mild kink

Eyes Wide Open by Raine Miller

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Eyes Wide Open (The Blackstone Affair, #3)
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Mild
Series-The Blackstone Affair #3
Reviewed by Kay

This novel continues the saga of Ethan Blackstone, a security mogul and Brynne Bennett, a model and art student. They have a very passionate love affair going on. This installment picks up right where the last one left off. There’s still her stalker that’s on the loose and creeping closer and closer. After a near attack, they flee the city and try to figure out the best course of action to deal with him. When they are gone they gain knowledge of something else that could change their relationship.

I really don’t want to say too much since this novel is very much anticipated by many people. I will say that there’s a lot of gratuitous sex. The story itself seems to be the filler which I don’t really care for. The sex is descriptive and hot, but too much, even for me. I had kind of hoped she’d stop with this book but I saw on another review site that there’s a part four at least.

I didn’t hate but I sure didn’t love it either. It is worth reading if you’re fully vested in the series though.

One Night Of Misbehavior by Shelley Munro

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

One Night of Misbehavior
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Mild Kink
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay

Two people meet at a masquerade ball and engage in a night of unforgettable sex. Ash, the hero, is a business mogul and keeps his heart to himself. Charlotte, is an orphaned girl raised by her hateful stepmother. This should’ve been a terrible mismatch but instead it was a fantastic love story with a fairytale twist.

After their night of sex neither of the two main characters can forget the other. Too bad they don’t know who the other is. Charlotte goes to an interview for a job at Ash’s company and they recognize each other because of the rose she left at the scene. Charlotte gets the job and she pays for it when she gets home. Her stepmother and stepsisters make her life a living hell. She has no place to go and is basically their slave. Her only bright spot is her step grandmother, who she adores and the feeling is mutual. Charlotte has to decline the job because of her grandma’s Lupus but Ash won’t let her go.  Ash knows she’s the real deal and lets his heart open up. Ash has been burned before both literally and figuratively. He even has the scars to prove it.

This was a great read and spin on a mix of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. I loved every second of it. My one and only complaint was, in the middle, it drug for about 10%. It picked up from there and it was back to being wonderful. It is going on my best of 2013 list.

Dark Wolf by Kate Douglas

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Dark Wolf (Spirit Wild, #1)

Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Low Kink
Genre: Shifter, menage
Series: Spirit Wild #1
Reviewed by Anne
 
Lily is a successful leader in her community of Chanku (shifters).  They are known in the human world and she’s sort of an unofficial princess and official representative of her people.  Sebastian is the son of the Chanku’s most outspoken opponent.  Lily’s Chanku heritage allows her to shift into a wolf, and she has magic as well.  Sebastian uses magic alone to shift into wolf form. Sebastian grew up separated from his father, only discovering his existence when his mother was dying.  Despite her objections, Sebastian sought out his father and is now regretting his actions. 
Recently a serial rapist and killer has been attacking human women.  The women are raped and then savaged by wolves, which points to a Chanku killer.  However, Sebastian also has weird things going on in his life that make him wonder if he or his father are somehow involved.
 
This book really worked for me!  Though it’s listed as first in a series on Goodreads, I could tell as I read that there had been books before it.  A little research shows that this Spirit Wild series is a spin off or next generation series from the Wolf Tales (and other books) the author has written.  Still, I read Dark Wolf with no problems keeping up with the many characters.  I also thought the world building was done well.  It came in little pieces as I read, and again, I had no problems keeping up. 

The book reminded me of Lora Leigh’s Breeds series and Kit Rocha’s O’Kane books.  Lora Leigh because of the animalistic, even in human form, characters as well as their highly sexual nature.  The Kit Rocha comparison comes because of the multi partner accepting and sexually open society the Chanku have.  Initially that caught me off guard, but I liked the community the author created.  I was a bit surprised at how accepting Sebastian was of this when he learned of it.  That was a bit unrealistic for me.  I did like their society/pack and enjoyed reading about it.
 
Another small weakness to me was in the secondary storyline between Annie and Alex.  Annie pops on the scene with no mention her beforehand around page 100.  She’s been out of the country and mostly out of touch for years, but suddenly she and Lily are best friends.  I also thought the Annie and Alex story arc felt a bit rushed, but that was just a minor quibble for me.

The sex scenes were very well done and hot.  I enjoyed them!  Lily and Sebastian were great characters and I could really understand where they were coming from.  I liked the world the book took place in a lot.  I’ve already mentioned the sexually accepting society, but I also liked the pack and mate telepathy as well as the mate bonding.  The women were strong and essential parts of their pack, which I appreciated. Lily even came across as stronger and more sure of herself than Sebastian, and it’s rare to see something like that in a romance, and especially to have it work so well!  

Sometimes the things going on seemed a little over the top, but I liked it overall enough to set aside those moments.  I’m putting this book on my Best of 2013 list and I really look forward to reading another book in this series!