Sin and Suffer (Pure Corruption #2) by Pepper Winters-a review

SIN AND SUFFER (Pure Corruption MC #2) by Pepper Winters-a review

Sin and Suffer

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / The Book Depository /

About the book: Release Date January 26, 2016

“Some say the past is in the past. That vengeance will hurt both innocent and guilty. I never believed those lies. Once my lust for revenge is sated, I’ll say goodbye to hatred. I’ll find a new beginning.”

SIN & SUFFER

She came from a past Arthur “Kill” Killian never forgot. She made him sin and made him suffer. She tugged him from the shadows and showed him he wasn’t as dead as he thought. And with her resurrection came betrayal, deceit, and war.

But then they took her. Stole her. Imprisoned her.

Now Kill’s carefully laid plans for vengeance are complete. He craves action, retribution-the blood of his enemies. War has begun. War is all they’ll know until they’ve paid their penance. He will get her back-and rewrite their destiny .

••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: SIN AND SUFFER is the second installment in Pepper Winters’s contemporary, adult PURE CORRUPTION erotic, romance MC series focusing on Arthur ‘Kil’ Killion and Cleo Price. Their continuing story picks up immediately upon the events of book one- RUIN AND RULEwhere Kill is left for dead by a rival MC, and Cleo is now a prisoner of the Dagger Rose. SIN AND SUFFER should not be read as a stand alone –all of the events in book two are as a result of the events of book one. For fans of Pepper Winters, there is a very slight ‘cross over’ with the Hawk family and Pepper’s INDEBTED SERIES.

NOTE: If you have not read RUIN AND RULE my review may contain some spoilers.

Told from alternating first person points of view (Kill and Cleo) each chapter is introduced byway of a journal entry that focuses on the events of the past-the building of a relationship between our leading couple. SIN AND SUFFER is a story about redemption and revenge-for and against family; for and against friends; for the loss of a love so deep and pure; a love time and death could not destroy. With Cleo’s return from the ‘dead’, Kill vows to avenge her murder and the time served for a crime he did not commit. But Cleo was now in the hands of the enemy, and Killian has plans to get her out alive. What ensues is a rescue, a recovery, and a proposed timeline in which to destroy what was once Cleo and Kill’s fact of life-the Dagger Rose and all of its’ members were going to die-one way or another. Vengeance is in the hands of the first born.

Kill and Cleo’s love for one another is that of fairy tales and happily ever afters but the path to forever is paved in bloodshed and death; torture and betrayal; loss and grief. For eight years Kill believed Cleo was dead, and that he was the person responsible for everything that destroyed their lives. Fast forward to present day where Killian vows vengeance against the people responsible, then it will be his turn to walk away and making plans for the future with a new life and new wife by his side. Not everyone makes it out alive.

I did have a couple of issues: the first is the use of British terminology in an American setting-something that should have been caught by an editor. And the unreality of Kill’s involvement with the US government and his plans for the future.

SIN AND SUFFER is a suspense filled, gritty look at the MC lifestyle although the entire focus did not center on the Club but meanders a path upon which our hero is about to embark. The premise is gritty, graphic and intense; the characters are colorful, charismatic and impassioned; the romance is seductive, provocative, passionate and enduring; the $ex scenes are numerous and erotic-Arthur Killian is a man in love; who has lost his heart to the girl of his dreams; who has pledged eternity with Cleo in this life and the next. Pepper Winters is the master of betrayal and revenge.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

About The Author Black and White

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads

Her Dark Erotica books include:
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)

Her Grey Romance books include:
Destroyed

Her Indebted Series include
Debt Inheritance
First Debt
Second Debt
Third Debt
Fourth Debt
Final Debt
Indebted Epilogue

Pure Corruption
Ruin and Rule
Sin and Suffer

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Driven (Otherworld Series 13.6) by Kelley Armstrong-a review

DRIVEN (Otherworld Series 13.6) by Kelley Armstrong-a review

Driven

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Hard Cover Release Date January 31, 2016

Cains are known for being big, brutish and not-too-bright. The mutt clan embodies all the supernatural world’s worst stereotypes about werewolves. But not even the Cains deserve to be hunted down and skinned like animals.

When young Davis Cain comes to the Pack for help, Alpha Elena Michaels can’t refuse him. It isn’t about morality or justice. It’s about not letting anyone think they can do this to werewolves and get away with it.

But Elena is also dealing with the Pack’s homegrown monster—Malcolm Danvers, onetime enforcer, full-time psycho. Malcolm is now under Elena’s control, as part of the most difficult decision she’s had to make as leader. But if she has to let Malcolm in, she’s going to make full use of him…and the best person to catch monsters is one who knows exactly how they think.

•••••••••••

REVIEW: DRIVEN is the latest installment (and longer novella) in Kelley Armstrong’s paranormal OTHERWORLD series focusing on the Stonehaven Wolf Pack of New York. For followers of the series Kelley brings together the baddest of the bad-Malcolm Danvers- as the newest and most unwelcome member of Elena’s Pack. Malcolm has been in hiding on the other side of the world, and the psychotic killer wants to rejoin the Pack.

