Carey: Gambled Away by Ella Grey

November 5, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Carey: Gambled Away by Ella Grey
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Gambled away to a man she doesn’t know…

All Carey Murphy wanted to do was keep her head down. She counted down the days hoping her father would drink himself into an early grave. All she worried about was when the next beating would come—until the day her father bet her on a game of chance and lost.

After losing his wife years ago, John O’Grady never thought he’d find himself in another relationship, let alone married to a blue-eyed girl with a bruise on her cheek. She was given to him as the spoils of a poker game, and he had no intention of keeping her.

When heated looks give way to passionate kisses, neither of them notices the danger which looms around the corner.

Carey was eighteen and trying hard to help her alcoholic mother and abusive, drunk, gambling-addicted father, but she knew sooner or later the debts would be too great. When her father sells her into a marriage with a complete stranger to pay off his debts, Carey still doesn’t run, hoping this might be a way out of her difficult family situation. Can Carey survived being gambled away?

I found this to be an interesting read. The author was careful to explain the thoughts and situation behind why Carey allowed herself to be trapped in an abusive and clearly unhealthy situation and relationship with both her parents, but I was pleased when the focus quickly became Carey and her new husband, John. Despite the explanations, I really struggled to understand why Carey didn’t strike out on her own. I didn’t feel it was very realistic that she had stayed in such an unhealthy family dynamic when she was already working and could have easily transitioned into being independent and moved out of home. Neither did I really feel the marriage between Carey and John was very plausible in the beginning. I feel it would have been more believable had Carey at least met the man and have wanted to be with him to some degree – but John was literally a stranger and so it didn’t make a lot of sense to me how she came to agree to marry him.

That said, I really enjoyed the emotional complexity of the relationship that blossomed between Carey and John. While John was a mob boss – feared and powerful – he was not a one-dimensional character. There were layers and complexities and yes even a heart beneath the ruthless and powerful façade. I thoroughly enjoyed how Carey slowly became curious about her newly minted husband and how she learned more about him, even as he tried to give her space and get to know her in return. I was thoroughly appreciative how they didn’t jump into bed too quickly after the wedding and this just added more layers and interest in the storyline for me.

While the beginning of this short story was a bit rocky and unbelievable for me, personally, I was pleased I stuck with it and ended up finding this a really appealing and complex read. I enjoyed getting to know the different sides to John’s character and was pleased Carey showed herself to be a strong and capable enough woman to stand by his side. I enjoyed watching them learn about each other and fall in love and found this to be a really good, strong quick read.

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Exiled Alpha by Amber Morgan

October 29, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Exiled Alpha by Amber Morgan
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Rachel Jacobs is a wolf on a mission. To save her pack from destruction, she’s turning to the werewolf who nearly destroyed it once before. Arkady Gusev is everything her father ever warned her againstso why does she find him so irresistible?

Arkady Gusev isn’t looking for a pack or a woman. But when Rachel walks through his door, she throws down a challenge he can’t resist. Is this exiled alpha about to come home?

Rachel had driven a long way to get to the Sandbox – a shifter-run club where pretty much anything was possible, for a price. Rachel wasn’t interested in any side entertainment though, she had one purpose, to convince Arkady to return to their pack – the same pack he’d been exiled from a number of years ago. Can Rachel and Arkady work together to solve each of their problems?

While I thought Arkady – and Rachel in a different way – were both rough and ready characters I enjoyed how they clashed with each other and both were not ashamed of themselves or their desires. Both headstrong and determined, it was fun to watch Rachel and Arkady circle each other and snap and snarl. Readers looking for an intense and hotly written story with plenty of sizzle and a bit of bite should find this really suits what they’re after.

Readers looking for a redemption style story or something a bit on the sweeter style definitely won’t find that here in this short story. But I was pleased with the strong, almost fierce and very modern take on the werewolf pack, the ousted Alpha and in particular I was pretty impressed with the deal Rachel and Arkady struck at the end.

With a very different – but undeniable – Happy Ever After, this was a fun and strong, sharp and toothy quick read.

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For Richer For Poorer by Pelaam

October 28, 2021 By Leave a Comment


For Richer For Poorer by Pelaam
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

To successfully close a business deal, business tycoon Scott is horrified to discover he will need to find a husband in a hurry.

