His Name is Killian

So, this review has taken me awhile to draft because I've got some varying opinions.

His Name is Killian - Ella Adamian

Killian Stone paints harpies.

Killian Stone is not into vanilla sex.

Killian Stone suffers from mood swings.

Killian Stone has done something very bad.

The day the painter approached her on the bridge and asked her to pose for him was the beginning of a lust Melissa wouldn’t be able to bridle. When he offers her a month of submission, she’s already too captivated to turn him down. His unhinged sexuality lets her explore her own dark fantasies, but his anger outbursts are scary and devastating. As the time goes by, Melissa realizes there’s something more than just irritability and anger. He has done something which doesn’t let him rest. 

So first and foremost, you know that I will read basically anything. There isn't much that freaks me out and I've read some fairly dark material. This is maybe the first book I've read with a BDSM story line in which I was genuinely scared for the female and I genuinely felt uncomfortable. Whereas when people read things like Fifty Shades they say, "that's not a love story" whereas I see it as one. I get exactly what the author was trying to portray and I think she did it well. This book, this book very much is NOT a romance. When it says it has explicit scenes, it's not messing around. There were points in this book where I felt so uncomfortable I seriously debated on putting it down all together because it's beyond what even I am comfortable with. 

BUT. 

I really wanted to know what the hell was up with this guy. Because he goes from nice guy, c harming, and seemingly normal to incredibly angry and terrifying in no time. 

Then we have Melissa, who is seemingly naive to basically everything. She agrees to model for Killian for two weeks and once that's over, she finds herself missing him. So he comes back and basically tells her it's a D/s relationship or nothing and she blindly agrees. The first thing that struck me as odd was at no point was a safe word established so right away I'm scared for her. Because hello, you need a safe word. But she very much wants to learn more about Killian and she finds herself craving him although she at times is also very scared of him. 

I really questioned whether either one of them were right in the head but for very different reasons. I think he opens something up in her she didn't know was there and I think he clearly has disturbing things in his past that prevent him from chilling out. So Melissa starts investigating him because it's clear something isn't right and I won't tell you what she finds but I can say there is a sequel to the book coming. So the story isn't totally over. There's more to come and to be frank, I'm a little scared .

If you think you are up for a challenge, I really want to hear what you think about this. The book is available on Amazon and you can connect with the author on Google+. I am giving this book a reluctant 3 stars. Mostly because if the point of the book was to push the boundaries of what is acceptable of BDSM or to give you a hard limit of what is acceptable to read, it absolutely succeeded. If you haven't read any other BDSM books I do think this will turn you off of them all together and scare you proper. So if you know that going in, you will likely come away from it differently than I did. 

Jayded COVER REVEAL

New Adult

Date Published: April 10, 2015

 Maxine Daniels was made an offer that she couldn’t refuse. She couldn’t think of a better time—after breaking things off with her fiancé—to change cities and merge her company with Saunders Literary Agency. At thirty-three, she isn’t getting any younger, so it’s time to start fresh and leave her past behind.

What she doesn’t anticipate is the diversion that lies ahead. Kyle Saunders is a catastrophic tsunami that enters her life and consumes her world in just a matter of minutes. Everything about him is telling her no, but her heart and the heat between her legs is screaming yes. He was never a factor in her divine plan—nor was she in his.

Kyle is the cliché bachelor; he is a twenty-four-year-old charismatic chick magnet who refuses to settle down. He’s dead set on living the carefree single life—that is—until Max comes strolling in. Then all his ridiculous rules fall to the wayside. Who knew that just one hello could alter their lives forever?

EXCERPT

My mouth hangs open. It’s like time freezes, and all I can think is holy fuck! I’m speechless. Never in my life have I been speechless or caught off-guard to this magnitude. The woman in front of me is fucking hot! On fire! I slowly take her in, starting with her high red pumps, long legs, and tight red skirt reaching her knees, hugging one amazing ass and some unGodly shaped hips. Man, those hips though. I can already see my hands being at home on those hips. My eyes drift up to her tiny waist and voluptuous breasts. Yum. Her face is flawless: lips plush and eyes a beautiful iridescent blue, which completely contrasts against her darker complexion and the brown of her hair. Simple perfection.

I must be standing here like a doof, making an ass of myself, because she smiles with a tiny bit of amusement. She reaches her hand out to me. “Hello. You must be Kyle?”

I continue to stare, completely mesmerized. It takes me a moment to snap out of it. “Uh, yes, I’m Kyle. You must be Maxine.” I grab her hand, immediately feeling the softness of her skin. “It’s nice to meet you,” I say with a smile.

“It’s just Max,” she informs me.

