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Archives: Reviews

  • Beats by Kendall Grey

    Because Beats is a sequel to Strings, I feel like I need to say first off that Beats is not the raunchy, jaw-dropping sex-fest that Strings is. Beats is so much more than a raunchy read with a heart of gold; rather it’s a rocker with a heart of gold story with some raunchy scenes thrown in. We still get some of Letty’s over-the-top dirty mouth from Jinx’s point of view, and with her lustfest over Toombs, she treats us to all of his and Rax’s finer features as men. The sex is insanely hot with piercings, tattoos, man-on-man action, and major mind games. The book ends more suddenly than I would have hoped, but the third book in the series, Nocturnes, will be out soon, so I’m hoping to pick right back up with Jinx and Toomb’s budding non-traditional romance. A must read! [August 2013]

  • Wethering the Storm by Samantha Towle

    Jake loves Tru; Tru loves Jake. The End. Only, there’s a whole bunch of sexing and loving and surprises and more sexing happening while these two lovebirds figure out their life together. I was excited to read this book after remembering (from what seemed like forever ago) that I liked The Mighty Storm so much. So I was pleasantly pleased at how much more I liked Wethering the Storm than I remember liking TMS. I highly recommend both books and will definitely be reading the next book in the series. [August 2013]

  • Locked, Lockout, Unlocked: The Alpha Group Trilogy by Maya Cross

    The Alpha Group Trilogy is a set of novellas, or shorter-length novels, that are meant to be read together. They’re not considered a serial or a novel series, but rather as a set meant to be read, in my opinion, back-to-back. Now that all three in the set are released, it’s the perfect chance to read them all at one time. The hotness between Sebastian and Sophia is off the charts. He’s a beast in the bedroom, but not so dominating that he’s scary. He just knows what he wants. In terms of a storyline, the crux of the suspense doesn’t happen until well into the second book, so the first book and most of the second are a lot of set-up and build-up. But once the non-bedroom-related action starts, it’s non-stop. The Alpha Trilogy books are a great read for those of us who like a mystery wrapped in a intro-to-kink story. [August 2013]

  • Shooting Scars by Karina Halle

    This book, a continuation of Ellie, Camden, and Javier’s story in Sins & Needles, is seriously messed up. I wanted to stop at one point, throw down my Kindle, and hide in the corner sucking my thumb. The sex was hotter than what was in Sins & Needles, but the criminal minds were that much more twisted. Not that every book needs a moral, but if this book were to have one, it would be “trust no one.” Shooting Scars is an incredible 2nd book that continues the story we read in the first book, and I can only imagine and fear the messedupedness Bold Tricks will bring. [August 2013]

  • The Devil’s Eyes by Jennifer Loren

    The Devil’s Eyes is not a typical happily ever after romance—far from it. There is mystery with mob stories, prostitution, strippers, and murder. Just when I thought I had things figured out, the plot twisted and turned, throwing me off my typically on-point detective skills. Having Lionel Clerc on the cover of the book helped tremendously in giving Nick a face to go with the story in my mind. (I mean, how can you possibly say no to someone with a face only the angel’s could have created?) The Devil’s Eyes is a great read for anyone who likes a quick-moving anti-romance with an antihero you can’t help but want in your bed. [August 2013]

  • Axel by Harper Sloan

    Axel and Izzy are proof that fate is a cruel bitch. Chapter after chapter of frustrating missed opportunities left me so anxious for their (no spoiler here) eventual coming (heh) together made for an intensely emotional story with incredibly cruel unintentional side effects. But when it it (yes, IT) finally happens and happens and happens…all of the emotionally intense buildup makes for some amazing sex. (See: My favorite quote. Woah.) I loved the back-and-forth spitfire dialogue between the characters and the realism of their exchanges. Axel is a must-read as the first book to a series that will no doubt be filled with hot, dominating alpha Marines that I can’t wait to read. [August 2013]

  • Two Wrongs, One Right by Katee Robert

    I so love a confident dirty talker who knows what he wants, and that’s just I got with Nathan. He’s dead set on getting his woman, and he’ll do whatever he has to do to keep Chelsea from leaving him again. Though Two Wrongs, One Right is part of a series, it can easily be read as a standalone as each book focuses solely on one couple. It’s a great sexy distraction book to read after an emotionally heavy one. And there’s nothing better than reading about two people who belong together come (heh) together over and over and over… [August 2013]

