Raisa Greywood-War’s Peace

First, let’s congratulate Raisa on her entry into the world of full time authoring! It’s a big step to make, so yay! Now, let’s talk about her book. War’s Peace is the first book in a new series, the Club Apocalypse series. The series is about 4 military buddies, named after the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They have all retired, and now they have an adult resort, Club Apocalypse, that is a very kink friendly hotel and dungeon. We pick up the story with protestors outside, the dungeon empty, and the hotel on the brink of failure. Mark, AKA War, is in charge of the dungeon.

At a morning meeting, Mark and his friends and partners are talking about what they need to do. One of them says that he’s hired a fixer named Kendra. She’s worked for other hotels and resorts and kept them from failing, so she should be able to do the same here. Mark protests that they don’t need anyone to come in and fix their hotel for them, they are doing fine, just fine, and she had better leave his dungeon alone. Needless to say, Mark isn’t coping well with everything going on, including the crazy protestors out front, protesting the “whores” inside their hotel, who don’t exist, but you know, try explaining that to crazy conservatives.

Then, we have Kendra. She isn’t supposed to show up until Monday, but she drives in early. She wants to see what’s really what, not the nice cleaned up bit that the owners generally show her. She checks in, grabs her phone, gets a tour, and starts making notes on her phone. All of a sudden, Mark grabs her phone away from her and tells her that phones aren’t allowed, and didn’t she see the signs? Except, there weren’t any signs, so how could she have seen them?

Anyway, Mark isn’t happy, so he hauls her up to her suite, and then tells her to stay there. But, Kendra isn’t about to take that kind of nonsense from him, so she gets all cleaned up and dressed up and goes to the restaurant, run by Jake, another of the Horsemen. Of course, she runs into Mark there, and boom goes the dynamite.

Kendra and Mark are explosive together, and yeah, sometimes I really thought that there would be actual explosions. They really butted heads a lot, especially in the beginning. I totally get where both of them are coming from. They both have their own control issues and they have problems letting them go. Kendra and Mark both have their own trauma too, which sometimes gets in the way of everything else.

One of the things that I really like about Kendra is that she shows that you can be subby in the bedroom and totally kickass and HBIC outside of it. When she was doing her job, she totally ruled everything, and frankly, I think she might’ve even scared Mark a couple of times. I know that a couple of the other Horsemen worked really hard to stay on her good side. Frankly, I would too. I also like the fact that she wasn’t against experimenting in a lifestyle she hadn’t participated in before, but that she had been interested in.

Mark needed to be smacked sometimes. I understand not liking change and feeling the need to control a situation, especially after having been in a bad situation like, oh, you know, war, and suffering from PTSD and the lack of control that can come from everything. That must be so hard for a Domly type who needs to have that control in his life. But, he has some serious anger issues when it comes to Kendra, in the beginning. I think he felt threatened, threatened made him scared, scared made him angry. Not that he felt Kendra was going to hurt him or anything, but the resort and dungeon, especially the dungeon, is his child. He and his friends literally bled to get the money to buy it. They have put so much work and love into it, and he feels like she’s going to take it, change it, and make it not theirs anymore, and that is what threatens Mark. So, he reacts like a human does, because we all have these brain chemicals and learned reactions, and gets pissed and yells at the person who is threatening him. I think that working with Kendra and then being in a relationship with her will be a really good journey for him.

I can’t wait for the next books in the series. We get a pretty good look at which couples are going to end up as couples, I think, and I’m going to be really happy if I’m proven right.

OK, that’s all for this one. Go check it out! Happy reading!

Golden Angel-Dungeon Showdown

Yeah, I know it’s been a while, and I’m sure that I can probably come up with some excuse, we all know it’s just that life is fucked up, things happen, and we all try our best. But, I’m here now, and I should be getting back to more frequent posts. Fingers crossed, at least.