Told from Elena’s first person point of view, DRIVEN focuses on the ritualistic and very personal murders of the Cain family-another familiar name to fans of the series. This time, the Cains are targeted by an unknown source, as their numbers begin to deteriorate very rapidly, and Elena and Clay are called in to investigate. Malcolm will be offered his first official duty with the New York Pack as more bodies begin to pile up. What ensues is the hunt for the people (and wolf) responsible for terrorizing the Cain family, and the reasons for the sadistic killings. Be forewarned, there are numerous graphic scenes focusing on the aftermath of the killings.

DRIVEN reveals the growth and development of some of our favorite wolves. Love, maturity, family and children have altered Clay’s view of the world including his tolerance for Malcolm’s return but that is not to say the Malcolm can ever be trusted. Clay is now the Pack enforcer, and he doesn’t take any crap from the aging wolf. Malcolm, on the other hand, is an old wolf set in his ways, and has a difficult time adjusting to a new leadership, and the Pack’s new way of handling the mutts.

A number of our favorite wolves are front and center including Elena, Clay, Jeremy and Nick as well as Reese and Noah, and Reese’s friend Madison (the daughter of another wolf). Elena and Clay’s children-nine year old Kate and Logan-let Malcolm know they aren’t afraid of the man who has terrorized the Pack. Again, for fans of the series, if you have read most of the recent novellas, we were previously introduced to a half –demon name Vanessa-Nick’s current girlfriend- and the woman he is hoping to claim as his mate. Karl, Hope, Jamie, Antonio and Paige are present byway of mention-only.

DRIVEN is a suspenseful, disturbing and welcome addition to Kelley Armstrong’s OTHERWORD SERIES. The characters are familiar, impassioned and sometimes controversial. With the return of Malcolm in THIRTEEN confusion reigned and Kelley could not let this particular return go without some sort of response. DRIVEN reveals Malcolm’s intent and the reasons for his return to the Pack; I somehow think he may get what he wants.

Kelley has released a number of novellas, short stories and anthologies since the ‘final’ Otherworld installment of THIRTEEN, focusing on the Wolf Pack, and with it comes numerous looks at Elena and the Wolves. If fans have not kept up with the smaller releases, there is quite a bit of story line and history missing-the smaller stories are revealing plenty of information and growth for the Pack-new members, growing families, potential happily ever afters.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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Dark Room (Society X #1) by Heidi McLaughlin & L.P.Dover-Review

DARK ROOM (Society X #1) by Heidi McLaughlin and L.P.Dover-Review and Book Tour

 

DARK ROOM
Society X #1
by Heidi McLaughlin & LP Dover
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romance
Release Date January 26, 2016

 

Amazon.com / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK:

RELEASE DATE : January 26, 2016

The rules of Society X are simple . . . break them and you’re out.

Rule #1 – No names
It doesn’t matter if you want to know, it’s forbidden.

Rule #2 – No exchanging numbers
It doesn’t matter if you want to call, it’s forbidden.

Rule #3 – Everything is to remain strictly anonymous
It doesn’t matter if you want to tell, it’s forbidden.

The Dark Room is the only place you can live out your fantasies and no one will ever know it’s you.

For Parker, what started out as a business transaction has turned into an addiction.

For Mia, it’s been a chance to discover who she truly is.

What happens in the dark will have you begging for more .

•••••••••••

REVIEW: DARK ROOM is the first installment in the adult, contemporary SOCIETY X erotic, romance series co-written by Heidi McLaughlin and L.P.Dover.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Parker and Mia) DARK ROOM follows two converging paths that focuses on the friends to lovers/forbidden relationship between fashion designer/ fitness instructor Mia Hudson, and billionaire businessman Parker Ward; and their elite memberships at Society X-an exclusive adult entertainment and sex club. What ensues is the push and pull of a forbidden relationship when Parker hires Mia for his new fashion endeavor; and the rendezvous at Society X where nobody knows your name; and the Dark Room holds secrets that can never be revealed.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Mia’s brother and Parker’s best friend Drew Hudson; Society X Club owner Bryce Adams, and Mia’s ex boyfriend Zac. We are also introduced Mia’s besties Rachel and Stacey-Rachel gives Mia the push to experience everything that Society X has to offer.

The world building focuses on Society X-the back rooms, the sex rooms and the Dark Room where couples explore one another without the benefit of sight or sound.

The relationship between Parker and Mia is one of friends to lovers-a fated explosion of mystery, touch and scent-where the desire of the unknown is as strong as for the forbidden fruit. Mia and Parker have loved one another for a number of years, but neither one made an effort to cross over to the other side. The sexual tension is high; their chemistry together is off the charts; the push and pull of attraction, want and need is obvious to everyone but the couple involved. The DARK ROOM at Society X is a turning point in Mia and Parker’s relationship-if only they knew who it was that called to their hearts and minds. The $ex scenes are erotic, seductive, provocative and intense-there is something to be said about using your other senses in the bedroom.