  • Stripped by Jasinda Wilder

    These are big words I’m about to say, so you should take consideration in their weight. Stripped has some of the hottest, most intense, emotionally moving sex scenes I’ve ever read. Starting out as a naive teen girl who knows she wants more out of her sheltered life, Grey is faced with decisions many women have had to make. But those decisions lead her to Dawson, the man of every woman’s fantasies. There’s a tremendous amount of buildup to finally get to the good stuff, and when you get there, the reward is page after page after page of emotional, intense, and creative sex. Well done, Jasinda. *slow clap* Well done. [August 2013]

  • Thief by Tarryn Fisher

    At one point in this book, I actually said out loud to no one but me, my wiener dog sleeping in the corner, and my Kindle, “Fuuuuuuuuuu…” I can remember that happening only twice before, and one of those times was while reading Dirty Red, Thief’s precursor. These books kill my emotions. Tarryn Fisher has a way of creating characters that can reach into my heart, twist it like a piece of meat, make me doubt every genuine person I’ve ever met, then use my broken heart to fall in love. Without giving away any spoilers, Thief ends the Love Me With Lies trilogy with closure and heartbreak, but it’s up to you to find out whose hearts are broken in the end. The whole series is a must-read. [August 2013]

  • The Law of Attraction by N. M. Silber

    I LOVED this book. Hardcore, super duper, would recommend it to anyone, marking it as a favorite kind of love. It’s cute, adorable, lovely, sexy, panty-melting, heart-warming, laugh-out-loud goodness. The Law of Attraction is the first of a two-part series that will turn into standalone books about the other introduced characters. Like Stefan says, there’s something for everyone; funny banter mixed with hot, sexy build-up mixed with hilarious side characters round out the likability of the book. I can’t wait for the second book just because I want to spend more time with Gabrielle and Braden and the humping game. A HUGE must-read! [August 2013]

  • The Ballad by Ashley Pullo

    Always. That’s approximately how long I’ll be thinking about Chloe and Adam and their normal-yet-lyrical love story. Told in reverse chronological order, The Ballad is aptly named—though (thankfully) told in prose and not stanza. (I’ve read Shakespeare; I don’t need to read it again.) I smiled, I cried, I laughed, I wanted to be Chloe, and I wanted to catch Adam’s sneaky smiles meant just for me. The Ballad is lovely and musical in its telling of a normal, everyday love story, both of Chloe and Adam’s story as well as the city of Brooklyn. Though it is the start of a series, it can be read/enjoyed/loved as a standalone. A must-read! [August 2013]

  • Buying Thyme by TJ Hamilton

    I’ve always thought, in another life, I’d be a kickass prostitute with a heart of gold. With Buying Thyme, I now I have someone after which to model my fantasies. Miranda is hot, confident, self-assured, kickass legal prostitute in Sydney who has great sex and amazing friends. But this is not a typical romance book, and thank goodness for that. (Not that I don’t love a good typical romance book, but you know, I like to mix things up a bit.) Buying Thyme mixes everything up, tosses normal around like an old rag doll, and leaves you hanging wanting more like a wanton hussy. There are two more books coming in the trilogy, and Buying Thyme is a great set-up for the rest of the series. A definite must-read! [August 2013]

  • The Redemption of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

    This book, man. This book. After leaving me hanging with the cliffhangers of all cliffhangers at the end of The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden, I was heart-jittery to get to finish their story. This book does not disappoint, unless you consider wanting to shout at characters through my Kindle disappointment. Though this 2nd book is a conclusion to the romance of Callie and Kayden, Jessica Sorensen says there is “more of their story” to come as well as another book about 2 other characters in their lives. Which, for me, is a perfect way to let us love on these broken, lovable characters for a little while longer. This book and this series are must-reads for anyone who loves an emotional New Adult story. [July 2013]

  • The Marriage Merger by Jennifer Probst

    The 4th of Jennifer Probst’s Married to a Billionaire series, The Marriage Merger has firmly set itself as my favorite. I really liked the other books in the series and highly recommend them all, but Merger is far and beyond the hottest one. Just like The Marriage Trap, this book is set in idyllic Milan, and now I’m more than ready to take a trip and find my own billionaire in the Italian countryside. Though you can read Merger without reading the rest of the series, you’ll be reading relationship spoilers about the other books’ characters. If that doesn’t bother you, pick this up and read it even if you haven’t read the other 3. Highly recommend! [July 2013]

  • Unscrupulous by Avery Aster

    The characters are beyond rich, beyond sexy, and insatiable for one another when they meet. Of course, they only exist in a fantasy candy land because 33-year-old self-made body builder sex machine billionaires just don’t happen in real life. The same goes for abandoned self-made millionaire Manhattan socialite moguls with an addiction to getting off. Though listed as the second in the Manhattanites series, Unscrupulous is a prequel to Undressed and can be read out of order. It’s packed with characters, detailed in its sex scenes, and unbelievable in its storyline. But isn’t that what we all want in a fantasy book? [July 2013]

