Review: Reign of Pleasure by Emma Petersen

Deposed queen Rhiannon’s sexual proclivities have finally gotten her into trouble. After Rhiannon took a pleasure slave who didn’t belong to her, the courtesan’s master is asking the ultimate price for the trespass—not Rhiannon’s life, but her body…and complete submission for three days. Rhiannon is determined to submit only her body, but Lord Ignius Sebastian, her new master, will settle for nothing less than her soul.

2 fave quotes: "I wonder if all the warriors who tremble when your name is uttered know what a fucking coward you are" Oooh, watch out girl, you are baiting the tiger.
and:
"All I've ever wanted to be is yours." Yeah, that line and my panties come off. I'm that easy.

I am a fan of Emma Petersen. I loooooved Master of the Game. Was smitten with Seducing St. Nic and now I find myself quite taken with her latest, Reign of Pleasure.

Rhiannon is a deposed immortal queen. She has refused to remarry after the death of her beloved husband and king two centuries ago and the Council will not reinstate her to full Queen privileges until she remarries and produces an heir. Rhiannon is willful and stubborn, clinging to the memory of her husband like a talisman against the demands of her Council and the maneuvering of her suitors. It took me a little while to warm up to Rhiannon. I admired her loyalty to her husband's memory, but even she admits that she's a bit of a spoiled brat. She does come into her own as a woman and into her own skin as the story progresses and it was nice to see.

Ignius Sebastian.....::sigh:: Emma Petersen writes some very drool worthy heroes in her stories and Ignius did not disappoint. He's dark, dangerous, mysterious and feared by his peers. He was dominate and masterful and yet capable of such emotion and tenderness. He's very fierce and not to be crossed, but at the same time you know that Rhiannon is his one weakness. Any man that bides his time for 200 years so he can pounce is hotness in my book. You gotta love a patient man ::wink wink::

The plot was decent. The story is novella length so naturally there is more time spent exploring the relationship and smexy times of Rhiannon and Ignius. And yeah, those are some good smexy times, too. ::cough:: I did really like a few of the side characters in the short time we got to see them. Just a good, sexy read with mild BDSM. And some girl on girl...but mostly, Ignius bringin the goods, if you know what I mean ;)

Final Grade: B

Reign of Pleasure at Ellora's Cave

Author's Website

Spaz reviews Reign of Pleasure at Wicked Lil Pixie's 4.5/5

Because I Need a Laugh (NSFW and bad language galore)

So, a dear friend of mine is having a really bad time right now and I feel completely useless. And between my life drama and others I know that are having a rough time right now, I figure we could all use a little laughter and this always brings a smile to my face. This is the audio of Christian Bale's infamous rant on the set of that silly terminator movie. First is the original audio and then I have the fabulous mixed version to music. It's epic and awesome.

A bit of a heads up: If you haven't heard this before and our offended by the F word, don't listen to this. Seriously, Christian lurves himself the F-bomb. If he could cuddle it and take it to bed, he totally would.






See? This shit makes me giggle. Every time. ::sigh::

Review: Baby Don't Lose My Number: Fated, Book 2 by Karen Erickson

Never press the “ignore” button on love…

Fated, Book 2

In these uncertain times, Mia Skinner’s Blackberry is her lifeline to independence…and a twenty-four/seven chain to her overbearing boss. When she loses it on a girls’ night out, it’s a disaster with pink slip written all over it—until she takes a chance and calls her number. And ends up talking to Mr. Sexiest-Voice-Alive.

The moment Jacob Miller lays eyes on the phone’s beautiful owner, a bolt of lust makes him want to make a sexy mess of her tidy outfit and perfectly straight hair. Which is a good sign. It means he’s almost fully recovered from a near-debilitating construction accident. Perhaps a little horizontal healing will get him back on his feet for good.

As their passion burns bright and hot, a funny thing happens. Mia’s ignoring her phone—and Jake’s the one itching to get back to work. But he’s building a plan that’ll let her hang up on her increasingly creepy boss for good. If Mia’s willing to meet him in the middle.

Warning: Delicious, toe-curling sex including a lusty scene in a truck flying down the freeway. A hero whose greatest thrill is lavishing all his attention upon the woman he wants more than anything in the world.

