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ARC Review: Ruby

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RUBY

Author: Jeffe Kennedy
Publication Date: May 13, 2013
Publisher: Carina Press
Description:

RubyBook three of Facets of Passion
Danielle Sosna has no problem denying herself in order to achieve her goals—after all, that attitude landed her a dream job at Vogue Paris. But in New Orleans for one last assignment before heading overseas, she’s faced with the most decadent of temptations. Seductive Cajun chef Bobby Prejean takes Dani’s strength of will as a challenge, and offers her a night of wild indulgence—if she will agree to obey his every command…

Dani can’t resist Prejean’s invitation to join him in a world of carnal desire, complete with fetish costumes and masks. Determined to keep her emotional distance, she gives Prejean everything but her name. A night becomes a week, as she spends Mardi Gras suspended…in the delicious space where pleasure meets pain.

Too late, she realizes the cloak of anonymity has not protected her—and that chasing her dream might come at the expense of her heart.

For more Facets of Passion, check out Sapphire and Platinum, available now!

My Thoughts:

I have been a big fan of Ms. Kennedy (at least these Facets of Passion books) since I happened to be lucky enough to win a copy of Sapphire, the first book in the series (which I may have mentioned when I reviewed Platinum, found HERE), Tragically, I lost Sapphire and would love to read it again because it was a great book.

Ruby was no less a great book than Sapphire and Platinum were, though I think if I had to rate the three books in order of preference, it would be Ruby, Sapphire and then Platinum.

Dani is a successful woman, about to go off to Paris for a job she’s been dreaming of her entire life. Prejean is a very successful chef in New Orleans, where Dani is having her final shoot before going off to her Paris job.

Prejean spends a lot of time working with Dani and her food issues (because she works in the fashion magazine industry, she believes she needs to be stick thin like the models she works with), and introducing her to some sinfully yummy food (I got hungry multiple times while reading this book – well, hungry AND horny. Yes, I’ll be honest about that part). The BDSM was done very well (IMO), with newbie Dani getting worked into it by very experienced Prejean.

In the end, we got to see Dani become far more comfortable with who she is and while I didn’t (and continue to not) like the particular choice she makes (it’s a personal preference of mine regarding heroines), I can respect that she fell in love with Prejean and he her.

The only truly downer point was the spectacular tantrums both of them have toward the end. I really didn’t care for his assumptions regarding what she’d do regarding her life.

The secondary plot with her truly evil editor (the one she’s leaving for the job in Paris) and the editor’s reaction to Dani’s lovely magazine shoot idea. I think it would have made a great cover and not obscene (obviously the Paris editor thought so even if bad things happened because of the layout).

So – great book, hot sex and delicious food. Another spectacular book from Ms. Kennedy. Can’t wait for another one in the Facets series.

Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

–Review by Victoria

heat Rating 4

ARC Review: The Seduction Hypothesis

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The Seduction Hypothesis

Author: Delphine Dryden
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: May 6, 2013
Description:

Seduction(1 Curious Sub + 1 Dom in Denial) – Inhibitions = 4 Naughty Nights
Wildlife biologist Lindsey thought attending a fan convention with her new boyfriend Ben was a great idea—until their relationship imploded. Lindsey still lusts after her ex—but if he wants her, he’s going to have to prove he can give her what she needs.

Ben will do anything to win Lindsey back, and when he sees her in her skimpy black vinyl convention getup, he realizes what she’s been craving all along. And he’s inspired to finally give in to his own dark desire to take complete sexual control…

Lindsey is surprised by her reaction to Ben’s kinky new seduction techniques, and suddenly sees the brilliant but boring code guru in a different light. After several erotic encounters in hotel rooms and stairwells, she’s falling for him all over again. And wondering if the intimate connection will last once they head home…

My Thoughts:

I fell in love with Delphine Dryden with the first book in her Science of Temptation series with Callie and Ian. I mean, c’mon, what’s not to love in that book? I’m a HUGE Big Bang Theory fan and Ian clearly resembled Sheldon (well, if Sheldon was a closet Dom…and trust me, I’ve never looked at Sheldon in quite the same way since reading that book, esp. after a particular November 2012 episode of the show when Sheldon spanks Amy).

The Seduction Hypothesis is a very different, yet just as fabulous book from Ms. Dryden. Not only does she switch from first person POV (as in Theory of Attraction) to third, but the set-up was different. Lindsey and Ben had been a couple, but broke up not long ago. There’s some angst there, both with regrets about the demise of the relationship, and Ben not understanding quite why Lindsey broke it off with him.

Lindsey is really into a particularly kinky manga series and planned on dressing like one of the characters for one of the events at the convention the friends all travel to. As it turns out, she’s a dead-ringer for the character and is asked by the crew to stand-in as their regular player had to cancel out on showing up at the convention (yeah, a little suspension of disbelief here, but it worked for me). Ben sees her all duded up and suddenly comes to realize there might be something to the kink thing that, in part, was what had led to their break-up.