DARK ROOM is a seductive story line; an erotic dance in the dark between two people who have loved one another from afar but have been too afraid to take the first step. The Dark Room at Society X proves that the heart and body knows before the mind’s eye is aware. The premise is arousing and moving; the characters are animated and enthralling; the romance is imaginative and passionate.

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Sandy

 

 

excerpt

 

 

“What’s the dark room?” I ask, trying not to sound intrigued. Although, deep down, a small part of me is jealous.
Before she can answer, Stacey hollers her name. “We’ll talk later,” she explains quickly, before rushing to her sister’s side.
“Do you think we should go out into the club so the escorts see us?” Rachel asks, craning her head to see through the entryway.
“Are you serious? You actually want to be a part of this?”
Her eyes go wide. “Hell yeah. I’m not ready to settle down and have kids. I want to live life while I’m still young. Once you get married, you’re stuck with the same dick for the rest of your life. Talk about boring.”
She wouldn’t say that if she found someone she was in love with. Taking a look around the room, there was a lot going on out in the club. “Okay, fine. Come on, Rach, let’s take a look around. If we’re not allowed to, we can say we’re going to the bathroom.”
Shrieking in excitement, she jumps to her feet. “Thank you, thank you! Let’s go.”
We wave at the other ladies in our party and head into the club. On the other side of the door, the music is playing and the dancers on stage are pumping along with it. They give everyone sneak peeks of their junk and I can’t help but catch my breath.
“I wonder if the owner has to see everyone’s giblets before they get hired. I’ve never seen so many huge cocks in one place at one time,” I murmur in her ear.
“I know, right? It’s heaven. Why can’t I find a guy who’s gifted like that?”
“Join the club and I’m sure you can have all you want.”
Her eyes widen. “Do you think we have a chance? We’re both sexy as hell. And you’re a trainer for Christ’s sake. You look better than me.”
“You’re more outgoing than I am.”
She shrugs. “So? As long as you have what they want, I don’t think it’ll matter.” We walk around the club and every so often I see some of the escorts studying individual people. However, I never see any of them looking at me.
Meredith catches up to us and grabs our shoulders. “Girls, the night’s almost over. I think Stacey’s worn a hole in her panties from all the grinding.”
We all laugh and follow her back to the VIP room. Stacey’s leaning on her elbow, about to fall asleep. “Thank goodness her wedding isn’t tomorrow.” I giggle.
“She has three more weeks to back out if she wants to.” Stacey hears Meredith and flips her off. “Just kidding, sis.” She turns to us and smiles. “She hates it when I say that. Are you two staying a little longer? Stacey is riding back with Alex.”
“I’d like to.” Rachel pouts her lips and turns to me. “Just a few more minutes?”
“Fine,” I grumble. Saying our goodbyes to Stacey, some of the other girls help her out of the room. Once they’re gone, Meredith joins Rachel and me back in the VIP room. It’s just us, which is perfect because we have full view of the stage.
“So, tell us about this dark room,” Rachel prods.
Smiling wide, she leans forward but then stops when her gaze meets something at the door. “I think you’re about to find out for yourselves.”
“Good evening, ladies,” a voice calls out. Rachel gasps and my heart thunders out of control. It couldn’t be true, could it? Turning, I focus my attention on the tall, dark and handsome escort. He smirks and nods toward the door. “I was wondering if you ladies would be interested in exploring all of the possibilities the club has to offer.”
“Yes,” Meredith answers before we can. “They would love to.”
He winks at her and laughs. “It’s good to see you again, Ms. Chambers. Do you want to come with them?”
“Of course.”
She and Rachel get up and follow him out the door, leaving me to stew in my seat. “Mia, come on!” Rachel demands when she notices I’m not following them.
“I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”
Sighing, she walks up to me and takes my hand. “You can do this. Don’t you owe it to yourself to live your life? When you’re old and gray, you can look back and say, ‘I did this and I wasn’t afraid.’”
“I don’t think fucking strangers is an accomplishment.”
She shakes her head. “No, but living out your true fantasies is. Not many people get the chance to do that. Now let’s go!”
Taking a deep breath, I follow them down a side hallway to a closed door. The escort types in a code and it opens up to another hallway. Once the door shuts, he turns to face us. “You two have been selected to be a part of Society X’s elite. I’ll tell you more about it, but first, is this something you think you’re interested in? If not, I’ll be happy to escort you back to the main room.” He stares at me, but I stand firm and nod once. “Good, let’s get started.”
We walk down the hall to another room, where he picks up a couple of documents and hands them to us. “These are your applications. Fill them out, and later on in the week we’ll let you know if you passed all the requirements. More information will be given to you then, but for now, just know that we’ll take care of your needs—meet your every desire.”
“So you can get a horse in here?” I giggle, my nerves getting the best of me.
Meredith snorts, but the guy stares at me and doesn’t laugh. He must think I’m serious. Great. Rachel’s eyes about fall out of her face and she smacks me in the arm. “Mia! Knock it off, would you?” She turns to our escort. “Please continue, and do your best to ignore my friend.”
He nods and takes us on a tour, showing us the viewing room, the bondage room, and lastly, the dark room. “In the dark room, your partner will not be able to see you. You’ll rely on your other four senses to guide you. This room is purely confidential and anonymous, since you won’t be able to talk with or see your partner. But rest assured, all of our clients are top notch. We’re very particular about who we pick.”
“So basically, you’re saying you’re not going to invite smelly-ass men with beer guts?” I ask. Rachel snickers and Meredith tries to hide her smile.
He shakes his head. “No. The only reason we would find someone of that stature is if a client requested it, but so far that hasn’t been the case.” I didn’t think so. “Does any of this sound appealing to you?” he asks.
Rachel and Meredith both stare at me with hopeful eyes. Sighing in defeat, I hold out my hand. “I’m going to need a pen.”

