Review: Feral King (The Dominant Bastard Duology, #1) by Sparrow Beckett

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Genre: Erotica/Adult Contemporary Romance; BDSM, Dark, MMF

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: June 2017

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Minnow Korsgaard works a dead end job to make ends meet. When she’s hired to take care of a wealthy old man with no social skills, she’s excited to have found work in her field.

The new boss isn’t at all what she expected.

Severin Leduc is only thirty. He’s also a dominant, tattooed brute who’s needs someone to break through the walls he’s built. The exiled son of a wealthy family, he’s unapologetically rude and eccentric. Raised by servants, he doesn’t want extra people in his life, let alone a pretty girl who refuses to leave him in peace.

Minnow’s submissive nature sparks against Severin’s dominance. Torrid sexual attraction flares between them. Sharing her with his best friend, Rodrigo, only strengthens their growing bond, and Severin’s life is scattered into chaos. Will he learn to trust her, or will he live the rest of his life forgotten?


Warning: BDSM, dark themes. Character's memories of prior abuse may trigger some readers.

The Cover:

I really like this cover. It's a bit intense, but not a stereotypical romance cover. I think the font and placement of the cover works really well, as do all the tattoos and pose of the model.

 

Review:

I did not expect this book to be quite so dark, or so addicting.

Minnow ends up being Severin's new housekeeper/babysitter. She thinks she's going to be helping some old man, only to find out that he's a dominant thirty-year-old with no social skills. He wants nothing to do with anyone, doesn't believe anyone will stick around. He's constantly pushing Minnow, testing her and pushing her away. But Minnow is steady and she believes in him, and she's attracted despite the threat that he might actually hurt her.

I was surprised by how dark some of the sex gets. It's violent at times, physically scarring and rough and mean. I found it seriously hot, but I'm sure some people won't. I also rather understood why Minnow stayed and kept pushing him by being a steady presence, even if it seemed like he'd gone too far at times. I'm intrigued by the MM/MMF (or is it just MFM?) undertones that were present, and am hoping they'll become more serious in the next book. That makes me hopeful.

Severin has been through some awful things, and it's dark when he's finally honest with Minnow about it. I'm intrigued to see where that cliffhanger will go in the next one.

This book gave me a serious book hangover and it took me a while to get over it. I'm still a little obsessed, and am extremely excited for the next one to be released. I can't wait for it to arrive on my Kindle.

Novel Review: Protecting His Own (Masters of the Shadowlands, #11) by Cherise Sinclair

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance; BDSM

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: May 2016

Spoilers?: Not really.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Landscape designer, Beth King survived an abusive husband and built a new life for herself with the help of Master Nolan, the strongest, most protective man she has ever known. She loves him with all her heart, but the one thing he wants, she can’t give him. To her grief, the damage from her abusive first marriage means she can’t bear him children.

As Beth and Nolan change their plans and pursue adoption, they're already imagining a baby girl in the nursery. But when two boys from the local domestic violence shelter see their mother taken to the hospital, they call Beth in a panic. Agreeing to care for them temporarily, Beth soon falls in love with the two adorable boys.

Now Master Nolan has a new problem. How can he protect the children when their drug-addicted mother is released—and how the hell can he keep his sweet submissive’s heart from being broken when they leave?

The Cover:

I don't really care for this cover. The muscle-y guy looks cheesy and like it's trying too hard, when there are much more important parts of this book that it could be showing. I'm not a fan.

Review:

From what we saw in the previous book, I wanted Beth and Nolan to get a second book. I loved them originally, and have always wanted to see more. I’m so glad they got a full novel.

Beth finds out she can’t have kids, at the same time that her and Nolan find out that two of the boys from the shelter are being taken from their mother and her abusive boyfriend.

I love Beth and Nolan, and I really liked seeing their relationship growing and seeing how strong it was. The honesty they strive for, and how they both just want the same things.

I loved meeting the two little boys, as well, and the bonds they grew with Beth and Nolan. They’re clearly going to grow into good boys, and I loved seeing the lessons they learned. How the abuse from their parents had grown certain reactions in them, and how they were shown how to do things better. It was really sweet to see.

I loved this book. I really can’t wait for more, and hope to pick up the few I’m missing soon.

Novel Review: Dirty Bad Secrets (Dirty Bad, #4) by Jade West

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: Erotica/Adult Contemporary Romance; BDSM

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: February 2016

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

It’s been three years since I set foot in Club Explicit, and three long years since I set eyes on Andy Morgan.
He doesn’t want me here, doesn’t want to know me, doesn’t want to even hear my name.
But I’m back on his doorstep, in his office, in his life… with a suitcase full of dirty bad secrets.