OK, all that said, let’s get into Golden Angel’s new book, Dungeon Showdown. It’s the 3rd book in a series. I have to admit that I haven’t read the other two, even though I have them on my Kindle, but I didn’t feel lost or confused. I was able to figure out what was going on with no problems.

So we start with Cyana, a Domme, and Aiden,a Dom. They are good friends, and part of a larger friend group. The other people in their friend group are 2 couples. They are getting ready to renew their vows and the other couple is getting married. Cyana and Aiden are the only two single people in their group. They made a bet. Aiden said that the couples wouldn’t want to share their day and have a double ceremony. Cyana said that they would. The loser would submit to the winner.

Well, it turns out that yes, the couples did want to share their big day, and they are going to have a double ceremony, and Aiden now has to submit to Cyana, for one night. They do it at her house, no one else knows, and it’s all in private. It’s only going to be that night, and then they will go back to being friends again. Only, it doesn’t turn out that way. Aiden likes the night, more than he thought he would, and it turned him into a dickopotomous.

I really enjoyed this story. But the thing that I liked most about it is that Cyana and Aiden are my age. Cyana deals with issues that I have. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading about 22 year olds getting dicked down, but it is really nice to see someone that I can relate to so well. There is some true power in representation.

I like Cyana. I think that she has a very pragmatic and realistic view of what is going on. That doesn’t mean that she isn’t getting her feelings hurt or that some of what happens doesn’t hurt her deeply, but I think that she really does see what’s going on. I think that between her and Aiden, she has the best case for being the injured party. I got mad at Aiden on her behalf. I mean, I understand why Aiden was acting like he was, but he still made me really mad.

I mostly liked Aiden. But, that being said, there are a couple of times where he’s got some borderline toxic masculinity going on as well as a couple of places that felt almost misogynistic. I get that he was questioning himself during those times, and those times could really give his character a realistic feeling that might not show up otherwise, but they were still a little uncomfortable for me. There is one scene, the basketball game, where I got mad both for and at Aiden.

Anyway, I’m going to have to go back and read the other two books now so I can get the stories of the other couples.

That’s all for today. Go check it out! Happy reading!

Anthology-Christmas at the Club

Merry Kinkmas! Today we have an anthology written by 17 authors that take place in several different worlds, and involve 17 different kink clubs. We have established groupings, new couples, Doms and Dommes, Littles and subbies, and good, clean, kinky, dirty fun. Christmas at the Club includes stories from Alta Hensley, Jennifer Bene, Samantha Cole, Pepper North, and Linzi Basset. As with any anthology that is this long, and it is long, I’m only going to mention a few. If you want to see what I thought about all the stories, you can check out my GR review.

Jennifer Bene A Not So Silent Night

This one includes the Infamous trio of Emma, Chase, and Jaxon. Chase doms Emma, and Jax doms them both. They weren’t the first MMf trio I read, but they are still my favorite. the Infamous trio is the basis of the entire Black Light series. Generally, they are written by Livia Grant, but Jennifer wrote this one, mostly because Livia has another story in here. Anyway, I was really glad to see these guys because they are always so hot. On top of being hot, we also get the real life issues of trying to be parents, trying to spend time with in laws, and trying to be the kinky fuckers that you are. I really loved the juxtaposition.

Livia Grant A Kinky Crossover

This is Livia’s story. It takes place in her Punishment Pit world, which appears to be in the same world as Black Light, as Jax has called Lukas to ask if they can come to Lukas’ Christmas party. Because of that phone call, we get to see another little bit of the trio, as well as getting to see Lukas and Tiffany. I love Tiffany’s spunk and the fact that she hasn’t lost that in the year of being married to Lukas. She also has some of my favorite lines in the entire anthology, including her answer to why she’s being punished. She tells the person asking that she’s pretty sure that the reason that she’s getting punished this time is because she married Lukas. Her entire thought stream about her clit at this point is fucking hilarious too.

