A Reviews

Caine’s Reckoning by Sarah McCarty

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Historical
Series: Hell’s Eight #1
Published: 11/1/07
Reviewed by Kate
474  pages

When Caine and his buddies ride in a rescue some women who have been kidnapped, Desi is the only one fighting the kidnappers.  And she’s the only one who doesn’t want to be returned to town.  She doesn’t want to return to her life as a sex slave.  When the reverend calls in a favor, Caine marries Desi and takes her back to his home.  But is there a way that Desi can recover from her violent past and become the wife that she wants to be for Caine?

This one has got that marriage of convenience trope that I adore, but with a kick.  Caine doesn’t really want to marry Desi, but he owes the reverend a favor and he’s a man of his word.  Plus he doesn’t feel he can really return Desi to the life she was living.  Desi is so strong.  Life hasn’t broken her.  It only seems to have made her stronger.  But there’s a fragility under her fighting surface and Caine is the one who finally allows her to start healing.

I have re-read this one more times than I can count.  There’s just something about this one that reaches out and won’t let me go.  There’s obviously quite a bit of drama dealing with Desi’s past, so if you’re looking for a light hearted, low conflict historical this isn’t it.  However, I would strongly recommend it to any fans of historicals with a bit of edge to them.

Willing Victim by Cara McKenna – Anne’s review

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

This is Anne’s birthday week, so we’re going to spend two days on one of her favorite books of all time.  Yesterday was  Kate’s review, and now, Anne’s review.

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Grade: A+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Contemporary, BDSM
Published: 8/6/10
Reviewed by Anne
105 ebook pages

This is one of my favorite books of all time.  I’ve been pressuring Kate to read it.  And when I say pressuring I mean that I annoyed her to the point that she probably read it just to get me to stop bringing it up.  I thought she’d LOVE it just like me.  But she read it and said it was pretty good.  Pretty good?  Seriously?  Now I feel the need to defend this awesome story.  So if you’re looking for an unbiased review?  You should probably go read Kate’s review.

  1. Flynn – a tattoed, rough and scarred fighter/boxer long before it was cool in other romances
  2. Rape role playing – this is the best I’ve ever seen this done. Their discussion ahead of time, the safeword, the scenarios they play out, the way they care for each other during and after their sessions – this is sex done right.
  3. This:

They walked to Flynn’s building without speaking and he punched the floor buttons for two and five.  He made his usual stop to knock on his sister’s door then returne, a hardness to his expression.

“You okay?” Laurel asked.

“Second we get in that apartment,” Flynn muttered, “it’s on.”

“What’s on?”

The growl in his voice was all the answer she needed.  “You fucking know.”

 

Now I know Kate didn’t like the abrupt ending – I am fine with it.  I feel confident that they’ll be ok.  And I know that the voyeurism scene is the book is off putting to some, but for me, because all parties involved were on board?  So hot.  It totally worked for me!

So what’s your all time favorite read?  (Or just one of them if you can’t narrow it down!)

Beyond Addiction by Kit Rocha

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Dystopian
Series: Beyond #5
Published: 8/11/14
Reviewed by Anne
229 ebook pages

For starters, you really have to read this series in order.  You officially start with Beyond Shame, book #1, but if you want a smaller taste, you can read Beyond Solitude, which is #4.5, but stands alone really, really well.  And I think you should read this series, because it’s dark and gritty and really, really good.  Oh, and it’s really, really hot, too.

Trix has long been a background character in the O’Kane gang.  She’s a bartender and a dancer at their bar.  At the end of book #4, Beyond Jealously, Trix gets kidnapped and taken to Sector 5, and we learn that’s where she escaped from her life as a prostitute addicted to drugs.

Finn is an enforcer for Mac, the evil overlord of Sector 5.  He actually lives just to undermine Mac, and has since Mac facilitated the overdose of Finn’s favorite girl, Tracy.  He doesn’t care much about living or dying, but he knows Mac is horrible and he’s working on a one man mission to ruin his rule over Sector 5.

That all changes when Finn is called into Mac’s office and sees the newly kidnapped Trix.  Trix is Tracy.  She never really died, she escaped to Sector 4 and changed her name.  Seeing Trix/Tracy spurs Finn to action like nothing else has, and Trix and Finn end up on the run.  They’ve got a twisted history, since their prior relationship took place when Trix was hooked on drugs and Finn was her supplier – giving her the drugs in exchange for sex.  They both had deeper feelings, but the addiction between them blurred everything.

So the question is never really whether Trix and Finn love each other, but it’s how can they work through their history and issues together.  This is complicated somewhat by Trix now being a member of the O’Kanes.  That means Finn will have to find his way to a place in the gang.

The relationship between Trix and Finn was a strong point for me.  I really enjoyed watching them find their way to each other with nothing between them.  The sex scenes are scorching hot, as expected in this series.

Also as expected in this series there’s a menage scene.  That was a bit of a let down for me in this book.  It seemed a bit out of place and it didn’t quite work for me.  I was also surprised at how easily Finn was accepted as an O’Kane, especially given his history of working for Mac Fleming.  Those were the only two week points in the book for me.

Besides Trix and Finn, I really enjoyed checking in with everyone else in the O’Kane gang.  So awesome seeing Dallas and Lex truly sharing power.  I’m also getting curious-er and curious-er about Doc (whose name is Dylan!).  And what’s up with him and Maddox?  I want to go back and re-read the entire series, taking notes this time.  I thought Maddox was paired up with someone.  And then there’s Lili from Sector 5.  That’s one messed up lady, so you know she’s going to end up in Sector 4, hopefully getting some control over her life.  She’s right up Lex’s alley.

So, if you’re reading the series, who is your favorite character?  I’m a huge Noah/Emma fan, but Maddox is probably the one I’m most curious about right now!