He turns to Ian and Callie for some advice (with a quite amusing Cyrano DeBergerac-like scene) and then leaps into some pretty heavy-duty research into the lifestyle, discovering he can get into the whole kink thing. I love that neither one of the pair, but ESPECIALLY the dom, had very little experience with the lifestyle, so they both got to learn together. The new-dom thing isn’t explored very often (at least in my limited BDSM reading). It’s usually the sub being drawn into the lifestyle by an experienced, sexy Dom. Add in the fact that Ben really wanted to get back with Lindsey and ends up discovering a whole new side to himself, and I was absolutely in love with this book.

And, of course…the sex was awesome. Completely, wonderfully, awesome.

Can’t wait for another book in this series!

Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

–Review by Victoria

Heat Rating 5

ARC Review: Nicholas

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Nicholas

Author: Grace Burrowes
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Date Published: May 1, 2013
Description:

NicholasHeir to the Bellefonte earldom, Viscount Nicholas Haddonfield has made a promise to his dying father that he’ll marry before the Season’s over. When Nick meets Lady Leah Lindsey, he realizes he’s found not only a damsel lady in need of rescuing, but also a perfect countess of convenience. Then he spoils everything by falling in love with his wife…the one woman he can never, ever have.

My Thoughts

Oh, Ms. Burrowes, how I love thee. As you may recall, I was not particularly enthralled or enthused with the first book in the Lonely Lords series (Darius as reviewed HERE). However, I found myself returning to loving Ms. Burrowes’ flowing style with Nicholas (though Ethan, review coming late this month/early next, is definitely my favorite thus far).

Nicholas flows over much of the same time period as Darius and features Darius’ sister Leah along with Darius’ friend, er, Nicholas. They have a chance meeting at a ball and Nicholas is intrigued with Leah. Enough so that when she turns out to be in trouble (her (to my mind) evil/jackass of a father figure betroths her to a fellow jackass) he rides to the rescue.

Only problem is, he doesn’t intend to consummate the marriage because he’s terrified he’ll kill her if she should ever become pregnant. Understand that Nicholas is a BIG (tall) man and he has believed his whole life that he killed his mother from his sheer size. And there seems to be some legitimacy to that concern when Nicholas’s secrets are further delved into.

Leah is a strong character with a tragic past. I kept expecting (because I’m jaded that way when it comes to romance) that one of her past issues would come back and be a “oh, by the way, we lied to you” moment, but of course Ms. Burrowes is far too excellent an author to fall on such worn out tripe and trope.

These two truly deserved their happy ending, though at times I began to worry that they’d ever find their way there.

Yet another wonderful book from Ms. Burrowes and I just have to keep devouring these books as quickly as they come out. Highly recommend this book (though there was enough of “little” issues that kept me from rating it more than 4 out of 5. I remind people that this is, of course, my opinion and others might have a different one).

Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

–Review by Victoria

heat Rating 4

ARC Review: Lone Wolf

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Lone Wolf

Jennifer Ashley
Penguin Group USA
Publication Date: April 15, 2013
Description:

LoneWolfEllison Rowe is a wolf Shifter who has embraced all things Texas. He’s a cowboy through and through, complete with a Texas drawl, cowboy hat, and well-worn cowboy boots. He’s also lonely, though he feels obligated to look after his sister who is recovering from a hit-and-run accident that has left her striving to control her feral tendencies.

Enter Maria, a human woman taking refuge with the Shifters, who volunteers to look after the cubs and help Ellison’s sister. Maria too is recovering from a haunted past—she was kidnapped and held hostage by a rogue Shifter and then disowned by her family when she was set free. Now she’s on her own, but determined to put her life back together and leave Shiftertown for good.

But someone is attempting to abduct Shifter cubs, and Maria and Ellison know they must stop him. As Maria works with Ellison to track down the kidnapper, she finds her heart slowly awakening once more. And Ellison realizes that Maria may be just the one to bring light back into his life…

My Thoughts:

I have been totally enthralled with the alternate reality world created by Ms. Ashley in her Shifters Unbound series, and the entry of Lone Wolf is no exception to that. She continues to expand the world, letting us see that there is much more going on with the conflict between Shifter, human, and to a lesser degree, the Fae.

Maria was rescued from a group of feral shifters in a prior book, and because she’s viewed as “tarnished” by her no-good (my opinion and Ellison’s) brother, she’s taken refuge in the Austin Shiftertown while she tries to put the pieces of her life together again. She wants to go to school, become a doctor, and be able to help others. But she isn’t a martyr about it, it’s simply the core of who she is, and how she’s chosen to put herself back together after her horrific experience as a captive and Shifter-cub incubator (tragedy there) over several years.

Ellison. Mm, what is there really to say about Ellison? He’s tall, awesome, and totally devoted to protecting Maria, even before he realizes he wants the mate-claim with her. This leads him to declare a Challenge when fellow Shiftertown resident Broderick tries to claim her, despite her refusal to agree to it.