Alta Hensley Villains and Champagne

This takes place in Alta’s Top Shelf series. Harley is my absolute favorite of all the Domes in that world. In fact, I need to go reread his book sometime in the very near future. I was just so happy to see him again. In this one, there’s going to be a party at the club. Harley just wants to go home to see his sub, Marlowe. Except Marlowe has just walked into the club. She really wants to go to the party. I love all the machinations that go into this story.

Maren Smith Keeping Kaylee

This takes place in Maren’s Castle world. Kaylee is the primary female character in the story, but it really involves all the Ladies of the Castle. They all have plans, because they all feel some kind of way right now. But Kaylee is the driving force. I have to admit that I really felt for Kaylee. It’s easy to end up feeling like you are the last priority on everyone’s list. It’s a really hurtful, sad, and lonely place. I don’t blame her for her plan to get Marshall to pay more attention to her.

Golden Angel A Sassy Christmas

This one takes place in Golden’s Stronghold world. We get to see Adam and Angel struggling to keep their kinky marriage kinky or even sexy after being parents for a year. Now, if you have been a mother, you totally get Angel in this story. I’m not dissing Adam, because parents are going to get him too, and he is doing the best he can, and he does pretty good. But for me, it’s all about Angel and how she feels. I remember feeling that same way when my now very adult son was a baby. I didn’t understand why I wasn’t ready to jump back into sex at 6 weeks, and I hated being touched for a long while. I nursed a very clingy baby, for a year. I almost never had any time when people weren’t touching me, so I totally felt Angel in this one.

There are a lot of other really good stories in here. The nice thing about an anthology is that there is a little something for everyone. Some of the stories are pretty short, but some of them are longer. If you want something that you can read in a few minutes before bed, you can find one with no problem.

OK, that’s all for this one. Go check it out! Happy reading.

Raisa Greywood-Black Light: Saved

So, Saved is the extension of Raisa’s story in the latest Black Light Roulette anthology. Here’s where I’m bad and admit I haven’t read everything in the anthology yet. I own it, I just need to remember that I have it. My TBR is ridiculous. Anyway, I can tell you from experience that you can get the thrust of the story without having read Kacy and Jafari’s experience at Roulette. It would definitely be better with that backstory. Hopefully, I’ll remember to read the anthology this weekend, but who knows if my broken memory will work that long. OK, enough of that, let’s get to the story.

We have Kacy and Jafari who met at Roulette and had a connection. Their scenes were super hot, and Kacy loved every bit of it. She wakes up to a phone call to find out that she has to leave LA immediately and make it to Kentucky. There is a family problem, and she has to go rescue her younger cousin from their evil uncle. But, Kacy is broke and living in her car, and she doesn’t have the money to get there, so since she’s sneaking out, she gets into Jafari’s wallet and takes about $500. Jafari is awake, but he’s pretending to be asleep to find out what Kacy is going to do. Kacy leaves the suite they are in, and heads down to her car so that she can get to KY.

As soon as she closes the door, Jafari jumps out of bed and reads the note she left. Then he calls Jaxson and arranges to borrow a car, and oh, by the way, have the guards grab Kacy and stick her in the car to wait for him. He’s decided that he’s going to go to KY with her. He gets Kacy to tell him what the problem is, and then he decides that they are going to fly to KY instead of drive from CA.

The story is that Kacy’s grandmother just died. She’s been taking care of Kacy’s 7 year old cousin, Macie. Macie is now in the custody of their nasty uncle, who likes little girls a little too much. Kacy is rushing there to save Macie from the uncle, lie to the court to get guardianship, and then rush back to CA, where they will both be safe. Of course, Kacy still won’t have a job, and she still won’t have a house, and when she tells Jafari all of that, he arranges for an attorney to meet them in KY, and for her to have a job working as a graphic designer for his winery and for Jaxson. And to help her find an apartment.