 

About The Author

Heidi McLaughlin: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Newsletter

Heidi McLaughlinHeidi is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup, two Parakeets, Gonzo & Hedwig, and their newest addition of a Highland West/Mini Schnauzer, Jill.

During the day Heidi is behind a desk talking about Land Use. At night, she’s writing one of the many stories planned for release or sitting court-side during either daughter’s basketball games.

––––––––––––––

L.P. Dover: Website/ Facebook/ Twitter/ Google+

L.P.DoverNew York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, L.P. Dover, is a southern belle residing in North Carolina along with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she even began her literary journey she worked in Periodontics enjoying the wonderment of dental surgeries.

Not only does she love to write, but she loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes, white water rafting, and you can’t forget the passion for singing. Her two number one fans expect a concert each and every night before bedtime and those songs usually consist of Christmas carols.

Aside from being a wife and mother, L.P. Dover has written countless novels including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances series, the Gloves Off series, the Armed & Dangerous series, the Royal Shifters series, and her standalone novel, Love, Lies, and Deception. Her favorite genre to read is romantic suspense and she also loves writing it. However, if she had to choose a setting to live in it would have to be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae.

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UnderCovers by Kayti McGee-Review, Book Tour & Giveaway

UNDERCOVERS by Kayti McGee-Review, Book Tour & Giveaway

Under Covers Banner

UNDERCOVERS
by Kayti McGee
Release Date: January 18, 2016
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic romance,

Under Covers

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 18, 2016

Halfway through her first year on the job, Melissa Montclair decides the best part of teaching is winter break.

And the best part of break is the Perfect Ten she meets in a bar on New Year’s Eve. Why not celebrate a semester under her belt with a Perfect Ten in her pants? The one night affair is all she hoped for, until she walks into school a week later and sees Mr. Ten is Student Twenty-nine on her roll call.

She should be mortified—and she is—but that doesn’t stop her from banging him again. And again.

And again.

So much for job security.

Posing as an exchange student at Hamilton High is finally the assignment Officer Spence Vega has been hoping for. Now he has a shot at getting to the bottom of the town’s recent molly epidemic. There’s only a couple of problems: first, history is taught by the curvy bombshell he banged on New Year’s. Second, his growing suspicion is that she’s the dealer he’s looking for.

The job was supposed to be an easy in-and-out, not the teacher.

If only they could stop getting under the covers, staying undercover would be so much easier.

••••••••

REVIEW: UNDER COVERS by Kayti McGee is a contemporary, adult, erotic romance stand alone story focusing on undercover cop Spencer Vega, and high school history teach Melissa Montclair.

Told from dual first person points of view (Melissa and Spence) UNDER COVERS follows high school teacher Melissa Montclair from a wild New Year’s Eve to her first day back in class where her ‘one-night stand’ is her new high school student in senior history. What ensues is a forbidden relationship between student and teacher-but a student who is actually a twenty six year old under cover cop. While Spencer continues to search for the drug dealer supplying the local students, Melissa continues to fantasize about a man she believes is a nineteen year old boy.

UNDER COVERS tries desperately to make you laugh if you can get past the potential for the unethical issues and possible illegal relationship between a high school teacher, and her sexy, and possibly under aged, Chilean exchange student. The introductory play by play in the bar between our leading couple is slightly uncomfortable; felt more like two teens trying desperately to one up one another; acting cool in the face of seduction and flirting- the cheesy pick up lines will make you groan and shake you head. The continuing relationship between Melissa and Spence finds our couple in precarious situations both in and out of the classroom.

UNDER COVERS is a quick read with attempts at lighthearted fun and romance but the ‘funny times’ and humor felt forced and unbelievable. The $ex scenes are erotic and intense-Spencer knows his way around a woman’s body. The romance is a quick build to insta-love and a happily ever after.

Copy supplied by the tour promoter

Reviewed by Sandy

Under Covers teaser

excerpt

NOTE: Excerpt contains adult situations and adult language suitable for 18 years and older.