Faye Devere is out to claim her old life back. Three years in Italy have come at a heavy price, and she’s running back to the only anchor she has left: her fifty-fifty share of Club Explicit, and the man she left to pick up her pieces.
But Andy Morgan’s long over it. Long over her.
Club Explicit is his baby now. His club, his rules, his way.
Andy’s not a man who shares easily. And certainly not with the woman who upped and left without so much as a goodbye.

When your battlefield is London’s horniest playground, and sex is the sole weapon left in your arsenal, it’s only a matter of time before the fight gets dirty… and the secrets get dirty bad.

WARNING: As is always the case with Jade West novels, please proceed with caution. The book contains hardcore BDSM and sexual practices that may offend some readers. Please use your own discretion. Most definitely 18+ on

Review:

 The warning about this being the dirtiest book yet is definitely true. Take it to heart.

There’s some real anger between these two, a lot of hate-fucking issues to work out. There’s humiliation, and a lot of anal (both giving and receiving), mention of watersports and dirtier things, orgies, f/f, whipping with blood, to name a few things. It’s dirty, for real. And while I found most of it incredibly hot, a lot of people won’t. Warning!

There’s also a lot of angst. Andy is pissed about the way that Faye ditched him and the club and disappeared for three years, understandably. Faye is trying to move on from what she did, and is frustrated that Andy won’t let her. Faye does whine a bit, but I understood her side, and I felt bad for both of them. They’re both very headstrong and angry and stubborn. They have a lot of fighting to go through before they can talk to each other.

But I loved their chemistry, and when they finally calmed down, they were good together. They love each other and always have, they just have to get past the hurt first. And Faye has to get past Vincent, the guy who she was with for those three years. Vincent took more than he gave, and there was some dubious consent when she was with him, and so she left. I do like what happens with him in the end, too, very deserving after what he did.

I loved this book, and it’s pretty much equal to the first one, my favorite thus far. I loved getting to see the previous characters, Cat and Masque in particular. And I really hope that Topaz gets her own book next. She deserves to find a guy (or even pair?) who will love her, and treat her as dirty as I think she wants.

I want more! It was so good and I loved it.

Novel Review: Finding Their Balance (Neighborly Affection, #5) by M.Q.Barber

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance, Erotica, BDSM, M/M/F

Publisher: Kensington

Release Date: March 1, 2016

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Books-a-Million.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Three’s the naughtiest kind of crowd.

Getting to the one-year mark is hard enough in a relationship between two lovers. For three, just getting through the day can be half the battle. Between Alice’s headstrong insistence on pushing her sexual limits and Jay’s need to confront an abusive former lover, Henry has his hands full keeping both his partners safe and happy. But despite all the challenges—and unexpected dangers that lurk in their hedonistic world—the three have formed a union that brings each of them to the edge of something new—something they may not be able to hold onto...

The Cover:

I actually really like this cover. I think that the positioning of the three looks pretty and more natural than normal, and that their poses work for the character they're supposed to be. I like the coloring and the fonts. I think it's pretty.

Review:

Another fantastic book in this series. I have eaten up each book so far, and still re-read them. This one will be added to the list.

We continue where the third book left off, and the group confronts quite a few issues.

The main one is Cal, thankfully. The threat of him has hurt Jay to a large extent, and invaded their relationship in the previous book. He’s a major hazard, and now that the three are going to the club again, he’s starting to be dealt with for real. I definitely like the way that that plot line gets handled in this book.

Now that the three of them are going to the club again, we see a new side of Jay. We meet a few new subs and Doms, and it’s nice to see them making new friends, to see Jay opening up and growing. He’s needed this for a while. It’s also clear that Henry likes teaching, and the scenes where he’s teaching at the club are fun and helpful to a lot of people.

Jay’s family causes a big distraction in the middle, and that’s hard. I’m still waiting for him to stand up to his sister, but we haven’t officially met her yet. I’m hoping we’ll get more of that soon, especially since Alice is made aware what his relationship really is with his family. How he hides from them, and how it hurts both Alice and Henry. I just feel sad and frustrated with Jay’s family here, and am waiting for something big to happen there. Alice’s sister, on the other hand, should be showing up in the next book, and I’m excited for that. Alice also makes friends, mostly, with Emma, which is nice and should lead to good things.

I loved this book. I honestly can’t get enough of Barber’s writing and characters, especially these three. I want to see more of Leah and her Master, and I really want to see Santa Will get his happy ending. And I just want more of the threesome. They make me happy.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, Kensington, through Netgalley. Thank you!