Novel Review: Colters' Gift (Colters' Legacy, #5) by Maya Banks

Rating (Out of 5): ~2.5

Genre: Erotica/Adult Contemporary Romance/Menage

Publisher: Berkley (Penguin)

Release Date: November 2013

Spoilers?: Not really.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

BONUS: ALSO INCLUDES A NEW ORIGINAL COLTER NOVELLA!

New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks’ enthralling saga continues as two men, and one resilient woman hiding from the past, brace themselves for an emotional storm of unavoidable danger and unmatched desire….

Lauren Wilder fell for the wrong man, trusted the wrong man, and she paid a very dear price for it. Now broken and wounded, she's retreated to the bosom of the Colter family and the unshakeable love and support they offer. But the man she once loved and trusted is not without his own power, and he'll use every bit of his money and resources to make sure he gets Lauren back, no matter whom he destroys doing it.

Liam and Noah were hired by Lauren's brother to watch over her. But with danger looming, they head to the Colorado mountain—where Lauren has found temporary sanctuary. In her wounded eyes, Liam and Noah see the woman she once was—and could be again. They’re determined to show her everything a man can be—someone who will love her, cherish her, satisfy her, and when the time comes, put their very lives on the line for her.

The Cover:

I don't mind this cover. It doesn't look bad, it's predictable, but it represents the book well enough.

Quotes:

• "'Then goddamn it, he raped you. He forced himself on you,’ Noah said fiercely. ‘If you said no. If you even thought no. If you had no power to make him stop, then how could it be anything else? You sure as hell didn’t give him your consent.’” (Paperback, pg. 76)
• "Denial didn’t change the outcome of anything.” (Pg. 95)

Review:

This book started pretty good, and it sounded very good. But about halfway through, I just got bored with it.

I didn’t mind any of the characters, including the heroine and her men. They didn’t particularly stand out to me, but I didn’t dislike them. The attraction between them was fast, but it worked just fine for me. The sex was all right, some even good. The overall storyline wasn’t too bad, either, with Lauren’s ex-husband. I guess some of it was exciting, maybe.

I was mostly just bored with it, honestly, and that made it hard to finish. Lauren and her ménage relationship didn’t stand out to me as anything different from Banks’ other ménage stories. The entire storyline, including the romance, just didn’t seem very different from so many others I’ve read. The conclusion didn’t stand out, either. And, honestly, the amount of gushing love confessions, the characters stating how much they love each other over and over again, in such cheesy language, got on my nerves. It was just too much, and so unneeded, which is something I’ve noticed in quite a few of Banks’ books recently. And the sex kind of became boring to me, too, maybe because there was so much and none of it was all that different from each other, but also because I was just bored at that point with everything.

It also bothered me how easily the story wrapped up, that the characters didn't seem that emotionally wounded after everything, particularly the heroine. And it bothered me that, after everything she went through, no one mentioned therapy, or her getting help in any way other than from her family. Her family is important, yes, and she needs time, which they seemed to be giving her, but I thought she needed more, and the idea wasn't even brought up.

I enjoyed seeing the characters from the previous books, but I haven’t even read all the other books in this series. And now I’m wary to read the first two at all.

This book just got too gushy and boring for me. I wanted to like it a lot, but I didn’t.

Novel Review: Burn (The Breathless Trilogy, #3) by Maya Banks

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: Erotica/Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Berkley (Penguin)

Release Date: August 2013

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ash, Jace, and Gabe: three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country. They’re accustomed to getting anything they want. Anything at all. For Ash, it’s the woman who changes everything he’s ever known about dominance and desire...

When it comes to sex, Ash McIntyre has always explored his wilder side — extreme and uncompromising. He demands control. And he prefers women who want it like that. Even the women he’s shared with his best friend, Jace.

But Jace is involved with a woman he has no intention of sharing. And now even Gabe has settled into a relationship with a woman who gives him everything he needs, leaving Ash feeling restless and unfulfilled.

Then Ash meets Josie, who seems immune to his charms and his wealth. Intrigued, he begins a relentless pursuit, determined she won’t be the one who got away. He never imagined the one woman to tell him no would be the only woman who’d ever drive him to the edge of desire.

The Cover:

I don't really mind this cover. I like that it's not embarrassing, I even think it looks good--the splash of color in contrast to the white looks nice. I just don't think it represents the book very well. I think the title works for the book, and the cover represents the title, but I don't think it really shows what to expect from the book.

