moderate kink

Jenny:Virtuous No More-The Novel by Nora Blackstock

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
Jenny: Virtuous No More, The Novel (Complete Set, 1-5)
Grade-D+
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Moderate Kink
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate
I feel that in order for you to understand my feelings on this book, you need to see what initially attracted me to this book. Here it is…
Originally released in five parts, this is the complete edition of theJenny: Virtuous No More series.
Jenny was a good, devoted wife. When her marriage to husband Mark grew distant, she took matters into her own hands to find out if he still loved her. He did, but his confession, and the things he wanted her to do, were shocking. To save her marriage, Jenny embarked on a sexual journey from which there was no turning back. She would no longer be the “good girl” that everyone knew and loved. (From goodreads)
Sounds good, right? I know both Anne and I enjoy the husband/wife trope, and I was hoping for some BDSM thrown in too. I quickly realized that the description was deceiving. It was flagged as being Erotic and Romance on Net Galley. And it was definitely erotic. But I don’t think the romance went past the first dozen pages or so.
From the blurb, we know that Mark has some kink. Turns out he fantasizes about watching Jenny flirt and maybe be fondled by other men. But, what bothered me was that Mark would leave Jenny alone in the bar while she was flirting with others. I wanted him to be a part of it, even from a distance. Get past it, I told myself and kept reading. Well, it kept getting a little worse, and a little worse. But I kept reading because I kept hoping that it would turn into the romance I was hoping for. But it never did.
Turns out Jenny becomes instantly attracted to Nathaniel, a man who approaches her on their first visit to the bar. She becomes infatuated with him and is soon sleeping with him. What starts out with Mark’s approval, even though he’s not in the room, quickly turns into Jenny keeping secrets from Mark. But then, wait for it…it turns out that Nathaniel is part of a 3 man con team. They go around the world seducing women and then blackmailing their husbands. But the FBI is onto them. So by the end, the bad guys are caught and Mark and Jenny’s relationship is left up in the air.
And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, the sluttier Jenny became, the worse the editing got. There were so many spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. For example at one point, the word “angle” appears while I think the author meant “ankle.” The errors really pulled me out of the story. Although I’m not really sure why I’m complaining about that, since it wasn’t that great of a story for me anyway.
So yes, the sex was hot (we’re talking m/f and m/f/m/m). But the rest of the story was nothing close to what I would call a romance.

Beyond Jealousy by Kit Rocha

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
Beyond Jealousy (Beyond, #4)
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Dystopian, Menage
Series: Beyond #4
Published: 3/16/14
Reviewed by Anne
262 ebook pages

Note: These Beyond books really need to be read in order.  I think you’d be pretty lost trying to jump in at this point, but don’t worry, they’re worth your reading time!

Rachel has had a thing for Ace since she first met him, but when he kept pushing her away, she fell for Cruz.  When she and Cruz broke up, she found herself with feelings for both Ace and Cruz.  To top it off, she watches Ace and Cruz circling their attraction for each other.  So it seems inevitable that they’ll see what happens when the three of them come together.

This was a very hot book.  It was also very intense.  It also turned out to be the kind of story that felt one way when I was reading it, and a different way.  When I was reading it I was totally absorbed and enjoyed it.  When I was done and thought back on it, I had some issues.

So here goes.  I loved the heat and intensity between the three of them.  I loved that it’s a menage that goes every which way – the guys have a thing for each other as well as for Rachel.  The way their relationship develops and their individual issues all seemed very believable to me.  The O’Kanes just accepted their triad relationship with no qualms, and that was very cool.  I really enjoyed their story!

But then after I finished and thought back on it… there were things that bothered me some.  Probably the biggest one is that their triad relationship is the first one ever mentioned in the series.  They were the first, but no one blinked an eye.  It seemed like there would have been some blowback about it.  I mean, these are the O’Kanes, so obviously they’re down with pretty much anything.  It would have made more sense to me to either mention that this had been done before or to have to do a little more groundbreaking work.  I also felt like the ending was a little rushed.  I would have liked a HFN rather than a HEA in this situation, because they all had a lot of issues to work through and not much time together.

However, I think all of this is colored by where the series is going.  It’s become a bit more complicated and political.  This absolutely make sense, and it’s clearly where the series was headed from the beginning, but I liked the simpler days of the first few books better.  This is definitely a personal issue for me.  I love a good series, but I generally enjoy the first books better because they are simpler.  Because the politics and details are getting more complicated as the series goes on – which they need to do, from a world building perspective – the books now have more of a suspense aspect to them.  There’s danger.  The characters’ safety is not a for sure thing.  I know that’s always been the case, but I saw that more in this book.  In fact, it’s getting unrealistic that no one gets killed.  And there’s my dilemma.  It’s part of why i don’t read romantic suspense.  I want things to feel realistic, and when a world is built and I have to worry about everyone’s safety, it’s not as fun a read for me any more.

All of that is a personal issue for me, and it reflects how I read the book and how I felt about it.  Still, I can say it was a good read and I’ll keep reading the series.  There are some teaser chapters building up to future books that leave me wanting to know more!  In fact, I hate cliff hangers, so I’m just pretending like I didn’t read the last chapter altogether!  (No worries, the last chapter isn’t about Rachel, Cruz, and Ace, it’s a cliffie about other characters in the series.)

A final word about what I like.  I will keep reading this series, despite the increased suspense, because I love the strong female characters and the O’Kane society that accepts each person for who they are.  The O’Kanes remind me of an MC (Motorcycle Club) except that their women are valued members of the gang.  I love that!

And now a final, final word… Kit Rocha does self-publishing right!  The book is really well formatted.  The ARC I received was darn near perfect and easily readable on my Bluefire reader app.  They’ve laid out a pricing plan that benefits the reader who buys in the first month.  So you can buy the book and not worry that next week it will be 99c.  I always know I’m getting a quality product with Kit Rocha!

Up In Knots by Gillian Archer

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
Up In Knots (Pleasure Code, #2)
Grade-B-
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Moderate Kink
Series-Pleasure Code #2
Genre-BDSM/ Menage
Reviewed by Kate
216 pages
 
Kyla is finally ready to get back into the BDSM scene after her Dom passed away 2 years ago. She’s not looking for a commitment, so she knows just who she wants to top her for her first time. Sawyer is a Dom well known for his rope work. It’s at one of his seminars that Kyla first approaches him. Because neither Sawyer nor Kyla is looking for anything long term, Sawyer agrees to top Kyla and help her ease back into things while at the same time introducing her to other Doms. But, being a romance, we all know that Kyla and Sawyer are destined to be together. The chemistry between the pair is a like a supernova and continues to burn brightly throughout the story.
 
I enjoyed this book. A lot. Usually by the time I am done reading a book, it is filled with tons of highlights and notes, but this one kept me turning pages so quickly that I only managed to make 5 notes. I was that engrossed in the story.
 
I have not read the first book in this series and had no trouble understanding this one. It can definitely be read as a stand-alone. I have added the first book to my TBR pile, as well as adding Gillian Archer to my list of authors to watch. I look forward to seeing what she comes out with next.