Review: Knight & Play by Kitty French

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Knight & Play
Series: Knight #1
Author: Kitty French

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

There’s only one thing in life Lucien Knight really hates, and that’s husbands who cheat on their wives.
There’s only one problem in Sophie Black’s life. Her cheating husband…
From the moment Lucien & Sophie meet, the seal is set.

CEO of Knight Inc. Lucien Knight is catch-your-breath gorgeous and damaged by his troubled past in Norway. All grown up and relocated to London, he’s built his empire of adult clubs from the ground up to become the gorgeous patron saint of the sex industry. No one knows the dark childhood secrets that have given Lucien a backbone of steel and a heart encased in ice. 

No one until Sophie Black, that is…

From the moment girl-next-door Sophie accepts the job as Lucien Knight’s PA, she understands how Alice must have felt when she tumbled down the rabbit hole. 
Lucien takes her safe, vanilla life away and plunges her head first into a huge dish of fantasy flavours. Rich, spicy chocolate covered with dark, oozingly lickable sauce? Check. Tutti-frutti with indecently red, glistening cherries on the top? Yes please.

Lucien strips away all of Sophie’s inhibitions, and when he instructs her to select three new toys, she soon realises he has more than a game of Monopoly on his mind… 

He’s opened the door to a whole new pleasure packed world without limits, and Sophie is utterly intoxicated. But how far is she willing to go? And what happens when she has to step back into reality again?

MY THOUGHTS

I loathe stories that involve cheating spouses.  You might ask then why in the heck did I want to read this?  Well, from the reviews I have read about it so far, they say that the cheating isn’t what we think and isn’t as horrible as we think.  So I caved and decided to give it a try.

While I will say that the writing was good, the plot was something I didn’t like.  The cheating wasn’t the only thing I had the problem with.  I also didn’t like the fact that Sophie starts this job and almost immediately they start a scandalous affair into the edgy erotic club.  I understand that Lucien is in the sex industry, but come on!

I can’t say if this book got better after the halfway point.  This review is strictly on the first half of the book.  This one is a Did-Not-Finish for me because of what I said above.  It wasn’t one I was enjoying and one I certainly did not want to continue.  If the points I mentioned above are not too much of a hang up for you to read about — and you are willing to overlook the rushing into the sexy time — then give it a go.  You might have different thoughts on it, but I just couldn’t do it.

MY RATING
DNF

Review: What Chris Wants by Lori Foster

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What Chris Wants
Series: Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor #4.5
Author: Lori Foster
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

When the going gets tough, the tough turn to Chris Chapey. As the right-hand man to a group of take-no-prisoners mercenaries, Chris can organize a top secret rescue mission with his eyes closed. But when it comes to his personal life, Chris is the one who needs a little help.

His problem: Matt Houser. Chris can’t deny his attraction to Matt, but Matt has no idea what Chris’s job really entails and how much it means to him. Matt challenges Chris to change his life—and make a place for him in it. Can Chris risk telling him the truth?

MY THOUGHTS

Before I start this review, I want to take a moment to thank author Lori Foster for writing this story.  Chris was not suppose to originally have a story of his own in this series from what I understand.  With fans of this series begging her to give Chris a Happily-Ever-After, author Lori Foster listened and gave the fans what we asked.  Thank you for taking our pleas into consideration!

After following this series from the beginning, we have read about Chris Chapey and everything he does to keep those Alpha men going.  He is by no means an ‘errand boy’, but the heart and soul of the organization.  With What Chris Wants, we finally get to see him find his HEA in Matt Houser.  Matt has been in previous books and was the perfect fit for Chris.  I was a little apprehensive in wondering how the author was going to make a M/M story unfold since I don’t remember reading anything by her in this specific sub-like-genre. Well she pulled it off with easy grace!  I loved how she approached it and executed it.  It wasn’t over the top and it wasn’t too detailed. Every once in a while, I like my romance to fade to black and this fit the bill in the bedroom area.

While I wish that it would have been a full length novel, I can’t say I am disappointed.  The ending was a little rushed, but not enough to ruin the experience. Well done Ms. Foster. Now figure out another character in this series and bring us more!

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Review: Sometimes Never by Cheryl McIntyre

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Sometimes Never
Author: Cheryl McIntyre
Genre: New Adult

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Hope didn’t have the best role model when it came to relationships. She’s content with her current no-strings-attached extracurricular activity with the lead singer of her band. She’s never believed in love and commitment.

Mason starts his eighth school in five years anticipating nothing more than the usual—boring classes, fighting more than making friends, and girls happily willing to succumb to his easy smile. He’s never put much stock into love at first sight—until he sees her.

Regardless of their painful pasts, Hope and Mason discover that sometimes never can become forever.

MY THOUGHTS

I don’t remember what first captured my interest in this book.  I think I heard someone raving about this author and her writing on Twitter.  Regardless of how I heard about it, I couldn’t help but start reading it just because of the summary.  I am a sucker for flirting bad boys who are trying to capture the attention of the girl who could care less.

