inferno

Shattered Bonds by Lynda Aicher

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Wicked Play #7
Published: 9/1514
Reviewed by Kate

Noah is one of the owners of the Den, a BDSM club, but he’s been out of the scene for 4 years now, since the tragic death of his last sub.  But when he meets Liv, the sister of one of the other owners, he starts to feel tempted to give in to desires he separated himself from years ago.  When an accident happens, the Den finds itself shaken to its core.  Noah and Liv grow closer while trying to hold the club together.

This is really a telling of 2 tales.  The first being the story of Noah and Liv.  The second being the culmination of the last 6 books.  Lynda Aicher does a fabulous job of weaving the two stories together.  Giving us enough of our favorite characters without cheating us of Noah and Liv’s relationship.  Because the characters from the other 6 books play such a huge part in this one, I think you would have a hard time reading this one as a stand alone.

The characters is this one, *insert happy, contented sigh here* blew me away.  Noah is so conflicted and hurting.  At times his pain almost made me cry.  Liv is such a caring and giving person, yet she realizes that she can’t “fix” Noah.  I loved that they supported each other, rather than fixing each other.

A note for fans of the BDSM in the first books of this series:  This one is extremely low on the kink scale for this series, comparatively.  If you’re looking for whips and chains and crosses and pain, you won’t find it in this one.  Just some very mild restraints (hands only) during sex and oral. But the lack of kink doesn’t detract from the story one bit.

If you liked the first books in this series, this is a must read.  If you haven’t given this series a try, you need to start at the beginning.  It’s well worth the time and investment if you like BDSM.  The Wicked Play series is one of my favorite series and Lynda Aicher has become one of my favorite BDSM authors.

Lynda Aicher managed to write the last book in the series with a much lower kink level.  Have you run across any other series that have successfully done this?  Can you enjoy a tamer book after reading hotter books earlier in the series?

Bound to be Taken by Becca Jameson

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Contemporary, BDSM, menage, m/m/f
Series: Emergence #1
Published: 4/8/14
Reviewed by Kate
272 pages

Stephanie overhears her bosses saying that if she was more personable, they would give her the promotion she’s been after.  So she decides she needs to bring a date to the upcoming office party.  But who to bring?  Aiden and Dane live in the same apartment building as Stephanie, and they’re looking for a date themselves.  They have an upcoming dungeon party but they need a submissive.  In exchange for a date to her company party, Stephanie agrees to act as their submissive at their party.  But it quickly turns into more than an act for Stephanie.

After finishing the second book in this series, Bound to be Tamed (Review here:  https://dirtygirlsgoodbooks.com/2014/08/20/bound-to-be-tamed-by-becca-jameson/ , I knew I had to come back and read the first book.  I had to see how Steph, Aiden, and Dane got their start.  And what a start it was.  The chemistry between the 3 of them is almost overwhelming at times.

My one complaint is that Dane and Aiden are supposedly new to the whole being a Dom thing.  They’ve only been studying it for 6 months and have never had their own sub.  They’ve been taking turns being subs for each other (did I mention that Dane and Aiden have a well established sexual relationship?) and have decided they’d like to add a third partner to their relationship.  For being such newbie Doms, they really seemed to just instinctually know way too much.  They recognize the fact that Steph is more than a part-time sub, she’s a full-time one before Steph has even admitted to herself that she’s a submissive.  They were just way too able to read her and I kept thinking “there’s no way they could recognize/know that if they’re so new to this whole Dom thing.”  Of course maybe they’re Dom prodigies.  Other than that…

If you enjoy your menagés with m/m action and a heavy dose of BDSM this one is for you.  It will keep you turning pages and fanning yourself until you reach the last page.  Then you’ll be reaching for the second book.

I really enjoyed the m/m aspect of this menagé.  Do you have any other menagé books to recommend that have the male characters involved with each other as well?

Duende by E.E. Ottoman

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22699093
Grade: B-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Fantasy, m/m,
Series: Mechanical Universe #2
Published: 9/10/14
Reviewed by Anne
37 pages

Badri is the male lead in the city’s ballet company.  Aime is a famous opera singer.  They secretly each like the other.  On his birthday, Aime goes to see Badri dance, and then goes backstage to introduce himself.  Amidst all the other fans, Aime is very embarrassed and leaves quickly after meeting Badri.  However, that small act is enough to get Badri interested in Aime.

This is a very short story and it was very enjoyable.  I see that it’s part of the “Mechanical Universe” series, but it had a very historical feeling to it.  That was fine with me – a historical may as well be a fantasy when I read it.  I enjoyed seeing these men slowly but surely get to know each other.

Unfortunately, I found the cast of secondary characters confusing.  I would have enjoyed it more if it had concentrated fully on Aime and Badri.  It may be that reading the series in order would have made this one much more enjoyable.  It did leave me interested in checking out the first book in the series, though.