Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

So first of all, let me start by saying-Yes, I am a little late getting to this party. BUT, I just had to see what all the hype was about. And personally I felt it didn't live up to all the hype about how X-rated it was supposed to be. Yes there was very descriptive sex. . . yes there was bondage, dominance, sadism, and masochism (BDSM), but it wasn't so very x-rated. I felt it was in line with the other BDSM erotica that is out in print. 

I feel that Miss James did an excellent job developing Anastasia and Christian's story. This is a story with many facets. I personally do not know if the BDSM is realistic, but I feel Miss James did a good job of making it feel real. Her writing and descriptions of the sex and bondage never made me feel dirty. She did a very good job of portraying the sexual relationship between Anastasia and Christian as consenting and not rape-like.

I was very impressed with how she developed Christian and Anastasia. Anastasia started out as a college girl unable to find a guy who could excite her sexually. In her naivete', she thought it was because she hadn't come across Mr. Right. After meeting Christian and becoming involved with him, he introduces her to his sexual world. She finds herself aroused by Christian's secret world of sex in a way that no other man was able to achieve. As she finds herself falling deeper and deeper for Christian, she starts to wonder about this sexual world of his. She tries to leave, but finds she can't. She is in love with him. But is she willing to stay in this deviant world of sex because that is what Christian needs or is it really what she needs?

And Christian, a strong, confident, ruthless business man. On their first visit he is arrogant and aloof, but very intrigued by Anastasia. He asks her out and introduces her to his erotic world of sex unknowing that she is a virgin. After their first encounter, much to his utter dismay, he finds out that Anastasia was a virgin. He is angry with himself for introducing her to his messed up sexual interests during her first sexual encounter. Being very intrigued by her, Christian tries very hard to be "vanilla" with her. But when she pushes him to expand her knowledge of his sexual world, he is all but helpless to deny her.

I enjoyed the way Miss James developed each character. As you read, you can picture how each character is evolving gradually. Anastasia becomes more worldly, yet is unable to discuss all she is feeling and experiencing with anyone other than Christian because of their agreement. Without any past experiences to compare their relationship to, she finds herself in a constant struggle with herself trying to decide if all is well.

And Christian is used to being a man listened to and obeyed by everyone. He is used to his sex life including women who already know about his dark erotic world. But in Anastasia, he finds himself in a whole new area romantically-meaning that he actually cares for Anastasia and finds that she is so much more than a mere sex partner. Christian evolves from being a hard, ruthless, cold man to a confident, yet confused man who finds himself willing to compromise instead of controlling everything related to Anastasia. The reader watches as Christian starts to soften and open up. Could he be in love or is she just such an anomaly to him that it is taking longer for him to work her out of his system?

This isn't really a story about sex. It is a story about 2 people falling in love and willing to compromise as well as do whatever it takes to make the person they love happy. It is not a happily ever after story, but a realistic story of how 2 people have to work to make their relationship last. The sex is just part of what needs to be worked out to make the relationship survive.

I recommend this book to readers of erotica that are not afraid to look past the BDSM, to see the actual "meat" of the story. Although, I will be very intrigued to see how they are able to keep the movie true to the story without altering what is an important part of Christian and Anastasia's story.

Happy Reading!!

The Professional by Kresley Cole

I received an ARC of The Professional in return for an honest review. Thank you to Miss Cole and Gallery Books for this opportunity.

The Game Maker series is a new series out for Kresley Cole. I am a HUGE fan of her Immortals After Dark series. I was excited and nervous to read The Professional. On one hand I knew Miss Cole was a superb storyteller. She has a wonderful talent for bringing paranormal romance to life, but could she bring that talent to The Game Maker series? Why, YES SHE CAN!

The Professional is about a PhD student, Natalie Porter and a mafiya enforcer, Aleksander "The Siberian" Sevastyan. 

Natalie is a PhD student who has recently hired a private investigator to find her biological parents. As the semester is ending she joins her friends at a bar. She has a knack for looking at a man and figuring out exactly what type of person he is: one night stand, obsessive lover, etc. But when Aleksander walks into the bar and she is challenged by her friends to categorize him, she is stumped. She is intrigued by this and is challenged by her friends to introduce herself to him. When she tries to flirt, Aleksander shoots her down. 

Natalie gets whisked away by Aleksander to Russia to meet her father, a vor-head of a mafiya organization.

She finds she is being targeted by her father's enemies and he wants her in Russia, not only to meet her, but to keep her safe. From her first meeting with Aleksander there are fireworks between the two. 

 The Professional is a story of a twenty-something college virgin (reluctantly) and a worldly dark Russian mafiya enforcer. While trying to keep Natalie safe, Aleksander introduces her to the dark, erotic world of BDSM. Natalie, not knowing why she could never become interested in a man enough to go through with having sex with them, finds herself intrigued and beyond excited by the erotic pleasures that Aleksander has introduced her to. But to her dismay, she finds Aleksander backing away from the pleasures she craves that only he can satisfy.

Aleksander and Natalie's journey is a journey of lust, sex, exploration, trust and love. 