I like both Kacy and Jafari. I was really frustrated with both of them more than once. They are both keeping secrets from the other, they don’t talk about them, which they really should. They also don’t communicate their feelings to and about each other very well. That leads to a lot of problems, since they are both making assumptions about what the other person wants and is going to do. All that ever does is hurt yourself and hurt other people. And you might even drag someone who is totally innocent in the middle and hurt them even worse. Like I said, very frustrated with them.

Kacy is very independent and stubborn, and hearing her backstory, I understand why she is that way. It’s hard to ask for help at all, and from her background, asking anyone for help would be a terrible thing to do. She is also very loyal and has a strong protective streak. I think that she is also very loving.

I like Jafari. He has such a wonderful, caring, loving heart. He may be a sadist when it comes to play, but in the rest of his life, he is very careful with people and how he treats them. He doesn’t go out of his way to cause undue harm to people, but he will if need be.

I think that Macie is just a delight. She really just leaves a lot of joy in her wake.

OK, that’s all for this one. Go check it out. Happy reading!

Kay Elle Parker-Walk For Me

This is the 4th book in Kay’s Club Avalon series. It’s also her very first Daddy book. And if anything, I think that Walk For Me shows that Kay should just write some more Daddy books, because this one was really good. So, let’s talk about Alicia and Atticus. This can be read as a standalone, there’s no real big overall storyline like in some series, but there is stuff discussed in this book that happens in previous books.

After the events in the last book, Alicia has been put into a residential facility because her mental health ain’t great, Connie has melted down and is putting herself back together, and Bodie has a high risk pregnancy that means she can’t give Lisha the care that she needs. All the Masters get together and find this facility that’s supposed to be top of the line, and Alicia will be getting all kinds of help. It’s only supposed be temporary, but events happen that made that temporary time a little longer. Now it’s been months, and no one has talked to or seen Alicia in quite some time. Atticus is done with it. He’s going to go in and talk to Alicia and tell her that she needs to at least talk to Connie.

When Atticus gets into the facility, he finds out that it isn’t anywhere near what his investigator said it was like. In fact, it is so far away from what they thought it was that it might as well be on a different planet. Alicia is laying in her own filth, has had her head shaved, can’t get to her wheelchair, and is starving. Worse, she’s accepted that she’s going to die soon, and has stopped fighting. Then in comes Atticus. He sees her, grabs her out of her bed, and puts her into her wheelchair. Then he gets mean, not to Alicia, but to everyone else. He calls the cops, the state, everyone he can call, because she isn’t the only patient there in shit shape.

Atticus takes her to his house, where he already has a space that he has remodeled for her and her needs. Then he calls everyone to let them know what has happened and starts taking care Alicia.

OK, I really didn’t like Alicia in the last book. But, that’s more about all the circumstances surrounding what was going on with Connie and how Connie’s and Lisha’s issues were feeding into each other. I know that Connie thinks that she’s Wonder Woman, but I don’t think that she had enough bandwidth to handle Lisha’s stuff then. She tried though. And she really bonded with Alicia, so that’s all good. As we learn more about Alicia in this book, I really liked her more. Frankly, I’m glad that she killed her parents, because they really, really needed to die. And for more than what we already knew. My youngest brother was a wheelchair user, and some of what we learn about Alicia’s past made me really angry, because I know how vulnerable people with disabilities can be.

I really do like her a lot more now. I do think that she really grew a lot during this book, and a lot of that is down to Atticus, but she learned her own strength in this and in her own value. I think that she might still need to have some growth, but she done good.

Atticus is such a Daddy. He wants to Daddy everyone, up to and including all the other Masters. He’s a merc in his real life, but frankly, even that could be seen as result of his Daddy-ness. I mean, seriously, he’s a Daddy. He really is a good man, even if he has to do someone bad things on occasion, and yup, he does that. I pretty much fell right in love with Atticus when we first met him.

This book really did break me at times. There are some places where it is really hard to read, and it did make me cry. But, the thing is, it put me back together too. Yeah, I cried, but then I would read how much Atticus loved Alicia and what he would say to her, and then I felt like I was all wrapped up in that love too.

