Category Archives: Contemporary

Taking It All by Maya Banks

Chessy and Tate have been married for several years. In the beginning, their relationship was everything she wanted. Passionate. All consuming. She offered her submission freely and Tate cherished her gift with a tenderness that made her feel safe. Content. Wanted. And loved beyond all measure. But as the years have gone by, Tate has become more immersed in making his business the success it has become, and Chessy has taken a back seat to his business obligations. Growing unhappier with the status of their once blissful marriage, Chessy knows that something has to give. Or they stand to lose it all

Tate loves his wife. Has always loved her. Providing for her has always been his number one priority. But lately she’s seemed unhappy, and he’s worried. Worried enough that he arranges for a night together that he hopes will reignite the fire that once burned like an inferno between them.

But a business call at the wrong time threatens everything. Chessy’s safety, his concentration, his wife’s faith in him as her husband, a man sworn to love and protect her above all else. Gutted with the realization that he’s going to lose her—has already lost her—he readies for the fight of his life. Whatever it takes, he’ll get her back. And prove to her that nothing is more important than her love. And that if she’ll allow him to prove himself one more time, he’ll take it all. Everything. But he’ll give far more back. Himself. His undying love.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was the story I was waiting for since the first book in the trilogy. I really enjoyed the first book, Letting Go, with Joss and Dash and it did an excellent job of introducing the characters for the next two books. I wanted book two to be Chessy’s and Tate’s story because their situation was so compelling. It wasn’t obviously, but Giving In, Kylie’s and Jensen’s story was excellent and I learned more about Chessy and Tate in it. Finally, with Taking It All, I get their story.

And I didn’t like it.

Okay, I liked it, but it wasn’t the story I hoped for. I thought some of the dialogue was stilted and didn’t flow like Maya Bank’s normal writing. The scene for the anniversary dinner could almost have been lifted from another book by Banks, Stay With Me, which by the way is an excellent book. There were differences of course, but the basis was still the same.

I had a really hard time liking or believing in Tate. Even after he realized he was losing Chessy, he still was too wrapped up in his business. The scene where her life was threatened went too far. I can’t say much without spoilers, but there were other people who would have intervened to help her sooner than they did.

Even after all that, the story was satisfying. Not only did I get to see how things worked out between Chessy and Tate, but I got to see the development of the relationships between Joss and Dash and Kylie and Jensen. I feel like I have read one long book rather than three individual ones. Everything flowed together so well.

Read this book, but only if you have read the first two of the trilogy. They really do make a great story and you will like how everything works out for the three couples.

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Together in Cyn by Jennifer Kacey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Title: * Together in Cyn
Author: Jennifer Kacey
Series: n/a
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Format: ebook
Date/Year: May 1, 2013
Reviewed by: ElaineReads

*This book was (provided to me by the publisher for review, borrowed from my local library, purchased for my own reading enjoyment…)

Summary from the publisher:

A small book sitting out on a table shouldn’t incite fear in anyone.
But what if that book was your diary and you learned your two best friends, men you have ached for your entire life, have just read every last word? Pages and pages filled with dark fantasies and forbidden dreams so explicit they leave nothing to the imagination.
And what if those two friends were included in every last one?

This is exactly where Cyn Andrews now finds herself.
Stuck somewhere between wanting to hate Jared and Chris Kennedy for violating her privacy and just plain wanting to be stuck somewhere between them. She could never choose only one brother, so she’s kept her feelings buried for more than a decade, and a past mistake has kept her silent and alone…until now.

Everything she’s ever wanted may have just been handed to her in the form of an invitation to The Library. Not just a building filled with books, but a members only BDSM club the brothers own and have kept hidden from her for years.

Is it pity or desire that fueled the invitation?
What other secrets have they been keeping from her?
Can she protect her heart and face her biggest fear while discovering the art of submitting to two Doms?

It’d be a sin not to find out…

My Musings:

I have to say right off that this is one of the hottest book covers I have ever seen. Wow!

When I read the blurb for this book, I thought “been there, done that.” It’s another menage/BDSM plot. Okay, it’s a “been there, done that” for someone like me who reads so many books in this genre. However, I was pleased and surprised at some of the twists the author added to the story. It is definitely not a rehash of the same storyline from other authors.

Cyn and the two brothers, Jared and Chris, have known each other since they were teenagers. As adults, they live in adjacent apartments which adds an extra something to their relationship because the walls are very thin and definitely not soundproof. Cyn also works part time in the brothers’ bar.

Unbeknownst to the guys, she has been in love with both of them for years. She knows she could never choose between them, so she never lets on how she feels. Only her journal tells the truth about the fantasies she has of the three of them.

So, of course, one of the guys finds her journal and reads it . . . and shares it with his brother.

I really liked the idea of the story, but I had enough issues with it I could not rate it higher than a three.

For example, the story is written in first person which I don’t normally have a problem with. Unfortunately, there is something about this author’s style that doesn’t flow. The writing interfered with my enjoyment of the story.

There are also a few “yeah, right” moments in the book. The one that struck me the most is Cyn is totally unaware that the brothers have a separate home which is also a BDSM club. This is a mansion that they stay in every week and she never questions where they go to when they are away from her.

This is the only book listed by Jennifer Kacey on GoodReads, so I assume it is her debut novel. If so, she is definitely worth following. I loved the plot and feel certain that her writing will evolve in the future.

Her sex scenes definitely don’t need any help. She writes some excellent bondage scenes and introduced me to a new sex toy. The bondage is more extreme than found in many of the books I have read and I enjoyed the new twists.

Together in Cyn has many things going for it and I will definitely look for future books by this author.

Ratings:

Overall: 3
Sensuality level: 5

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This Is Who I Am by Cherise Sinclair

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When trying to save a woman from slavers, Sam screwed up. Royally. Now Linda wants nothing to do with him. Or with BDSM. She won’t even admit she’s a masochist. As a dominant and sadist, he can give her what she needs, and when an opportunity arises, he slips into her life, intending to make amends. She’s everything he knew she would be…except for her bullheaded determination to be ‘normal’.

Now the horrible time is past, Linda just wants to return to her small conservative town, pick up her quiet life, and be normal. But how can someone who likes pain be ‘normal’? To her dismay, when someone spray-paints her home with obscenities, Sam shows up to rescue her. Again. Doesn’t he understand that the last thing she needs in her life is a sadist? He’s amused by her objections. But his dry sense of humor can’t disguise that he’s tough as nails and dominant and stubborn. He’s not going to let her drive him off this time. Soon she realizes she wants him to stay.

When he takes her to the Shadowlands, she feels as if she’s found a home…until she hears a voice from out of her nightmares.

I have only one thing to say. This author does not write fast enough. I love everything she has written.

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