  Miss Cole as always DELIVERS!  

Her talent for incorporating suspense, romance, intelligent characters and sex into a story line that engrosses the reader has found a new outlet. She knows when to develop the story line and when it is time to add the romance and when it's just right to introduce the steamy sex. The sex is never the focus of the story and it never feels dirty. It is always a natural progression of the characters relationship.

Aleksander and Natalie's chemistry is off the charts. As Natalie's emotions ride a roller-coaster, thanks to Aleksander, she pushes harder and harder to learn why he is the way he is. This, I feel, is a very realistic expectation of a woman who is or wants to be in a relationship with a man.

Is the BDSM realistic? I have no idea, but I really enjoyed delving into this type of erotica for the first time. I have to admit, my new fantasy involves a sexy Russian from Siberia!

One of the things I think I liked most about this book is how Miss Cole showed how two people in love with each other can satisfy their need for unconventional sex without making it a dirty little secret.

For those readers who enjoy suspenseful erotica, I highly recommend this book. For those readers who enjoy Kresley Cole's books-YOU HAVE GOT TO READ this book! 

I give this book 5 STARS and highly recommend this book.

Happy Reading!

The Curse Breakers (Curse Keepers #2) by Denise Grover Swank

First I would like to thank you for your patience with this review. It has been a crazy couple of weeks between my son's Eagle Scout Court of Honor, my other son's 16th birthday, a special young lady's high school graduation, and preparing for my son's high school graduation.

I received an ARC of  The Curse Breakers in return for an honest review. Thank you to Miss Grover Swank and 27North for this opportunity.

I was very excited to read the second installment of the Curse Keepers Trilogy. Miss Grover Swank did such a great job on The Curse Keepers.
The Curse Breakers was a good read. It was a little slower read then the first book. Miss Grover Swank went more in depth into Ellie's character. It felt like she was trying to make the reader and Ellie one.
While The Curse Keepers had more action through-out the book, The Curse Breakers delved further into why everything happened and why everything was happening. Yes, there is action in The Curse Breakers, but not near as much as there was in the first book.
Miss Grover Swank did an excellent job continuing Ellie's story. She did a fairly good job bringing across the turmoil and conflict between Ellie and Collin. She does a great job making David, Ellie's new boyfriend and supporter, loveable but at the same time she hints at the possibility that David may not be all that he seems.
For those who liked The Curse Keepers, I highly recommend The Curse Breakers. Miss Grover Swank knows how to create an ending that isn't quite a cliffhanger, but almost feels like a cliffhanger.
If you haven't read The Curse Keepers, you really need to read that before reading The Curse Breakers or it won't make sense. So, I highly recommend both books!

Time To Die by Sabrina Sims McAfee

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Miss McAfee and the publisher for this opportunity.

Time to Die is a story about a cop who is trying to catch a serial killer. In the process of investigating Sergeant Ginger McCormick not only becomes a target for the killer, but meets up with an old flame.

I really enjoyed the part of the story that involved investigating the serial killer. I think Miss McAfee did a good job of keeping the reader guessing who was involved in the killings. I liked the way she delved into the psyche of the killer as well as Sergeant McCormick's psyche as she investigated as well as why she (McCormick) went about her investigation.

What I didn't like was the way she tried to incorporate all the cussing and the sex. The amount of cussing the the number of times the F-word was thrown around was ridiculous. It made it difficult to get through the story trying to wade through all the f-bombs. While most of the characters are of African-American decent, Miss McAfee conveyed through her writing that most African-Americans could not converse without dropping the F-bomb every third word. Personally. I was offended and I am not African-American.

About the sex: I read books with sex in them, it doesn't bother me. But the way Miss McAfee described her sex scenes made me feel dirty. I liken them to porn. It was dirty, nasty, and unreal and it felt like it was over half the story. I honestly felt like I needed a good cleansing shower after I read the book.

If Miss McAfee had stuck with the mystery part of the story, i would have really enjoyed this book. As it stands, I don't recommend this book. 

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

I received The Kiss of Deception as an ARC for an honest review. Thank you to Miss Pearson and McMillan Corp. for this opportunity.

I am going to do something a little different. I am going to give my synopsis of this book.

This is about Lia, a princess who is a "first daughter" of a first daughter of Morrighan. Every first daughter of Morrighan is supposed to have the gift of "sight", the ability to see what is going to happen in the future. Lia's mother had the sight, but Lia does not. Her father, the King of Morrighan, has made an agreement with the king of a bordering land. Lia is to wed the prince in exchange for a truce. Lia is not happy with this arrangement. She wants to marry for love. But she also does not agree with her parents deception. They are letting the other king believe she has "the sight". Unhappy with her fate, Lia runs away on her wedding day. She and her maid run to a faraway village to live. They stay with the woman who raised Lia's maid. Lia gives up her life of luxury and becomes a barmaid. She is happy that she is her own woman. 

One day two handsome men ride into the village. Unbeknownst to Lia, one is the jilted prince and the other is an assassin from a land of people enemy to her people and the prince's people, sent to kill her. Both men show interest in her. She is somewhat torn between the two men, but leans more towards one.

