inferno

The Royal Treatment by MaryJanice Davidson

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
574854
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Alternate History
Series: Alaskan Royal Family #1
Published: 5/1/2004
Reviewed by Kate
256 pages

 

This one is an oldie, but is one of my absolute favorites (the whole series is actually).  MaryJanice Davidson has written a world in which Alaska is it’s own country.  And it’s a country ruled by the most unking-like king you could possibly imagine.  King Alexander is ready for his oldest son, David, to settle down, get married, and start working on the next heir to the throne ASAP.  Prince David’s not all that interested in dating, after all he’s got his hands full taking care of his personal flock of penguins.  Christina is working in the kitchen on a cruise ship and after her boss gropes her, she knees him in the nuts and quits. She walks off the cruise ship which leaves her stranded in Alaska with only $50, so of course she uses the money to go on a fishing trip.  On the fishing boat, she meets the king (who’s trying to blend in with the commoners, and not doing all that well).  The king invites her to stay at the palace-can we say matchmaker?  Like I said before, Prince David’s not all that interested in dating…until he meets Christina.

I could go on and gush and gush about this book.  The wild, crazy, royal family that Christina finds herself with is an absolute hoot!  Not to mention some of the palace staff (Edmund in particular).  But even though the family is such a strong presence in the book, they don’t over shadow the romance.  The sigh-worthy, blush-inducing romance of Prince David and Christina.

Filled with MaryJanice Davidson’s quirky, whitty, snarky dialogue, this is one book that will have you laughing out loud and reaching for #2 (The Royal Pain) right after you finish the last page.  If you haven’t read MaryJanice Davidson before, I highly recommend you start with this one!

I love an author that can write funny snarkiness well, and MaryJanice Davidson is one of my faves.  Who are some of your favorite snarky authors?

Bound to Please by Joey W. Hill

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
20752208
Grade: B-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, novella
Series:  Naughty Bits Part 3
Published: 6/17/2014
Reviewed by Kate
107 pages

Ever since Madison inherited her sister’s lingerie shop, she’s been slowly working her way to a relationship with Logan, a Dom who owns the hardware store next to the lingerie shop.  They’ve messed around a bit as Madison explores the submissive side of herself.  Logan has promised Madison a session to explore the pain/pleasure connection, she just has to tell him when.

Madison has a history of failed relationships.  Ones where she has invested herself 150% but her partner never even got close to 100%.  She’s determined to protect her heart by avoiding relationships altogether.  Every step that Logan makes toward a relationship made me cheer while every resistance from Madison left me utterly frustrated.

My biggest complaint about this one (and the series) is that it’s being released in a serial format.  Which I hate.  I’m not a patient person.  But I’ve hung with this series this long.  I can’t wait to read the 4th installment!

A heads up:  this one includes a scene with Madison and another man.  No sex between them, but if that kind of thing bothers you…

The Payment Series (Prized, Possessed, Purgatory) by Cassandra Carr

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22015117

Grade: C
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary
Published: 5/6/2014
Reviewed by Kate
280  pages

Catrina is so deep in debt that there are no options left for her. Until she hears about “Debt Management Assoociates.”  DMA offers a solution to her problem.  But it means she’ll have to be her “benefactor’s” sex slave for a full year.  She’d have to do whatever, whenever, with whoever he wants.

The first book in the series, “Prized,” takes us through Catrina’s 2 week training period with the DMA.  The second installment, “Possessed,” follows Catrina through her year long sentence of service.  And “Purgatory,” the final book shows us how Catrina copes in the first 2 months after her service period has ended.

I knew going into this one that it would be polarizing for me.  Either the author was going to do a really good job showing that the romance between Catrina and her benefactor, Jared, was much more than the purchase agreement and I was going to love it. Or the author would make me feel dirty for just reading it and I would hardly be able to finish it.  I was surprised and shocked to realize that the author didn’t follow either path I expected.  Instead she provided me with a story that made me think and think and think some more.  This story was raw, graphic, and gritty and made me cringe at multiple times.

My main complaint comes from the fact that this book was tagged as a “erotica, romance” on NetGalley.  So I went into it expecting a dirty, raunchy love story.  Yes.  I read the summary provided and I knew that she would be with multiple men and I guessed that some/most of it would be non-consensual.  But I was expecting the author to weave some sort of story where Jared falls for Catrina and vice versa.  Instead I was left with this chronicle of Catrina’s life during her time in service.  We never got inside Jared’s head and never got a chance to see him as anyone apart from the man who paid mongo bucks to take complete control of her for one year.  On Catrina’s part, it wasn’t so much a love story as one of dependence.

It reminded me a lot of the Story of O by Pauline Réage.  Both heroines had a span of forced submission, however the back stories are a bit different.  I struggled to connect to each heroine.  It was almost like the drastic-ness of their situations made it hard to see them as a person.  And much like the Story of O, I feel that this story will stick with me for a long time, popping into my mind at odd times and making me think.

So how do I rate a book that I hated on one hand-because it absolutely lacked the romance I was looking for-but on the other hand it is one of those rare books that has dug its claws into my brain and feels like it will stick there forever?  I’d have to say it failed as a romance, but gets full marks for making me think and see things a bit differently.

I’m going to be looking into more by Cassandra Carr, because I would love it if she was able to write a romance that made me think as much as this one did.  If you’re looking for a romanctic read this one is definitely not for you.  If you’re looking for a thought provoking read, and you are okay with explicit anal and oral sex, you might want to give this one a try.