Cover Reveal - February 4th

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Shevaun DeLucia, author of the Eternal Mixture series, lives in upstate New York with her husband, four children, and two dogs. As a stay-at-home mom while her children were young, she fell in love with reading. She indulged in the small moments that took her away from the reality of her loud, rambunctious household, bringing her into a world of fantasy. When reading wasn’t enough to satisfy her, she turned to writing, determined to create the perfect ending of her own.

Website: shevaundelucia.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Shevaun-Delucia/563843076961083

Twitter: @shevaundelucia1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7375844.Shevaun_Delucia

Batter Up

Who is in the mood for a light chick lit book? I certainly was!

Batter Up - Robyn Neeley

Bakeshop owner Emma Stevens has a secret — a delicious, slightly unorthodox secret. Each Monday, she mixes up a premonition to share with the bachelors of Buttermilk Falls, and sets one lucky man on the path to true love.

When reporter Jason Levine finds himself mixed up in a Las Vegas bachelorette party, he hears the strangest rumour: the marriage is happening thanks to magic cake batter. Seriously sceptical, and sick of frauds, Jason journeys to the backwater town of Buttermilk Falls to expose the baker and release the townspeople from her evil clutches.

But when Jason meets Emma, tempers flare and sparks fly. Will Jason cling to his logic at the expense of a future, or will he let himself fall under Emma’s spell?

I'll be honest, if you aren't into reading books with a heavy story line or that make you feel all of the feels, then this is the book you  need to go with. It's sweet, it's cute, it's endearing, it's short, and it's predictable. I mean, you know Jason and Emma end up together but the fun is the way they end up there. 

Basically it's about Emma, who owns a family bakery she has taken over. It's gained a bit of a reputation for it's Monday night festivities where one lucky bachelor gets pointed into the direction of his true love with the help of a special batter and a spell that Emma says in her head. The first match you read about in the book introduces us to Jason, an unlucky in love and work, who decides to get his investigative reporting career back on track to figure out what the big deal is about this bakery. He doesn't believe for a minute that cake batter and this woman can match anyone up and it's pure coincidence, and he's out to prove that. 

Until he meets Emma and is reluctantly drawn to her, but she makes it clear that she's not interested in him or his story. Except Emma is drawn to him, but doesn't want any notoriety for the bakery or the spell. 

Overall? It's a cute story. It's a fast read, it's perfect for an end of summer read. It's perfect for those fall weekends where it's just a little too chilly to go out but you also don't want to sit around doing nothing either. 

I wish there had been more back story on her mother and grandmother, or least a little more history on how the spell came to be. I also didn't like Emma's boyfriend who goes off to New York only to come back, he's kind of a jerk. But I really liked Emma. You can tell she's just a sucker for romance and after putting so much effort into the boyfriend who essentially left her for bigger and better things, she kind of gives up and I hate that for her. 

I'm giving this a solid 3/5 stars. It's a cute little chick lit novel but if you are more into romance, this probably isn't going to fit into your list. But we all need a break from our usual, and this would be a good one. 

Binding Agreement

Book review time! Hopefully now that I'm home I can get some more reading done and you can continue filling your "to be read" lists!

Binding Agreement - Pam McKenna

A chance encounter on a moonlit beach draws sensible, cautious Kay Denehy into a night of anonymous passion and surrender with a ruthlessly dominant stranger. As John Randall introduces her to the exotic thrills of bondage and discipline, she discovers who she really is under the prim schoolteacher exterior—a sexual submissive who needs the strict and ardent guidance of a take-no-prisoners Dom like him. John carries more than his share of emotional baggage, the result of a tragedy for which he feels responsible. Though he cares for Kay, he refuses to pursue a relationship, certain he could only bring her pain. He pushes her away even as his unconscious dream self turns her into a sex slave to be punished and enjoyed ménage-style by two other zealous and demanding Doms. For the first time in her life, Kay knows what she needs, and who she needs, to be sexua lly and emotionally fulfilled. She knows, too, the path John must take to escape his dark places—if only he’ll trust her to lead the way.

I'm going to give this book 3 stars. And that's only because it was better than a 2 star, but not anywhere near a 4 star. It is a novella and on my Nook it came in at 99 pages so I got this done in a little over an hour, perfect for those of you who want to read but don't have a lot of time to commit to a lengthy book. 

Basically, Kay goes to the beach in the middle of the night. She sees John, who strips down to nothing, goes for a swim. Kay gets knocked over by a wave, John helps her up and then storms off to his house. Kay, confused but totally turned on by him, goes back to her car, now totally soaking wet and freezing. Then her car won't start. So Kay is forced to go to John's house, which seems to be the only one occupied, and from there she has an amazing night of sex with major BDSM tendencies. Now, these are complete strangers, so the entire set up is so strange but you're going with it, because it almost immediately goes into steamy scenes. 