I run my hands across the small of her back softly, swaying against her as she arches into me. We are dancing without music, a sexy tango of clothes and lips. (See what I did there? Tango. Oh wait, that’s Argentina. Never mind.) And soon she is standing in nothing but lace. I run my hands over the swells of her breasts and relish in her gasps and moans. She’s wound tight, and I plan to play her like a violin. (That one works much better.) Her bra drops to the floor, and she stands flushed and unashamed before me.
My teacher. Goddamn. I am going to go home and sponsor two more orphans.”Take off your panties,” I order.She hooks her thumbs into the elastic and spins in a slow circle, leading with her ass. Slowly, she slides them down, her shapely ass still in the air, and lifts one leg at a time, my own private strip show. All we’re missing are the glasses and the chaste updo. Although, truly, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. She’s totally bare, always a treat, and already I can remember her sweet taste on my tongue. I pick her up, and she wraps her legs around my waist, giggling as I spin her around. I set her on the island and kiss her cheeks, her neck, across her collarbone, and down to those tits I’ve been longing for.
Each nipple pebbles under the warmth of my tongue, like they were waiting for this very moment.

Like they were waiting for me. The two new orphans I promised to care for. She drops her head backwards and moans, encircling her arms around my neck. I secure her to me with my right arm and use my left hand to cup each breast as I adore it with my tongue. I can’t stop thinking of what sheer perfection her body is. She smells like a honeycomb, tastes the same, and her skin is as soft as silk. Our bodies move together like they were made for one another, calibrated to the other exactly.

It’s the most intimate moment I’ve ever shared with someone, and we haven’t even gotten to the sexing yet. I said I was riding a unicorn before, but this girl is a unicorn.

My cock begins to ache in anticipation, rising again to the challenge. I lay her down gently across the island, my own personal feast, and bend over her. I can’t stop my hips from moving as I kiss her again, and work my way back down her body. Past the delicious swells of her breasts, down the tight curves of her stomach, past her cunt smelling incredibly of her sex. I love on her legs and her calves, paying special attention to the tender skin behind her knees and on her upper thighs.

She growls playfully, wriggling her body each time my lips cross over the spot she wants me most, but I don’t give in. Instead I give her a single long, slow lick down her blissfully pink pussy and return to her stomach, then back up to her breasts. Her nipples are tight nubs and I gently bite down on each.

“Tease,” she breathes.

I only grin wickedly at her. After all, she’s the one who suggested that this last all evening.

“Lick me.” She’s (impossibly) even sexier when she commands me.

“Only when you beg me.” She might be my teacher, but I can show her a thing or two myself.

She shudders a little. “I never beg.”

“Tonight you will.”


 

About The Author

About Kayti McGee:
Kayti McGee is a former Kansas Citian who now follows the Royals from Colorado. Besides writing, her hobbies include travel, cooking, and all thing Whovian. She also writes as the latter half of Laurelin McGee. Like her co-author Laurelin Paige, she joined Mensa for no other reason than to make her bio more interesting.

Follow: Goodreads/ Website/ Twitter / Facebook

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Kayti is offering a Kindle copy of UNDERCOVERS to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

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Mercury Striking ( The Scorpius Syndrome #1) by Rebecca Zanetti-a review

MERCURY STRIKING (The Scorpius Syndrome #1) by Rebecca Zanetti-a review

Mercury Striking

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / The Book Depository /

About the book: Release Date January 26, 2016

With nothing but rumors to lead her, Lynn Harmony has trekked across a nightmare landscape to find one man—a mysterious, damaged legend who protects the weak and leads the strong. He’s more than muscle and firepower—and in post-plague L.A., he’s her only hope. As the one woman who could cure the disease, Lynn is the single most volatile—and vulnerable—creature in this new and ruthless world. But face to face with Jax Mercury…

Danger has never looked quite so delicious…

•••••••••

REVIEW: MERCURY STRIKING is the first full length installment in Rebecca Zanetti’s THE SCORPIUS SYNDROME cross genre Sci-Fi/ UF/Dystopian series focusing on a biological pandemic sweeping the world. This is former US soldier Jax Mercury, and CDC researcher Lynn Harmony’s story line that looks at life in the aftermath, and the fallout from an unknown bacteria-from space. For more background information and some history, there is a prequel novella-SCORPIUS RISING-which can be found in the ON THE HUNT anthology (August 2015).

Told from several third person points of view MERCURY STRIKING focuses on the hunt for a cure for a biological bacteria that has killed 99% of the world’s population-as far as anyone knows. Some of those infected have survived to become something known as a Ripper, but there are two types of Rippers inhabiting the world-one is a zombie like creature who feasts on the living; the other is a survivor whose brain has been altered resulting in a stronger, more powerful enhanced human being. When it is discovered that CDC researcher Lynn Harmony survived and quite possibly carries the answer to the cure, she becomes the target for everyone hoping to rule the world. Enter Jax Mercury-the man who has promised to protect Lynn with his life.

Jax is a reluctant hero; a survivor who has amassed a following in an L.A. compound where food and medicine are at a minimum, and rumors are rampant about the source of the virus. Lynn is a former researcher with the CDC who has been accused of causing the plague, and with it comes a target and heavy price on her back. Lynn will become a virtual prisoner, and fall for the man who holds her heart.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters, many of whom do not live to see another day. Jax’s L.A. compound is home for those without a safe place to live, but safety is all a matter of perspective when gangs and corrupt politicians battle for supremacy and food. Newcomers to the compound are always suspect; few reveal their own history or how they came to be.