Having been once bitten, Scott is twice shy. But he finds a reluctant groom in his firm’s accountant, Connor, a young man who is dealing with inherited debts.

Connor is alarmed by the proposition, afraid his true feelings for the sexy older man will be discovered.
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For the sake of his younger brother, he agrees to Scott’s proposal: to be Scott’s short-term husband in return for their debts to be paid off in full.

Can there be a happy ever after for either man?

Connor enjoys his work – and his delectable boss, Scott – but with a pile of debt left to him from his dead, gambling addicted father, Connor has no desire to rock the boat. He needs his job and the steady income it provides until he and his brother are debt free. Scott is desperate to close a deal, and very unwilling to let any minor inconvenience hamper his way. When Scott discovers he needs a groom and there’s no way around it, Scott and Connor find themselves in a marriage of convenience. But will the two men find remaining married is what they both end up wanting?

I enjoyed this modern and fresh story. While the plotline is at a first glance pretty well used – rich business man finds for reasons beyond his control he needs a spouse and allows himself to marry the employee who secretly loves him – I found the modern setting and very contemporary feel really added a freshness to the story as a whole. I also really enjoyed the fact that Scott, while rich and powerful and owner of the business, wasn’t arrogant or dislikable with his power and prestige. This really helped me enjoy both his character and the story as a whole. Enjoying the characters and really hoping they fall in love and come to see that in each other was a delicious way to spend some time.

With the obligatory jealous ex and a bunch of interesting and varied secondary characters I found this to be a fun and quick read that delighted me at a number of turns. While the plot is well-worn enough to be comfortable it was absolutely freshened up and felt really fun and modern to me. I also thoroughly enjoyed Scott and Connor’s slow fall for each other. I thought there was plenty of chemistry and sizzle between the two men but feel readers expecting a strongly erotic and heavily explicit story might not find this quite hot enough for their tastes.

Fun and refreshing I enjoyed this quick read.

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Wolf In Heat by Sam Crescent and Stacey Espino

October 20, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Wolf In Heat by Sam Crescent and Stacey Espino
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

What male would be interested in a vegan werewolf?

Heather resigned herself to life without a mate. She’s always been a freak, unable to fit into either the human or shifter world. When her broken family joins a new pack, she’s suspicious and reluctant to accept her new fate. When David starts showing interest in her, it’s hard for her to believe his feelings are genuine. She tries to give him the cold shoulder … until she goes into heat.

David strikes out time and time again with Heather. The new female in their pack refuses to acknowledge they are meant to be together. He’s not one to give up hope, determined to win over the curvy vegan wolf at any cost. When the mating heat takes hold of Heather, he’s the only one who can satisfy her. He’s ready to give her exactly what she craves, but he wants more than just her body.

When Heather runs into danger, will she accept David’s help or sacrifice her own life?

It hadn’t been that long ago Heather lost her parents and even though she was grateful she, her sister and Uncle had been accepted into Caleb and Bethany’s pack it didn’t ease her sense of loss and loneliness much. Heather hated change and the new pack, new home, new surroundings had pushed her as far as she could bear. Accepting David might be her mate was not an option Heather was willing to give time or thought to. Only now she feels she might be entering her heat phase and the full moon is drawing close. Can Heather and David find a way to make this work?

I found this to be a very emotional and highly sexual story. Readers looking for an intense and character driven story should find this really appealing. For the first part of the book, I was at times a little confused with Heather, who really seemed to blow hot and cold to me. I felt a deep empathy for David trying to work out where he stood with Heather. At first he went slow, trying to get to know this shy and timid woman, but then when the heat hit her Heather became this sex-starved she-wolf, but who then once again turned timid and tried to push David away when the heat passed. I thought he clearly showed his love and compassion for her and (particularly at the start of the book) I felt Heather acted a little bit unreasonably toward him. The authors did a good job of explaining what Heather’s feelings were and how/why she was so confused and changeable, but for the first part of the book I struggled to like or connect with her. Pushing someone away while knowing you were mated to them just because you were confused felt pretty silly and childish to me.

I was pretty relieved when Heather finally got her head screwed on right and accepted she was bonded with David. I could appreciate the fact that even though she was scared, she had made her decisions and stuck with it and tried to hold up her end of the relationship and not simply run, avoid or stick her head in the sand about it all.