  • Sharing Harper by V. Murphy

    Before I say anything, I’ll just give away this non-spoiler nugget of information: Sharing Harper is not about a menage relationship. If you’re thinking you’re getting into a book all about sharing a woman in bed, this is not a book for you. If you like sweet, secret-keeping, secret-revealing, frustrating heroines who are sex fiends, Harper and Ryder are the characters for you. I think there could have been so much less distraction for me if the author had spent time having the book professionally edited* for both grammar and storyline holes. Overall, I enjoyed the book and recommend it as a coming-of-age, falling-in-first-love story. (*The author tells me that the book has been edited since I received my copy.) [July 2013]

  • Jack Stone: Wild Justice by Vivien Sparx

    Who the hell is Jack Stone anyway? I’ve seen him around, lurking in all of the places I visit online, and I finally got to figure out just who the hell he is. Jack Stone is a badass. He’s a trained Master, trained special forces operative, and a man on a mission to bring justice to someone he loves. When he stops to search in a small southwestern desert town, he finds a whole lot of trouble, more questions than answers, and a welcoming bed on which to assert his dominance. I could have used a lot more of the dominating in the bedroom and less of the dominating in the streets, but with this being such a short book, it all rounded out to be a fun read. I’ll definitely keep reading more about Jack Stone in upcoming books.[July 2013]

  • Just Human by Kerry Heavens

    TOP 10 OF 2013
    I loved this book. I loved the sweetness, the humor, the love story, the sexing, the characters, the history, the sexing, and the sweetness. Oh, and the sexing. And then BOOM. I’m left hanging with some serious frustration at the end. Who even knew this was a series? Not me. Well, I knew by the end of the book that it had to have another because DAMMIT. Just Human is a MUST-read. [July 2013]

  • Devotion (Club Destiny Series) by Nicole Edwards

    There is so much hot M/M lovin’ in this book that I almost turned into a bi-sexual man. Yes, there were some scenes where Sierra, Luke and Cole’s wife, was in the mix of the men, but this book is all about the power exchange of these two alpha males. Devotion is hot. And steamy. And warm. And check-your-battery-supply delicious. Meant to be read as a part of the Club Destiny series, Devotion follows the triad that came together in Temptation, but it can be read (with minor relationship spoilers about other series characters) immediately after Temptation. I recommend Devotion if you want an over-the-top nuclear-heated ménage story, centered heavily on the two men. [July 2013]

  • Lick: Stage Dive 1 by Kylie Scott

    I had high hopes for Lick, only because I’d seen it being talked about by fellow smut book enthusiasts. I wasn’t expecting a funny, heart- and bits-warming book written with imagery usually reserved for high-brow literature. (See: My favorite quotes on the recommendation page.) Though the story isn’t wholly original (good-girl-meets-famous-rock-god), the pull from the author to get from beginning to end is different from most other books. I cannot WAIT to get to read the second (and third? and fourth? and tenth?) book in the Stage Dive books from Kylie Scott. HIGHLY recommend! [July 2013]

  • Fear of Falling by SL Jennings

    Holy emotional roller coaster, Batman! Not only is Fear of Falling a must-read-or-die book, it’s one I think anyone who knows someone with anxiety should read. As someone who has suffered from anxiety since a very young age (not due to trauma; just because I’m lucky), SL Jennings writes about anxiety and its effects so brilliantly that it’s pretty much a handbook for anyone wanting to understand how to love someone who suffers. Blaine is perfection, and Kami is more than lovable. I can’t recommend this book highly enough, and it doesn’t hurt that the sex scenes are beyond steamy. A must-read! [July 2013]

  • Pulse by Gail McHugh

    TOP 10 OF 2013
    Gavin Blake is officially anointed to sit atop my Favorite Alpha Male Mountain with all my other boyfriends. He may not trample as fiercely as Jesse Ward, he may not pleasantly torture like Christian Grey, he may not have to protect against criminals like Tack Allen, and he may not play a body like a finely tuned instrument like Brian Sinclair and Eric Sticks. But HOT DAMN, Gavin has every one of my favorite qualities all rolled up into one incredibly loyal Caveman. Just like Collide, Pulse left me teared up, mad, and deeply in love with the words and characters Gail McHugh wrote. You can’t read one without the other, and thankfully we have a whole story wrapped in Collide and Pulse. [July 2013]

  • Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

    Faultless. Losing Hope, read after Hopeless, is perfection. I’ve read (or tried to read) other alternate point-of-view (POV) books, including one by Colleen Hoover, but until Losing Hope, I’ve not been able to understand their purpose. Being immersed in Holder’s POV is so necessary to Sky’s story in Hopeless, they should be sold together and read as one. It’s been several months since I read and fell in love with Hopeless, so I did go back into it for refreshers while getting into Losing Hope. Because of how I’ve read both of these books (months between readings) I feel like I can fully appreciate the depth of this book. However, they could absolutely be read back-to-back as a series. Holder’s story is just as much as, if not more so, than Sky’s. Holder has so much dedication, love, compassion, protectiveness, guilt, and life to tell about, that I can’t possibly recommend Losing Hope more or less than I recommend Hopeless. [July 2013]

  • Edible by Ella Frank

    Delectable. OK, so that was a cheesy way to describe a book named Edible, but it really is a worthy term for this book. I’ve read the first in the Exquisite series and liked it a lot. And though I haven’t read the second book, Entice, I highly recommend Edible to be read as a standalone or as a part of the series. (Naturally, there will be some spoilers, but none that you wouldn’t already assume.) Rachel and Cole are extremely hot, in and outside of the bedroom, and I mean that literally. These two get it on whenever and wherever they can in some of the hottest sex scenes I’ve ever read. Edible is a must-read, hot-and-delicious smut book. [July 2013]

  • Redneck Romeo by Lorelei James

    I have read and loved every single one of Lorelei James’s Rough Riders series, including the short stories and novellas. As with all good things, this, too, must come to an end. (But is it really?) Dalton’s book is one of the hottest (I mean, just read the quotes I collected below) of all the Rough Riders and a HUGE must-read for all cowboy lovers. It’s not to be read out of order because there is an extended backstory to know before you read Redneck Romeo. Even though this is the 15th(!) in the series, every single one of the books is recommended reading. And I especially love ending(?) the series with an extra hot book. [July 2013]

  • Sin at Sea by Emma Nichols

    Super fun, super sexy, super quick & easy, and the best kind of palette cleanser for reading after an emotionally heavy book. There’s no deep revelation to be revealed, and aside from the mystery of Mr. Blue Eyes’s name, age, background, and everything else other than his peen size, there’s no suspense to keep you on your toes. I highly recommend Sin at Sea as a fun, smutty book to read on the beach or rocking on a cruise ship. [June 2013]

  • Sins and Needles by Karina Halle

    Sins and Needles and its prequel, On Every Street (meant to read after S&N), are not the typical hearts and flowers romance books. The characters are not good people looking for redemption or an easy way out of their problems. They’re raw, faulted, and their closets are full of skeletons. I loved this this book as well as On Every Street because I didn’t expect to like the characters and want them happy. [June 2013]

  • Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines

    Can I first just say that there needs to be more Rush dirty-talking in every book? Not just in Abbi Glines’ books, but in every book. And in my ear. Because DAMN that boy can talk me into a tizzy. I just wish there was more to the story that ended the trilogy of Rush and Blaire’s book to have made it rate higher than 4 stars. Though I will say it’s worth a read because it rounds out their story, Forever Too Far seemed a bit of a set-up for other character’s books. And let’s not forget Rush’s filthy, dirty mouth. [June 2013]

  • Beside Your Heart by Mary Whitney

    Thank GOODNESS I found out there will be a sequel to Beside Your Heart. I got all the way through, crying my eyeballs out of my face, pretend-lecturing these kids in my head, only to get to the end and say, “I NEED MORE.” Beside Your Heart is apparently the first half of a story that, thank GOD, will continue. Though it doesn’t *really* end in a cliffhanger—kind of, -ish, in a way—it does end with the story only partially told. Don’t worry about waiting until the next book comes out to read this one. It’s written in such a way that you won’t miss out on details when the story continues. Sure I believe in the adage, “all good things must come to an end,” but there is no end to this book. It’s only the start, and I need the rest! [June 2013]

  • A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

    There is nothing about this story that I would want to have happened differently. All the tears, the angst, the frustration; the emotion is worth the price of the eye stings of reading A Different Blue. This is one of those books that after you read it, it stays with you for weeks and months, teasing you with the characters’ unwritten futures. The only thing I could possibly ask of the author is that she include the Epilogue at the end of the e-book, but I’m just glad there IS an Epilogue (link below). A Different Blue is compelling, beautiful, different, heart-breaking, heart-warming, and a must-read for anyone who loves an emotional roller coaster. [June 2013]