5 Smooches!

Synopsis

“This is who I am. This is what I want. Now I need a man dangerous enough to give it to me.” 

Graduate student Vivienne Charles is afraid of her own desires—ashamed to admit that she fantasizes about being taken by force, by a man who will claim her completely and without mercy. When the magnetic, mysterious Jonah Marks learns her secret, he makes an offer that stuns her: they will remain near-strangers to each other, and meet in secret so that he can fulfill her fantasy.

Their arrangement is twisted. The sex is incredible. And—despite their attempts to stay apart—soon their emotions are bound together as tightly as the rope around Vivienne’s wrists. But the secrets in their pasts threaten to turn their affair even darker…

Reader Advisory: Asking for It deals explicitly with fantasies of non-consensual sex. Readers sensitive to portrayals of non-consensual sex should be advised.

Review

Who are you Lilah Pace and where did you come from?  Because your book just blew me the hell away.  It was phenomenally well written, fast paced, erotic, emotional, and touched on subject matter that could have totally gone wrong for this author.  But it didn’t.  It was amazing.  I really expected this book to be a dark and somber type of novel but it wasn’t.  Yes the subject was very serious and sad but the story itself was kind of uplifting and freeing.  I so enjoyed it.

“How did this man with the power to terrify me also become the one person who truly makes me feel safe?”

Vivienne fantasizes about being taken brutally by a man, one who won’t take no for an answer.  She is also smart enough to know that this is also very very dangerous, however some fantasies just cannot be helped.

“I don’t get off unless I’m imagining being raped.”

Once stone-faced Jonah Marks learns that Vivienne’s fantasy coincides with his, he makes her an offer that she should absolutely refuse, but she just can’t.

“Probably I should feel insulted, or scared.  Instead I am powerfully, almost painfully turned on.”

So commences this odd and erotic relationship; scheduled meet-ups for the brutally punishing sex that both of them seem to crave. Only, you know the whole time something is coming.  How they be normal and want this?  What happened to these two to make them want this type of affair?  What secrets are they hiding and what will happen when they all come to light?

“We can’t fix this; we were smashed up long before we ever met.”

Dear Lord, Vivienne and Jonah’s relationship is definitely a tumultuous and angsty one.  So much drama and I loved every minute of it.  It is also incredibly sexy.  Whew.  I really loved all of the characters in this series; the whole cast of them just made for a really really great story.  The writing is amazing and the story did not let up one bit.  I pretty much read this one in just a single sitting.  There is a big cliffy at the end of this one but I find I like the anticipation of a second book and it gives me an excuse to read the first one again before the next comes out.  Great job job to this author who is brand new on my radar.  I am paying attention now though, Ms. Pace and I am highly anticipating September.

~Amie

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5  SMOOCHES

Synopsis

Despite destroying Cassie Taylor twice before, Ethan Holt now wants another chance, but how can she possibly take him back knowing it could all go to hell again? And yet, knowing how much she still loves him, how can she not?

Second chances are hard to come by. Third chances, even more so.

Shakespeare once wrote, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Next to that quote, he should have included a picture of Cassie and Ethan.

Review

“He’s right. I am hollow without him. I always have been. But what do I have to offer other than a shell of the woman he fell in love with.”

The moment I finished Bad Romeo I knew I would be on eggshells waiting for answers. Answers only Broken Juliet could give me so when an advance copy arrived at my house months before the release I don’t think I had ever been happier. Cassie and Holt had taken over my heart and my brain and I needed to how everything went down and exactly how Holt managed to fix any of it.

“Loving you, is the stupidest, most selfish thing I’ve ever done, but I can’t stop. God knows, I’ve tried.”

Switching between the present and the past allows Broken Juliet to walk the line between Contemporary and New Adult exceptionally graceful. Fans of both genres will be delighted with the beauty of what Leisa has done. I am typically not a fan of books that span years, often getting angry over the wasted time but somehow the way Leisa go about it, swapping throughout the whole book instead of separating the book into two parts, makes the time passing not only bare able but enjoyable.

“You can’t just swear off all men because Holt broke your heart. Men are like vibrators. Just because they’re dicks, it doesn’t mean you can’t use them to have a good time.”

