inferno

Menage Monday — Bonds of Desire by Lynda Aicher

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Bonds of Desire (Wicked Play, #3)
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: Contemporary, BDSM

Series: Wicked Play #3
Published: 7/15/13
Reviewed by Kate
229 pages 


I have been reading menage and BDSM for a while now. When I run across a book that incorporates both I get a little excited. When I run across one that puts both the BDSM and the menage together like this one does, I walk around with a smile on my face for a week afterwards. Let’s see, what can I tell you about this book without sounding too gushy?

First off, the initial chapter is dark and tense and will suck you in and not let you go (it’s why I gave this book a high kink level). Tyler, a male escort, has been brought to the Den by a sadistic Dom. And when the scene goes wrong, Seth is the first one to rush to his side. Seth, a co-owner of the Den, has seen Tyler at the Den a few times before and always felt drawn to him. The Den calls Allie, a lawyer, in to council Tyler. Allie feels an immediate pull toward both Tyler and Seth. Allie and Seth take Tyler to the hospital and convince him to recover at Seth’s place. Tyler agrees, but he’ll only stay if Allie stays as well.

And so we have a set up that places Seth, Allie, and Tyler together in Seth’s place. And then the story gets really good. Each of the trio is drawn to the other two. Seth is a Dom, through and through and has never entertained the thought of having 2 subs, until now. Tyler couldn’t imagine wanting to be under another Dom after everything he’s been through, but there’s something so settling about being around Seth and Allie. Allie has been raised to think that anything outside of a vanilla mindset is wrong. So how can she be attracted to not only 2 men, but 2 men who are attracted to each other as well?

I have to say, Allie is the best heroine that I’ve run across in a long time. The inner turmoil she goes through is soooo realistic. Most of my notes were about agreeing with the feelings she was having. I could completely understand the doubts she had and I appreciated a heroine who was a bit reluctant without being tiresome, or annoying, or whiny.

I also love the relationship that develops during the course of the story. Despite being a co-owner of a BDSM club, Seth is not into pain at all. He doesn’t even go for the titles of Master or Sir. Allie is definitely a sub. Tyler falls somewhere in the middle. He’s a sub with Seth, but takes on more of a Dom role with Allie.

Perhaps I have been reading too much of the hardcore BDSM books out there right now. But I really enjoyed this more gentle look at a relationship that became more about the connections than the pain. The first two books in this series are more hardcore than this one. But this one could be read completely on it’s own with no issues.

I’ve added an auto-read author to my relatively short list. Lynda Aicher continues to impress me with her characters and storytelling. I’m looking forward to catching up on her backlist and anxiously awaiting book 4 in this series.  I think it’s become obvious that I enjoy both ménage and BDSM books.  And when they can be combined?  I’m in heaven  How about you?  Are there any sub-genres that you love to see together?  Cowboy sci-fi?  M/M historical?

Game Misconduct by Bianca Sommerland

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Game Misconduct (The Dartmouth Cobras, #1)
Grade: DNF
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: Contemporary, ménage

Series: The Dartmouth Cobras #1
Reviewed by Kate
351 pages 
 

Oriana is the spoiled little rich girl daughter of a hockey team owner.  Now, she’s not the only child of said hockey team owner.  She has a sister, Silver, a manipulative bitch who is extremely sexually adventurous.  She also had a brother who died, but apparently his dream was to play pro hockey. His death prompted his father to buy the hockey team.  Now her father is all about appearances.  It’s important that his life appears hunky-dory at all times.  His daughter Silver has caused some problems in the past, problems that he’s dealt with by caving in.  And in turn Silver has learned that manipulation is the best way to deal with dear old dad.  Oriana, however has done her best to be the perfect daughter.  She’s even dating the team coach, Paul, a real douche of a guy.  But when she catches Paul cheating, she decides to walk away.  Daddy-o however has other plans.  He’s been helping Paul hide his affair (father-of-the-year award, ladies and gentlemen) and wants Oriana to pretend it never happened as well.  Otherwise he’s going to cut her off, and that means she won’t be able to finish med-school.

So this is where it starts going all kitty-wompas (is that really a phrase?).  The perfectly logical to solution to Oriana’s dilemma is obviously blackmail (I mean it worked for her sister).  The assistant coach Tim helps her come up with the idea (because apparently someone going to med school isn’t smart enough to figure this one out on her own).  Oriana is going to go into the bathroom at the arena with 5 of the players and then Oriana is going to leave the bathroom wearing only a jersey.  So the security cameras will show that she got down and dirty with 5 of the team players, when actually, she didn’t.  Pretty straight forward, right?

