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Contemporary Romance

Overdue for Pleasure by Shelley Aikens

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ISBN: 9781426890703
Publisher: Carina Press

Mandy is content with her job as a librarian, her longtime boyfriend, Martin, and the lovely home they share. So what if their sex life is vanilla? She’s not the wild type anyway.

But when she wakes up one morning-unsatisfied-from an erotic dream starring her favorite movie star, Mandy starts to crave sexual adventure in real life. Too bad Martin won’t oblige, because it’s not Tuesday or Friday. Then Mandy finds out what Martin’s been doing the other days of the week-or rather, who. And suddenly she needs to prove to herself that she’s not boring in bed.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of smoking-hot men willing to help her on her sensual quest: a nameless library patron who could be Brad Pitt’s twin, a coworker she suddenly sees in a different light, and the neighbor who usually rubs her the wrong way wants to show her he can rub her the oh-so-right way, too! Lucky for Mandy, her lovers are more than willing to share…

Overdue for Pleasure by Shelley Aikens is a book that I received for review from NetGalley.  I’ve been trying to read books outside my comfort zone lately, and thought this book would fit the bill!

As you can read from the blurb, Mandy, the main character of this book wakes up one morning and her whole life changes.  She goes to work at the library, only to be tempted by a stranger.  This encounter leaves her so unsettled that she decides to head off on a buying trip, only to have a fantasy encounter with another stranger on the bus.  At this point, she is so unsettled that she decides to abandon her day and head home, only to find her long time boyfriend, Martin, at home, obviously having recently had sex with someone.  In a fit of anger, she throws Martin and all his possessions out of the home they were sharing.  What a horrible day!

This book is written from the point of view of Mandy and written almost as a dreamy fantasy.  It seems that Mandy feels out of control of her life and she is drifting from one fantasy encounter to another.   She goes from being a person who has her life all set for her at the beginning of the book, through a period of uncertainty and exploration, to finally a more settled state at the end of the book.  This book is quite graphic;  it is billed as Erotica.  As such, there is alot of sex in the book, but there is also a good story line.  The life of Mandy over the short period that the book covers is well conveyed.  Her character goes through alot of change.  Although some of the characters are a bit inconsistent, the character of Mandy is well fleshed out.

The pace of the book is good and this book can serve as some nice light, spicy reading for a few hours.  Not for the faint of heart!

Second Chances by Lauren Dane

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Publisher: Carina Press
ISBN: 9781426890697

Ten years ago, Rori Simon left town shy, unattractive and with zero self-esteem. Now she’s back, older, stronger and finally loving herself-and it shows. Hot men are soon knocking at her door, including Jude Callahan, the bad boy who starred in her teenage daydreams…and her adult fantasies.
Jude can’t believe the sexy, confident woman before him is actually Rori! She’s gotten under his skin like no other woman has…and she brings out secret desires he can’t resist. He wants to dominate Rori with every fiber of his being. Wants to own her and pleasure her. To cherish her as he makes her his.
Rori discovers she likes being controlled. She also knows Jude is not a one-woman man. Everything changes when she meets Zach Helm. Edgy, sensual Zach knows just what she needs, and before long, she’s in love. Jude watches them together and wonders if he’s lost his chance forever…

I requested and received a copy of Second Chances by Lauren Dane from NetGalley to read and review. I had seen various blogs lately posting comments about this book and thought it looked interesting. I was not disappointed!

As the marketing blurb for the book says, Rori Simon returns to the small town she grew up in. She left Oakley ten years ago a different person than she is now. In the years since she has left, she has shed some weight, gotten a university degree, done some traveling and is now a published writer. She is recently out of a relationship with a boyfriend who cheated and is done with the lying male segment of the population. She returns to her sister and her husband and two boys, all of whom she is very fond of, and a mother who is on her third husband who she is not so fond of.

Her arrival in town creates quite the stir and within hours she has a date with her high school crush, Jude, and a new apartment in his complex. Jude is well known for his serial dating, but Rori thinks she could have something special with him. Sadly, he’s part of the population that is male and a liar, so he’s kicked to the curb. He’s replaced with Zach, the younger brother of one of her high school girlfriends. As you can tell by the blurb, she falls in love with Zach, and Jude realizes that he has lost out.

