Beneath Montana's Sky by Debra Holland

Beneath Montana's Sky by Debra Holland

The Montana Sky Series, Prequel

Publisher: Debra Holland (June 2014)

125 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $0.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: White Heart

After his foreman's family is lost to a wagon accident, John finds himself the guardian of the sole survivor of the family, 13-year-old Nick, and suddenly John has a reason to go back to Boston and look for a bride. A great look into how things began in Sweetwater Springs, with John Carter and Pamela's story, and it makes me want to reread Wild Montana Sky (with Nick and Elizabeth) which takes up the story 11 years later. I almost feel like I need a timeline to keep it all straight, the way the stories in this series are being written out of order, but it is really nice to go back and be able to fill in gaps and bits of history from the series that I wondered about a time or two. John and Pamela's courtship was so sweet and I loved the little notes he left on her pillow. Great Series!

Giving In by Maya Banks

Giving In by Maya Banks

The Surrender Trilogy, Book 2

Publisher: Berkley (May 2014)

305 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $7.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

Kylie has issues from an abusive childhood, making a dominant man like Jensen an unlikely choice for her to become involved in a relationship with, but the parallels in their past and the demons they each face may just make them the perfect match, if Jensen can get Kylie to give him a chance to find out.  I really liked this story. Kylie's background forced Jensen to be creative and his vow to be completely hands off in the bedroom was certainly an interesting twist. This wasn't the traditional BDSM type of story I was expecting, knowing Jensen's background, but seeing a Dom give up control when it was needed, was powerful in itself and I liked the way Jensen helped Kylie to grow and take charge of her life, after drowning in grief and self-loathing for so long. I'm looking forward to reading the last book in this series, Taking it All, due out in August. Everyone's been tiptoeing around Chessy and Tate's situation since Book 1 in this series, and I'm eager to see it finally resolved!

The Dom Project by Solace Ames and Heloise Belleau

The Dom Project by Solace Ames and Heloise Belleau

LA Doms Series, Book 1

Publisher: Carina Press (December 2013)

157 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $2.51)

Book Rating: 3 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

Robin is having difficulty finding a compatible Dom, so when she finds out her friend John is an experience Dom, they decide to test the waters with no-sex D/s play, in an effort to help her narrow down just exactly what she's looking for in a Dom. I found it a little unbelievable that two people professing to be each other's best friend knew so little about the sexual lifestyle that seemed to be such a big part of each other's life, and yet kept secret from the other. Robin was a bit whiny, rigid and quick to judge, but I did feel for her as she hit the bumps in the road in her search for a compatible sexual partner. John is such an easy character to like and my only frustration with him was how long it took for him to get it out in the open his true feelings about the situation. I also wish the ending was a bit more definite about the arrangement they ended up with in the end. Overall, decent short read.

Tomorrow's Much Too Long by Solace Ames

Tomorrow's Much Too Long by Solace Ames

LA Doms Series, Prequel

Publisher: Solace Ames (December 2013)

45 pages, eBook (available as a Free Read on Author’s website)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

This short story describes a young man's first experience with BDSM at a college party with a lesbian death metal couple. John was an easy character to like, very unbiased and open to most anything, and he was a reassuring narrator for this strange and somewhat unlikely experience that he takes us through. It wasn't very graphic, instead keeping to a general description of the events and focusing on John's thoughts about the experience, as opposed to detailing everything that happened to him. Interesting prelude to the first book in this series, The Dom Project.

Chance of a Lifetime by Emma Connor

Chance of a Lifetime by Emma Connor

Last Chance Brides Series, Book 2

Publisher: Eve Paludan Books (June 2014)

106 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $2.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: White Heart

Josh saw a business opportunity in bringing women west to their booming new town in Washington, for the numerous bachelors seeking a wife, but he never intended to get one for himself, having no desire to be tied down to one woman, but Hannah caught his eye from the moment he saw her and he just couldn't get her out of his head.  Josh was a little frustrating, being resistant without any really good reason to be so, but I like how his friends talked him around in the end. I felt sorry for poor Hannah, but I really liked her. She was strong and spirited, without being abrasive, and I liked her determination. This is a fairly short story, but I still felt that we got to know both Josh and Hannah fairly well, even delving into their fascinating pasts a bit. There are so many interesting characters! I'm looking forward to reading Cole and Vivian's story next in Chance of Love!

Savage Kind of Love by Nicole Snow

Savage Kind of Love by Nicole Snow

Prairie Devils MC, Book 3

Publisher: Ice Lips Press (June 2014)

203 pages, eBook (provided by Author for review)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

Saffron is trying to support a disabled mother after her older brother ran out on them a while back, and stripping at the Prairie Devils night club is the only way she can think of to make the kind of money she needs to keep afloat. After a few run-ins with the rival Grizzlies MC, Saffron's caught Blaze's attention for good, affording her Prairie Devils MC protection, but a brother newly returned and sporting Grizzlies colors isn't helping matters. As in the other stories in this series, both the hero and heroine in this story are unapologetic and brutal about exacting their vengeance, and I think it is refreshing to see a female wear such feelings and actions without appearing too petulant (usually vengeance is a man's domain, but these stories tweak that a bit). Saffron wasn't innocent or clean-cut, she had a bit of dirt in her past and it made her very real for me. Blaze could be selfish and a bit of a brute, but once he made his decision, his devotion to Saffron was awesome and I liked his determination. I hope Tank and Emma's story is next! Great series!

