Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Review: Masters & Mercenaries- Lexi Blake

Hello all! I am continuing my review blitz with the first two books of Lexi Blake's Masters & Mercenaries series.

First up... The Dom Who Loved Me.

I. Loved. This. Book. I am serious. Both of the lead characters completely satisfied me in more ways than one. Grace Hawthorne is imperfect in the most perfect way. She is a widow with two college-aged sons, a normal executive assistant job and a less than perfect body. She devours BDSM romance books but doesn't pursue her secret desires...until she meets Sean.

Sean Taggart is a sexual Dominant and believes that Grace's employer is a front for something illegal. He is working with McKay/Taggart Security Services to find out exactly what those illegal activities are. In the course of his investigation and getting close to Grace to figure out that the nature of her involvement..he discovers her secret submissive side and it is ON! Sean masters Grace's submission while covertly investigating her boss. When his activities are revealed...he has to make a choice. Keep Grace or do his job.

Grace is on my top ten list of favorite female characters. The circumstances in her her life make her easy to relate to..may it be body issues, having children, previous relationship issues and unexplored sexual desires. And Sean...well he is just hot. His thoughtful and sexy domination of Grace is just gorgeous to read. And he isn't perfect either, which totally works for me. As a reader, I get kind of sick of the "totally got it together" male hero.

And the secondary characters are some of the most intriguing ever. So much..that you can't wait to read about them. And you will :)

And next up to bat...The Men With The Golden Cuffs.

This is Adam and Jacob's story. They come as a pair *snerk* and their desire is to find the one woman they can love and share. Serena is a writer of erotic fiction and has recently acquired a rather scary stalker. Everyone in her life thinks she is making up the stalker...so she is forced to hire bodyguards for protection. Jacob isn't entirely sure Serena is on the up and up...but Adam becomes enamored with Serena, especially when he finds out what kind of erotic fiction she writes and her submissive tendencies. Because Jacob and Adam love together... Jacob can't help but fall for Serena and cling to Adam's hope that she might be the woman they both can love, despite his reservations about her honesty. Serena is in heaven, being taken care of by two hot, caring and attentive men. Until the suspicions about her stalker break the trio's trust.

This story appealed to me for different reasons than The Dom Who Loved Me. Adam and Jacob were literally two different sides of the same coin. The way they were written made you want to dig into the book. You can't wait to see how they work in tandem, but in entirely different ways to make Serena theirs. And you feel for all three characters when the distrust and angst come into their lives. I seriously wanted to cry for Serena. Your heart also hurts both of the men, especially Adam.

Serena is also not perfect. She doesn't have a model body. She is forgetful and self-conscious about herself and I related to her even more than I did Grace. And again, the secondary characters help make this book an awesome read.

I can't wait for Liam's book, A Dom is Forever. Alex & Eve's story will satisfy my insatiable desire to learn what makes Eve tick and why she tortures poor Alex. And Ian Taggart...head of McKay/Taggart Security Services and Sean's brother...I really hope Ms. Blake is planning on writing his story.

I can honestly say these have been two of my favorite books to read and I am HIGHLY anticipating the remainder of the series. I am keeping these books on my bookshelf...and will probably re-read them several times over.

I insist you check out Lexi Blake's books. I am adding the Masters of Menage series to my TBR pile as I type this.

Standard disclaimer- Please note, these books contain elements of BDSM and menage. You don't like it...don't read it.

I am still taking recommendations for my TBR pile. Leave a comment or follow me on Twitter @jessieobrien25. I promise I will be interesting at least once a week.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Review: Laid Open- Lauren Dane

I told you this was a review blitz!


Laid Open is a novella in Lauren Dane's Brown Siblings series. I seriously can't lie, this is one of my favorite series of books. The Brown's are so complex and gorgeously written, that I am so glad Ms. Dane choose to follow up on Eric, Todd and Ben's story.

Laid Open takes place after Never Enough (Adrian and Gillian's story) and I will say...unless you read Laid Bare, the first in the series and the beginning of Erin, Todd and Ben's story...well Laid Open won't make a bit of sense. I suggest starting from the beginning because frankly..it's worth it.
But just to lay a bit of ground work, Erin is married to Todd and Ben is their "third". They have a son named Alexander and are a unique and loving family.

As with all Lauren Dane's books, the sex is HOT. But what I was really interested in was knowing more about the dynamic of their relationship. These three people truly love each other, but it's not a perfect world. Readers will get to see how deep their love is, how they deal with the reoccurring memories of a tragedy and what I have been waiting for. A little more of Ben.

Laid Bare focused a lot on Todd and Erin, with Ben coming into the dynamic later. I was desperate to know more about how Ben felt about their relationship and Ms. Dane delivered. There was still the deep love and contentment amongst the three..but it made it a little more real knowing that even though it was pretty perfect most of the time, just like anyone else, they had their issues to deal with.

Please note, this is an erotic romance with BDSM elements and a committed menage relationship...including m/m. For heaven's sake, if that doesn't sound like your cup of tea don't buy it. You won't give it the appreciation it deserves.

This one will stay on my bookshelf keeping my other Brown Siblings books company. I may have to go reread the rest of the series...in anticipation of  Raven's book. (Such a long wait! I am ridiculously impatient!) I am also looking forward to the  new series that will feature Gillian's friends from Never Enough.

Brown Siblings Series
Laid Bare
Coming Undone
Inside Out
Never Enough
Laid Open


Go forth and read!

Review: Crash Into You- Roni Loren

Hello all! Be prepared for a review blitz..I have been reading but lazy about blogging. Now it's catch-up time.

I read Crash Into You prior to starting this blog, but I follow Roni Loren on Twitter and word on the street (yes I have ALWAYS wanted to type that) is that her Loving on the Edge series is getting more books! This caused me to have a fangirl moment and re-read Crash Into You. And of course I remember why I love Roni Loren's books.

Her characters.

Brynn and Reid are the main characters in Crash and they are everything I love about a good character. This is a BDSM erotic romance and Brynn and Reid aren't your cookie cutter submissive and Dom. Brynn is feisty, smart, strong and once she embraces her submissiveness, she helps Reid deal with the fact that it's okay to want to dominate women in the bedroom.

Reid isn't your typical confident alpha male. He is afraid of dominance because of his family history and how high profile he is. I enjoy Reid's character immensely. Don't get me wrong, I love the typical cocky, self-assured, confidant in their dominance, characters that are typical of a BDSM romance...but there is something I find so endearing about Reid and his struggle to accept his desires.

There is a crushing, suspenseful and almost tragic event in Brynn's life that shapes her throughout the book. I found myself thinking "Go Girl!" when she took the steps she needed to heal. And Reid's bumbling decisions when it comes to sharing things with Brynn make him the less-than-perfect guy that I find myself interested in reading. I want to see him fix it and come out on top (giggle).

The secondary characters in the book are also intriguing. Jace, Reid's friend and fellow dominant. Grant, owner of The Ranch, the exclusive BDSM retreat where Brynn and Reid go to try to find her sister...all made me want to know their stories, which is what I look for in secondary characters. And Melt Into You (next in the series) does just that. It is Jace's story.

If you are looking for an atypical but awesome BDSM romance with just the right amount of intrigue and suspense...I highly recommend Crash Into You. I am keeping it on my bookshelf...and of course saving room for the other books in the series.

Loving on the Edge Series
Crash Into You
Still Into You (this is an e-novella about Jace's sister)
Melt Into You (Jace's story)
Fall Into You (Grant's story..owner of The Ranch)

As always, I welcome your comments and you can follow me on Twitter @jessieobrien25