OK, that’s it for today. Go check it out! Happy reading!

Kay Elle Parker-Talk For Me

Somehow, and this is a total tragedy, I managed to miss putting this blog post out when Talk for Me came out. I suppose I need to visit Club Avalon and throw myself on the mercy, imagined or non-existant, of the Doms. Threaten a girl with a good time, right? But this is Connie’s book, and I am very happy with it.

Connie has been trying to keep everyone as sane as possible. The past couple of years have been really hard on her group of friends, and she’s trying to help out everyone and their sister. Domme Connie has fallen by the wayside, because she had to let her two boys go, since she couldn’t give them what they needed. She has Dommed anyone in far too long, and it’s itchy inside her. On top of that, she’s carrying a secret, which isn’t making things any easier.

The thing is, Atticus knows her secret. Then again, Atticus knows EVERYTHING. He knows what Connie needs, and right now what she needs is to have someone Top her. You see, she’s a switch, and she has been keeping her subby side under wraps. She has a very good reason for that, but there it is. Atticus is going to bring her into a room and make her let go. If she doesn’t then she isn’t going to really survive.

Thane is new to town and new to Avalon. On his first visit, he saw a woman who fascinated him. Now, on this visit, he sees her again. And maybe follows her and the Dom who takes her into the other room, just a little bit. He wants to know what is going on with her, and he’d like to spend some quality time with her. In this case, following her worked out to his benefit, because Atticus has a discussion with him. Then Atticus introduces him to Connie. They are perfect for each other. They are both switches, and they can help each other meet all their needs.

I highly approve of Thane. He is really sure of who he is and he has no problem with being a switch and submitting to Connie when she needs it or having her submit to him, when necessary. He also has no problem acting as her sub in public so that no one knows her secret, if she wants him to. I like that he really sees Connie, in a way that no one else has seemed to be able to do. Not just that, he is able to get into her head and break down her walls better than anyone else has been able to do, even those who have known her for decades. I think that part of that is that he has a fresh eye and doesn’t have that long relationship, so he can really dig in.

Connie is literally my favorite character in this series, so to see her deteriorate over the past books has hurt my heart. I cried several times reading this because of how much she has gone through and is going through. She is so strong. But that is part of her problem too. She has a hard time asking for help because she wants to be strong for everyone. Connie doesn’t want to let anyone see any weakness in her. She is acting as everyone’s rock, and a crack in the rock is a problem. If she were to break down, it would be spectacular. I am so glad that Thane found her and she found Thane.

I can’t wait for the next book.

Kay Elle Parker-Cry For Me

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Kay book, so I’m quite happy to have her newest here today. Cry For Me is the second book about the Avalon club. We have Anarchy, and yes, that’s her real name, AKA Archie, a sub we met in the last book, and Master Jasper, who we also obviously met in the last book, because well, there has only been one so far, lol. As a quick reminder, at a very bad time during the last book, Archie was there for the Doms of Avalon, and rested right at Jasper’s knee. Now, we’re about 9 months out from the end of the last book.

Archie is pretty much madly in love with Master Jasper. She spends her nights at Avalon, doing her very best to be the most perfect sub ever. She follows Jasper around, watches his scenes, serves him, and hopes that he will see how perfect her submission to him is. So far, it hasn’t worked. In fact, it is so far from working that Jasper has now decided that he’s going to find her a Dom, someone who will actually see her, cherish her, and take care of her. And that’s not him. So, he talks to his friend Master Atticus to see if he will. Atticus says he’ll take care of Archie but that Jasper is a fool.

All seems to be going well, right up until Jasper tells Archie and Atticus decides to scene with her. Jasper has to leave and Archie safe words.