Jake Miller is hot. I want me a Jake of my very own. ::dreamy sigh:: He's big, buff, funny, sexy, sweet and steady. He's the kind of guy who's rock solid and always there for the people he loves. I don't care how independent and feminist we may be, there's still a part of us that wants that strong, stable partner than we can lean on when life gets stormy, and Jake is that guy.

Mia is a great heroine. She's a workaholic that's afraid of change and afraid of losing her job to the point of putting up with the escalating inappropriate behavior from her douche of a boss. Her friends try to get her to lighten up and not take so much crap from him, but she just keeps going....right until she meets a sexy guy that makes her laugh, and feel sexy and special in a way that no one else ever has. She's kind and capable and not afraid to lean on Jake when she needs to, but she's also there for her man to lean on when he needs it too as he recovers from the physical and psychological damage of his accident.

Baby Don't Lose My Number is a short, sweet and sexy read. The relationship progresses fast and that might bother some readers, but for me, it worked for Jake and Mia and I loved how they could be hot and sexy or sweet and tender together.

Final Grade: A-

You can download a sample of this book to your kindle or the kindle for pc program if you have it.

Author's Website

Review: My Give A Damn's Busted by Carolyn Brown (DNF)

Summary (from Goodreads):

The latest in a line of (formerly) unlucky in love ladies to run the Honky Tonk, Larissa Morley is ready to show the world she means business! But trouble walks into her happy life when tall, handsome and rich Hank Wells shows up at her bar determined to see the doors of the Honky Tonk closed for good. With her happiness on the line, Larissa will stop at nothing to save her beloved bar. Honky Tonk patrons and readers alike are in for one heck of a sexy showdown as these two lovers face off!

Ok, so I had to have this book just based on the title and the summary. A smartass, witty heroine and sexy man bent on closing her down, but he didn't count on the heat, baby? Sounds like my kind of fun and sexy read. Except it wasn't all that fun....or even that sexy. ::sigh:: I feel led astray, peeps. Let me explain...

Larissa Morley is billed as a feisty (god help me), sassy, witty, tough cookie of a character. She's so country that it feels like she majored in country at the local college. She drives a vintage Mustang (I give her total props for good taste) and runs the local "beer joint." It's so rustic and "vintage" that she won't even call it a bar, it's a beer joint, get used to it. The thing is that all this sass and brass and quoting country songs like there would be a test at the end, felt a bit forced. Especially considering her background and the fact that she basically reinvented herself as this person. Also, her feisty wittiness came across more like immature bitchiness, but that could honestly just be me. She can be funny and she does have revelations about herself and the people around her through the book, but...it just wasn't enough.

As for our hero, Hank Wells (as he sometimes goes by), he's supposed to be this rich and savvy businessman that moonlights as a cowboy from time to time. He comes across as more of a pansy assed mama's boy to me and let me just say it's good that he wasn't in charge of building the family fortune because he's dense as a brick and makes assumptions (usually wrong ones) left, right and center.

The last thing I'm gonna pick on is that the book seems to want to box people into caricatures of who they're supposed to be. The rich are all stuck up and snobby sticks in the mud and the hard working lower class are all fun, interesting and hard working people and you have to pick a team. You're either one or the other, there aint no middle ground. Again, to be fair, I got 3/4 of the way through the book before I stopped so maybe the last bit isn't that way, but that's how it felt to me through most of the book. And frankly, the love scenes between Larissa and Hank left a lot to be desired. As a romance, it felt lacking and as a fun and witty read, it just didn't deliver for me.

I can see how others might enjoy this book, it just didn't have the magic touch for me.

Final grade: DNF (did not finish)

ARC Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: HarperTeen
Pub Date: 02/01/2011
ISBN: 9780061726828

Note: I received a copy for review from NetGalley.

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

It was hard to write a spoiler free review for this book. My feeble words just don't seem to do it justice, but I'm going to make the attempt anyway ;)

Delirium is a beautiful story of forbidden love and the strength of the human spirit. The writing is lush and evocative. You smell what Lena smells, feel the sensations she feels and see the world as she sees it as she navigates through this dystopian world where loving is a crime. Ms. Oliver is adept at writing characters that the reader just can't help falling in love with. From the vibrant and beautiful best friend, Hana, to the handsome and brave love, Alex, to Lena's mother who we learn about in stories of Lena's childhood but she seems so alive that she rivals any other supporting character for a memorable place in the reader's heart.