Picking up where Bad Romeo left off Broken Juliet fill in the blanks on the two times Holt broke Cassie’s heart and makes you fully understand why she is unable to move forward with him and how impossible it is to just trust him. Never have I doubted that Ethan loves Cassie but he has never been able to love Cassie the way she deserves. Now years later and infinitely wiser, Ethan has worked restlessly on his issues determined to be a better person. The kind of person who deserves love and can love others the way they deserve as well.

.“Ethan. Bastard Ethan. Beautiful Ethan. My Ethan. Forever mine, regardless of whether we’re together.”

Now, after all these years it seems the roles have been reversed. Holt is fully in and desperate for a commitment, it is Cassie who is running and scared. So much is the same and so much has changed. Rightfully, Cassie is untrusting of Holt and his ability to have done an about face and for his part Holt is determined to prove that he can be who she needs.

“You walk into this party looking like sex in woman form and expect me to be anything but hard? That’s fucking laughable.”

While much of this book is serious and thought provoking, much like it’s predecessor, Bad Romeo, it is full of witty one-lines that break up the angst and prove once again that Leisa Raven can write her ass off. I often say that humor, knowing where to inject it and where to hold back a bit, is harder to master than any dramatic scene. Leisa gives us just enough to make the story sparkle and helps us get through the toughest of times. Times where our hearts are breaking and we can see the end of what was coming. She guides us along with the quick wit of the youth and the refined quirks of years of wisdom mixed with beautiful banter.

“Do you think it’s possible that soul mates who love each other aren’t actually supposed to be together?”

Breathtaking, powerful and tense Broken Juliet is a story that will withstand time. I was deeply affected by this series and have found myself recommending it to anyone who will listen. Holt is a hero you can love and hate and Cassie can be easy to love and deeply frustrating all at the same time. Leisa Rayven is an supreme writer and I will forever read anything she produces.

  ~ miranda

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5 Smooches

Synopsis

He’s a player in more ways than one…

College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants. For this hockey star, life is a parade of parties and hook-ups, but behind his killer grins and easygoing charm, he hides growing despair about the dead-end road he’ll be forced to walk after graduation. A sexy encounter with freshman Grace Ivers is just the distraction he needs, but when a thoughtless mistake pushes her away, Logan plans to spend his final year proving to her that he’s worth a second chance.

Now he’s going to need to up his game…

After a less than stellar freshman year, Grace is back at Briar University, older, wiser, and so over the arrogant hockey player she nearly handed her V-card to. She’s not a charity case, and she’s not the quiet butterfly she was when they first hooked up. If Logan expects her to roll over and beg like all his other puck bunnies, he can think again. He wants her back? He’ll have to work for it. This time around, she’ll be the one in the driver’s seat…and she plans on driving him wild.

Review

“Lusting over your best friend’s girlfriend sucks. First off, there’s the awkward factor. As in, it’s really fucking awkward.”

The Deal was the new adult gold that none of us expected so to say I was eager to read The Mistake would be a vast understatement. The minute the book appeared on my kindle I was desperate to devour it and devour it I did. I sat my butt down and did not get up until the story was complete and I was sad it was over.

“John Logan is on my bed. I am so not prepared for this.”

The beauty in this story is not in the utterly swoon worthy book boyfriend, John Logan (although we will get to why I loved him HARD soon), but in the transformation of the heroine Grace Ivers. When we meet her she is a shy and introverted freshman who cannot believe campus hottie John would ever look at her. But after he toys with her emotions (intentional or not) and makes a mistake he just cannot undo she stands firm and moves forward, without him. After a summer apart Grace returns stronger, bolder and everything I want the woman in my books to be.

“His mouth captures mine in a blistering kiss. Belonging. It’s the only way to describe the exquisite rush of sensation that washer over me. His lips belong on mine.”

John is fighting a battle he cannot win. He has fallen for his best friend’s girl and he knows that Hannah will never look at him the way she looks at Garrett. Top that off with a home life that would leave anyone longing for an escape, John is determined to push though and make the most of his last few college years. While trying to distract himself from the doom he feels he meets young, fun, and virginal Grace. What starts out as a way to pass time turns into a real friendship and bond. He feels deeply for her but the feelings he has for Hannah cannot be ignored. Is it fair to string along this girl while he falling for another?