Doctor’s Orders by Powerone

Doctor’s Orders by Powerone

Publisher: Sizzler Editions (June 2014)

175 pages, eBook (provided by Author for review)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

Priscilla, is a young woman in her mid-twenties with low self-esteem and others problems stemming from a "vivid imagination," so when she is offered complimentary therapy as a benefit of her new job as an assistant to Dr. Michael, she jumps at the chance to make use of the doctor's unorthodox treatment methods. While this includes plenty of brutal scenarios, I thought this story was a little more tame than others I've read by this author. I liked the way Dr. Michael helped Priscilla become more confident in herself and feel more comfortable about her perverse desires, without becoming involved with her himself. He was kind of like, the guiding hand in the background. This story includes: voyeurism, exhibitionism, F/F, and other multiple partner scenarios. Enjoyable Read!

Frozen Trip by Emily Wendling

Frozen Trip by Emily Wendling

Bondage/BDSM Collection, Issue 2

Publisher: Yellow Dragon Publishing (June 2014)

29 pages, eBook (provided to me by the author)

Book Rating: 2 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

This is actually two stories (New York Legal and Frozen Trip).

New York Legal is about Naomi, a Jewish young woman trying to make her way up the ranks in a law firm after finishing law school and dealing with unbelievable sexual harassment from the senior partners in the firm. Bubba (stereotypical large, angry black man) is performing his janitorial duties after hours, when Naomi offends him verbally and he decides to force himself on her in revenge. This starts out as non-consensual and gradually moves into more of a dubious consent realm. 

Frozen Trip is about two sisters, Jean and Rachel, heading back home for Christmas break when they get a flat tire and are stranded on a deserted road in frigid temperatures. Edward and his brother, Jason, come by in their SUV, seeming to be the help the sisters needed, but they have dastardly ideas about how they will get paid for giving the girls a ride.

Both these stories featured graphic descriptions of disgusting men that were brutally violent about taking what they wanted from the women in question, none of the men caring that it was against the woman's will (and for the most part the men enjoyed that fact). I can't really say that this is my cup of tea, but I did think the non-consensual scenarios seemed fairly realistically written. They'll probably give me nightmares.

Janitor's Closet by Emily Wendling

Janitor's Closet by Emily Wendling

Bondage/BDSM Collection, Issue 1

Publisher: Emily Wendling (March 2014)

15 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $2.99)

Book Rating: 1 Star

Sensuality: Red Heart

Linda is working in a night club in 1973 and after making a phone call, she is pulled into a Janitor's closet and sexually assaulted by a large, black patron who was upset that he didn't get to have her wait on his table. This graphically depicts a physically brutal sexual assault of a young woman and I believe it would be disturbing to many readers. Aside from the content, this was very difficult to read due to the large number of spelling and grammatical errors that it contained, it was like a rough draft in bad need of proofreading.

A Simple Christmas by Blaire Brand

A Simple Christmas by Blaire Brand

Publisher: Blaire Brand (January 2014)

20 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $0.99)

Book Rating: 3 Stars

Sensuality: White Heart

Nathan, has a crush on the neighbor girl, Lucy, and is happy when he is asked by his mother to take her into town for supplies on Christmas Eve, but they get stuck in a snowstorm on the way home and are forced to take shelter in a hunting cabin. This was a sweet little story about a girl noticing the quiet young man that had always been around but she'd never taken notice of before. I really liked Nathan's character (shy, quiet and thought by some to be lacking in intelligence) feeling it had so much potential to get interesting, but it fell a little flat for me when it became apparent that nothing much was going to happen, other than Lucy figuring out a few things internally. Nevertheless, decent read for the length.

A Fresh Start for Tori by Becca Van

A Fresh Start for Tori by Becca Van

Slick Rock Series, Book 11

Publisher: Siren Publishing (May 2014)

118 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $4.79)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Sensuality: Red Heart

With no job and no firm plans, Tori decides to visit her friend Felicity, hoping the move to Slick Rock might be permanent after all the good things she'd heard about the town from her friend . . . what she didn't expect (and didn't want) was to be courted by the three Katz brothers (Luther, Jeremiah and Bryant) with tenacious determination. Tori was an interesting character, her past making her cautious about trust or getting involved in a relationship, but I really liked her down-to-earth personality. The Katz brothers were sweet, each a little different of course, and I loved that they just kept at Tori until she relented, paying no attention to the fact that she gave them little encouragement in the beginning to continue doing so. You have to love a determined man that won't back down . . . and three can only be better. I hope the Wendall brothers (Trick, Trent and Tristan) are next!