MERCURY STRIKING is a story of suspense, mystery, action and drama. There are heartbreaking moments of loss; scenarios of graphic violence and tragic death; rigid control and demanding obedience. In the post-apocalyptic world of the Scorpius Syndrome it is survival of the fittest, and every man and woman for themselves. Everyone has an agenda but not everyone is on the same page.

Rebecca Zanetti looks at the possibility of what could happen if a space-borne pathogen makes it way to earth. Are we prepared for a pandemic of this magnitude? And could we survive the zombie apocalypse from space? The premise is exhilarating; the characters are real and imaginable; the romance is a struggle when the world is constantly dragging you down. There is no happily ever after but the possibility of light at the end of the tunnel.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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Unconventional (The Manhattanites #4) by Avery Aster-Review & Book Tour

UNCONVENTIONAL (The Manhattanites #4) by Avery Aster-Review and Book Tour

Unconventional

UNCONVENTIONAL
The Manhattanites #4
by Avery Aster
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romance
Release Date: January 26, 2016

Unconventional

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 26, 2016

They are the best of friends and the greatest of lovers. Two men and one woman, searching for fortune and fame, bound together by an eroticism their money and power can’t buy them. Luigi, the romantic alpha hunk. Rocco, the exotic bisexual. Jemma, the insatiable beauty who possesses them both.

From their first rendezvous in Milan, the three set out on a wicked course, jet-setting from the kinky underground sex clubs of Berlin, to the lavish palaces of Moscow, to New York’s high society in pursuit of pleasure. They have only each other to care for. That is…until a baby comes along and changes their destiny. But which of them is the father? And will they continue their poly relationship or give in to convention?

••••••••••

REVIEW: UNCONVENTIONAL is the fourth installment and novella in Avery Aster’s contemporary, adult THE MANHATTANITES erotic, romance series focusing on a group of rich and powerful friends from Manhattan and Europe. This is Jemma, Luigi, and Rocco’s storyline-an ‘unconventional’ polyamorous/polygamous relationship. All three characters were introduced in the previous story lines, and have had secondary and supporting roles throughout. I strongly recommend reading the series in order for cohesion and backstory.

NOTE: UNCONVENTIONAL contains M/M , M/F/M and M/M/F graphic sexual situations.

Told from three first person points of view (Jemma, Luigi and Rocco) as well as ‘asides’ from some of the series’ other characters, UNCONVENTIONAL focuses on the re-building of the relationship between Jemma, Luigi and Rocco. Thirty seven year old Jemma is a former model, and current fashion designer for Prince Massimo Tittoni‘s Girasoli Garments, and Jemma Couture. Jemma’s latest line flopped on the runways of Europe, and with it her career has taken an abrupt turn in the other direction. Two years after Jemma’s battle with breast cancer, our heroine continues to find herself unsure of her future, and has lost her creative and sexual mojo. When Luigi and Rocco give Jemma one final chance at a future together, our heroine is surprised to realize that looking forward and living for the present is better than living in the past wondering about the what-ifs and whys.

The relationship between our threesome is highly sexualized but in the interim, following Jemma’s battle with cancer, Jemma has lost some of her confidence, and sexual identity along with the loss of her breasts. Jemma is afraid to commit to an uncertain future, but with it comes the potential loss of the two men that she loves. An unexpected pregnancy finds Jemma making her relationship with Luigi and Rocco something more permanent. The $ex scenes are graphic and erotic.

Because all three characters have been previously introduced throughout the series, the character building is limited, and there is some ‘missing information’ that is important for the reader to understand each character’s mindset and how they came into the relationship. Avery Aster includes a character breakdown at the beginning of the novella to introduce and reacquaint the reader with all his characters but it does not explain how the trio came to be, therefore I recommend reading the series in order.

The author reveals some of the relationship dynamics, and how the potential loss of Jemma finds Luigi and Rocco struggling to help the woman they love. But saying that, the conflict resolution, the revelation of the pregnancy, and the promise of a future together is wrapped up too quickly, too neatly. The ending is rather abrupt and thusly the novella reads more like an unfinished manuscript with more to come; Jemma’s change in attitude is nothing short of a miracle-I was hoping for more to this particular aspect of the story. UNCONVENTIONAL is an intimate look at three people; the life they have chosen; and the ‘unconventional’ love of one woman with two men.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Unconventional teaser

Excerpt

WARNING: Excerpt is intended for mature readers only.