See, Jasper’s problem is that he’s a sadist, and he doesn’t want to hurt Anarchy. She is just too innocent for him, and he knows that as a sadist, it is too easy for him to hurt her, because he has to stay under control. So, he leaves her to Atticus, and in fact, leaves altogether for a couple of weeks, during which Archie absolutely breaks down.

OK, so, Jasper’s sadism isn’t just a kink. It’s more like a fetish. He cannot get aroused without causing someone pain. His father, curses on his name, is a terrible person, a really, really, really terrible person, and he did things to Jasper which closely tied sadism to Jasper’s soul. He likes to play really hard. And he’s good at it. And he doesn’t think that Archie can stand it, but he’s never asked her, which was his first mistake.

I like Jasper. He’s pretty seriously fucked up. Like I said, his parents are monsters. But, he’s worked really hard to get past that. He’s done everything he can to walk away from his parents and their teaching. Instead of being the perfect assassin they wanted, he’s now a landscaper. He’s funneled his sadistic needs into the world of kink, and he treats the subs he plays with really well. He has friends, close friends, and he has his found family. All in all, he’s really just a good guy. Stupid sometimes and I really wanted punch him in his left testicle several times, but that’s what makes a good character, I think. A good character makes you feel things, and Jasper made me feel.

Archie really is a joy and delight. People think that she’s this perfect submissive subbie girl, but she’s really not. I mean, yeah, she is a subbie girl, but she’s smart, sassy, sarcastic, and strong. It’s a surprise to her friends, at least some of them, I think, to find out the real her. She doesn’t like confrontation or attention all that much, but there are times when she is more than willing to stand up for the things that are important. There’s one point where her friend needs her, and Archie stands up to everyone until the world is arranged in the way that she wants it. And not just everyone, but some D-types too. I really liked that. I think that Jasper should’ve talked to her much sooner than he did, but like I said, he’s stupid sometimes.

We didn’t see much of Alicia in this book, but I’m pretty sure that I don’t like her very much. I mean, yeah, she has a shitty background too, but I think that she needs to start coming out of her shell. I have a feeling that she’s maybe hurting Connie in some way, I can’t be having that.

I am worried about Connie. She seems so tired. I hope that we get to see her being happy in the next book, because I really like her.

Ok, that’s all for this one. Go check it out. Happy reading!

Claire Marta & Nia Farrell-Sam

This is the 6th book in Claire and Nia’s Guarded Heart series. Sam is a slight aberration from the other books because it doesn’t follow the MFM layout that the majority of the other books do. This one is MMMF. We have our two gargoyles, Gael and Elijah, our heroine, Sam, but we have a surprise new male. So let’s get into the gig, shall we? Warning, there will be some spoilers, I’ll try to avoid them, but…

Gael, poor Gael, is suffering. He hears the song that was written for him by Etienne. He hears it al the damn time. He can’t get away from it. He’s in a very black state right now, and it’s not getting any better. The more that Etienne is thwarted, the worse it gets for Gael. He’s still holding off from his partner, Elijah. Elijah keeps trying to break through to Gael, for several reasons, but Gael keeps fighting. He barely talks to Elijah, instead staying locked him his room or hidding in the kitchen. He also is nasty to Elijah as often as possible. The only way that Gael can drown out the music he hears is to self-harm.

Elijah is suffering too. He’s not suffering in the same way Gael is, but it’s suffering all the same. He wants to have a connection with his partner. He is very attracted to his partner, so he’d like them to be partners in all kinds of ways, and he’s pretty sure that Gael is attracted to him too, since there was some serious kissing go on at one point. But now, Gael is determined to push him away, and it only gets worse. Elijah feels heartbroken too, because he wants to have that connection, and he feels so isolated from everything and everyone, and he really wants his partner and their mate.

Meanwhile, we have Sam, who is a psychic medium with a ghostly grandmother who likes to pinch the asses of hot guys and who watches Magic Mike on the regular. She also trains dogs, and works with her dog as a search and rescue team. And oh, she can talk to animals. Prince, Willow’s crazy Irish wolfhound puppy, needs some training, so Tobias assigns Gael and Elijah to take the dog to her for training. When Sam manages to work a miracle at the Citadel, everyone decides that they will go down to a local bar and celebrate.