“He’s got this whole manly thing going on that makes me want to rip his clothes off and lick him like an ice cream cone.”

Elle Kennedy does a phenomenal job of mixing a dramatic story line with witty and titillating humor. One moment these characters would have my heart clenching and the next my belly aching from laughing so hard. The perfect mix made the story flow and the romance blossom so smoothly you don’t even realize how much you have read till the book is almost done.

“I don’t make you nervous anymore, do I?” “No.” I’m lying. He absolutely makes me nervous. He’s John fucking Logan,

There are not enough synonyms of LOVE to explain how much I enjoy this series. Take heroines you can relate to and hockey players you can lust over and mix that with splendid writing and what is produced is something that is impossible not to rave about. Complex yet not somehow The Mistake just works perfectly. An easy read that will still make you stop and think Elle Kennedy has once again proven that she can deliver a New Adult book that blows many others out of the water.

~miranda

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5 Smooches!

Synopsis

Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled Series, returns with the first installment of the Legal Briefs Series. 

As a DC defense attorney, Stanton Shaw keeps his head cool, his questions sharp, and his arguments irrefutable. They don’t call him the Jury Charmer for nothing – with his southern drawl, disarming smile and captivating green eyes – he’s a hard man to say no to. Men want to be him and women want to be thoroughly cross examined by him.

Stanton’s a man with a plan. And for a while, life was going according to that plan.

Until the day he receives an invitation to the wedding of his high school sweetheart and mother of his beloved ten-year old daughter. Jenny is getting married — to someone who isn’t him.

That’s definitely not part of the plan.
***

Sofia Santos is a city raised, no-nonsense litigator who plans to become the most revered criminal defense attorney in the country. She doesn’t have time for relationships or distractions.

But when Stanton, her “friend with mind-blowing benefits” begs for help, she finds herself out of her element, out of her depth, and obviously out of her mind. Because she agrees to go with him – to The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Mississippi – to do all she can to help Stanton win back the woman he loves. 

Her head tells her she’s crazy…and her heart says something else entirely.
*** 

What happens when you mix a one stop-light town, two professional arguers, a homecoming queen, four big brothers, some Jimmy Dean sausage and a gun-toting Nana? 

The Bourbon flows, passions rise and even the best laid plans get overruled by the desires of the heart.

Review

I really do love me an Emma Chase book.  Her heroes are always super alpha with a small side of asshole and those just happen to be qualities that I greatly admire in my book boyfriends.  And Stanton takes that mess to a whole other level and I absolutely adored him for it.

“Show them you’ve got a big swinging dick and you’re not afraid to use it.  My dick is the swingingest of them all – juries can’t take their eyes off it. “

Stanton really is a character and obviously his ego knows no bounds because the poor man seems to think that 10 years is a completely acceptable time for a woman to wait on him to come home.  So you have Jenny, done waiting and planning to marry someone else.  Which kills Stanton, she is the mother of his child after all.  So fool of all fools decides to cart Sofia, his bed buddy and co-worker, back home to Mississippi to stop this wedding and win back his Jenny.  Who takes someone they have casual sex with home to win back his girl, you ask?  STANTON, LADIES, STANTON.  The man is a hot mess and I could not help but laugh at his audacity and craziness.

“And I want to punch him in his stupid boy mouth, so he can’t say any more stupid words.”

This story was just hilarious in true Emma Chase fashion.  I loved the down home southern aspect of it.  I am a southern girl, so these crazy southern stories tend to appeal to me.  Tractor races, crazy siblings, nanna’s with shot guns, and a love triangle of sorts just made me laugh so hard.

“Eye on the prize, Sofia.  And no matter what my clitoris might believe, the prize is not Stanton Shaw’s glorious, golden penis.”

If you are a fan of Emma’s other books, you will love this one.  It is funny, incredibly sexy, and so sweet.  I love Emma’s writing style and this book was told from both Sofia and Stanton’s point of view and there was even a little cameo from one of my favorites, DREW!  This book can totally be read as a standalone and had a very happy HEA!

~Amie

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