the story. The will they/won’t they back-and-forth seemed absolutely realistic and not at all forced like many books. Now that both books are out, this is a great series to read back-to-back, and I highly recommend it! [November 2013]

  • The Edge of Always by J. A. Redmerski

    I super hardcore loved The Edge of Never. I sobbed; I told everyone I knew to read it; I put it on my Certified Favorites list. I’ve been looking forward to reading The Edge of Always for nearly a year. Maybe that’s the problem. I was looking forward to is so much that I set Camryn and Andrew on a pedestal so high, they had nowhere to go but slide down. The Edge of Always is not bad. It’s definitely one to read if you like finding out what happens to characters after your favorite book ends. Aside from a few situations in the book, the whole of Always can be read like an epilogue to Never. And let me just say, Andrew is the best, most perfect 20-something boyfriend any girl could ask for. Woah. [November 2013]

  • MINE by Katy Evans

    After reading REAL, I don’t think there’s a nerve in my body that couldn’t love Remy. Brooke feels the same way, and she doesn’t hold back one single bit from telling us just how God-like she thinks he and his body are to her. (Which, I have to say, is part of why I rated MINE 4.5/5 stars and not 5/5. I’m pretty sure I could paint a canvas of Remy from top to bottom and everything in between in explicit detail, complete with glistening sweat beads after all of the glorifying we hear from Brooke.) MINE is just as intense as REAL, and if you loved the first book, you’ll love this one as well. Remy—the Alpha of all the Alpha Males—doesn’t hold back whether it’s his filthy mouth or roaming hands, he’s all over Brooke. I’ll definitely be reading REMY when it’s released at the end of November! [November 2013]

  • Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

    As a companion novella to Hopeless and Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella is a must-read. It can be read before the other two books (unless you really don’t want relationship spoilers) or after or even between the other two. And just like the other two books, it is stupendously well-written and epically heart-wrenching. I honestly didn’t expect to love this novella as much as I did, and I surely didn’t expect to cry over a story I thought I knew. Finding Cinderella is a hardcore must-read, not just because it’s free, but also because it’s amazingly good. [October 2013]

  • Beat of the Heart by Katie Ashley

    The whole first half of this book is one naughty tryst after another. From sexy time in a limo to sexy time in every room under his roof, Mia and AJ are all horned up for one another. The sex is HOT and so is the couple, and not just their bodies. Their banter is both funny and sexy—I could have done with a whole book of their tit-for-tats. The second half of the book slowed a bit, but it never wavered from its likability of the characters. Beat of the Heart is a fun and sexy read and perfect as a stopover after reading an emotional book. [October 2013]