Father James, who was a Catholic priest and who is now an activist and counselor in the area, is also at the bar. He’s bi, and sees Elijah. He and Elijah go to the back and have a significant moment together. When they come back out, there’s a huge fight, and a couple of the gargoyles get hurt. And when the dust clears, it turns out Gael is gone on top of Elijah being hurt.

I knew that this one was going to be a tough read. Not because it’s a hard book or anything, but because it was Gael’s story, and I knew, from what we’ve been able to get from the previous books about his history and from what we’ve seen of Etienne’s behavior, that whatever was going to happen to Gael or anyone involved with Gael would be brutal and possibly worse than anything anyone else went through. And I wasn’t necessarily wrong. I think that some of the stuff that happened to the ladies might’ve been worse, but what happened to Gael is pretty damn horrific, and what happens to Elijah is terrible.

I like Gael, so much. I also hurt for him, again, so much. Even without anything that Etienne may or may not be doing to him, he’s so damaged from the fire at Notre Dame, not just physically, but mentally. He has some serious PTSD and survivor’s guilt going on, and he needs some help to heal with that, more help than James, Sam, and Elijah can give him.

One thing that I really liked about James and Sam is that they are willing to stand up to Tobias and basically tell him to fuck off, only nicer. The reason that they do that is one of the things that has really annoyed me in each book, and that’s all the things that happen to the mates without telling them these things could happen. I understand the reasoning of the gargoyles for doing things the way that they do, but I think that they have seen, time and again, that it isn’t the best way to handle things.

I love Sam’s Grandma. She’s a fucking hoot. I mean, she gets drunk on the crystals at the Citadel. She pinches the asses of all the guys. She may spy on their showers. And oh yeah, she gets frisky with Andre.

I can’t wait for Tobias’ book.

OK, Etienne keeps talking about his spies. I didn’t think that Gael was the way that he was finding out information, but it looks like he was getting some that way. But there are more eyes. Does he mean the ravens or are there more? I can’t wait to find out.

OK, that’s all for this one. Go check it out! Happy reading!

Livia Grant-Expecting It All

First of all, I need to say that I am starting this at 4:45 PM Eastern time, and the Sun has already been done for nearly an hour where I am. I was really tired already, and now my body thinks it’s bedtime. This has nothing to do with the story, I’m just whining. And yawning. A lot. Anyway.

So, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about Livia’s newest book, Expecting It All. This is the latest book from the Passion Pit series, and is the first one that is a standalone. It’s a couple we’ve already seen and gotten to know, Derek and Rachel. He’s a Daddy and she’s his baby girl. They had been basically a 24/7 couple, but she was pregnant in the last book, and this one is all about that.

So, we start with a 8 month pregnant Rachel leaving a cab so that she can go to the Pit. She hasn’t been there in a while, and Master Derek has taken over doing the shows. Rachel is a little bit worried because she’s pretty sure their marriage is imploding. She and Derek are drifting apart, and it has been a while since any happy sexy fun time have happened, so she’s headed to the Pit to see what’s going on and to see if they can get things back to normal. But when she gets there and sees what’s happening, she ends up with a panic attack.

Derek finds out that Rachel is there and that she’s having a panic attack, and he rushes out to take care of her. Then he takes her home, and they have a talk. And it’s an actual talk, not a euphimism for a spanking. Of course, spankings do happen. Rachel and Derek both talk about what’s going on in their relationship and their fears and worries about it.

You know, so often when we read romance books we see the buildup of the relationship and the end of the story is their HEA, when they get together. But really, that’s the start of their HEA, we just normally don’t get to see all the ever after bits. I mean, yeah, we may get an epilogue that shows a glimpse into what’s happening, or we may see them as secondary or tertiary characters in someone else’s book. But with Rachel and Derek, we know that they got their HEA, so now we get to see the actually EA of the HEA. What I like about this is that it’s not something we see often, so when we do get to see this, I really appreciate it.