When one of her brothers comes rushing into the village where she is hysterical, telling how his beloved, pregnant wife was murdered in his arms, she sets off to go back home to fulfill her duties. She has quite an adventure, as she is kidnapped by the assassin and taken to his land far away to be turned over to his leader.

I enjoyed this book. It was not what I expected. I was expecting a story about a princess who runs away and is found by the prince and they fall in love. Well it was so much deeper than that. For me it was intriguing. Miss Pearson used a multi-voice approach. She told the story form different characters' points of view. At times she took each chapter and used it to tell the story from a different character's voice. But it never got confusing, instead she would back track a little from the previous chapter to tie the story together and then go forward. I enjoyed the way she wove the relationship between Lia, the prince, and the assassin without letting you know which male character she was talking about. It kept me trying to figure out who was the assassin and who was the prince. 

I also liked the way she made Lia human. She didn't create a typical spoiled, little rich girl. She developed a fighter and survivor. She made it easy to connect with each character. Her writing is so effective that I found myself rooting for all of them. Miss Pearson's ending was a good cliffhanger. She definitely makes you want to get the next book so you can find out what happens next.

The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon

Official description:

In the not-so-distant future, the forecasted "death of print" has become a near reality. Bookstores, libraries, newspapers, and magazines are essentially things of the past, as we spend our time glued to handheld devices called Memes that not only keep us in constant communication but have become so intuitive as to hail us cabs before we leave our offices, order takeout at the first growl of our stomachs, change traffic lights and interface with home appliances--even create and sell language itself in a marketplace called the Word Exchange.

Anana Johnson works with her father, Doug, at the North American Dictionary of the English Language(NADEL), where they are hard at work on the final edition that will ever be printed. Doug is staunchly anti-Meme and fondly remembers the days when people used e-mail to communicate--or even actually spoke to one another, for that matter. One evening, Doug disappears from the NADEL offices, leaving behind a written clue: ALICE. It's a code word he and Anana devised to signal if one of them ever fell into harm's way. And thus begins Anana's journey down the proverbial rabbit hole . . .

Joined by Bart, her bookish NADEL colleague, Anana's search for Doug will take her into dark basements and subterranean passageways, the stacks and reading rooms of the Mercantile Library, secret meetings of the mysterious "Diachronic Society," meetings with executives of the corrupt corporate behemoth Synchronic, and ultimately the hallowed halls of the Oxford English Dictionary--the spiritual home of the written word. As Ana pieces together what is going on, and more and more people succumb to a pandemic "word flu" that causes decaying language, 

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying I was very interested in this book by the description: dystopian society, mystery; it intrigued me. But OMG, I have never had a book that I could not get through the second chapter; until now. This book is boring and confusing. It makes no sense. I got lost with the plot going from chapter 1 to chapter 2, as well as who was telling the story.

For me, this book is mostly about the author letting the world know that she knows a lot of big words. Now, I have a Bachelor's degree, so I am educated, but I literally felt the need to go to the dictionary for at least 2 words per page. It is very hard to enjoy a book when you can't understand a large portion of the writing.

This book was not for me. I need a book where I understand at least 95% of the words. If you are a literary major or really enjoy learning new words, then this book is for you. 

ICED by Karen Marie Moning

Official description:

The year is 1 AWC—After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It’s a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I’m Dani O’Malley, the chaos-filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there’s no place I’d rather be. 

Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.

Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux. 

When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks—and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.

Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin—before everything and everyone in it gets iced.

First off, I have to admit that Karen Marie Moning (KMM) is one of my favorite authors.  ICED  is the 6th book in her FEVER series. This is a story about Dublin after the wall went down from Dani's perspective. Dani is a 14 year old sihe-seer who can move so fast she calls it freeze-framing. Dani is still on the cusp of childhood/adulthood. She understands what sex is, but it still grosses her out. She has Christian, a druid-turned-Unseelie Prince and Ryoden, a supernatural being who nobody knows who he is, fighting over her. But Dani is oblivious to the fact that that they find her attractive, that she calls to them on a base-level. But all Dani really cares about is killing Fae, keeping her city safe, and staying free.

KMM lived up to my expectation! I was tickled to be able to go back to the FEVER world. I did miss Kayla and Barrons, but I understand that this was about Dani and she needed to keep it about Dani. She brought the FEVER world back just the way it was in the previous 5 books. Only in this one she progressed it a little bit more. She left it opened for more about Dani and with the ability to combine Dani's world with Kayla's world.

Dani's character is so well developed that you can't help but love her, get frustrated with her, and understand why she is the way she is (after her past is explained). Her youth is never in question-and while some other reviewers complain that having 2 grown men after a 14 year old is sick-nothing inappropriate ever happens between Dani and the men interested in her.

I loved this book as much as the last 5 and will continue to read this series. If you decide to read this book (which I highly recommend), be aware that reading the previous 5 are pretty much a necessity to understanding what is going on in Dani's story.

If paranormal romance/apocalyptic world intrigue you, you really need to read this series! Happy Reading!