I don’t want to spoil the storyline for anyone wanting to read this book, so I won’t give away anymore of the story! I was totally blown away by this story! I’m not sure what I expected. I do tend to gravitate towards the Regency Romance and only read contemporary romance on occasion because I don’t find them as romantic. This book proves that theory wrong! Yes, this book has plenty of sex in it, and most of it is pretty graphic. There is a fair amount of BDSM in this book also. That doesn’t detract from the absolutely heart-wrenching love story that develops. At one point in the book, I actually had tears running down my face when I was reading a particularly touching part.

Zach is a great hero for the story. He is strong, without being overbearing; mature for his age and confident in what he likes. He absolutely cherishes Rori – a beautiful thing to read about! Rori is a confident woman who is open to new experiences and despite her history with a cheating boyfriend, she doesn’t paint all men with the same brush. The character I liked the most was Jude. Although he got kicked to the curb at the beginning of the book by Rori for his lying, he learns from this and grows as a person. The Jude at the end of the book is a much better human being than the skirt chaser that exists at the beginning of the book!

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This book is a keeper, and I am going looking for more written by this author!

CymLowell

Against The Wind by Kat Martin

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I have been eagerly anticipating this new series by Kat Martin!  I am a long time reader of her’s and when I found the ARC available on NetGalley, I sent a request to Harlequin to read it.  I was so excited when my request was approved!

Against the Wind is the first book in Kat Martin’s latest series about the “no account Raines boys”.  In the trailers, the “Raines Boys” Jackson, Gabe and Dev are now all grown up and ready to accept love. Here’s the trailer so you can have a sneak peak at Ms. Martin’s next set of three books due out in the new year.

Jackson was humiliated in high school by his secret crush, Sarah, when she refused to attend the prom with him.  He headed off to college on a boxing scholarship and has since made millions of dollars.  He longed to be back in Wind Canyon and bought Raintree Ranch and has become a rancher.

Sarah Allen packs up her daughter and leaves L.A., hoping to leave ugly memories behind.  Her husband has been murdered and no one seems overly motivated to solve the murder, least of all her.  He spent years beating her and spending time with a series of mistresses.  Although when they married, he had lots of money, his spending habits and his gambling problems left Sarah almost penniless and his estate massively in debt.

Sarah leaves L.A. to return to Wind Canyon, the town of her childhood where she felt safe.  It seems that the cabin she has arranged to rent for her and Holly, her daughter, is on Raintree Ranch, now owned by Jackson.  Jackson doesn’t want her living on his property because of what happened in high school, but he’s immediately attracted to her again, and decides to let her stay.  Unfortunately Sarah’s problems have followed her from L.A.  Her cabin is ransacked and she is confronted in town by a man with a gun.  Everyone seems to be looking for a list or a disc containing her late husband’s blackmail information.  I’ll leave the rest of the story for you to read without spoiling the details!

The pacing of this story is good.  The reader is gently lead along through the details of what’s happened in the past as well as the current story.  We are kept in suspense at times, but not left missing an essential piece of the puzzle as happens in some stories.
Jackson is a strong hero without being too alpha.  Often when authors create cowboys they seem to create an over-the-top unrealistic character.  Jackson is strong and capable, decisive without being overbearing.    He loves kids and is capable of opening up to love.  Sarah has been through a rough time with her husband, but sees to have few lasting effects from the beatings and abuse she got from her dead husband.  She is portrayed as a loving mother to her daughter and determined to make a new, safe life for them.  The problems that follow Sarah from L.A. make for an interesting twist on the story.  They allow us to meet Jackson’s brothers.  We mainly learn about Dev, the investigator, who helps Jackson and Sarah sort through information in order to determine who is behinds all the threats.

There is gentle chemistry between Jackson and Sarah. I’m used to glitter filled historical romances that Kat Martin writes.  The swash-buckling heros of the Necklace trilogy or the alpha men in the Heart trilogy.  This is a different style of novel from what I’m used to reading from Ms. Martin.   This isn’t a book filled with clothing flying and graphic details, it is the progression of a love story with just enough details to be titillating.  There are enough suspenseful moments to keep the story interesting without suspense being the overwhelming theme.  This is a comfortable book to spend a stormy afternoon with!
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