Rachel and Derek are at a big change in their relationship. Having a baby is going to drastically change any relationship, no matter what. And that’s if you are vanilla or kinky. I think that adding in a kink would make it even harder, especially one in which Mama is also a baby, like Rachel, and one where you are pretty much 24/7. That’s just a lot of change, period.

I really like that we get to see both Rachel and Derek evolve alone and together. They each grow and change as people. Then their relationship grows and changes. To me, it feels so real. I mean, this is stuff that we all go through when we are in a relationship or even when we aren’t. We all grow and change and as each of us change, our relationships change, no matter what kind of relationship it is. Even you don’t relate to the kink part of Derek and Rachel’s relationship, you can relate to the worries and concerns about how changes are going to affect their relationship and the work that it takes to keep that relationship strong and happy. So, massive kudoes to Livia for that.

OK, nothing below the pic today. Go check this one out! Happy reading!

Kay Elle Parker-The Vampire’s Captive

Kay Elle Parker takes us back into the Midnight Doms world that Lee Savino and Renee Rose created. Today, we’re going to be The Vampire’s Captive, and I wanna know where I can sign up for Colt, I mean, I wouldn’t mind overly much being his captive.

So, we’re in Arizona. Vienna is stuck on the side of the road, in short shorts, a tank top, and flip flops. This normally wouldn’t be a horrible thing in Arizona, but the problem is she’s stuck on the side of the road, 18 miles away from anything. Her tire blew, so she pulled over to the side of the road to fix it. While she was struggling, some lovely people pulled over on the side of the road to help her. And oh, to steal her car, with absolutely everything in it, including her phone, her purse, and all her money. None of the trucks or cars that are driving by stop for her, so she manages to hike herself to a rest area, where she is able to find some boulders with ledges to sit on. While she is hiding herself away there, she hears several cars pull up and a bunch of guys get out and start talking about mobile blood units. Vienna tries so hard to be quiet, but she does let loose with one little gasp.

Colt is meeting with a Russian and another vampire to talk about getting some golden blood humans through. Golden blood people are those who are Rh null. (this is a real thing, and there are legit something like only 40 people in the world have it. I think there are only like 10 people worldwide who are donors.) Anyway, in this world, people with golden blood taste like all the best things in the world combined. So, Colt and his evil associates are breeding and selling golden bloods. Colt lets everyone leave and and pretends to leave, but he comes back to see if he could find the person who gasped. That’s when he found Vienna, who he grabbed and then shoved in his trunk.

OK, this is one of the best parts. Vienna is claustrophobic. That’s not the best thing. The best thing is that after she freaks out, her brain kicks in, and she figures out that she can get the tire iron out of the compartment. So she does. And she smacks the shit out of Colt when he pulls her out of the trunk. That is the best thing. Or at least one of the best things. Superhero Vienna is also the best thing.

I love Vienna. I mean, just absolutely love her. She is strong, fierce, and she will definitely kick your ass, especially if she has steel toed boots. She’s like one of those little cute purse dogs who doesn’t realize how small she is, with a huge dog attitude, and really, she has the badassness to back up the attitude. I kinda want to be her. I think that she and Selene will get along quite well, and they might end up running the world if you let them loose.

I like Colt. He is a very good man. He’s also sneaky and tricksy and determined. He does what he has to so that he can do what is expected of him by those he’s working with. I think that he’s got enough of the Domliness to handle Vienna, but is willing to let her be Vienna, if you know what I mean.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go get some stompy boots with steel toes.

I have to admit, I really disliked Lucius at times, I mean to the point of introducing him to the sun at parts of this book. I understand his points, but I am still really mad at him.

OK, that’s all for this one. Go check it out! Happy reading!