Our main protagonist, Lena, is just an average every day teenager who is looking forward to life after high school. She looks forward to having the procedure that will keep her from becoming infected with Love, the most deadly of deadly diseases, and her life after graduation, going to college, getting matched with her ideal mate and living in peaceful contentment for the rest of her life. Safe. Secure. Smooth. Then Hana introduces her to an underground world of forbidden music and people and she meets Alex, who opens her eyes and her heart to a world that she never knew could exist. As she evolves farther and farther from the girl that just wants peace and contentment, she begins to realize that the government has lied about so many things, is it possible that they've lied about the dangers of love?

I really enjoyed this story and I love that Ms Oliver isn't afraid to break your heart, in the best possible ways. It's poignant and beautiful and leaves you aching for more.

My final grade for Delirium: A.

Microwaves

Who cleans their microwave? I mean, I always just figured that the radiation from the microwaves would just, I don't know, kill all the yuckies in there. But I'm beginning to think that I'm in the minority here, so I put it to you: Do you clean your microwave? How often: Annually? Semi-Annually? Monthly? Weekly? Can you convert me to your anal-retentive microwave cleaning ways? Maybe I'm just some kind of cave-woman throw back. ::hangs head in shame::

Review: Banished by Sophie Littlefield

There isn’t much worth living for in Gypsum, Missouri—or Trashtown, as the rich kids call the run-down neighborhood where sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell lives. Hailey figures she’ll never belong—not with the popular kids at school, not with the rejects, not even with her cruel, sickly grandmother, who deals drugs out of their basement. Hailey never knew her dead mother, and she has no idea who her father was, but at least she has her four-year-old foster brother, Chub. Once she turns eighteen, Hailey plans to take Chub far from Gypsum and start a new life where no one can find them.

But when a classmate is injured in gym class, Hailey discovers a gift for healing that she never knew she possessed—and that she cannot ignore. Not only can she heal, she can bring the dying back to life. Confused by her powers, Hailey searches for answers but finds only more questions, until a mysterious visitor shows up at Gram’s house, claiming to be Hailey’s aunt Prairie.

There are people who will stop at nothing to keep Hailey in Trashtown, living out a legacy of despair and suffering. But when Prairie saves both Hailey and Chub from armed attackers who invade Gram’s house in the middle of the night, Hailey must decide where to place her trust. Will Prairie’s past, and the long-buried secret that caused her to leave Gypsum years earlier, ruin them all? Because as Hailey will soon find out, their power to heal is just the beginning.

This gripping novel from thriller writer Sophie Littlefield blazes a trail from small-town Missouri to the big city as Hailey battles an evil greater than she ever imagined, while discovering strengths she never knew she had.



This book was darker than I had expected. That is in no way a complaint, but it's worth commenting on. I would not recommend this book for very young readers, but more for middle teens and up, in my humble opinion. Besides being dark, the story was thrilling right up to the last page and kept me engrossed right to the end.

Our lead character is Hailey, a small town girl with a crappy home life and who sits at the bottom of the social ladder at school. I have to say that she has The. Worst. Grandma. Ever. Her Grandma only sent her to school because social services made her, she's abusive, neglectful and deals drugs out of her basement. Yeah, she's a real winner. The one bright spot in Hailey's life is little four year old, Chub. She's more of a big sister/mother to him and caring for him and loving him is one of the only things that keeps her sane and grounded. I loved her relationship with Chub and how it was so natural for her to look out for him and take care of him.
Hailey is a good character and her voice is easy to follow, but my favorite character in the story had to be Aunt Prairie. Aunt Prairie is probably The. Coolest. Aunt. Ever. No matter what happened in the story from car chases to being shot she was always undaunted and in control. Her unflappable calm, sense of humor in even the direst circumstances and her unwavering loyalty to Hailey and Chub was refreshing and awesome to read. Even though Hailey is the MC, I really felt like this was Prairie's story of growing up, making mistakes and finding redemption and a way to make things right.
There is plenty of action in this story and that surprised me a little. I was thinking with the special ability of healing that this book would be rather tame, but I was quickly disabused of that notion and I loved the path the story took.
This book was full of action, suspense and yes, even zombies and I enjoyed every minute of it.

My final grade: B+

Author's website