I will say, I don't consider myself a prude and lord knows I've read a wise variety of romance books, including erotica, but this one was almost kind of hard to read. It's not that it's overtly violent, it's just really overwhelmingly dominant. It's like, you know how when you read Fifty Shades, you thought, "hmm.. maybe BDSM wouldn't be so bad"? Well this is like, BDSM is not for me. But not in a "I'm going to end up bleeding with welts" scary, but it felt more... mean? Like John isn't totally nice to Kay and she's refusing to stop because she  has some weird thing she's fighting against internally. 

But I won't tell you what happens beyond that night because it kind of ruins the end of the novella for you. I will say, I'm kind of disappointed? Kay really made a point telling John exactly why she thinks he is this way, and with the changes he made towards the end, I really hoped it would be a "he really loves her so he's willing to be more" and it's not that, per say. I mean, I guess it kind of is from  his perspective but I can't help but wonder if, long term, Kay would be satisfied? It's an interesting thought. 

I will say this: if you are a fan of erotica, and you're a fan of novella length stories, this is definitely a great book for you. Truly. Pick it up and you won't be disappointed. If you get a little squeamish with a BDSM story line, definitely avoid this book because you won't enjoy it and it'll be hard to read. You can purchase the book on Amazon right now. If you are interested in learning more about the author, visit her website! 

Fatal Desire

Let's start the week with a book review!

Fatal Desire - Valerie Thombly

Caleb is dark, hot, and commanding in human form. As a dragon, he’s a force to be reckoned with. When he witnesses the slave Lileta being beaten by his Overlord Odage, he nearly comes unglued. Without understanding why, he asks to take the slave as his own, but soon realizes his longing is more than an attraction to a beautiful woman. In a sick twist of fate, the gods have given him a demon as his mate—one he can never touch unless he wishes his own death. His only choice is to grant her freedom.

Lileta wanted to kill Caleb, but when she is freed by this tempting male, her anger turns to a desire that can only prove fatal. Even if she could claim him as her own, her dark past makes her unworthy of his love.

When their paths continue to intertwine, spiraling them to the brink of passion, can they resist the yearnings burning within them, or will they submit to their fatal desire?

I'll tell you right off the bat that this is book two of a series, and reading book one would be really helpful. I did not read book one, and I really struggled just trying to figure out what the hell was actually going on because there isn't a whole lot of back story given. What that being said? I still enjoyed it. 

It's definitely a romance novel with a LOT of fantasy/paranormal going on. Our lead characters are a dragon and a demon. Curiously enough, the demon is supposed to be deadly to a dragon yet the gods deemed it necessary to have them be mates. Which seems unnecessarily cruel until the story gets going and you see why that actually is the case. Can Caleb with Lileta's heart? If he can, their mating won't kill him. Lileta is a demon though, so she has some issues to work through and having been essentially sold as a sex slave for years, trust isn't the easiest thing for her to do when it comes to romantic gestures. Never mind that while they are trying to figure that all out, there is a battle raging on. Lileta struggles with her inner demon after finding out who her true father is. Caleb and Lileta's relationship is put to the test several times and let's just say, a lot of cloak and dagger stuff happens, people die, and new families are formed. 

I absolutely would give this a five star review. Sure, I was a little lost in the beginning, but I was basically hooked within the first chapter and I even burned my chicken fajitas because I couldn't tear myself away to cook. Matt can attest that burnt chicken fajitas are gross, so if you are going to read this, perhaps have someone else take the helm while you're reading. If you are a fan of paranormal erotica, you're going to really enjoy this. It reminds me of books I've read from Keri Arthur and Christine Feehan so if you are a fan of them, you're going to enjoy this book quite a bit. I'm already anxious to find out what happens in book three. I'm going to just put my guess that the next heartthrob to get a mate is going to be Lucan and I already think I know who that is. But maybe it's Seth. I think Seth's new friend is going to be fairly prominent in the next book for sure. So, there's your hint.  

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Broken

Book review time! Let's break up the downer posts this week with a review, shall we?

Broken - M. L. Young

Bailey Wrenn is a small town girl with a big back story. Her mother left when she was young, leaving her in the care of an out of touch alcoholic father that barely noticed her existence. After trudging through life with no clear direction, she begins to wonder if she needs to leave this scarred memory of a town behind and finally move on. When Bailey hears from her friend Julie that life in Chicago is great and she should come out sometime, she takes that open invitation, and comes to visit her old friend with no idea of when she’s going to leave. 