 

In bed, Luigi was usually the verbal one. Rocco always had something in his mouth—either our lover’s cock was down his throat or he was sucking the cream from my clit—so he never seemed to say much. Luigi did all the talking for him.
Funny, right?
Especially considering outside of the bedroom Luigi was normally quiet, almost conservative in how he spoke. But in bed, he came alive.
Total freaky-deaky.
As I walked over to them, Rocco’s expressive, lust-filled eyes gazed up at me. Ravenous. Lips wide, going down, slowly tugging at the shaft as he came up, followed by a lick on the tip. He kept sucking our lover’s dick as I approached.
Luigi’s left arm was slung over Rocco’s head while his right hand massaged the back of his neck.
He always liked it when we put a concerted effort on his dick.
What man didn’t?
Those two could go at it for hours, milking each other. As if watching two unicorns playing in the wild, it was the most amazing thing to witness.
“Come here,” Luigi instructed.
I stepped closer. With a wicked grin, his face came into focus.
Already on his knees, Rocco squatted beside me and stroked my leg. His very touch sent a prickle of excitement up my thigh.
“Take off her panties, bello.”
Before Rocco could pull them down, I looped my thumb and pointer finger under the thin elastic waistband. Arching my back, I held on to his shoulder to balance myself and started to remove the flesh-toned fabric.
“No.” He snapped his fingers. “Rocco will undress you.”
“And what are you going to do?” I asked playfully.
“I’ll watch.”
Grinning back at him, I put my hands behind my back as Rocco’s palm continued to caress my legs.
“Sorprendente. So amazing.” Slowly, Rocco pulled the panties to my ankles. He lifted one of my legs up over his shoulder then carefully, utterly focused and with intention, he butterfly-kissed the inner part of my thigh then licked at my pussy.
“Bello—”
“Let me do as I please,” he grunted between my legs, dragging his wet tongue over my hot flesh.
His kisses tickled me.
His licks excited me.


 

 

About the author

Avery AsterNew York Times bestselling author Avery Aster pens The Manhattanites, a contemporary erotic romance series of full-length, stand-alone novels, and the naughty new adult prequel companion series The Undergrad Years.

As a resident of New York City and a graduate from New York University, Avery gives readers an inside look at the city’s glitzy nightlife, socialite sexcapades and tall tales of the über-rich and ultra-famous.

The Manhattanites is for fans who miss TV shows like Sex & The City or watch Girls (HBO), Revenge (ABC), and The Bold & the Beautiful (CBS). Avery’s characters are over the top. They have cray-cray fun, speak their minds and always get what they want.

Website:http://www.AveryAster.com
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/AveryAster
Twitter:http://www.Twitter.com/AveryAster
Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/AveryAster
Newsletter:http://eepurl.com/CQ665
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/averyaster/
Google +:https://plus.google.com/102583302617559842072
Pinterest:https://www.pinterest.com/averyaster/

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Spider Game (Ghostwalkers #12) by Christine Feehan-Review and Giveaway

SPIDER GAME (Ghostwalkers #12) by Christine Feehan-Review and Giveaway

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SPIDER GAME
Ghostwalkers #12
by Christine Feehan
Genre: adult, contemporary, paranormal romance
Release Date: January 26, 2016

Spider Game

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 26, 2016

The Cajun dive in the middle of the godforsaken swamps wasn’t exactly Trap Dawkins’ idea of fun. But the GhostWalker wasn’t there for a good time. He was looking for her. Cayenne. It’s where she found her victims. Poor suckers. Then again, who wouldn’t want to leave a place like this with a woman like her?

It’s not Cayenne’s fault. Locked up, experimented on and never knowing kindness, she was bred this way—with a heart of pure venom. Trap understands her. He survived his own dark past and he shares her desire for getting even. But now Trap’s greatest danger is Cayenne herself. Because what’s inside her is hard to control—especially when it’s aroused by a lover as reckless as Trap.

••••••

REVIEW: SPIDER GAME is the twelfth installment in Christine Feehan’s contemporary, adult GHOSTWALKERS paranormal, romance series focusing on an elite group of ‘genetically enhanced’ men and women known as the Ghostwalkers. These ‘supersoldiers’ are part of an unauthorized government experiment performed by Dr. Peter Whitney-a man tantamount to evil incarnate. This is Dr. Trap Dawkins, and Cayenne’s storyline. Trap and Cayenne were first introduced, along with a new team of Ghostwalkers, in Viper Game (Ghostwalkers #11). SPIDER GAME can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.

Told from several third person points of view including Cayenne and Trap, SPIDER GAME continues to focus on the dangerous experiments of Dr. Peter Whitney. Cayenne is considered a failure; an experiment gone horribly wrong and, along with Wyatt Fontenont’s children (Viper Game #11), was tagged for extermination. Rescued by Trap and Wyatt, Cayenne found herself alone without any food, clothing or a place to live. To stay alive, Cayenne resorted to some unethical tactics in order to survive in the Louisiana Bayou. When Trap discovers that the Cayene is the woman ‘made’ especially for him, he sets out to ‘trap’ his wayward mate but in doing also brings the hunt for Cayenne to his front door.

Cayenne is a Ghostwalker with enhanced special abilities brought about by ‘spider DNA’. Cayenne is a dangerous soldier whose training saw the death of many Ghostwalker Teams, and the potential for many more. Trap is a billionaire researcher; an inventor whose past has threatened to destroy once again. It is the nature of the male Ghostwalker to provide, protect and be all alpha male when his female is threatened by an outside source but Trap’s over protective nature leaves something to be desired.