After this the story moved a lot smoother and better to my mind. There was also a fairly interesting sub-plot revolving around some bear shifters and a rogue. I can totally understand why the authors made this subplot secondary to Heather and David – this is a steamy erotic romance and they’re the main mating pair, but I was pretty pleased that the werebear and other shifters subplot wasn’t just half-baked or added in as a sort of side note. I felt that got plenty of time and was a solid addition to the story. While not overly gory or descriptive there are some captive animals and blood-sport style of humans in the plotline that might not suit the taste of all readers wanting a more romantic/erotic style of story and less intensity to the non-romantic aspects of the plotline.

With a solid cast of interesting and varied secondary characters, a decent plot revolving outside shifters and others around the pack and a steamy mating relationship growing between Heather and David this is a good and solid story that I feel most readers should find something to enjoy within it.

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Taken Hard by Sam Crescent

September 17, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Taken Hard by Sam Crescent
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

With women throwing themselves at him, Caleb Hard never intended to settle down. But he secretly wants to find a woman and have a marriage exactly like what his parents have. The moment Lilly enters his world, he can’t get the woman out of his mind.

Her mother’s reputation follows her everywhere, and Lilly is used to being whispered about. When Caleb offers her friendship, she’s more than happy to take it. What she doesn’t expect is for him to admit he wants a virgin like her. A perfect gentleman, Caleb doesn’t rush.

He’s fallen in love, and this isn’t about sex. He wants forever, but he doesn’t want to scare her off. Is there any chance of them ever truly working?

Lilly’s mother was the town whore and from a young age Lilly had been branded with the same reputation. As such she avoided men in general – and the Hard boys in particular. Caleb Hard was certainly a player, but after being introduced to Lilly something about her struck him as completely different. Intrigued, Caleb desperately wants to learn more. Will Lilly be willing to risk her heart and her reputation on a man like Caleb?

I found this to be a fun and seriously steamy story. While both Lilly and Caleb’s characters were somewhat predictable this didn’t detract too much from my enjoyment of the story. Caleb has a large and rambunctious family which always is a great addition to a story with plenty of antics and interesting secondary characters. I also likely that Lilly had her own set of close friends with Aunty Betty and Eliza. It gave me the strong feeling that even with her personal strength and determination Lilly had her own tribe to help uplift and protect her and Caleb couldn’t take advantage of her emotions and feelings for him.

I was both relieved and impressed that Caleb and Lilly took their time in getting to know each other. While it’s fairly standard for an erotic romance to have the main characters jump into bed and be intimate pretty early on I really enjoyed that Caleb took his time with Lilly and let things progress a little more naturally and slowly. This was wonderful to read and really heightened my enjoyment of the story – seeing Lilly and Caleb form a connection, interact together and it let me see how they could work in the longer term and not just be simply infatuated with each other and have that whither down the track. It was lovely to read and really bumped up the believability for me.

That said there was certainly plenty of steam and passion once Lilly and Caleb made it to the bedroom. Readers looking for an explicit and steamy story should definitely find this aspect of the book meets their expectations.

With a good sized cast of secondary characters, some fun and interesting conflict with other members of the town and a lovely emotional and slow paced romance this is a great book. I enjoyed the small tag towards the end giving the reader a small glimpse of what the next book in the series will be and feel that this is a steamy and lovely story.

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A Mafe For Madi by Cooper McKenzie

September 14, 2021 By Leave a Comment


A Mafe For Madi by Cooper McKenzie
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

After a traumatic past, best-selling author Madi Delaney retreated from the world and became a hermit, never leaving her home. When her publisher threatens to drop her unless she does a six-week, cross-country book tour, Priscilla, her best friend and agent, suggests she needs a man-wife/mafe to take care of her. And she knows just the man for the job.

Out-of-work, long haul trucker, daredevil Garrett Bailey is staying with his sister when she announces she has the perfect next job for him. He will drive their parents’ RV and act as bodyguard and mafe for Madi.

Can Madi get along with the man her first crush has grown into? Will Madi overcome her many phobias in order to keep her publisher happy? Will Garrett be able to handle the job of mafe when he doesn’t know what a mafe is?