 

Except apparently she has some feelings for one of the players Max, and he likes to watch other people having sex.  And Max has a thing for Oriana, and watching Oriana with all his buddies.  And somehow the security footage just doesn’t come out conveying the message that they want it to convey.  So they’ll have to do it again.  But this time, it will be at the boys home (all 5 players share a house) and this time they’ll actually do it.

So this is what bothers me about this book.
  1. The warning in the Kindle store for this book reads “This ebook contains material not suitable for readers under 18.  In also contains scenes that some may find objectionable, including BDSM, ménage sex, bondage, anal sex, sex toys, double penetration, voyeurism, edge play, and hockey equipment being used inappropriately.”  I read the warning before downloading the book, so I felt I was fully prepared.  However I was a little shocked to discover that the ménage sex they were talking about was actually with all 5 players (even though there are only 2 guys shown on the cover).
  2. I found it extremely hard to figure out who was who.  Each player was know by both their first and last name, although never at the same time.  So I was constantly wondering if Dominik was the same person as Vanek or was he maybe Mason?  And maybe the sex scenes would have worked more had I knew who was where and doing what.  Maybe it would have felt like there was more of a connection between the characters.
  3. I really feel like Oriana felt like this was a perfectly viable option.  Crap, Dad’s gonna cut me off and I really want to finish med school, so I guess a gang bang is the perfect solution.  Seriously!?  Ever heard of student loans?  Or maybe scholarships?  I’m kind of thinking I wouldn’t want her as my doctor because she doesn’t actually really seem that smart.
  4. I read to the 37% marking (and there are a few previews at the end, so I was actually more than 37% into the story).  And I think there’s a huge case of too many Doms in the kitchen, or I guess that should be the dungeon.  All 5 players were Doms?  Well, except maybe TJ, he just seemed to be along for the ride.
The thing is, I’m okay with BDSM, and I’m okay with ménage (I’m actually okay with everything else listed in the warning).  I’ve even read a fair share of large group ménage (I think 9 people involved is the most I’ve read though).  But this one just felt off for me. It left me feeling dirty, but not in a good way.  Part of me feels like I need to finish the book.  Maybe it will get better.  It has quite a few good reviews.  But most of me is just glad that I didn’t waste any money on this one (it was a freebie).
 
 

Turn and Burn by Lorelei James

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Turn and Burn (Blacktop Cowboys, #5)
Grade: D+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary

Series: Blacktop Cowboys #5
Published: 8/6/13
Reviewed by Kate
368 pages 


Tanna was hurt in a barrel racing accident and hasn’t been able to get on a horse again. Unfortunately, that kind of leaves her floundering as barrel racing was her life. She agrees to help some friends out with their resort over the summer. Fletch is an overworked veterinarian. But when he hooks up with Tanna, who he calls ‘Sugar Twang’ (she shall forever be ‘Sugar Twang’ in my head), he feels the longing for something more. But he’s definitely tied to the area while Sugar Twang is only there temporarily. How can the two of them possibly work?

Okay, that’s all that general stuff you can get by reading the book description (well, except for the Sugar Twang bit, I threw that in for a bonus). Now, onto what you really want to know.

I think that we all know that Lorelei James succeeds at writing series that keep us coming back for more and more and more. Turn and Burn is filled with all the things that should keep you coming back for more. It is a solid entry into the series, but it didn’t blow my socks off. There was nothing extremely memorable about either Fletch or Sugar Twang. And unfortunately, a day later, I’m already forgetting them a bit. Fans of Lorelei James, and especially her Blacktop Cowboys series, will enjoy this one, but I don’t think this is the best example of her writing.

The other thing I think I need to address in this one is Fletch’s nickname for Tanna. Sugar Twang. Now I’m generally fine with nicknames. But for some reason this one grated wrong. And it was on every page. I didn’t enjoy the book as much because every time I read it, it pulled me out of the story a bit. Sugar Twang? *shuddering*

So, obviously Sugar Twang is not my favorite nickname.  How about you?  Are you pro-nickname or anti-nickname?  What are the ones you’ve loved or hated?