On top of all the testosterone floating around with the oh-so-eligible and available Shifters, there is a meaty subplot about kidnapping of cubs and humans who want to keep them as pets. Tiger, a created shifter introduced in the same book as Maria, is given a nice role in defending the cubs and taking out the bad guys, all in preparation for his book, #5 in this series, coming out in June.

If you like you some alpha lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) and wolves (Ellison is wolf), and a brave, devoted human who’s trying to make sense of the world after many years in captivity, this is quite the book. You can read it without having read the others, but I highly HIGHLY recommend you read the others in the series. You’ll understand the set up for the book much better and feel a much stronger connection to the myriad characters throughout.

An easy 4/5, edging toward a 4.5/5.

Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

–Review by Victoria

heat Rating 4

ARC Review: Lord of Darkness

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Lord of Darkness

Lord

Elizabeth Hoyt
Grand Central Publishing
Published: February 26, 2013
Description:

 

WHEN STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT
He lives in the shadows. As the mysterious masked avenger known as the Ghost of St. Giles, Godric St. John’s only goal is to protect the innocent of London. Until the night he confronts a fearless young lady pointing a pistol at his head-and realizes she is his wife . . .

BECOME LOVERS . . .
Lady Margaret Reading has vowed to kill the Ghost of St. Giles-the man who murdered her one true love. Returning to London, and to the man she hasn’t seen since their wedding day, Margaret does not recognize the man behind the mask. Fierce, commanding, and dangerous, the notorious Ghost of St. Giles is everything she feared he would be-and so much more . . . 

DESIRE IS THE ULTIMATE DANGER
When passion flares, these two intimate strangers can’t keep from revealing more of themselves than they had ever planned. But when Margaret learns the truth-that the Ghost is her husband-the game is up and the players must surrender . . . to the temptation that could destroy them both.

My Thoughts:

I’ll make no bones about it. I’m a big Elizabeth Hoyt fan, having been blessed with the opportunity to meet her at the first RomCon back in 2010, and came away with the arc of the first book in the Maiden Lane series. Since then, the series has been sort of…meh…for me. Loved the first book, was okay with the second and third, really tepid on the fourth (Winter’s story). This fifth entry in the series completely reversed my declining opinion of the Maiden Lane series.

In the prior book (Thief of Shadows) it was revealed that there was not just one Ghost of St. Giles running around, but rather multiple ones (Winter Makepeace, Godric St. John, and … one more that’s revealed in the course of Lord of Darkness, but I won’t spoil it for you). I’d had my guesses from the very beginning about who the Ghost was, and Winter and Godric would have been at the top of my list, except at the end of an earlier book, both of them had been in the heroine’s view while the Ghost ran around rescuing people.

Anyway, onto the review of this book. Lord of Darkness takes place a healthy time after Thief of Shadows. Godric is on a mission to clean up St. Giles, one of the worst slums in London. He’s continuing to pursue the man who orchestrated the kidnappings of multiple children from the area to work at making fine lace (a story thread started in book 4). He lost his first wife (who appeared briefly in prior books, very ill) and was blackmailed by virtue of someone figuring out he was one of the Ghosts into taking Lady Margaret as his second wife. He is determined never to let himself feel anything for his new (well, two years new, unconsummate) marriage because he loved his first wife so much and suffered as he watched her slowly die over a number of years.

I love the fact that, like most of her heroines, Lady Margaret Reading is neither an innocent when it comes to the marriage bed (though she is pretty close to it) nor is she a shrinking violet when it comes to righting perceived wrongs. She believes the father of the baby she lost was killed by the Ghost two years ago, and has come back to London for two reasons: convince Godric to help her conceive a child, and to hunt down the Ghost who killed her love.

These two collide as she first gets to London, culminating in her actually firing on Godric (without realizing it was him, of course).

The two dance around each other, slowly getting to know each other as they never had. Margaret gets Godric to reluctantly agree to help her get a baby in exchange for her vow that she’ll give up her hunt for her lover’s murderer, though he swears he will never feel anything for her, etc.

This continues for some time even as you can clearly see the feelings between them beginning to develop. They finally get a lead on the aristocrat involved in the lace making endeavor and in the end it’s discovered that the villain was the one who actually killed Margaret’s lover.

The ending was very lovely, and the Georgian world that Elizabeth Hoyt puts together is beautiful even as it is terrible and focuses on the harshness and ugliness of the reality that was the slum of St. Giles.

Lord of Darkness also made it clear who the third Ghost was, went into some more of the history of how the Ghost(s) of St. Giles came to be, and also teased us with the set-up for book 6 in this amazing series.

I highly and unabashedly recommend this book for anyone who loves strong heroines, emotionally tortured heroes who come to love said heroines, and historical romances. Three cheers for Elizabeth Hoyt!

Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

– Review by Victoria

heat Rating 4