Quotes:

• "'It’s important to me to be independent and able to provide for myself even if that’s not what I end up doing. But I want that choice. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and know that I have value. That I can support myself and make my own choices.’” (Paperback, pg. 294)
• "'Love isn’t perfect,’ Mia said. ‘We’ve all made mistakes. Gabe, Jace, me, Bethany. And now you and Ash. It’s not supposed to be perfect. It’s what you make it. And you can make it really special, Josie.’” (Pg. 304)

Review:

I have not read any of the other books in this series, but I have read quite a few of Banks’ other books. I’ve enjoyed most of them.

I was looking forward to the D/s elements of this book. And I did quite like those. Ash and Josie jump into it rather quickly, and it was hot. The sex was nice. And I enjoyed the two of them together, for the most part.

But Ash was controlling in a not-good way, a little too over-the-top to my liking. He controlled more than I think Josie wanted him to, and it did help that when Josie found out about some of it, she did something about it. She made him see what he’d done and why it was wrong. But then there was the way that Ash took care of the men who’d harmed Josie, and that seemed like too much. It was violent and controlling in a way that made me uncomfortable, especially when everyone seemed to just accept it without any consequences. It’s actually made me wary of reading the other books in this series.

We saw a lot of the characters from the previous books, and so that did quirk my interest to read their stories. There was also a scene with Josei hanging out with the girls, and that was hilarious and adorable.

Also, the way Ash talked some of the time really bothered me. It didn’t happen every time he talked, but a majority of the time he did, he took out the subject (I think? at least, the first word) of the sentence, over and over again. I’m pretty sure it was mostly just him, but after a while it just started to drive me crazy.

I did mostly enjoy this book, although I wanted to enjoy it more. Some of it left me a little uncomfortable and unhappy, but I did enjoy a bit of it, including the smutty stuff. I do still look forward to reading more of Banks’ books, though.

Novel Review: Sweet Temptation (Sweet, #4) by Maya Banks

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: Erotica

Publisher: Heat (Penguin)

Release Date: 2010

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

He was a by-the-book cop who broke the rules in the bedroom...
Micah Hudson has painful secrets he's run hard from. He has new friends, a new life, but he's about to be confronted with the one person who reminds him of all he's tried to forget--Angelina, the sister of his oldest friend David. She knows everything about his past, including how he and David fell in love with the same woman, and how they decided the best way to prevent her from tearing them apart was to share her between them. But then a terrible accident left Micah alone...
She was willing to do anything to make him see the woman she'd become...
Micah lost the two people who meant the most in the world to him. Angelina lost her only family. And she kept her deepest secret close to her heart. Her love for Micah. No longer willing to wait, she decides it's time to go after him and bring him to his knees. She knows his secrets, his desires, his kinks and fetishes, and she'll use whatever it takes to reel him in. Behind the easygoing, loves women exterior lies a man with dark needs and passions. She can give him what he wants. But will he decide she's what he needs?

The Cover:

I really like this cover. It's sexy, it's sweet, it clearly shows that this is an erotica novel. i like it. There's also a fruit cover for this book, of an wet apple, and it's all right, too. It's one of the more appealing food covers for this type of book, although I still don't think it really has anything to do with the book.

Review:

I really enjoyed this one. I’ve liked most of Banks’ books that I’ve read, and especially the ones in this series. I was really looking forward to this one, both because I was intrigued by Micah and because it sounded particularly kinky. And I was not disappointed.

I liked Angelina a lot. I got why she wanted Micah, I saw her attraction to him (and him to her) clearly. I liked that she want after what she wanted, was persistent, but I also understood why she was conflicted. Micah was a bit frustrating a few times, but I did like him. I felt bad for what had happened to him, and I liked how good Angelina was for him.

The sex was a little extreme, with some sadomasochism stuff, some BDSM, spanking, threesomes and more, and the like. It was hot. Some people I know didn’t enjoy it much, but I rather liked it. It was well done, and hot. I also liked when they switched places, and the release that gave Micah.

I really liked the ending, how everything worked out. The stalker plotline was even exciting to me, and I really liked that, since often times they aren’t.

This was definitely another very good book of Banks’. I’m excited to read more. I especially look forward to going back and reading Julie and Nathan's story, as well as reading Cole’s book.