One night, after Julie drags her from the apartment to see a local fight, she sees Kyle, a mysterious MMA fighter with a winning streak and an elusive personality. He doesn’t talk to anybody after his fights, and disappears faster than Bailey can blink. One day during a chance encounter filling out job applications, Bailey runs into Kyle at his work, and the electricity between them is bright enough to light up the city. 

It’s only when they begin to get close, though, that things are turned upside down. An old boyfriend and a brutal and devastating past makes Bailey believe she can’t be close to another man ever again, even if he seems perfect. She feels alone. She’s broken. 

HEA and no cliffhanger! This is a standalone novel. 
*This book is recommended for readers 17 and up for violence, language, and some adult situations.*

I had actually been pretty excited to read this book and then I started reading it and yeah.... nothing really comes together. It's certainly not the worst book I've read. I will say there are a lot of areas this book could have some improvements to make it a better book. The dialogue is not great, it comes off of very... teenager angsty, which doesn't make sense since it's not geared towards teenagers persay, it does have violence and other things I wouldn't want my teenager to read. 

Bailey basically has a pretty crappy life. Her mom is missing in action, her father is a drunk who has checked out on being a parent, and she basically has zero guidance. So she leaves and heads to Chicago where she meets Kyle (well, she mostly sees him at first and later meets him) and things are kind of fun between them. Then we start learning more about Bailey's back story and her ex-boyfriend who's just a complete ass, and he essentially starts stalking her, which is ruining her life change in Chicago. But on top of all of this, she's trying to develop a relationship with Kyle and it's just really awkward to me and very.... vanilla. Not that I expected this to be a blazing romance, but to plan out a passionate evening weeks in advance? That's kind of weird, right? I mean, do people do that? I know I've never done that. 

Overall? Lots of improvements to be made on this book. I think the potential of a good story is 3 stars, the execution of it is 1, maybe 2 stars. It's just not what I had hoped it to be. 

Perfectly Broken

As soon as I saw Prescott Lane had another book up for review, I jumped on the chance because I liked her first book First Position. It turns out I liked this one even better.

Perfectly Broken - Prescott Lane

Even after years of trauma therapy, Peyton still believes she’s broken. She has little desire to date or show off her natural beauty, content simply to hang out with her best friends and run her pie shop in New Orleans. But her world turns upside-down when a handsome architect and self-confessed player shows up in her shop and thinks she’s perfect, much more than the usual hook-up. While Peyton does her best to resist his charms, believing she could never be enough for him, she can’t deny the obvious heat between them. With Reed determined to have her, Peyton must decide whether to continue to hide behind her apron and baggy clothes or take a chance and share her scars with Reed, a man with a playboy reputation and scars of his own -- a dark past he can’t possibly share with Peyton, not after learning the horrors she’s endured. But if they can find a way to trust each other, and themselves, they just might be able to heal, to save each other, to live perfectly broken together.

To be honest, when I started this book I immediately thought, "oh good, yet another romance novel that starts out with our female being a rape victim" and got annoyed. But then it turns out Peyton isn't a total sissy. Sure, she's unreasonable and she had a tendency to just run away from problems that are easily dealt with by communication and she practices a hard double standard with the lack of communication. She's all of those things. Then you have Reed who begins as a womanizer with commitment issues because of his father. Put them together and it's kind of an adorable relationship and story. 

The really great thing is that while Reed doesn't understand why Peyton is hesitant over intimacy, he respects it. He would always like a lot more and finds it hard to slow himself down and not ask for too much, but he respects whatever her reason is. And that will always be commendable. As their relationship develops, you see Peyton becoming more trusting of Reed and you can see the attachment between the two of them forming. A few bumps in the road (because of lack of communication) that put major strains on their relationship. Neither one of them handle it well, and I got a little worried about Reed making a pretty poor choice, but dammit- he rallied and I silently (oh, I'm kidding- I kicked my leg in the air and smacked my still asleep husband) cheered for him. And them. I was rooting for this couple the whole time.

I do feel like the story fell a little flat with Reed's father, I really hoped we'd get more meat out of that story line. Aside from that? Great book. It keeps you hooked and you have all kinds of drama. You have Reed and Peyton trying to date without having sex or being intimate, you have Heather (the crazy ex who doesn't understand Reed is in love, mostly because he doesn't understand it yet), we have Peyton reeling from tragedy as well as rape aftermath, and then we have Reed trying to figure it all out.

The ending? Perfect. I loved it. I loved how the story ended and I loved the epilogue. I so love an epilogue, especially a good one that gives readers a little bit extra you didn't know you wanted so much.

Overall? I would give it 4/5 stars. It's a great book, not too long, and it's entertaining enough to keep you going and wondering what is going to happen with these two as well as all of the secondary characters. I finished it in a day easily.

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