Friday Mini Reviews #24 - Sommer Marsden, C.D. Reiss & Jessie Humphries
KARINA:
Boys Next Door by Sommer Marsden
bought
18+ only
Synopsis from Goodreads
Three Men, One Woman, Maximum Passion
Never in her hottest dreams did Farrell McGee expect a move to Tower Terrace to be such an erotic roller coaster ride.
"Good luck getting your key. I’m the middle house across the road should you need anything. At all," he said. The tone, the words, the accent on the anything. Oh god, he was one of those men. Men who had tons of self assurance and sexual prowess and total faith in their bedroom abilities. Those men were dangerous.
Starting over at twenty eight, Farrell McGee discovers sleepy Tower Terrace teeming with handsome men. Well, maybe not teeming, but three heart-stopping men do live across the road from her.
Despite feeling she's fallen backwards into a fairytale, complete with a big stone tower, a local legend and missing love letters, it becomes clear that all three of her neighbours have a sensual grip on her. She's powerless to choose just one, and just as powerless to get them out of her head or her bed. Deke, the devilish good boy who's superb at being bad. Coop, so often annoying in his gruffness, but oh so dominant where it counts. And Stephen the pretty, sweet, slightly submissive one. Her sex life has never been so good and her heart never so torn. She needs to choose one man, when she's not ready to give up any of them. But deep down she knows who she wants.
Never in her hottest dreams did Farrell McGee expect a move to Tower Terrace to be such an erotic roller coaster ride.
"Good luck getting your key. I’m the middle house across the road should you need anything. At all," he said. The tone, the words, the accent on the anything. Oh god, he was one of those men. Men who had tons of self assurance and sexual prowess and total faith in their bedroom abilities. Those men were dangerous.
Starting over at twenty eight, Farrell McGee discovers sleepy Tower Terrace teeming with handsome men. Well, maybe not teeming, but three heart-stopping men do live across the road from her.
Despite feeling she's fallen backwards into a fairytale, complete with a big stone tower, a local legend and missing love letters, it becomes clear that all three of her neighbours have a sensual grip on her. She's powerless to choose just one, and just as powerless to get them out of her head or her bed. Deke, the devilish good boy who's superb at being bad. Coop, so often annoying in his gruffness, but oh so dominant where it counts. And Stephen the pretty, sweet, slightly submissive one. Her sex life has never been so good and her heart never so torn. She needs to choose one man, when she's not ready to give up any of them. But deep down she knows who she wants.
Amazon US | Amazon kindle US/UK(£0.99) | The Book Depository
7/10
* * *
This was one of the sweet, charming eroticas, ladies and gents, with a beautiful, quirky small town and lovely characters. I think while sex scenes themselves lacked something for me personally, I appreciated the atmosphere and the banter between characters much more. *grinning* Recommended for something light and soothing.
* * *
Милый такой очень эротический романчик, душевный, мои дорогие. Хоть постельные сцены лично меня оставили равнодушной, сам городок и диалоги между героями были просто очаровательными. Мне вот эта прелесть и пришлась по душе больше всего. Читайте для поднятия настроения.
JOINT REVIEW:
Kick by C.D. Reiss (Songs of Perdition #1)
bought as part of anthology BEND
18+ only
Synopsis from Goodreads
From USA Today Bestseller - CD Reiss--This book one novella is released as part of the Erotica Consortium's boxed set - BEND.
REVISED BLURB UNDER CONSTRUCTION
A goddess reserves the right to change her mind at any time
Amazon kindle US/UK(£0.77)
8.5/10
Karina:
I bought Bend anthology just for this novella because CD Reiss said that it's going to be cheaper than Kick on its own, and from all the stories this was by far the best. Miss Reiss never writes just straight on erotica. I don't think she can. Instead this is part thriller, part horror and all a big mindf*ck. First part of a serial, this promises to be a dark, thrilling, twisting road for Fiona - a broken, rich sex addict with a fractured memory who woke up in psychiatric hospital. I had more questions than answers in the end of novella, and I can't to read more. Very much recommended!
Vika:
I also bought Kick as part of the Bend anthology and honestly didn’t even bother to check any of the other stories – I had my eyes set on Kick from the get-go. And it was totally worth it! This time around Ms. Reiss gives us a glimpse into the life of Fiona Drazen – the black sheep of the Drazen family. I don’t even know how to put into words, but Fiona is a character in her own category – fiery, unpredictable, and deeply broken. But I have a feeling that there is more to her than meets the eye, and this story is just getting started.
Explicit and gritty, this love story has a true bite and it will have you craving for your next dose. Cliffhanger warning!
Как всегда, поражаюсь фантазии мисс Рейс, которая просто не может писать чисто эротику. Вместо этого даже в маленькой новелле она умудрилась совместить психологический триллер, детектив и проблески эротики, от которых у меня осталось больше вопросов, чем ответов. Kick - это начало сериала о Фионе - молодой, богатой дебютантке с зависимостью к наркотикам и сексу, которая считает себя абсолютным ничтожеством. Фиона просыпается в психиатрическом госпитале с раздробленной памятью и обвинениями в нападении на единственного мужчину, которого она любит, и теперь ей придётся сделать всё возможное, чтобы собрать себя в единое целое... Очень советую.
Вика:
Мисс Рейс и вправду очень талантлива как автор, и я наверное прочитала бы любую ее книгу. Но, на этот раз г-жа Рейс дает нам шанс заглянуть в жизнь Фионы Дрейзен, которая имеет репутацию белой вороны в своей семье. Я даже не знаю как правильно это выразить, но Фиона, как героиня, находится в своей отдельной категории. Она феерична и непредсказуема. Но это только на первый взгляд, и её история только начинается...
bought as part of anthology BEND
18+ only
Synopsis from Goodreads
From USA Today Bestseller - CD Reiss--This book one novella is released as part of the Erotica Consortium's boxed set - BEND.