The secondary and supporting cast includes Wyatt and Trap’s new team of genetically enhanced soldiers including Malachai, Mordichai and Ezekiel Fortunes; Jo and Draden. There are a few cameo appearances ( and several mentions of) by earlier Ghostwalkers including Gator and Flame, Lily and Ryland, and of course, Nonny who is everybody’s loving grand-mere. Violet Smythe’s return and her ambitions for the vice-presidency sets up some revealing information and the potential for a more dangerous mission for all of the Ghostwalkers.

But….there comes a time in every author’s career where a change in direction is needed or required; where the long quiet muse has finally awakened some dormant need in many authors to push the boundaries of the character to a dark and dangerous abyss that borders on a free fall of questionable choices, and in this SPIDER GAME has fallen into the dangerous area of questionable actions and behavior of the leading hero. This is also true of most of Christine Feehan’s series-the amount of abuse, graphic violence, and aggression towards women is elevating at an exponential rate, and her heroes are the perpetrators of much of the abuse.

In SPIDER GAME, Trap is an over protective alpha male but his actions towards his mate borders on abusive. His bi-polar emotional and physical outbursts would give anyone whiplash. When a beloved series by a favorite author crosses over into a territory where mental, emotional, physical and sexual abuse is hidden behind the proclamation of love and protection, it is time to question the author’s motives: From where did this anger come? To whom is it directed at? And why is the target always the women or female lead? Trap Hawkins is NOT a likeable hero; he tries to justify his actions at every opportunity but he comes across as a controlling, jealous, and abusive pr*ck. This is not romance or romantic; this is not love or even akin to anything near love; this is all about power and control. At times, there were scenes of questionable consent that bordered on sexual assault, and for a powerful heroine she took it without question or a fight. An abuser hides behind and uses ‘love’ to justify his actions and Trap Dawkins tries to justify his actions as a need to protect. Cayenne has been tortured, experimented upon, and abused for years by scientists all in the name of the ultimate weapon of destruction, and her ‘freedom’ forces Cayenne from one abuser to another (from the proverbial frying pan into the fire)-this is NOT the love of a protective male but the need to control; to break the will of an injured animal that must succumb to the abuse in order to survive.

SPIDER GAME is a sexually graphic story line with scenes of questionable consent and graphic acts of power and control. In the past, some of Christine Feehan’s male leads (especially in the Dark Series) have ‘forced’ their females into a mating, bordering on rape and sexual assault, but the frequency of abusive situations is increasing, and I am having a difficult time looking past the act and seeing a potential, positive outcome for these story line heroines. Many readers become one with the story, with the leading hero or heroine to experience the ultimate fantasy romance but when romance becomes abuse, perhaps it is time to find another hero (or series) with whom to fall in love.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

 

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Platinum Doll by Anne Girard-a review

PLATINUM DOLL by Anne Girard-a review

Platinum Doll

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 26, 2016

It’s the Roaring Twenties and seventeen-year-old Harlean Carpenter McGrew has run off to Beverly Hills. She’s chasing a dream; to escape her small, Midwestern life and see her name in lights. In California, Harlean has everything a girl could want; a rich husband, glamorous parties, socialite friends; except an outlet for her talent. But everything changes when a dare pushes her to embrace her true ambition :to be an actress on the silver screen. With her timeless beauty and striking shade of platinum-blond hair, Harlean becomes Jean Harlow. And as she’s thrust into the limelight, Jean learns that this new world of opportunity comes with its own set of burdens. Torn between her family and her passion to perform, Jean is forced to confront the difficult truth; that fame comes at a price, if only she’s willing to pay it. Amid a glittering cast of ingenues and Hollywood titans: Clara Bow, Clark Gable, Laurel and Hardy, Howard Hughes, Platinum Doll introduces us to the star who would shine brighter than them all.

•••••

REVIEW: PLATINUM DOLL is a fictionalized account of Jean Harlow’s rise to stardom. The ‘Roaring 20s’ and the invention of the ‘talkie’ are the backdrop to Harlean Carpenter McGrew’s life in Hollywood along with her marriage to first husband Chuck McGrew at the age of sixteen; her overbearing stage mother who lived vicariously through the success of her daughter; and heartbreaking ‘miscarriage’ as she started to climb the ladder of success.

PLATINUM DOLL covers but the first few years of Jean Harlow in Hollywood up to her infamous handprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, using historical information and fictionalized events surrounding the tumultuous personal life of the ‘Platinum Blonde’. Jean’s introduction to Hollywood begins at an early age (told through flashbacks and memories) as her mother traverses the studios and hot spots hoping to be noticed, while her only child is discovered on a back lot, waiting for a friend.

The story line covers but five years in the life of the Platinum Blonde-from a seventeen year old newlywed to Hollywood’s acknowledgement in wet cement. Because PLATINUM DOLL is a fictionalized story of Jean Harlow’s life, many of the personal and private events should not be taken at face value or to heart. PLATINUM DOLL reads like a movie script or journal documenting Jean Harlow’s rise to stardom.

Copy supplied by the publisher.

Reviewed by Sandy

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