Madi hadn’t left her house in eight years, not even for groceries, so she certainly didn’t think she was capable of doing a book tour, spending six weeks out on the road and meeting a whole bunch of strangers. Yet her publisher is no longer willing to indulge her and they have refused to work further with her unless she does the tour. Seriously struggling Madi turns to her friend for help and the suggestion is quite out of the box. Do the tour in a RV and with a mafe – a man-wife – to help her. Can Madi overcome her fears and make this work?

I found this an interesting – albeit slightly unrealistic – short story. I really enjoyed and empathized with Madi’s character and found Garrett to be a nice blend of heart-throb and charismatic hero. I have to admit the two of them were very well suited, but the string of coincidences that had kept them apart for so long took a bit of work for me to ignore. I was pleased that both Madi and Garrett took their relationship fairly slowly. While they knew each other from their youth plenty had changed for them both and each carried their own emotional baggage so I felt it was far stronger and more realistic for them to ease into intimacy and not just crash right in.

The tour itself was fun and I felt it was an excellent blend of conflict and romance with the build up of Madi and Garrett’s newly formed relationship. I also found it quite interesting to see conventions and a book tour from Madi and Garrett’s perspective. It was an excellent scenario for Garrett and Madi to get to know each other, and learn to rely on each other, without all the usual pressures and hassles of work and day-to-day life. It was like a working holiday and with the only constant being their needing to support and rely on each other I thought this was a fantastic way to begin and grow their relationship.

Readers looking for a highly emotional and sexy story should be satisfied with this short story and I’m intrigued enough by the whole Mafe concept I hope to see more stories about it. Fun and sexy this was a good story.

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Lacy’s First Last Kiss by Cooper McKenzie

August 31, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Lacy’s First Last Kiss by Cooper McKenzie
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

With his latest self-help book for couples with wide age differences hitting the market with a six-week book tour, his expertise and credibility are on the line. At 52, Tobias had never been married, and none of his relationships have lasted more than a year.

25-year-old Lacy is heartbroken and between jobs. She plans to visit her great-grandmother to work in the garden, read trashy romance novels, and relax. She never expects to marry a man she’s never met. But to save her sister’s job, Lacy reluctantly marries Tobias. Her only requirement is there can be no kissing on the mouth.

Can Lacy hold to her no kissing rule? Will city-boy Tobias survive time on the farm without internet or cell service? Will their marriage survive past the six-week book tour?

A chance at forever, but fraught with problems.

I picked this book up because I liked the idea of the forced, to a point, marriage. It’s convenience. Tobias needs a wife and Lacy’s available. It’s a cute premise. The writing clipped along well and I surged right through it in one sitting.

I understood Lacy’s aversion to kissing. She’d been hurt and didn’t want to be hurt again. It’s a believable and understandable premise. I rather liked the idea of these two people being thrown together, too. It’s cute.

If you’re looking for a quick, cute read, then this might be right up your alley. Check it out!

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Triple Threat by Lara Sleath

August 20, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Triple Threat by Lara Sleath
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Charli Reily needs to be a Broadway star. It’s the only way she can escape her sucky new life in the crappiest part of Vancouver. Here, her only friend is Logan, the boy with the biceps from across the road, who has the latest high-top runners and enough street smarts for them both.

To get to Broadway, Charli needs to be a triple threat. She has to be able to dance, as well as act and sing. When the owner of the local dance shop offers to teach her for free, she finally feels like she’s inching toward her dreams. Not that Logan’s happy. He doesn’t want her flitting off to Broadway. He wants her to stay in the hood with him.

Then Charli does something seriously bad. She confesses the shameful details to Logan without realizing that she’s given him the ammunition to start blackmailing her.

Soon she faces a choice–stand up to him and risk her future? Or get sucked into a downward spiral of doing increasingly messed-up things.

It’s not as hard as it may seem to live your dreams.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that showed how the adults in Charli’s life reacted to her mistakes. Not only were their reactions great indications of their upstanding characters, they were also filled with genuine kindness. This is something I’m always excited to come across, especially in the young adult genre where grown-ups are so often portrayed in less flattering ways.

I would have liked to see more development of Charli’s relationship with Logan. They both struggled to find emotionally healthy coping skills for their problems. Logan also had issues with poor communication and an urge to control the main character in ways that made me shudder. This storyline continued to intensify over time, so I was surprised to see how quickly it was resolved. There was so much more the author could have done with it.