REVISED BLURB UNDER CONSTRUCTION
A goddess reserves the right to change her mind at any time
Amazon kindle US/UK(£0.77)
8.5/10
* * *
Karina:
I bought Bend anthology just for this novella because CD Reiss said that it's going to be cheaper than Kick on its own, and from all the stories this was by far the best. Miss Reiss never writes just straight on erotica. I don't think she can. Instead this is part thriller, part horror and all a big mindf*ck. First part of a serial, this promises to be a dark, thrilling, twisting road for Fiona - a broken, rich sex addict with a fractured memory who woke up in psychiatric hospital. I had more questions than answers in the end of novella, and I can't to read more. Very much recommended!
Vika:
I also bought Kick as part of the Bend anthology and honestly didn’t even bother to check any of the other stories – I had my eyes set on Kick from the get-go. And it was totally worth it! This time around Ms. Reiss gives us a glimpse into the life of Fiona Drazen – the black sheep of the Drazen family. I don’t even know how to put into words, but Fiona is a character in her own category – fiery, unpredictable, and deeply broken. But I have a feeling that there is more to her than meets the eye, and this story is just getting started.
Explicit and gritty, this love story has a true bite and it will have you craving for your next dose. Cliffhanger warning!
* * *
Карина:Как всегда, поражаюсь фантазии мисс Рейс, которая просто не может писать чисто эротику. Вместо этого даже в маленькой новелле она умудрилась совместить психологический триллер, детектив и проблески эротики, от которых у меня осталось больше вопросов, чем ответов. Kick - это начало сериала о Фионе - молодой, богатой дебютантке с зависимостью к наркотикам и сексу, которая считает себя абсолютным ничтожеством. Фиона просыпается в психиатрическом госпитале с раздробленной памятью и обвинениями в нападении на единственного мужчину, которого она любит, и теперь ей придётся сделать всё возможное, чтобы собрать себя в единое целое... Очень советую.
Вика:
Мисс Рейс и вправду очень талантлива как автор, и я наверное прочитала бы любую ее книгу. Но, на этот раз г-жа Рейс дает нам шанс заглянуть в жизнь Фионы Дрейзен, которая имеет репутацию белой вороны в своей семье. Я даже не знаю как правильно это выразить, но Фиона, как героиня, находится в своей отдельной категории. Она феерична и непредсказуема. Но это только на первый взгляд, и её история только начинается...
Этот сериал заставит вас жаждать продолжения. Рекомендую.
VIKA:
Killing Ruby Rose by Jessie Humphries (The Ruby Rose Series #1)
ecopy thanks to Kindle First
Synopsis from Goodreads
n sunny Southern
California, seventeen-year-old Ruby Rose is known for her killer looks
and her killer SAT scores. But ever since her dad, an LAPD SWAT
sergeant, died, she's also got a few killer secrets.
To cope, Ruby has been trying to stay focused on school (the top spot in her class is on the line) and spending time with friends (her Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks are nothing if not loyal). But after six months of therapy and pathetic parenting by her mom, the District Attorney, Ruby decides to pick up where her dad left off and starts going after the bad guys herself.
When Ruby ends up killing a murderer to save his intended victim, she discovers that she's gone from being the huntress to the hunted. There's a sick mastermind at play, and he has Ruby in his sights. Ruby must discover who's using her to implement twisted justice before she ends up swapping Valentino red for prison orange.
With a gun named Smith, a talent for martial arts, and a boyfriend with eyes to die for, Ruby is ready to face the worst. And if a girl's forced to kill, won't the guilt sit more easily in a pair of Prada peep-toe pumps?
To cope, Ruby has been trying to stay focused on school (the top spot in her class is on the line) and spending time with friends (her Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks are nothing if not loyal). But after six months of therapy and pathetic parenting by her mom, the District Attorney, Ruby decides to pick up where her dad left off and starts going after the bad guys herself.
When Ruby ends up killing a murderer to save his intended victim, she discovers that she's gone from being the huntress to the hunted. There's a sick mastermind at play, and he has Ruby in his sights. Ruby must discover who's using her to implement twisted justice before she ends up swapping Valentino red for prison orange.
With a gun named Smith, a talent for martial arts, and a boyfriend with eyes to die for, Ruby is ready to face the worst. And if a girl's forced to kill, won't the guilt sit more easily in a pair of Prada peep-toe pumps?
5/10
* * *
Oh, Ruby… *shakes head* This had potential to be an awesome, kick-ass novel and a beginning to a great YA detective series à la the cult favorite – Veronica Mars. Alas, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Half the time I felt like I was reading an advertising ad, brand name mentions seemed to have been sprinkled with abundance. The other half, seventeen-year-old Ruby was running around getting herself in trouble, because she thought taking justice into her own hands was the sure way to avenge her father’s death. And by “taking-into-her-own-hands” I mean that she was purposefully hunting criminals as her after-school activity.
At the end, it was all about action, with a tad of soap-opera aftertaste and a classic twist of “Luke, I am your father” type of revelation. So if you are into that kind of thing, by all means proceed…
* * *
Здесь был потенциал для начала хорошего, юношеского детектива в духе культового шоу - Вероника Марс. Но, увы, мои ожидания не оправдались. Большую часть времени у меня было ощущение, что я читаю рекламные объявления, настолько часто упоминались названия различных брэндов. А в остальное время семнадцатилетняя Руби постоянно поподала в разные ситуации, которые, честно говоря, она находила сама на свою голову, решив взять правосудие в свои руки.
В общем, тут было много экшн и немного драмы в стиле мексиканских мыльных опер и ничего более. Так что, читайте на свой страх и риск.