While the author does have a great voice in writing,  I am having a hard time expressing my feelings on this book in my own words.  I found the side characters to be much more entertaining than the main characters with this read.  I will flat out say that I was not a fan of Hope.  I wanted to slap that girl so many times for some of her actions.  While I enjoyed the build-up of the romance between Mason and Hope,  at times it felt like it dragged on forever and was full of repetitiveness.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but I will admit that it was a book that could become a little bit boring at times.  I had to set it down several times and then restart it again.  I think the main reason of this was because I became so frustrated with the main character of Hope.  Not one I would reread again, but it did give me a new author to keep on my radar.

MY RATING

Okay book, but it left me wanting more!

Review: Restraint by Charlotte Stein

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Restraint
Author: Charlotte Stein
Genre: Adult Erotica
Source: Personal Purchase

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Mallory is certain that one of her friends – handsome but awkward Artie – hates her guts. The last thing she wants to do is go on a luscious weekend away with him and a few other buddies, to a cabin in the woods. But when she catches Artie doing something very dirty after a night spent listening to her relate some of her sexcapades to everyone, she can’t resist pushing his buttons a little harder. He might seem like a prude, but Mallory suspects he likes a little dirty talk. And Mallory has no problems inciting his long dormant desires.

MY THOUGHTS

After hearing about this book on Smexybooks,  I just knew I would be buying it.  I have read a previous book by this author and she writes amazing, sexy scenes.  Plus, I am addicted to those scenes that involve the love/hate dynamic in the plot.

The first chapter of this short novella had me wondering what the heck was Artie’s problem? Why is he so closed off and has a less than cheery attitude towards Mallory.  Well, if you keep reading the book, you realize that its not that he doesn’t like Mallory, its that he has a hard time controlling himself around her.  Mallory speaks with no filter and at times the stuff she will say embarrasses Artie.  I am assuming the way that Artie grew up has left him thinking that dirty talk is a taboo.  Artie is quite shy when it comes to talking about sex and all the words that could be crude but excitable in the bedroom.  Mallory pushes him to hear them and eventually say them.  We have moments of sexy times including kissing, touching, oral attention to both parties and then the deed itself.  The whole time they are doing these things, Mallory pushes down Artie’s restraints and breaks them apart.  Talking dirty is exactly what Artie needs to be pushed into a great sexual experience.

While I understand this is a short novella coming in at 54 pages, I did feel that it was a little rushed near the ending.  They are already blurting out I Love You to each other and they barely know each other.  With that being said, I was willing to look over it because I was warned that it was a short novella.  Sometimes it just has to rush along to fit in that novella format.

I really enjoyed the sexy scenes between the two characters and i am keeping my fingers crossed that the author Charlotte Stein will feature them in another book.  The side characters need a book for themselves as well.

A book that will feed your sexy time reading and drooling for another.

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Review: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

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Dead Until Dark
Series: Sookie Stackhouse #1
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Paranormal Romance
ISBN: 9780441016990

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She’s quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn’t get out much. Not because she’s not pretty. She is. It’s just that, well, Sookie has this sort of “disability.” She can read minds. And that doesn’t make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He’s tall, dark, handsome – and Sookie can’t ‘hear’ a word he’s thinking. He’s exactly the kind of guy she’s been waiting for all her life.

But Bill has a disability of his own: He’s a vampire. Worse than that, hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble – of the murderous kind.

And when one of Sookie’s colleagues is killed, she begins to fear she’ll be next …

MY THOUGHTS

I originally read this book around the time that True Blood first started airing on HBO.  At that time, the show had better appeal to me so I couldn’t remember how much the book differed from the show.  So after I quit watching the show for awhile, I decided to give this series another chance.  I am so glad I am giving them another try!

I think when I tried reading this book before, I kept comparing it to the characters and story line of the HBO show.  With the book I noticed certain characters are missing and the story plays out on a different time table at times.  I can definitely tell with the world building, character building and overall cast of characters that this book is more of a guilty indulgence than one that blew me out of the water.  It was even kind of childish at times with temper tantrums and a crew of Barney Five cops trying to solve the murders in town.

I am still on the fence about liking the cast of characters.  I can’t wait to read more about Eric, Pam and Lafayette.  Bill seems a little off to me but I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and keep my fingers crossed that he is better in the next one.  And then we have Sookie. Sookie, Sookie, Sookie. Just saying her name makes me laugh.  I wasn’t a fan of her in this book, but I am curious to understand why she has this disability and what it could mean.

Overall, it had cheesy moments, sexy moments, detailed moments, and bloody moments as well since this is a book about vampires.  I am going to keep going with the series though just so I can see how everyone’s roles will play out.

MY RATING

Okay book, but it left me wanting more!