The ending was otherwise realistic and well done. I appreciated the fact that it acknowledged the obstacles Charli was facing while also giving her some sensible ways to overcome them that also happened to fit Canadian culture well. It was lovely to catch those subtle cultural references, although the plot could be understood perfectly well without them, too. While I would read a sequel if one is ever written, I also felt pretty satisfied with everything I’d gotten to know about these characters.

Triple Threat was a wild ride. Anyone who enjoys stories set in Canada should take special note of it.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

His Woman by Arabella Sheen

August 16, 2021 By Leave a Comment


His Woman by Arabella Sheen
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Lesley York, a divorced mother of two with a PhD in Fine Art, finds herself falling hard for the charm and charisma of Rafael Capello.

And love? Well, love has nothing to do with it. She’s making no plans for a future with Rafe. And besides, she’s ten years too old for him. What she needs from Rafe is physical fulfilment … in other words, sex, but without the romance or strings attached.

But Rafe wants more from Lesley than a fleeting romance. He thinks she’s sophisticated and stylish, and he’s developed an unexpected passion for one sexy mature lady in particular…

As the University goes into lockdown, can Rafe and Lesley find love amid the crisis of a pandemic?

Lesley might not be the young, naïve dreamer she had been – but that didn’t mean she couldn’t occasionally do something spontaneous. Like take the handsome Rafe up on his offer of a steamy, sexy fling. Since they both worked at the University they often found their early morning swims at the campus pool meant they had the entire complex to themselves. Lesley all too soon finds herself in deep water with Rafe. Are they in this together, can she really become his woman?

I found this to be a delightfully sexy, short read. I was pleased that both Lesley and Rafe were interesting characters and that Lesley in particular was a thoroughly modern and relatable character that I could empathize with. While her painful past and emotional baggage held her back somewhat I was pleased she took a chance on Rafe and that they could indulge together and have some grown up fun.

Readers looking for an intricate plot or a very deep and complex story won’t find that here, but this short story is a steamy and wonderfully quick, fun read. Extremely explicit, I thought this hot romance still managed to covey a strong emotional connection between Lesley and Rafe. Despite her previous relationship pain Lesley was clearly willing to trust Rafe and I felt it was obvious he had good intentions towards her too.

Rafe could easily have been written as an arrogant playboy, cruising through the female population of the university so I was relieved and impressed when it was clear he was focused on Lesley and really wanted to form a relationship with her and commit. I found that refreshing and lovely. The small subplot around Lesley’s ex-husband and children could have been fleshed out a little better to my mind, but I wasn’t overly concerned about that partly due to the short word count, but also since the focus remained on the beginning stages of Lesley and Rafe’s relationship and that made sense for this steamy romance.

With two strong and interesting characters and a brilliant modern outlook this sexy short story was a great, quick read.

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Dark by Thayer King

August 12, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Dark by Thayer King
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Moonflower

For Princess Veracity, it was love at first sight. Unfortunately, Dark has never given her any indication that he returns her affection. Even more unfortunately, she’s betrothed to marry a man she’s quickly growing to hate. She doesn’t want to disappoint her parents, but there’s a reason she’s known to be the rebellious daughter. If she gets her way, her wedding day will feature an entirely different groom.

They call him a monster, an abomination. When he smiles, people run. Dark has wanted Veracity since the moment he laid eyes on her, but there are too many reasons why they can’t be together. She deserves better. Because the rumors are true. He is a monster. And he’s only growing stronger.

Veracity has long for Dark for years to no avail. Instead of being with him, she is betrothed to someone more interested in plants than he is with her – and she’s not that bothered either.

This is the third book in the Princesses series but you can read it as a standalone as I have. The couples from the first two books are mentioned but not in a way that makes you feel like you are missing out. More like you now want to read those too!

Dark was a brilliant character, tortured, hard shell, the whole works. Veracity is the one to break down his walls. I was a bit confused, to begin with, because there wasn’t any mention of them knowing about the other one liking them, but then Dark is ‘summoned’ and it’s full steam ahead. Veracity is impetuous and impulsive yet tries to convince everyone she has matured. This leads to out of control situations.

Dark was a great read that whisked me away to planets unknown, full of amazing characters, and plenty of steam. Thayer King is a new-to-me author but one I will be looking at more closely from now on. Absolutely recommended by me.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , ,
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